Just so you know, I did get on my train on time Tuesday night. (: My cousin's husband told me old stories of him avoiding to pay for tickets on trains and trams when he was younger. xD Like, how he would take the train from Oława, and when they saw the conductor, they'd just book it to the VERY END of the train, and get off without paying. Or how in the trams, when he didn't buy a ticket, and the inspector was on board, he'd just sit down close by the door, look like he's relaxing, and as soon as they reached the next stop, he'd jolt up and run off the tram before they could go after him. xD Oi vei, troublemaker.
Speaking of story, though, I also learned a very interesting story that night while waiting for the train at my cousin's apartment. As you know, we visited the graves, and I took a lot of mental notes on dates, for whatever reason, of my dad's father. First off, I noted he was only 63 when he died (now that's terrifying for me...), and secondly, I noted that he died in 1985... So I actually brought that up while talking to my cousin. Why? Because my parents left the country in '83... I know subconsciously I connected the dots, but my cousin told me straight up that my dad did not go to his dad's funeral. He could not go. Why? Well, considering the Communist regime, and how my parents decided it was likely a good idea to, oh, I dunno, try and avoid that madness by leaving the country...
Ah, yes, first, a mini background story. My dad was a musician in a band, so he had a work license to travel around Europe with the band. When they decided it was time to leave, my mom, under very very very hushed conditions, left the country to supposedly go "visit her husband," and then just... stayed away. And then they waited in Austria before going to America! Whoot! But the point is that during that time, you were not allowed to leave Poland. Therefore, had my dad come back for the funeral, they would've thrown his ass in jail. That's how un-Polish Poland was.
Yeah... I've been learning a lot of little things like that while in Poland, and I really do love every moment of it. Family is becoming my life, and I have no problem with this. (: But yes, let's go back to that train ride... On the flip side of wonderful family, the opposite side is, thanks to them, I couldn't sleep on the train. >( Why? Because they had told me so many times how dangerous it is to travel on trains, that I was too anxious to sleep. Between that and my paranoia that I'd wake up in Przemyśl, which at that point, I'd just take the next train or bus to Lwów, I did not. Sleep. I kept my eyes shut, listened to my lectures, but... no literal sleep. Although, I'll be honest. By the end of the trip, I reasoned I was actually very safe in my wagon. If hooligans had gotten on the train, there were four guys sitting between me and the door, all of which were traveling alone, therefore, I had no reason to worry about them doing anything bad to me. But logic does not fight anxiety well, unfortunately.
When I got home, my wonderful uncle called me. It was 4 am. And he called to make sure everything was ok. ;; This. This is why my family is wonderful. One of the many reasons. Definitely my brother's dad right there.
Needless to say... I did not want to wake up the next morning... However, I did. And surprisingly enough, once I woke up, I was wide awake all day. Oh, that doesn't mean I could always speak properly or figure out things I wanted to say, but, I felt wide awake! Like, I didn't even want to nap. I think it's thanks to the fact I had a lively lecturer in Poland in Europe in the 20th Century. We had a guest speaker. From freakin' Ireland. That's right. He flew from Ireland. To talk to us about how Ireland responded to Poland's Solidarność in '80 and '81. So, between his amazing accent, his lively speaking style, and just the fact that it was really cool to learn how similar Ireland and Poland are historically, it was a wonderful class. (Not that it isn't always wonderful... but something about it makes me drowsy, every time. And Professor Basista is an awesome professor! And funny, too! So I dunno.) Secularization was quite interesting as well. We started talking about how the world went through its subtraction story, and what little bits and pieces of history's started really tearing down a lot of world ideas. That was interesting. (:
When I got home, I checked the mail (since I'm the one with the mail key, and I was gone all weekend), and... I had a postcard. <3!!! I was super excited! My mom sent it to me, as a pleasant reminder of our trip to Ecuador this summer. Unfortunately, I couldn't read everything, cause like me, she has chicken scratch! :D But, still. Any mail is wonderful. And speaking of mail, I went to the nearby stationary and school supply store, where I finally got a good amount of post cards from Kraków. ;D That's right! New batch will be going out rather soooon! I mean, since I have them, I can just start working on them when I have a bit of free time, which is really nice. (: And I bought some birthday cards from my nephew and niece. <3 Hopefully my niece will get hers in time! Not too worried about my nephew's, though. xD I Skyped with Stephen that afternoon, and let me tell you. Skyping with any of my friends always makes my day. Then, all of us went to dinner together at U Babci Maliny! I got some chicken wings, which... was not what I had been expecting when I ordered, but whatever. And when I got home, I finally got to talk to Ani again! Totally miss talking to her. Our schedules definitely do not line up well. :c
Now as for today, not so eventful. I chillaxed at home for the morning, went to the post office to send out a card and some postcards, tried to look around the square for stuff I need to buy. I think I might finally know what I need to get, and where to get it. Which is nice. Went back home, worked on some school work, went to class, the Polish subject one. I managed to pay quite a good amount of attention today. I feel like I'm becoming more competent at picking up things through lecture. Although, I do appreciate my professor's lecture style. Slow and clear. When my classmates had some presentations today, I honestly had some difficulty trying to note what I needed. /:
So then I came home to snack and go back for my Polish language class. While the class on Thursdays is 2 and a half hours, (and this entire, 13.30-21.00 day thing is not fun at all, let me tell you) thank god that it's interesting and interactive. I still need to get the book for it, but Kuba was really nice about letting me read off of his! My class is so awesome, that our teacher had us talk about our opinions today. On what, you ask? Well, gay marriage, vegetarianism, whether women can have religious leadership positions, death penalty... Basically, she had us talk about some controversial topics with one another. xD Great practice for discussion, but not the typical classroom material. Although, I love it. It really makes you think. Plus, you learn a lot more about your classmates than you would in any other way.
So fun times. <3 I stopped by the pierogi place on the way home for some apple pierogi. No. Pierogi will never get old. Don't judge me. And we still haven't even had our pierogi party, yet! But now, I need sleep. I am tired. I don't have much to do tomorrow, but I should do some school work. Dobra noc!
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