School, school, and I should focus on school.

           Unlike most Mondays, yesterday was quite productive! I mean, I got to sleep in, and once I was ready, despite my uneasiness of going to study, I actually left the apartment. You see, it was about 13.30 by the time I left, and at that point I was a bit iffy about having to go to the library I needed, because who knew if it was open... I mean, I really really did not want to travel all the way out to the library to find that it was closed. Distance wise, it's not too bad, but only two trams run to the stop, every ten minutes, which is unfortunate. However, I told myself if I didn't go then, then I wouldn't go at all, so I'm quite proud of myself for actually pushing myself to go. Yes, the library was open, and I was there for 2 and a half hours and got down about 3 pages of notes about Scots in Poland. I'd consider that a successful trip. (:

           Coming back on the tram was miserable. lD' I had a horrendous driver, who kept THROWING on the damned brake, so it would jerk horribly, and all sorts of unfun things. However, I was quite shocked by the fact that I got checked on the tram for once! So this is now my third time being checked, first on the tram. Far less than Wrocław still, but I find it really funny it's all been within a week or two, as opposed to evenly spread out.

           Yesterday evening, Monika and I made dinner for us. Monika made the fried potatoes, and I made the meatballs in a sour cream sauce. They said that they were good, but for whatever reason, I honestly wasn't too satisfied with them. Which is certainly a shame, but what can one do? However, afterwards, we also made szarlotka! That's right! We made it! On our own! I used my aunt's recipe (from Gdynia), and had to call her up for some confirmations. But I'd say it turned out quite well. Delicious, in fact. Half of it was gone by today (partially because we need the cake pan again for tomorrow). So I'm glad that worked out! It was the perfect amount of sugar and everything. The rest of the apples we prepped were turned into apple sauce as well, which should be yummy if we try to make potato pancakes soon.

           That was all for yesterday, though. Nothing too exciting, eh? Today, though, the Holocaust class was quite interesting. We finally talked about the rescuers side of the story as opposed to the victims or the perpetrators. We heard many many touching stories, successes and failures. It's absolutely phenomenal what people will do to help others, especially in such a crucial time. Even some anti-Semites were like: Nope. I don't like them, but killing them is not ok. Therefore, when people put aside their dislikes to help the people they would normally discriminate against, well, wow. That says a lot, I'd imagine. Every time I go into that class, it makes me wonder more and more if I really shouldn't just go into Holocaust studies. I know I mentioned it before, so I won't go into too much detail about it this time. Although, I will say this: while looking up the Righteous of the Nations on the Yad Vashem site, I explored the Poland page, curious just in case any of my family might've been a savior of some Jews or something. Oddly enough, I saw the name of my great grandmother: Władysława Piotrowska. Of course, I have a feeling this may be a very very common name, but at the same time, I have a feeling it would be worth looking into. If my mom doesn't know anything, or can't confirm one way or another for sure, I might even just message the center and ask them about it. The likelihoods it is my family, probably slim, but... a curious coincidence, no less!

            After class, went straight back to the apartment and finished up a one-page paper for my Polish class successfully. I hope it was all right... I dunno, I've become a bit more conscious of my written Polish lately. Perhaps that's because I'm actually using it far more often, so now it's becoming an actual issue as opposed to me being like: Hopefully this works, as it's a rarity for me anyways! Nate, Monika, and I wanted to go to the main U Babci Maliny restaurant this afternoon for lunch, but we had barely missed the tram. Instead, we went to a very close by cafe we had noticed, Cafe Forma. We had never been there because go figure, it's close, so why would we use it? :P Really now. The food was absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced! Plus, it's still held me over until now, really, with very few snacks. So I'd say that is a very very good and simple restaurant to go to again! Yeah, I think we wanted to try something new. Hahaha, no more pierogi (well, I wouldn't mind... I never mind!).

           Poland in Europe in the 20th Century... what can I say about it... ... I was very... very... tired... I actually did end up dozing in class a lot, unfortunately. :( I just couldn't keep awake, so I didn't even try to write down notes, simply because my handwriting goes from bad to abysmal when I am tired. It seemed interesting, particularly since we went through the period of "oh, Western allies and USSR are still friends, but wait for it.. waaaait for it, aaaahhhh there we go, the Cold War has BEGUN!" Haha. So from what I remember, it was good. After class, we asked Professor Basista a few questions in regards to our class, particularly about the final exam questions... Bad news... We won't get them until January 11th. What does that mean for me? ... I'll be completing a final in my first and second week of school back at Vandy. Argh. Laugh it up, now, yeah yeah. Frustrating as heck, let me tell you! But what can I do, really? He said he could make a separate set of questions for us, but really, that'd be asking way too much from him, so I guess there is no choice. Vanderbilt's going to have to deal with getting the transcript in February instead, because I have absolutely no control otherwise.

           After class, I had to find a ksero in order to print out my paper for my language class... ... All of the ones I stopped by were closed. So I resorted in hope to go to my language building, where I know there is an expensive ksero, so that I could print it out. I show up, wait in line, and get up there. The guy at the desk points out I had a mistake in my Polish title and that he fixed it for me, and besides that, when it was printed, the woman pointed out another mistake I had made, to which the guy defended me saying: She's just learning after all. Hoorah for understanding! Although... when it came time to pay, I opened my wallet and realized the tiny issue I had. It was 20 grosze (the cent of Poland) for the print. I had 2 grosze total, and my next smallest bill waaaaas... 20 złoty. So the guy sort of laughed and was like: Whatever, don't worry about it. Hoorah!

           Polish class was interesting, again. We learned about capitalization rules in Polish, as yes, they are different from English. They've always confused me in writing, so I'm glad I finally got a few more explanations. We also did an audio exercise, listening to married couples and one father and son argue about all sorts of amusing things, like how the neighbor burned something horribly, therefore she's incompetent in everything, and how the husband should wear a navy suit, because the wife really likes a navy suit on her boss, and other such amusing topics. But really, nothing significant besides that, so I'd say the past few days have been lax, minus the fact I've been quite worried about my school work finally. Time is flying, and I'm just starting to realize it... Oh boy, isn't that a great feeling?

            The evening was also very relaxed. I just spent it working on some school work, Skyping with my dad and then with Bobby, and now, I really should go to bed, cause I'm quite tired, but I should also finish my school work. Oh, productivity. It seems to have left me, unfortunately. Ah well! That'll be fixed soon enough!

A weekend in Libiąż with further family!

                Oh, Friday was interesting, or at least the first part of it was. Ya see, I slept in a bit, a few people left for the weekend to London, and yeah… I just relaxed at home… for the first part. I packed for my weekend, and then, as I’m talking to a friend, I realize, oh crap, my tram to the train station leaves in… 3 minutes. I still had to finish some packing. So I pack, rush out of the apartment, down the stairs, run down part of the street to get closer to the tram stop as I see the tram at the turn before the stop. There’s a red light for the crosswalk. Oh, if only jay-walking were more of a norm in Kraków… Finally, it turns green and I dash my way to the tram. I barely get onto the tram in time, and I continuously look at my watch nervously. I have less than 20 minutes to the train, and I don’t have a ticket (smart, right?). 

                I get off the tram, walk quickly toward the train station, I wonder if I’m going to make it. Keep wondering. I think I have five extra minutes time I really don’t have. I become panicky as I wait in the line for the ATM, because the amount of people waiting for the ticket stands is outrageous. Fine, I decided to buy a ticket on the train, except… I don’t really have money. Crap. Finally, I walk past the sign, grateful that the sign told me the city I need to get to, because it’s actually one of the stop cities for the tram to Oświęcim. (Sheer. Luck.) I see people running, so I start running and looking at my watch. I get to the platform, look at one of the tracks and see it’s not the train I need. Look to the other side after a moment of pause and heartbreak, and I see my train! I RUN toward it, and… the very last door shuts. At that moment, I look up as if beginning hopelessly, and the DOORS OPEN! HOORAH!!!! I hop on the train, doors close, two ladies run up, and the doors open again for them. We’re all panting and laughing with joy that we get onto the train in time, and that the conductor noticed us. You see, we all got on the very last wagon, and they still saw us hoping to get on. 

