And here I am, back in Strzelin!

           Well! As you can tell, I really didn't write much about yesterday, and I'll tell you why. My cousin went to work, her husband went to work, my niece went to school. Do you see where this is going? Hrmm... Yes yes, I stayed at home on my own and relaxed. Alone, and yeah, it was nice. Around 4 in the afternoon, Gabi came home with Małgosia, and we had a late obiad. Then we took Małgosia to her Tae-kwon-do lesson, which she's apparently tired of, but obviously going to finish what has been planned, and then came back home after running by Gabi's work to scan something in for me. Then, the evening was spent relaxing.
           Really, that's it for the day. I stayed up rather late for the first time (2:30 am), chatting with Ani, which was maaarvelous. Definitley have missed my chatting time with her. </3 But it should be fixing itself now!
            So, a few things I forgot to mention about the weekend in Bydgoszcz in general; it's actually a good thing that I ended up coming Friday, because I would've spent my first few days at home alone, otherwise, so timing was awesome. My niece has an incredible memory. You see, I asked what she remembered of me, because ya know, we traveled part of Poland together in 2005 when I was here for the first time on my own. Yet, the first thing she said was that she remembered me playing a little accordion for my very ill grandmother, and she remembered how she wanted to play on it as well. ... Just so you get an idea of timeline. My grandmother died in late 2002. My niece was born in late 2000. This must've been in the summer of 2002, then. Aka, she was less than two years old, and she remembered that. That is impressive. I was blown away, as I can't remember anything before I was about 3-4 thanks to an essential memory wipe when I was that age (ask me about it if you would like).
           Besides that, however, I also got a new pair of shoes this weekend! ... ... From my soon-to-be-11-year-old niece... ... Just to give you another idea, this girl received most of my childhood clothing, and now... here I am. 9 years older than her. Receiving her shoes. That are too small for her. ... And they're still half a size too big. Damn. I am tiny. They're really nice Adidas, though, clean, and comfortable, and being a half-size too big isn't a problem, so I took them, but still. It feels a bit ridiculous. In fact, Gabi even suggested I might be able to fit into some of her old jeans, length wise at least. ... Well... damnit. That's all I can really think to say. Ah well. She would've given the shoes to someone else anyways, so yay! New tennis shoes!
           Anyways, this morning, I woke up to Gabi telling me her parents, my uncle and aunt, actually are coming today and we're going to go to Strzelin all day. Huh... I was expecting them to come today, and that we would leave tomorrow morning, actually, but whatever. I woke up, quickly packed, ate breakfast, and they eventually came. After they put their dog in the cage to keep her away from Kenso (she apparently just finished being in heat a week ago, so Kenso was chasing her... a lot... and managed to get her out of the cage...), we left. We hugged and waved our good byes as we went our separate ways, and on the way, my uncle, and aunt and I all talked a bit and caught up. It was actually really cool, because my aunt kept asking about Samantha (from FL), and her family. Ya know, asking how she is and everything. You wanna know why that's so cool? Because it's essentially a mini sort of verification that our families are like family. Not just friends. People normally ask about people you know if you know they are incredibly important in their lives, like family, so going off of typical behavior and explanations, well, that was just an awesome moment. (:
           Hmm... Let's see what else was interesting about the ride... We talked a lot, typical things, like school here and at Vandy, family, lots of things. My uncle kept acting like a captain in directing my aunt how to drive.... Although she was driving just fine. (Yes, this uncle is the captain of a ship, and he travels all around the world.) Ah! As we got closer to Wrocław, I started telling them a ton of things, such as pointing out SkyTower, the new bridge, about the new highway and the new stadium, since they haven't been in about 2 years. I felt like SUCH a local, and it was really bizarre. I essentially knew more about a part of Poland than they did. We went on the highway, and well, we ended up going into the city again by taking an exit too early, so we still had to drive through the city, unfortunatley... Unfortunately timewise, I mean. To be honest, I was super excited when I saw SkyTower on the horizon. I honestly felt as though I were going home. I missed it. I really like Wrocław, and I feel like I could live here forever, really. Honestly, Krakow, as a city, is going to have a tough time beating it, despite the fact that everyone keeps telling me it's going to be the best. I mean, sure, I'll love hanging out with the people, and I can't deny it's a cool city, but... I somehow doubt I'll feel as comfortable and at home as I did in Wrocław. And some of you may ask: Well, isn't it because you just feel happier in Poland? That might be partially true, but while I was in Bydgoszcz, while I greatly enjoyed seeing a new city and seeing the new things, and just looking around, I didn't have the same feeling of home like I feel in Wrocław (and that was something I picked up immediately) or Vanderbilt, for example.
           Eventually we got through Wrocław, and drove to Strzelin. We had a nice late obiad here as well, which was delicious, and my uncles and aunts talked to each other and caught up since they haven't seen each other in a while. It was partically grandparent talk, which was really cool, and listening to them talk about other grandparents and how they aren't as involved in their grandchildren's lives, well... it just made me think more about my parents and how I do want them to be close to me wherever I end up living. Even though I used to basically roll my eyes whenever my mom said she's moving with me to Australia. Yeah, definitely not rolling my eyes anymore.
           Ah, so in this trip, oh goodness, I totally saw the family connection between my uncle, Bogdan, who picked me up from Bydgoszcz, and my mom. Bahahahaha, totally from the same family. They look a bit alike, of course, but personality. Stubborn as hell, have it their way and only their way, and impatient to the boot! A) These traits are not all completely negative, and b) it's easier to compare negative traits than positive, not that they only have negative traits, obviously. :P But wow. It was hilarious. Just that total realization. It's always fun seeing that family relation, to be honest. Just interesting, ya know?
           Oh, ohoh! School starts in a week! School starts in a week! SCHOOL STARTS IN A WEEK! Aka, oh thank goodness gracious, I CANNOT WAIT! I am so tired of not doing anything productive or learning or challenging myself. I LIKE learning. I LIKE school. I enjoy it! And the best part of all of this? I talked with Gabi in the car about it, ya know, and it sort of made me realize, wow... if I got so anxious after not having school for five months (I ended May 3, and am starting October 3/4), then... ya know what. That's good. That's a comfort. That's a reassurance. That means I will be ok in continuing my education to get my doctorate, and that I'll enjoy it despite all of the stress, and just furthermore that my plan to be a professor is rather supported in desire. Because part of being a professor is continually learning and researching and just keeping up with new stuff. It just fits! Hoorah! Life realizations! But really... I need this. Super. Excited. Everyone else likely hates me, but oh goodness. I am so pumped. And it's so weird. I'm going to be meeting the fellow students in API in two days. Start the completely new experience, in two days. Where did this time go?!
           Well, I'll leave with all of this incredible excitement! As the rest of my evening looks rather slow; ya know, chatting with people, making sure everything is good. Ah! Also, today I filled in my photo frame, and it looks awesome. I have one extra picture, by accident, but whoops! Adios, my dear friends!