So I couldn't type this all out last night because I ended up actually staying the night at my uncle's... 2nd uncle's? My mom's second cousin's husband, because her second cousin was in Vienna with their kids, cause they all sort of live there? Yeah. As you can tell, this is a little bit more distant family, but family nonetheless! <3 Go figure Friday's lunch was pierogi and then off to the bus station I went! My bus driver on the way there was very pleasant, actually. Just a cheerful, joke kind of a guy! But when I got there, I met up with my mom's cousin's husband, who I did not know, as I thought I had been talking to the brother of my mom's cousin. Regardless, meeting up with him was not a problem. Well, sort of. I mean, it was sort of that awkward: Um... are you the person I'm waiting for? situation, but it worked out! It was a shame I couldn't have come earlier, considering that day time ends so early now. But, we still took advantage of what day we had left!
... I'm not kidding. I essentially now know the entire history of the Rabka/Chabówka/Raba Wyżna area... He drove me all around Rabka! It was really nice, actually. Let's see, Rabka, at one point, was a private town, and at that time, it was rather well maintained. And then, per usual, Communism came in the screw everything up. :D We started off the tour by going to the park, where there is a tężnia. ... I have no clue what it is in English, cause I had never even heard of such a thing or seen one. It was this little outdoor facility, which during the summer, you have these branches from a special tree in this building thing, and boiling water goes down it so the entire area steams, and you just walk around, breathing in the air. It's rather new for the area. In fact, the entire park had recently been renovated, after many years of neglect. We took a nice walk through the park, where we also saw the statue honoring Pope John Paul II, like every other Polish city has. However, this one is significant, because Rabka was the town that he came to relax in during his breaks as a priest, and he would take walks through the park, and he'd go to the liceum (high school), where he'd teach the boys there. We also walked through the park, where at the other end, there is a Russian cemetery! It's where the men who died in action in the area during World War II rest, if I remember correctly. During this walk, I also learned a lot about his family.
After taking the pleasant walk through the park (the weather was beautiful; that perfect fall-like crisp air, despite being December), we drove around Rabka some more, and he showed me the Silesian Children Hospital, which is where the Silesians would bring their children to the mountains for rehabilitation; it's really good, apparently. He also showed me the church that Pope John Paul II would walk to all of them time before talking to the students. As well as the amphitheatre, which was in reconstruction. Ah, and the crest of Rabka! Which is half a sun and half of a child's face. Because the city is essentially dedicated to children. They have a statue of St. Nicolas, with a ton of children around him, bringing them toys, they have Rabkoland, the children amusement park, the children hospital, all sorts of things! I sort of felt like my wishes were being answered, because it's a city dedicated to children in Polish mountains. Perfection!
But yes, we eventually drove to one of the gymnasium's (middle school) in Raba Wyżna. This gymnasium was built in honor of Pope John Paul II, by his secretary or something like that. Someone very important in his hierarchy, a dear friend. Bishop? I dunno. Although, the middle school is named after him, there is a little museum inside, going over his life, a statue of him blessing the man who helped out in building this school, and also, this entire building was essentially helped to be built by Polish-Americans. That's right. So for the opening ceremony, a ton of them came to Poland to see it opened. Just, absolutely phenomenal how involved people still are, and how much respect they give this man particularly. Also, it's interesting because there is no way in heck a public middle school like this could be dedicated to any sort of religious figure in the States. Quite the difference, eh? But yes, he tried to see if one of his friend's was there to let us in, but he was not, and it was a bit awkward being there while kids started to come for their hula lessons. Interestingly enough, I also saw school buses there! The first legit school buses I've seen in Poland! Like, I've just known kids to either walk or take public transport to school, not separate buses. And let me tell you, those buses were so much nicer. Individual seats and everything. Lucky kids!
Afterwards, we actually went and visited another grave site of my family, the Hippmann's. Unlike my earlier blog posts, mentioning how visiting the graves were always a part of my childhood, well, these were completely new. But I was very grateful that he suggested we go see them, because I wasn't about to let that up. I'm going to have to ask him for the information from the tombstones, since I didn't have my cameras, since I plan on making an enormous family tree and just getting down whatever stories I can from my family...