                Honestly, there is nothing else to say but luck was actually on my side. I walk through the entire train to get to the conductor for my ticket, and he questions why I came on so last minute. But hey, whatever, I’m there, heading to my mom’s brother’s wife’s brother’s house! I’ll say uncle for short. :P I arrive in Trzebinia, and we drive through Chrżanów, a bigger city he sort of wanted to let me glimpse at, to get to his city, Libiąż. We get some pizza since he didn’t have time to make obiad for us, and ya know what. That pizza was really good.

                After we grab the pizza, we head on home, and as we pull up, I get really excited, because I actually recognized it! You see, I was here last time in ’05, during my big trip to Poland all alone. This is one of those places I actually had a clear memory of, but I really never could put an actual connection with it. It was just one of those images I had, but I didn’t know why or where or who, but when we drove up, I immediately recognized it. It was such a wonderful feeling, actually. (: I mean, I completely remember their apartment. My niece, Małgosia, their son, Kacper, and I all watched one of the Spider Man movies together, and we all hung out and what not. (She was 4, he was 8, and I was 13.) So yeah, really, we just relax at home for a while and catch up. His wife comes up, and we catch up as well. We, of course, talk about the comparisons America and Poland. This is quite the normal beginning, or forever conversation topic, haha. But it was really nice, actually. It’s always an interesting conversation.

                However, for the evening, we decided to go swimming! I’m just gonna say, I was far from prepared… Every other weekend, I have taken my swimsuit, but it never came in use. And this weekend, I didn’t! Argh! But Gosia (his wife) lent me one. So we went to the indoor pool in their town! Goodness, it was pretty awesome, though, considering I haven’t swam in forever. So the pool has its normal lanes for swimmers, it has just a chillaxin’ sort of swim pool, it has a friggin’ water slide, which was a ton of fun! It also has Jacuzzis, and then some sort of heavy pressure shower things to give you a wonderful back massage. Really, it was such a fun evening. All I can say is I’m really glad I went, and it made me realize I have a lot more confidence in myself than I once had. So overall, just a wonderful evening. We came home, had dinner, and went to bed, really.

                Btw, they have this absolutely precious dog, Mika. Goodness gracious, she will never quit whining for more food, but she’s too cute. Sometimes, when you stop petting her, she comes over and nudges at your hand to be further spoiled. But aside from that tangent, let’s focus on this Saturday. When we got up and were all ready for the morning, my wujek Wojtek and I headed out to town. He drove around Libiąż and gave me a mini tour of the town. Small town, has about the same population as Maryville, actually, and they have everything that’s needed. It has a coal mine in town, actually. We drove further out, where we visited a Skansen, which is sort of like an old timey settlement, sort of like Cades Cove, actually, but they have all of the buildings faaaar closer together. A lot of the styles of living are actually really similar, and I never really knew that log cabins really were a method of living in Poland. I don’t know why, cause that seems a bit silly in retrospect, but I guess I have grown so used to it as being the “American old settler” life style or whatever, that it was a bit different to see it in Poland. Oh! One of the log cabins had a ton of paraphernalia from religious beliefs, such as Poland’s old paganism, which was still active even in the 1800s, evidently. The house was half pagan stuff, and half Catholic. Really interesting mix, and actually something I’ve never really learned about Poland. I’ll have to look into Poland’s pre-Catholic beliefs at some point.

                 In this skansen, there was a wooden church from ohh, I don’t know when. It couldn’t be too old if it’s still standing, but it was beautifully designed. I noticed they actually used a lot of blue for the buildings and their statues or bee hives, which I found quite odd. I don’t know, I never really considered such log cabin style settlements to have blue in their choice of paints. Also silly, but it’s one of those things I’ve never run into. The interior of the church was very very pretty, although, no good pictures from it unfortunately.

                We also went to a szlachta’s house. Basically, upper class house from the late 1800s, early 1900s, and yes, it had the same style like many American houses. Or it’s more likely that the American houses had the same style as it. Regardless, it was rather nice walking through such a different atmosphere in Poland. For instance, we could’ve gone to visit the ruins of a castle, but it required a bit of a climb, and I had the most inappropriate shoes on for such a climb (oh, Birkenstocks…).

                Instead, we headed onto another place, where there was a dinosaur themepark, with those big, life-sized dinosaur models all around the park and move! Yes, this was my uncle's suggestion. Yes... it is more for kids. I don't care. I LOVED the idea. Unfortunately, when we drove up, we realized it was closed. Damn you end of season, no tourists time. Instead, we drove around the back to walk to the river a bit instead. It was a pleasant little walk, actually. The river landscape was gorgeous, despite how low it was. All of the rocks on the shore was amazing, and in fact, as you walked, you sort of sunk in the sandy/rocky terrain. Super cool. But that's when we decided to head back home. We had a nice obiad at home and chillaxed there for a while. Ya know, great for lots of conversations and what not. Plus I was a bit tired. Although, eventually we headed out again.

                We drove to Katowice, which I've never been to. We left around 5, and it was pitch black. But yes, we drove there so that Kacper, their son, could find some boxing gloves he needed. We went into one sportsy store, very expensive, and while Gosia and I are waiting, we sit down in front of the tennis shoes. We're chatting a bit when I realize that there is a pair of tennis shoes in front of me for 19.99. Złoty. My friends. That is less than 7 dollars. I mean, they were the store brand, but what was even more mind blowing? They had my size. 35! (Being a 5 in the States.) They had my size, for such a wonderful deal, oh goodness gracious, I'd be damned if I didn't get them. My last true tennis shoes are from at least the end of 7th grade, if not even earlier... (Yes, I never grow. Shut up.)

                So we walked out of the store. I had a pair of new shoes, and Kacper had nothing. Instead, we drove to the mall. Now, here I will just say this. When Poland does something, they do it right. They go all the way. None of this half-assery stuff. I have been in many malls in Poland, and all of them have been at least two levels, if not three, ginormous, loaded with options, beautifully designed, inside and outside. In fact, as we pulled up to this mall, I was a bit confused and wondered if it was a stadium. Honestly. Absolutely magnificent. Plus, the Christmas lights were up, inside and out. What's even more mind-blowing? Their halls had street names. Oh, that's right. So if you get lost, or need to find a store, you just look at what street it is on. None of this: It's supposedly in this sector A, but god knows if we are in sector A without a map. It's absolutely GENIUS! 

                 In the mall, Kacper managed to get his gloves. I also managed to get some ice cream: raspberry and hazelnut, if I remember correctly. And that's when his parents went to Tesco to take care of some things, and Kacper and I sat in the food court, waiting. Honestly, it was a little awkward. The last time we saw each other was when he was 8. Now he's 15, and I can't blame him for being a bit shy and awkward. His dad even admitted he's likely a bit embarrassed, because it's just a weird age and time gap, really. We talked a bit. He's into sports, and I managed to talk to him about programming for a bit. Hoorah for being a computer nerd!!! Although, that's when his parents came back, and that's when we got... KFC. First time I have EVER had KFC... And if it was like it was here, in Poland... then I don't want to try it in the States... It was overly spiced and greasy... (Yes, unAmerican, I am. First time to have KFC ever was in Poland, and I dislike it. Ohhhhh, how horrible I am.) 

                 From there, though, we headed on home, again. Because we ate at the mall, we really didn't have a kolacje and just watched some TV and talked for a bit. I ended up staying up a bit later to finish watching some American movie which I don't even know the title of in Polish or in English. I just watched it; it was a chick flick, and rather good, actually. Although, after waking up from an incredibly bizarre dream this morning, I've determined I should not watch any sort of movie before I go to sleep. Really. 

                 This morning was relaxing. We just sat around and watched the winter sports, Cross Country World Cup. Poland didn't do so well... Norway bombed everyone, though. Seriously. I'm not surprised, but they pwned. That was it for the morning. Eventually, Wojtek drove me to the train station, where I hopped onto the train to Kraków, bought my ticket, and took it back to the city. Really, I greatly enjoyed my weekend. It was relaxing, but very nice and refreshing. 

                I came back to Kraków in the early afternoon, and I didn't hang out in the apartment too much before we went out to meet up with our Resident Director. He just got back from the States! He loved his visit; he was there for two weeks, and yeah. He's probably going to go back at some point. I'm just glad he enjoyed it. It was just Monika, Nate, and I, because the others were gone for the weekend. We went to MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków. ... I'm just going to say that these kind of museums make me wonder what in the world defines art... Whenever you can throw paint onto a canvas, and that is classified as art, and you make god-knows how much money on it, wellllll, I'll be honest, that hurts me. I draw a lot, I enjoy art, I've sculpted, all sorts of things. It physically hurts me and makes me wonder why can certain doodles make it, and others can't? If they're literally just doodles, then why... why do they make it? But alas, it's nothing I can change. The first half of the museum greatly saddened me. It was all sorts of weird pictures, of a man putting a bass over his penis, tearing himself apart, imitating self-harm in the most awkward ways, mutilating a dead lamb, and then lots of fish, or a chicken... ... Damnit, that could've been used as food for someone! That all could've fed some people. Instead, it was wasted. And that's art. The second half was indeed far more satisfying. Not the entire thing, but a lot of it.  

                When we were all done, we went back to the apartment, said good bye with our RD, and then prepped a frozen pizza. It was quite yummy, actually; had a great variety of tastes. We had some ice cream as well, summer fruits, and then Monika and Nate kept trying to get me to have shots. At this point, everyone's convinced to try and (with consent) get me drunk, to see how I act. I won't allow it, of course, but it'll be an ongoing joke and serious attempt. Somehow, it's always me that ends up being labeled the drunk... they joked I always had a flask on me and everything. I most certainly don't mind, but I find it absolutely amusing. I understand why, as well, considering I'm so adamantly opposed to drinking myself, but don't mind others, and in fact, sometimes encourage others.

                So that was it for the day. The rest of the evening, I ended up Skyping with Bianca for the first time in forever, with Frances, and catching up with friends. It was really really nice, actually. Although, it's nearly 4, and I honestly should go to bed. So, dobra noc!  

Wow, inventive cooking!!!

           So I left off mid-day Tuesday, is that right? Right before Gosia, Kasia, Monika, Nate, and I headed on to the pierogarnia for some delicious weekly pierogi! :D I grabbed some with meat and cabbage. They were quite filling. Oh, and I ate the apple ones that Gosia ended up not liking, so it was like a trade. I most definitely had no problem with that. Bwahaha. But yes, went to history class. In history class, I figured out something quite amusing! You see, there's a guy in my Polish language class, Kuba, and he's also in my history and Holocaust classes. He's Canadian, so his native language is English, just like it's mine, yet... every time we see each other, we strike up a conversation immediately in Polish. No questions asked, just... talk in Polish. It's actually really nice, but at the same time a bit on the odd side, considering it's not our first language. xD So that was just a weird little observation I made in the day...

           Our class was a continuation of World War II, which I always find interesting. I'm learning more and more about that time period. And ya know something? With my Holocaust class, and with this class, and with most of my life, I keep on realizing how deeply moving the Holocaust is for me, and how I constantly return to it, and how it's just something I really want to keep learning about. It keeps on making me think, why don't I dedicate the rest of my studies to the Holocaust? There's still so much to uncover. And honestly, I'd probably focus on some of the other minorities. Those that people seem to forget in the numbers. Everyone remembers 6 million, few remember the other 5 million, though... Perhaps that's selfish of me to say, hey look at the other people who died, whenever the Jews were the ones put into Ghettos and had to wear stars, but... honestly if Hitler had his way, once the Jews ran out (obviously from his perspective), he'd pick another group to specifically dehumanize.

           But... let's move onto something not as depressing. ^^; During that hour after class, I had to find my displaced class for Polish language. Yeah, due to some event going on that evening, we had class in another building. Once again, finding classes and offices in Jagiellonian is an adventure in itself. Again, I walked into the wrong building, looked around, saw nothing of the number I needed, asked someone for helped before going to the next door over on the street. In my defense, they weren't numbered... We had our first quiz, though! Annnnd, I got a 10 out of 10! Boom! Besides that, we had to write a sort of argumentative essay on traveling, which was interesting. I just hope I understood everything correctly. lD'

            From there, I walked back to the tram stop with one of my classmates. It was really sweet, because she made sure I got to the tram stop and tried to tell me to go inside to not freeze, and everything. Just very concerned for my well-being. (: I ran into Kasia and Michelle on the tram, and we planned out a dinner. Which, actually, I'm super proud of. I actually planned it out, without using a recipe. We used some of the frozen lecho that Michelle had, put in some more fresh veggies (tomato, bell pepper, and onion) to make enough for the six of us, fried up some shredded chicken, put in some garlic powder and sweet pepper powder and black pepper, and made some pasta. Voila. Dinner was served. And for once, all six of us sat down and had dinner. It was soooo nice! It was really enjoyable as well, as we exchanged amusing stories and laughed and had a good time. Group dinner was great. Super glad that it actually worked out. ^^

           Wednesday was fun as well. History continued discussing World War II. In it, our professor shot a joke at America about the vice president and how they're useless until the president dies, and how it's like a beauty contest. xD The best VP, he said, would be a black Jewish woman. Baahahah. And all of us American's were like: YUP. Plus Hispanic. Then you've got a sure fire way to win! But really. I love our prof. He's hilarious. As is my Secularization professor. Hysterical, and awesome. Secularization was interesting too. We actually talked about Amurika. Particularly about Evangelicals, Pentecostals, annnnnd mega churches. We also watched a video of a mega-church preacher, to which everyone in the room called as a bluff and said he'd be great in Hollywood. xD Yeah, at the beginning of the video, Stan (our professor) introduced it as coming from Texas, part of the South, and promptly said, "Sorry, Nell. I know how you feel about the South."

            The afternoon was a fun one as well! Came home, and then Monika, Nate, and I headed out to do some groceries... Finally... We actually hate a late lunch in the food court; I grabbed something from Polski Smaki, a self-serve Polish fast food thing. The potato pancakes were fried in fish oil, so I couldn't end up finishing them, cause... fish and I just don't get along... But groceries, got 'em done and went back home! Oh! And on the way home, we got carded on the bus!!! MY GOODNESS! This was my second time to get carded in Kraków on public transport! My first time was last Wednesday! So now, I know, Wednesday's are bad. And on buses. What the heck? You see, this is a big deal. In Wrocław, I can't remember the number of ticket and card checks they had, and none of which were on the buses. Yet, here in Kraków, it took a full month and a half to get one. But now there's two on the list. Oooooooo~~~~ Shiny.

           That evening's dinner was a genius plan by Nate, actually. We had super soggy left-over pasta, so he said: Hey! Let's throw some cheese into it. Along with bell peppers! And the Monika added the idea of onions and dried basil. And we had a Polish folded over chicken, with butter on the inside. ... This dinner was honestly phenomenal. The pasta. Goodness gracious. The tastes were soooo intense and flavorful and wonderful! I dunno, I haven't spazzed out so much over such a meal before. It was really impressive. And I was very glad that we had that for dinner.