Although, from there we headed to his house, which is right by the house my mom used to go visit as a child and play in, apparently. That house is now unoccupied, and really just sitting there, useless. Unfortunately, that's how it goes. It was the first thing he pointed out when he picked me up, though, as it is literally right across from the stop I got off at. He has this gorgeous St. Bernard mixed dog; however, he didn't know how she would react with me, so he locked her up through the weekend. He also has a cat, so hoorah animals! We just sat around for awhile, ate kolacje, planning out some things for the next day, looking at all sorts of pictures, such as his visit to Rome with some sort of local dance group, so they got to meet the Pope. We also just watched TV for awhile, where I saw this interesting new show that allows you to win one million złoty if you answer eight questions correctly, and you allot the money to each answer you think might be it. Quite an interesting concept!
Whenever it got a bit later, though, we went out and about town yet again! Despite being dark and nothing really being open for visitors. First off, we went to an old wooden church on a hill. It had been burned down about 10 years ago, or well, they tried to burn it down, but people managed to save it from complete destruction. They took out whatever they could from the church interior. The only thing they didn't save was the roof, so that's new. We didn't spend too much time there, as it was mostly outside, and the inside was too dark to see too many pictures, but he really tried! Then we went on out to this ski-lift, where... get this: absolutely no snow. Guys, this is the driest year in 50 years, absolutely no snow at this point in the mountains, at that elevation, is ridiculous. This includes the Alps! I'm not talking about way up, but just, ya know, a place where snow is usually typical at this time of year. So he got a really good laugh out of the fact that the owner wasn't even trying to put down artificial snow. Go figure, the year I decide to study in Poland is the least snowy year. The warmest year. Maaaaah. I like cold. Why can't it snow?! I just hope to see some before I leave, or else there really is no hope for me to see a decent snow fall. lD'
Well, no-snow-complaints aside, we drove out to a Góralski styled restaurant, and he told me all about where the owners live nearby, and how it used to be a factory, but then they converted it into a restaurant, and yeah. Chock full of knowledge! Had a great hot chocolate, looked at the interior, learned about the fact that the owner of this restaurant and the owner of another similar restaurant are great friends and advertise each other and all sorts of fun things. This restaurant used more newer wood to build it, while the other one used an older wood, including these ancient doors. In the first restaurant, we sat and listened to the live band for awhile, which shocked him considering its Advent. Interesting enough, the band playing was a band that performed on some sort of TV show competition, and they made it to the finals! I can see why, as they were pretty good. Particularly the electric violinist. Absolutely wonderful. (: From there, we briefly swung into the second restaurant, which had that older-time sense about it. Though, that was the end of our day! We just headed home from there, relaxed a bit in the living room, and then headed on to bed. I watched a movie on TV for awhile, since it caught my attention, for whatever reason. It ended interestingly enough, and it included who I believe was the actor of Eric Forman, so that was awesome!
Then there was today. I woke up far later than I was intended, particularly considering how I was at someone's house that I just met, and I dunno. I felt really bad for wasting so much of the day! It seems like, had I gotten up earlier, he definitely would've taken me all around the area to show me as much as possible while it was all open and visible, yet... I unintentionally slept it. Ah well, nothing can be done about it! I enjoyed a nice breakfast, and not too long after that, we headed out to his mother's for obiad. (Yeah, gives you an idea of how late I slept in...)