            This morning, I finally said, screw it, I'm letting myself sleep in. I needed it. And it felt wonderful. I just relaxed and worked on some things before heading to class. I was nearly late too, which would've been quite bizarre, cause for this class I usually get there waaaay too early! Today was nice in class, as I actually felt alert and good tell that my notes were quite improved from normal. Sleep. It does wonders. The workshop part of the class was all right. We spent alll of our time on only one ethnic group instead of two. But eh! Whatever! Afterwards, I grabbed a Kebab (when I really should've just stuck with a zapiekanka) and headed to the post office to send out some more postcards. I know, it's never ending, right? :P Haha, one of these days I will be done. (But no, really, they're a lot of fun, and I don't mind!)

            Besides that fun moment, I just waited a bit before class at the library. Class was quite interesting! We started with a debate over the phrase "Podróży kształcą." Travels educate. One side was on the yes and the other on the no. I was fortunate and had yes, and the no side really agreed with all of our arguments. So that was a wonderfully interesting way to start class. Of course, we went off on a tangent, about intelligence particularly. I really love this class, though, now. Our teacher gives us wonderfully interesting topics and makes us think and work, and I've never really had such a wonderful environment like this. We work on grammar and then just normal talk. It's a very healthy mix for language, I'd say. We ended the class with an optimistic sort of exercise which related to some grammar stuff, and we talked about how we are grateful for annoying things and why. Such as: I am grateful for my blurry Skype video, because it means I have internet and can keep in touch with family and friends. Or I am grateful for late trains, because it means I have an option for traveling... ... They all laughed at that! I mean, I found it amusing too, so really no issue, haha, but I sort of have to wonder if they laughed because of how annoying the trains can get. For me, it really is amazing. Public transport in the States? Where I live at least? Pfffft. You're joking right? So yeah, huge amount of gratitude for that option. <3

            Then I came home. Voila. My day! And tomorrow I am heading out to my aunt's brother's family's place! I'm excited, as I haven't seen them since I met them in '05 while traveling Poland on my own! So here's to an enjoyable weekend! I hope all of you are enjoying your own lives. <3 (Why do I feel like I've left out a lot? ... Ah well!)

Just sit back, relax, and enjoy life.

           Whoops! Time keeps on flying faster and faster, which is disheartening and quite unbelievable... However, let's return to how my Saturday went by! (: Quite wonderfully, actually, hehe. So my aunt and I started the morning by going to my grandmother's grave in Gdynia. This must've been only the second or third time I've been to it. But I lit up a few candles for her. The frost was beginning to bother the flowers. Oh yes, this weekend was one of frost every night. Waking up to see the frost covering the fields by my aunt's house? Absolutely gorgeous. Particularly while it was covered in a fog as well. It was just a very calming effect, in my opinion. We left the cemetery rather quickly and returned home in order to have a delicious obiad.

           My aunt really does know how to cook. Arrrgh, so goood! Of course, tomato soup always makes me happy, and I don't even remember what else we had except for the fact it was wonderfully delicious. (: But time flew by in that short break as well, cause soon enough, we drove back out to town in order to go see our movie! We got to the building the theatre is in, and there I ended up getting a CD by Zakopower, a wonderful Polish group that I essentially woke up to every morning while in Wrocław. Their latest hit, "Boso," would be played every morning, and I really learned to love their style. Super glad I got the CD as well, because it really has a great selection of music by them. <3

           Then... we went and watched Listy do M. Letters to Santa, M, standing Mikołaj, and yes... Oh goodness...!!!! What a wonderful movie! Honestly, best romantic comedy I've seen in a while, and the actors were all absolutely phenomenal! The movie all takes place on the day of Wigilia, and it just looks at about five different family situations, and wow... I really really loved it. Although, it was the saddest comedy I've seen as well. There were multiple parts where I was ready to cry. Therefore, when it comes out on DVD, I want it, and I will spam all of my friends with messages of how we must all see it (with... English subtitles of course). The end. Really. Just such a wonderful Christmas movie all in all. <3 I might go see it again with Monika as well, as she was the one who informed me of it. Actually, it was incredibly advertised as well, but all of the advertisements did not lead to a disappointment. I left the theatre in absolute bliss and feeling really calm. This season is my favorite time of year, because suddenly, the world grows calmer, and these kind of movies really do help that. <3 Some Christmas decorations were already up in Gdynia as well, so I can only imagine what it'll be like when we actually spend a few days there!

           Although, when we left the theatre, it was all ready dark. My aunt and I headed home and met up with one of her friends, Ula, and we just all had some szarlotka and tea together while just talking about all sorts of stuff. Ula tried to remind me that Poland is not all wonderful, and that it has its problems as well, and a lot of the same problems exist in the US, I noted, but I still feel better here. We also talked a lot about Gabrysia's wedding (my cousin), because that was the only time I had really met Ula, and she still remembered me. (I was 8, so no, I did not remember her.) We even looked at an album from the wedding! Which was so long ago. Goodness gracious, I honestly can't believe it's been over 11 years now... Absolute insanity!

           But yes, I tried some Metaxa as well, which is a kind of alcohol, and once again, it proved to me, I still dislike alcohol. Therefore, yes, I am trying many many drinks, and I can confidently say, I really really, no, honestly, dislike the taste of alcohol. The. End. Eventually, Asia, Ula's daughter, came to join as well, and we talked briefly, but then they headed home.

            For the evening, I Skyped with the Muffins back at Vandyland. It was amazing, because a lot more people were there than normal! Good times will most certainly be had when I return, though...

           But onto Sunday! Sunday morning, we headed out to town again to figure out when the hell I am getting on a train. We had a lot of options. I could take an earlier train that would get me in Kraków at 8 am, but with a "layover," and then a later train that would get me in Kraków just 20 minutes after 11, again with a layover, and then the direct train, which was later as well, which would get me back here past 12. Due to my family's worries, I chose the later one which would be a direct journey. That, and I figured my plans for Monday (going to the ghetto with my friends and the Canadian girl) could work out. Of course, it didn't help that the girl (who doesn't live with us) messaged me just that morning trying to figure things out, and furthermore, told me in that email she has class from 1:30 through the rest of the day, essentially, well... it just further complicated things, because I was getting back late, and I didn't know how everyone back here would plan everything. Just a bit aggravating that it was so last-minute, I guess, because we couldn't really plan without having information on everyone's plans.

           Regardless! I got a sleeper, bedroom sort of ticket, and we went to the Galeria where we went last year, to the same store where I got a ton of my clothing while I was here last year, Reserved. They really do have a wonderful style, in my opinion. I can actually find modest things. In fact, I got a sweater dress! I really never suspected I'd get one, but it was really cute and looked good, so hoorah for more clothes!

           We also ended up getting some ice cream in the mall. I tried almond and raspberry. The raspberry was wonderful, as it had actual chunks of fresh raspberry in it, which always gives it that extra zing of awesomeness. The almond was not what I expected, but all right. Then we went home and relaxed the rest of the evening, really. Of course, we had obiad, but nothing else truly significant happened. I got to Skype with Bobby again for a good while, as well as with my cousin in Germany and her family. It was just a nice, relaxing end of the weekend. I watched a bit of Poland's Dancing with the Stars with my aunt, and these are at the semi-finals or quarter-finals, and they were wonderful. One of the stars actually was one of the actors in Listy do M. She... was actually the one who didn't get enough votes to go on, either, which made me sad. As that was ending, we packed up my stuff (including a huge sack of food from my aunt; I swear, while in Poland, I will never go hungry), and took it to the car. Ah yes, I also got a radio for my room, so it isn't as quiet in here anymore!!! :D It's really nice. But yeah, we went to the train station, we waited, the train was delayed, per usual, and my aunt and I said our interrupted good byes, as the person in charge of my wagon had to rush her off because the train might've left with her on it, which would not be ok... He also took my ID card and my ticket, which confused me greatly, as he didn't return them, but my aunt cleared up that I would get them back in the morning as I was getting off the train. Which certainly makes sense! In fact, the man would wake people up before their stop, so that way, you get to sleep without worrying about missing your stop.

           I had the very top bed in my cabin. Three beds. Yes, there was a ladder, but it really wasn't an issue to climb onto. It was actually quite nice to lay down, have sheets and a pillow and what not for the night train. The top bunk is most definitely not for those claustrophobic, afraid of heights, or tall in general, but hey! I got to sleep! (: Rather comfortably! And the next morning, around 6, both of my fellow cabin mates left, and I had the room to myself. I tried to get some more sleep, ate some of the food my aunt packed me, and studied a bit. It's quite the closed-up space, and it's hard to really just... sit and study, or read or anything. Needless to say, it was a very interesting experience! The ladies got upset at me when I climbed up to the top bed and didn't close the door... How was I to know? I was still confused about my ID! But yeah, it all worked out.

            I was well-rested, had to somehow drag all of my stuff back to the apartment (really, no problem), and yesterday was another laid back day. (: Monika and I had some of the food my aunt gave me for lunch, and we chatted about our weekends, and we all just hung out, really. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe here, as well! I ordered a California Burger, which was delicious, and I couldn't eat it without a fork and knife. Although, the buns here in Poland. So. Much. Better. They are just fresh and delicious. I don't know. It doesn't feel as, oh I can't describe. I was just very happy with my choice, and we all caught up on our weekends and planned out some other fun things.

           Nate came back later from London than he expected, so while he was the main instigator for Hard Rock, he missed it. But, we'll all go again! Really, relaxing evening yet again, stayed up later than I should've, got up for class this morning, and went to my Holocaust class. We talked about the perpetrators of the Holocaust today, which was quite interesting. It was about how people viewed Germans as all evil, and how the USSR said all the good Germans were in East Germany, and how people who didn't try to help were also the perpetrators, and just... a lot of difficult things to discuss, to be honest. Every country trying to leave the war as a hero, and not as a villain, even though every country obviously had its good and bad.

            And now here I am! Waiting for my next class so we can all get pierogi beforehand. My days feel like they're getting shorter and shorter, and I feel as though I'm finding less and less time to do everything... This weekend, I had a few realizations, such as how I want to go to at least 5 different places and really only have 3 free weekends to do so. So, that's going to be fun to figure out! But for now, it's time for a nap or some productivity. We'll see what wins!

Have you ever taken a 15-hour train ride?

           Soooo, for those of you wondering where the heck I've been... Well, I couldn't write up my blog yesterday because I had to rush from my Polish language course to the train station... But I'll explain more of that later! :D Because for now, I need to recall Wednesday. Yes... It was nice. I woke up super early after going to bed super early, and I actually felt quite well-rested. (When I say super early, I mean 7... ... and 22.00... yeah...) But! History was quite interesting. We just went more into the logistics behind World War II, and how Russia, despite all of Stalin's crimes, kept on getting the support of the allies in order to defeat Hitler... And sort of realizing how different the world could be if just a few things were different. Then Secularization was interesting as well. The presentations were particularly interesting, actually! We had one on secularization in Germany and then also in... oh... Croatia! It's amazing how much each country differs in its approach to religion, and how every country essentially says that it will not estbalish a religion. I really liked Germany's way of handling religion. They (the state) do not associate with any religion, but they give equal help to every single religion established in Germany. ... Super nifty! Seriously, what an awesome way to solve the bickering between religions!

           ... Tangent: None of my aunts will ever believe I am not cold... Ever... I am in short-sleeves right now, and it's below freezing outside, therefore, my aunt just gave me a... szlafrok. ... Um... I... can't think of the word in English. But yes! Something to keep me warm. >> I wonder what it will take to convince people I'm not a cold-natured person (like my mom)...

           But! Back to focus! After classes, I headed home to do some research on books I need to check out, which resulted in me saying: Screw it. Polish libraries are a pain to deal with. They still work on the stack system instead of permitting students to go grab the books on their own. Plus, the smaller libraries wouldn't even let me check out any of their books because I'm "not a student" of their departments. Aka, it's super aggravating. So, instead, Monika, Nate, and I headed to the train station where I bought a ticket for Gdynia, and then to Carrefour for some groceries. Monika had to leave quickly for class, but Nate and I stuck around for some ice cream from the 4D cafe which is in the Galeria Krakowska. Yes, per usual, delicious. I had two flavors: summer fruits and coconut. Yum.

           Ah, I remembered something else interesting! It came up at dinner Wednesday. So, the hockey game we went to? Super sexist. Against men. As are some clubs. Why? The hockey game cost 1 złoty for women and children to enter, but 10 złoty for men. Meanwhile, a club we went to while the Budapest kids were here (long ago) cost 15 złoty (I think) for men, and it was free for women... ... Yuuuuup. Look at the sexism! It's hilarious because it's reversed! But no, not really. That's actually quite sad, and a bit aggravating. If people have to pay, they should pay the same amount. The only differences should be thanks to age. Not... gender... Alas, can't do anything about it!

           Wednesday's dinner was quite delicious and took forever to get together. We made chicken curry with rice! It came out quite well, actually. Plus we had a relaxing evening just chatting. Hahah, and actually, before dinner and before everyone came home, someone tried to get into our apartment to visit Gosia... ... I had no clue he was coming, so when he rang our apartment, I was like: Nope... don't know you. Sorry, wrong number. ... And then I felt horrible because it was the right number and he was meeting up with Gosia... So it was honestly a bit awkward whenever I let him in and we just sat and chatted while waiting for Gosia, because I so blatantly denied him entrance to our apartment without really questioning who he was trying to call. Oh well. Lesson learned!

           Thursday morning, I actually started working on some of my class work, such as essays and a presentation. I'm still super nervous about how this presentation will turn out for my Polish ethnic history course... But my professor really does seem to understand Polish isn't my first language, and that's just... an absolute relief. Again, I lucked out in finding this course with such a nice professor. In fact, it was in our workshop lesson which I grew to appreciate him even more, because it's a nightmare to try and listen to the speedy gonzalez presentations by fellow classmates. They zoom by and speak on the quiet, sort of slurred side, and that's just... not useful for me. Before heading to class, I tried to go switch out my train ticket for a sleeper, as I decided to go cheap the day before. Unfortunately, they had run out of places... ... But at least I now know what to expect when buying a sleeper next time! :D Experience is always useful.

           I took everything with me for the train to class so that I didn't have to stress myself out by going back to the apartment. After my Polish ethnic class, I went to a good student dining hall, reasonable prices and good food, and ordered some potato pancakes before heading onto my Polish language course... When I left the hall, it was pitch black (not even 18.00), absolutely quiet, and I was one of three people in the hall. Suddenly, I felt very... alone... Like in a movie, or something. Not necessarily bad, but... It was me time. I was walking on my way to class, on my own, after eating, on my own, and I was going to head to Gdynia that night, on my own. I don't know, it was a bit of reality, I think. I realized how independent I truly am, as it didn't bother me at all, and it was a refreshing sort of walk to go back to the tram stop... A very powerful moment, really... But yes... I eventually got to my course building, and had to wait a while. While waiting, I finished a lot of postcards. Hoorah! I'll be sending out another batch rather soon! :D I also have to see who else I need to write to...

           In Polish language class, my teacher actually complimented me! We had to speak in Polish for 1 to 3 minutes without any prompting from her, because she noticed that a lot of us didn't really talk a lot without questions. Everyone else stumbled through, trying to figure out what to say, and I just blabbed on and on about the importance of information in my life, so she told me I did a great job. First compliment yet! I still have mixed feelings about my professor. It's an enjoyable class, nonetheless, though. For example: we had to write news articles given two pictures. My group had a plane flying in front of a moon, and then what looked like a small tornado against a red sky... ... So we wrote about how a plane flying to the moon got lost and landed on Mars. ... Yup. And then, we played bingo!