His mother was a very nice elderly lady, and the obiad she prepared us was delicious, of course. We all just sat around and chatted for a bit while eating. She asked me if I liked Poland and about the relationship to the family, and why I was there, and the typical things. Although, we didn't spend too long there, because we were set to meet with Ciocia Janka, who is my mom's aunt, somehow. I don't know the family ties there, but I was there when I was younger even. xD It was really nice, because everyone there was quite excited to see me. Particularly one of her sons, Sławek. He was absolutely enthralled to meet his "little cousin." He didn't think that would happen, I guess. His wife was rather nice as well, and she tried her hardest to look on the bright side. Then there was Kazek, who mainly watched the world cup ski jumps on TV, although he occasionally joined in on the conversation. We just talked a lot about why I enjoy Poland, and how it's nice that someone like me still would consider Poland and want to come back, as its a rarity. We also discussed operations and issues with legs and what not, since they both seemed to have issues with their legs. Sławek was absolutely amazed that there was someone in the family he could really relate to in that way. Then, I found it amusing, because Ciocia Janka kept on mentioning how I look so much like my mom. Which I obviously do a good bit, considering that was Agata's (Michal's wife) first thought as well, but then when most people see me with both my parents, they're like: BAM. You're your dad's daughter. Yup. And my dad's side of the family is particularly convinced I picked up a ton of traits from my grandmother, actually. But they talked about how my mom was absolutely loved by everyone when she was younger, and how she was really pretty and how I picked that up as well. Yes, that was really nice to hear. ^^; Then they told me how my mom would show up on their doorstep while traveling and what not, which did not surprise me in the absolute least. xD I was like: Yup. That's my mom. If there was a smidgen of doubt before, well, it's gone. This is my family. Hahaha.
So yes, it was very enjoyable to spend a few hours there, just discussing all sorts of things. We exchanged numbers, I gave them my address back home, they made sure that I would keep in touch, and really, it's amazing. My uncle also requested my uncle's number (mom's brother) in Gdynia so that they could get in touch again, since they haven't really seen each other in 30 years if not longer. So really, me, a little tiny girl from America flies into Poland, and everyone gets in touch again. Or at least considers the attempt and remembers further family. I dunno. It sort of makes you think how really anything can happen. From their perspective, how the heck were they supposed to expect my mom's daughter, me, to fly into Poland and visit for a weekend, eh? After a while, we all packed up and left, with the obvious plan that my parents and I will be returning to visit together before the New Year.
From there, though, Krzysiek and I returned back to pick up my belongings and head to the bus stop. I mean, we checked the bus station in Rabka first to get a gist of times, but eh, perfect timing helped us out, and just as we drove up to the bus stop, the bus drove up behind us, and I got on and headed back to Kraków after bidding farewell. (He refused the chocolate I brought as a present, unfortunately. So much for trying to bring gifts!) So yes, the weekend was quite grand. <3 I was very glad to have met more of my family. Better yet? Next weekend I am traveling to... get ready for this: Toruń!!! :D About 8 hours by train without any layovers (6 hours if I hopped onto another train, but it's too much of a risk that the trains will run late or something). Why? Well, you see, in the bus on my way home, I called my mom's godfather, who is also her father's cousin. He apparently knows a lot about the family history, and his wife is very very hospitable. Oh, that proved to be true the minute she answered the phone, and when I explained that I am my mom's daughter from America in Poland. She was so excited to finally get a chance to meet me instead of only seeing me on pictures! Absolutely thrilled, and she welcomed me wholeheartedly to come and visit them, and I told them I have a free weekend, and there was absolutely no problem. Such a warm and fuzzy feeling, to hear someone so excited to meet you, really. I am really excited as well! I'll get to meet more family and learn about my mom's family a bit more, since she admits herself she never took interest. (I don't blame her; just like anything and everything, your interests vary.) Plus, I'll be in a new city as well, so hey! Really, what a great final weekend trip. (Hopefully I get all of my work done beforehand...)
I figured out what stop was closest to my apartment, so I hopped off, went back home, chilled in the apartment. Nate and I figured out something to make for dinner, so he made some chicken with curry. It turned out quite well. I ended up Skyping with Stephen for a short while, and then Bobby, and then a group Skype with my dad and a family friend, and then chilled a bit more, and then Skyped with Bobby again, and now I ended off Skyping with my parents and Sam's mom. So yes, quite a busy day in talking to people, but I never mind that. I love people, really. <3 Oh! I also figured out that I'm going to 'audit' German at Vanderbilt so that I can start working on another language. I feel quite underachieved in comparison to all the European kids, and I know that the more languages I know, the more helpful I can be. I just love languages, so yeah, it'll be very good for me to try my hardest and take advantage of my wonderful university while I have that chance! I want to learn languages, and what better place than at Vandy? But, as of now, my bed is beckoning me. It's asking me why I don't love it as much as I love people or planning, and sometimes I question that as well. So good night, world! I bid thee a wonderful day!
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