           But unfortunately, I had to leave 30 minutes early so that I could catch a tram. Ya see, my train was at 21.14. Class ended at 21.00. The first tram to the train stop after class was at 21.04, and I really don't trust myself in walking. So I left early, got to the station on time, got into a wagon with a nice couple and, lo and behold, the person who sat in front of me said hi!

           ... I had no clue who he was. But then he said he's in Secularization with me! Super cool! He was heading to Malbork for the weekend. I found out he was Czech, and that the Czech language is more difficult than Polish, actually. Funny enough, we talked about some of the most controversial things you really aren't supposed to talk about when you meet people: politics. Hahaha. But it was quite enjoyable, to be honest. We had a lot of meaningful, in depth conversations, and of course, per usual, comparisons of the US to Europe, of education, politics, the way politics can mean other sorts of politics in English (not just politicans, but like... politics in schools for examples), which he had no encountered. He was shocked when I said: I want to leave the US. I don't like living there. I'm proud, but... my ideas of fixing the problems would piss too many people off, so Imma just leave. He came to the conclusion I am very different... ... Which I concluded I am incredibly weird long ago!

           But yeah, it was super nice. (: After a while, though, I laid down (since I had room) to rest. Eventually, I had to sit and do the 'lean head against window' thing, but ya know what... I actually managed to get some sleep. Ahhhh! I forgot to mention. This was a 15 hour train ride. Yup. Starting one stop before the main train station in Kraków, and ending in the main station in Gdynia. We stood in two separate places for an hour so that they could attach wagons. I was fortunate in that my cabin was full of nice people, actually, even when it was full. In fact, they stood strong to keep a creeper from sitting in the one spare spot left (the girl had stretched her legs out, so, yay excuses!). But yeah, I managed to sleep... I mean, I had a million cricks in every part of my body, but I slept. And snacked. And listened to my iPod (go gasp. I actually used my iPod!). I'm really hoping I'll have a sleeper for the ride back, though, to be honest. It should be more comfortable.

           The weird sleep might account for how... scattered this blog entry may seem. I feel coherent, but I'm sure my tired subconscious highly disagrees. Anyways, I slept comfortably, knowing my train wouldn't get there until noon, so I wouldn't have to panic about missing my stop, and also knowing my stop was the very last stop. When I got there, I saw my aunt on the platform, and we walked back to her car to go home. She made a wonderful obiad! In fact, she gave me a Polish dish I had never had before: wołowinka. Basically, onion, bacon, and pickle, wrapped in pork. Yes, it was delicious. And the szarlotka she made was delicious as well. Oh, no surprise. ... Goodness, Wigilia is going to be delicious! Yeah. My aunt can cook really well.

           I relaxed a bit at home and tried to figure out what train I want to take back to Kraków Sunday. We... still haven't quite decided, but after a while, we headed back to town, decided to go buy tickets for the Polish romantic comedy Listy do M for tomorrow, particularly since they were sold out today, and then we took a walk by the harbor.

           The moon was gorgeous tonight. Full moon, shining bright, and its reflection on the ocean water was magnificent. Honestly. I once again felt at total peace. My aunt and I just took a nice walk, a lot of old memories went by as we walked by the harbor, from last year and from earlier... I considered what other Polish paraphernalia I want to buy for my pride, and I also thought about presents and my friends, and family.

           Oh! Speaking of family! I have a brand new nephew!!! My cousin, Agnieszka, had her third child this Monday, actually! His name is Patrick! :) I really hope I can see a picture of him, soon. It's amazing how many things are happening while I'm in Poland, to be honest. I suddenly feel so much more connected to my family, being so close, keeping in touch, just... everything. It's such a wonderful feeling, and I'm going to try my hardest not to lose that contact when I go back to the States. I've developed it far too much to let it fall back now.

           But yeah... my aunt asked me if I remembered much from the city they used to live in, Hel (no joke). Ya know what... I was tiny, then. Maybe 5. But I do remember! I remember cotton candy, and always wanting it, and gofry, and always wanting them. I actually have a specific memory at a gofry stand, waiting for my blueberry gofra. Ah! I also remember getting ice cream, and then getting sick because it was too cold for ice cream. And the sea lion aquarium, which at that time was quite pathetic (it's beautiful now; I went last year). I remember its concrete, unpleasant setup, but still being in awe by the beautiful creatures. Also probably a bit sad for them. Oh what else did I remember... Ah, and the jewelry shops! Lots of little sterling silver stands... She was impressed by my memories. Yeah, they're all rather disconnected and specific, but they're there...

           When we came home, I finally got to Skype with Sam (from Florida)!!!! Dear goodness. We had not talked in FAR too long. >( But, I was super happy to talk to her! Also Skyped with my mom, and found out my dad was in Orlando. xDD Hahaha, that's actually how I talked to Sam. I told my mom to tell my dad to tell Sam to get on. ... Rather intense, eh? But really. Skype. It's amazing how much its changed the world and permitted all of us to stay super connected. I will never stop appreciating its marvel. <3

           That is my update, though! Tomorrow should be a fun day. (: Hah, I likely forgot quite a bit, but whatever! I'm just glad I got to Gdynia and get to hang out with my aunt!

           Note: Today is Poland's Independence Day!!! <3 November 11th is the day recognized when the Second Polish Republic was formed, in 1918, after being partitioned for 123 years. Because Poles are stubborn and will never give up their country! But really. It was super cool to see the huge amount of Polish flags everywhere. Normally, you just see the official government flags out, but today (and yesterday), normal citizens hung out their own as well. I guess I'll end with: I'm super proud to be Polish, so thank goodness we have our own country. <3 Despite others constantly trying to tear us down!

Weekends always should be this eventful.

           Oh boy xD Sunday night was amusing, to say the least. (: So! After a while, Nate, Kasia, and I head for the soccer game, right? Well, we find our way there, walk to the stadium, notice how many lines of people there are, how pretty the stadium is, and also the amount of police and riot squads prepared for the game. Mind you, Kraków Wisła and Cracovia are huge rivals in Kraków. As in. Hooligans have essentially sworn their lives to defending both teams. So they meet up for knife fights and what not. Oh, no worries! The stadiums and games themselves are holy grounds, so no fighting there, but still. Just to give you an idea of what the turn out should be.

           Needless to say, that was the turn out indeed. People after people after people in multiple lines, going to the parking lot. We, however, had no tickets. We approach the ticket stand and I read, "Brak biletów." ... Out of tickets... ... Ohhhhh, boy. So I wait in line to make sure it's what we think, and I hear the lady telling other people there are no tickets left. Well... Duh. How dumb were we?! Seriously. Biggest rivalry of the season. Biggest game. Of the season. Families of all sorts gathering for the festivities. And here we are, trying to get into the game without having reserved tickets. Brilliant, right? :D Hahahah, but it was just amusing. And honestly, I was grateful for it, because that meant we wouldn't be like chickens running around without our heads, going from one stadium to the next to the bar, and just... it helped calm the evening down a bit. We headed back to the square and stopped by some little coffee shop, where I had a gofra with nuts on it. It was rather dry, so now I know I have to have some sort of fruit to make it absolutely phenomenal as opposed to pretty awesome.

           Then we headed back. Only to head back out again for the hockey game!!! Oh goodness. Let me tell you. Being with Kasia for a hockey game is quite wise. She explained every. Little. Detail. Well, it's her life, quite literally, so I definitely appreciated it! Apparently, the game play in Poland is a bit different as well. No surprise there! Although, Cracovia, our team, won! Wooooo!!!!! It was quite the exciting game, actually. Or at least I thought so. Oh! At the beginning of the game, the puck flew out of the ice rink. Five feet away from Nate, actually! So he ran to get it, but then... there was a kid going after it as well... ... So he gave it to the kid, of course. Which was the right and best thing to do! (: The crowd was tiny, as there had really been no one to come root on the away team. Although, the teams seemed friendly to each other. Not a single fight broke out. And this is hockey. The fans were wonderful, with their chants and what not. "Hej, hej, Cra-cov-ia!" Much fun! Hm, I can't think of anything else significant, though. It took a little over two hours, but it went by quickly except for the intermissions.


           We headed on to Alchemia afterwards, and the entire area was incredibly peaceful, so we had no reason to be concerned about rowdy losing fans. Speaking of which, the soccer game was one by Cracovia for the first time in at least 2 years. Cracovia is the last in the league, while Wisła is I think... number 4? So yeah. HUGE deal for them. But it was still calm! Alchemia was really nice; I learned they had an outdoor area which has space heaters for the evenings. It's a shame we came too late to take advantage of it. :c But instead, I grabbed a Zapiekanka with salami. Yes, it was delicious, and we chilled in the bar for a little bit. Nothing too special, really. Eventually, we grabbed a cab home.


           Two significant things happened in this cab: a) the driver asked me, "Czy jestesz Polką?" Translated: "Are you a Pole?" and my immediate answer was yes. Well, guys. We've all known this for a while, but it was just... far more natural for me to answer yes than to explain I'm an American. I don't... feel like an American. I understand the culture, and it most certainly did shape me to become who I am today, but... I am far more Polish than most people probably like. Ah well... But the second thing was actually that we found out about the collapse of a stairwell in Kraków. Actually, it was the collapse of the stairwell leading to Łubu Dubu. Yes. The club we went to on Saturday night. It collapsed about an hour and a half after we left, 11 people were injured, and they had to evacuate 2000 people from the building, which hosted 3 clubs. The driver informed me that the building was really old, and I also later learned that the clubs were running for 2 years without paperwork... Unfortunately, now the club is closed, due to obvious reasons. So, in a way, we lucked out that we went to it before it was shut down, even though we learned it was the best club in town, essentially. However, far more fortunate than that was the fact that we left the club as early as we did; therefore, none of us were hurt. Yeah... Good timing.


           That was the end of that night, though. The next day, aka, yesterday, was Nate's birthday! I helped him make his cake, Tort Krakowski. A delicious sort of crumble cake, with a raspberry jam and some sort of egg whites spread on time. It turned out really well, actually! Besides that, I did nothing particularly exciting. No. Really. It was my day in the apartment. :D

           Example: I Skyped with Cody and Bryce. That was awesome. Then I just chilled around until we had dinner. Maggie made this wonderful turkey pancake like thing, which was delicious, mashed potatoes, and veggies. We had Nate's cake, and a cake Monika bought for his birthday. Oh yes! Monika came back from family, finally! ^_^ So she invited me earlier (while Skyping with Bryce), to eat some of the soup at her place she had just made. Per usual, delicious. Hahaha. Hmm, but yes, back to birthday celebrations. We also did some cheers. Sang Happy Birthday and Sto Lat, of course. I drank half a shot of vodka, in order to not get struck by lightning. Apparently, my face was hilarious, and in fact it looked like I was about to spit it out... ... To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't. There was one moment of sensation, I had no clue what to expect. They told me I downed it too slowly. But... to be honest, I have a hard time seriously chugging or downing any sort of drink, so yeah... Therefore, I still hate alcohol (who would've thought?). This was also some really nice vodka too. Oh, 40%, per usual, as we're in Poland. None of that weak stuff. :P I had to chug two shots of some sort of orange soda after that to get rid of the taste of half a shot. Ick...

           Although, the celebrations were enjoyable. We all sat and listened to music, provided between Kasia and Nate. Really, quite the pleasant evening! (: It was also after that that I briefly Skyped with Cody, and yeah. That's all for the night.


           Today, the Holocaust class was more depressing than normal. We watched a video which showed color slides of the Łódź ghetto, and then a man who was a doctor in the ghetto narrated his experience as well. It was in three languages: Polish, German, and Yiddish. One of the parts that really got to me was the entire fact that the doctor nonchalantly told his father about the death of his father's brother via a postcard, and when he finally received his father's reply, which basically called him a disgrace and scolded him for being so insensitive about the death, his father had already died. ... Yeah... *sighs* It's absolutely sickening and unbelievable people could put one another through that. No matter how differently you think, no one should be forced through such... inhumane conditions.

           I bought my Polish book for my language course after class and went to the apartment, wheeeeeere. I found another postcard waiting in my post box!!! :D SUUUPER exciting! <3 It was from my Dad! I was actually quite surprised, but I practically knew immediately when I saw it was something about Tail of the Dragon. ^_^ I looooove mail. Eventually, Nate and I head back into town for pierogi, like every week.  But this was a different week! Quite fun! We were waiting on a bench, hoping for an empty table, and the guy in front of us invited to sit with him. He was a Canadian man who studied photography in Edinborough for his post graduate some thing degree. He traveled a lot of eastern Europe already as well, and was teaching some course in Kraków or something. He has some free days, so we of course gave him heads up of what he should go see. It was a really interesting lunch. (: But then that ended, went to Empik, went to Poland in Europe in the 20th Century, where we also talked about World War II. We discussed the Holocaust, Katyń, the plan to destroy Poles methodically as well. Yeah. Also depressing. I left class just broken-hearted by my two classes, to be honest. But, from there we headed to a military antique store!


           It was super cool. Lots of old military paraphernalia, and I think I might actually buy an old army beret from Poland's army... I saw a really nice red one which had four stars on it... I'm going to have to look up the meaning of the stars and everything, but I know one thing for sure: this beret was during a time not through the Soviet era. The Eagle still had its crown. (:


           From there, I headed onto Polish class, which was also interesting. We're going to have our first test next Tuesday. Originally, she said Thursday, but she was nice when everyone asked to have a full week to study. This is going to be weird, to be honest... I've never really taken any tests or anything in Polish because well... Polish has just been a home language... Now it's an academic subject of mine, as a language, and it's just... weird. Ah, but we discussed about today being an informational age, as well as whether or not there is taboo in today's world. Yeah, I liked the end of class for sure.


           But I disliked post class. I found out that what I had told my teacher about my intentions for the course were wrong... She thought I didn't want it graded, because I told her that ECTS points were useless for me. But that's what my resident director told us! I didn't know that you had to get those in order to get it graded... Argh. I was incredibly upset when I found out about that... It should still work out, and I think I'll still be taking a final before I leave, but it was still rather aggravating. Just, the miscommunication was something I felt like I had little control over. I was told one thing and learned another thing about the process. So we'll see how that turns out.


           Although, for now, I have a headache, and I think I'm going to go to bed early (it's just a little after 21.00). That's why this post might be a bit dry. So yeah... Enjoy your days!

Pssssh. Who needs to go to sleep at a reasonable hour?

          Goodness gracious, the last two days have been absolutely magnificent! No, really. Very little could top them. So let's start with Friday! Unlike most Fridays, I had a class! It was to make up a class for Secularization, since our professor won't be here the last week of classes. (: It was quite the interesting class. Smaller, since he gave us to days to pick from. Friday or Tuesday, and I chose Friday so I wouldn't have a miserable 8-hour Tuesday, before taking an hour break for my 1-hour class. Yeah, I think I definitely did the right thing in that. After that, I ended up buying a present again! One I've had my eye on for a while, so I am super grateful to have it out of the way. I can't wait until the receiver gets it! <3

          But then... instead of trying to get some other things off my to-do list. I had to rush to meet with the Mormons... Which... I ended up not doing, since it seemed like they weren't there when I had arrived already 10 minutes late. Soooo, yeah. After that, we sort of chilled at home, until Nate and I went to eat some pierogi and naleśniki, since we really needed to have some sort of dinner, and being lazy is fun lately, ahah. Oh, what a family weekend will do to your desire to cook... Ah well! Now, this is where the fun part comes in. We all got together, Nate (flatmate), Kasia (neighbor), Gosia (roommate), and I so that we could head out for.... the HOCKEY GAME!!! YEAAAH!

          We leave and head for the tram stop, where some nice guy starts talking to us as we're debating how to get there. Turns out this guy was a football player. Oh, no no no. Not like, football/soccer player. I mean. American Football. Wait. It gets better! He was on one of the two Kraków football teams. And won Defensive Rookie of the year! Unfortunately, he was injured, so now he can only coach instead. But still! My mind. Was. Blown. Poland has 3-freakin'-2 American football teams. When the hell did this happen!? American FOOTBALL? In POLAND? Baffled! Absolutely baffled! Seriously, I think I asked him a few times in absolute shock about this concept. And it only gets better. They have NFL players over here. What?! I mean, I'm not a sports fan, but... that's still mind-blowing. What kind of NFL player says, "Hey, I'm going to continue playing football! In Poland." I. Don't. Get it. That plus some Harvard football player was on his team. And some other wrestling champion who nearly got into the Beijing Olympics. What.

           Ok, ok. I'll stop that. It was just... very shocking when I learned all of this. But onto the rest of the night! We get to the stadium for hockey to find out that the game was an away game... ... Therefore, Poland's system of labeling who is away and home is different from the American one, and I was right by reading it intuitively. Poor Kasia was baffled by this, as well as quite depressed. She's a huge hockey fan. (In fact, she refs it, so... I mean... it's quite literally her life.) So what else do you do for depression besides go to the best chocolate restaurant in Poland, right?! Yeah, we went to E. Wedel. I got a Malinowe Marzenie. Aka, Raspberry Dream. And yes. It was indeed a raspberry dream. To. Die. For. Oh gosh. Fruit are amazing. <3 Best food ever!

           So from there, we headed on out to Empik for my sake. I needed to buy a few more birthday cards. I love the sheep series of cards in Poland! It's super adorable! :D But that trip was (finally) a success! From there, we headed to Klub pod Jaszczurami, the live band karaoke bar! But we decided it was still too early and instead wanted to go get some margaritas. Therefore, we headed to The Mexican! It's a popular Mexican chain in Poland, where the girls are dressed in Mexican style (supposedly), and just a very cheesy, but fun sort of restaurant. Since I don't drink, nor was I hungry, I just got some water, but it was really nice nonetheless. The entire evening was just a fun sort of hang-out evening, where we really got to chillax a bit and have fun. So useful in life! Ah, but that's not the end at all! We went back to the club and listened in for the karaoke singers! It was a lot of fun. The songs were part Polish and part English. And a lot of the Polish songs were awesome, so we took the karaoke list so that we can find them later on Youtube and enjoy their Polishness. Seriously, Polish songs are so fun! It was really funny when Gdy nie ma dzieci came on. Everyone started singing along. It's quite the popular song, cause I even recognized it! But Kasia was like, oh this is great! I love this song! Is it appropriate? Me: ... Ummmm.... noooooooo. xD Far from appropriate. Amusing as hell, and very well put-together in a musical sense, but the lyrics... Oh, not appropriate at all. But! Fun song to sing with! Very fun song! Actually, here, go listen to it! And it's a fun music video! xD

            I think at that point we just headed on home. After all, we have a ton of plans for the weekend! So it was probably a good idea to get home earlier on one night than we likely would the next few nights. Plus, I actually had to wake up early the next day. Of course, that did not stop me from staying up until 2.30, Skyping with Bobby and other fellow Muffins. But why did I have to wake up early the next day? Well, I wanted to get to the post office before meeting up with the Mormons, since we did reschedule.

           I headed toward the post office, and... oi, it was a mess. One of the stops on the tram lines were down, and that's exactly the way I needed to head toward the post office. Plus, 3 only goes every 20 minutes on a weekend, because, well... it's a weekend. So once I got off and realized I had no hope of getting that way, I hopped onto a bus to go the one stop I could, and then... I actually enjoyed a very wonderful and relaxing walk through the park. Really, I just slowed down for a few seconds and recognized the absolute beauty of fall. The colorful leaves, all on the ground, in the trees, phenomenal gorgeous. Cool breeze. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable walk, just to myself. Got to the post office (I think we're becoming best friends...) to send out some cards, figured out a way to tram home, hopped on the next tram that I could, and then, when I got to the stop where I knew I'd have to wait for 3... ... I saw three was literally the tram in front of me. ... ... So what do you do when you know you'll have to wait a full 20 minutes for the next tram and you have a meeting in 10 minutes? ... You try to run and speedwalk across the square to beat it to its next stop... ...I missed it by two minutes. I was in hearing distance when it rolled away. ... So I just had to walk the rest of the way home to meet up with the Mormons. Oh, I was in a foul mood.

            Although, the meeting was rather nice. Minus the fact that they keep on trying to point out clues that God is already in my life. *sighs* I am happy with my beliefs, thank you very much. They make more sense to me. But! I went home, and after a while, we did some groceries so that I could cook dinner for us (Nate, Kasia, Gosia, and I. Michelle's family is here for the weekend, so she's spending her time with them, and Monika is still at her family's place. Just to avoid any confusion, haha.) I made pizza chicken! Like... chicken that supposedly was meant to taste like chicken. And I've gotta say. It turned out pretty well. ;D So I'm quite proud of myself for that! We had fries (courtesy of Nate) as a side, since it was quite fitting with the theme.

           The plan for the night was to go out to a club. And we did! But after dinner, definitely had a few hours to kill. So to Skype it was! And fortunately, Bobby was free to Skype, haha. I also Skyped my parents for a short bit before we had to leave. Where did we go? A club called Łubu Dubu! Tehehe. My parents even seemed to recognize the name. xD It's fun to say! And there is no way I can type that out phonetically so that it would make sense in English... Just ask me if you're curious some time! But! Before we got there, we had to wait for a tram, of course... ... While we were waiting, a party tram rolled up. Oh, that's right. There was disco lights in there, flashing red and blue patterns of flowers or music notes or hearts or stuff like that, music pumping to the max, people squeezed together, bouncing the tram up and down. In fact, some of them kept waving us on! But we didn't know if we could or not, or if we needed some special ticket! But, it's been decided. Hands down, now, we will go on a party tram.

           But we didn't this time. Instead, we got on a normal tram to head onto the club. And ya know what? I approve. It was an awesome club! We got there, went upstairs, and they were playing 70's, 80's, and 90's music (we knew they would, but still). Yeah... It was such a fun environment! They had some old historical Worker's Party stuff on the walls. Very fun place to be at! We danced there from about oh 11-ish to about 0.40. So many good songs! Ghostbusters, The Twist, Grease, Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA, and lots of other good old classics. Now, that's the kind of scene I like! Older style, actual dancing as opposed to this grinding nonsense. So. Much. Fun!

           After a while, though, my legs started to feel sore (unfortunately, it held over to today...), and we all left. Ya know what? I really really appreciate them for going with me and being so understanding. Like, we stopped at a place on the way home to grab some food, and they really tried their hardest to rush to make sure we would make it onto the bus on time and everything. They were just really respectful about the fact that I really couldn't walk too much or anything like that. Super awesome feeling. (: We came home from an awesome night, I Skyped my parents briefly, and I stayed up chatting with people online for a while. Yeah. It was an awesome night. I stayed up way too late again, (haha... 4.00.... oh fun times!) but it was worth it. Now, I really should get my stuff together so that we can go to the Rynek for some sort of big obiad. We're planning on going to the biggest rivalry soccer game in Kraków tonight, followed by a Hockey match, followed by Alchemia, provided that it feels safe to go there. I mean, we're gonna check, but it's highly likely that hooligans will be out to the max tonight after the rivalry soccer game, and the sore losers will not be happy and drinking away, and hooligans will be planning fights and what not. Therefore. Only if it's safe will we go to Alchemia. But for now, that is all! Good, grand, weekend!