Hrmm... ah, yes, let us start with Thursday! Is that
right? I do believe so! (I sort of have to wonder who has been reading
my blog posts now that I am in Poland and mis padres are here and busy.
xD) But yes! Well, I tried to wake up early Thursday morning again in
order to study, but it seemed to fail. After some successful studying,
though, such as starting my study guide for Polish, I headed out to the
train station to buy a ton of train tickets, such as to Gdynia annnnnd
Wrocław. ;D Hehehe. After that, headed into the square, grabbed a phone
card (because goodness gracious, I can't believe I actually ran out of
minutes! It was thanks to Budapest, primarily), and then met up with
Nate to head to a self-service restaurant for lunch!
Lunch was quite enjoyable! Kiełbasa, mmm.. Unfortunately, after lunch
began the second day of "shut yourself in a library." Argh. So
aggravating. Effective, but meh... I sat in that same library
essentially from 13.30 to 20.00. Why? I had to study for my Polish
language exam. I won't deny, that I feel like I FINALLY grasped a lot of
concepts I didn't grasp through the class, because our teacher never
particularly explained each time we learned it. She just explained the
endings, but never their uses. I studied all that we had learned through
the semester though, and finally my exam time came around as class
began. I fortunately had to chance to sit outside of the classroom this
time; less distractions, hoorah! And ya know? It was far easier than
what I had expected... I got most of the grammar correct, shockingly enough! Although, my writing still had far too many mistakes, but she knew I could listen to any spoken Polish and understand everything well, so that was a break. And, surprisingly enough, my grammar while speaking wasn't too bad as well! So I ended up with a 91.05 on the final! Heck yeah, I was happy with that! Although, at this point, she started adding up all the points (and this entire time, she's adding the points and grading beside me; can you say nerve-wracking?) for the final grade... As she finishes up, she gasps. Then she says, "Coś strasznego... o coś strasznego!" Let me translate: "How horrible, oh how horrible!" Yeah, you're wondering how the hell a teacher can say that, right?
Well, she was looking at my grade. It was a 93.25... ... That. Was 0.75 points away. From an A. Yeah. 94 is for an A. ... Do you know how much it rips your heart out listening to your teacher speak about how horrible it is that you were so close? Meaning, she wanted me to get the A, obviously, but I was still torn apart, and my only thoughts were: Then give me the damn A! Just adjust the grade! Inflation! For the love of God, don't taunt me about it. To be fair, she did look over my test to see if she had made any mistakes in grading, so she tried, but... well, she was going to be fair, and I knew I wasn't a favorite. Nonetheless, I'd have to say I left class in quite a fabulous, yet also slightly broken mood. So close, yet so far. One of those. I mean, I was soooo proud of myself for at least being that close, but... it could've been an A, not a B+! ARGH! Ah well.. As I left, though, I called my parents and informed them of my grades, as I had also received my grade from Wednesday, my historia etniczna ziem polskich class via email. I received a 4.0, out of 5.0. (Grading here is different than America.) And ya know what? That's exactly what I would've given myself on the exam I took, so I was very happy with myself! Especially considering that well, it was my Polish course, and this was the challenge I wanted to simply learn more about the language and academics! Overall, I'd say I'm happy with my grades.
But yes! As I was leaving and talking with my parents, they were asking me if I would see them on Saturday in my apartment, and they told me they'd call me on the way to Kraków. All I could do was smile a huge fat smile and make myself keep quiet from giggling. Monika can testify to that, as I ran into her on her way to class, actually! Quite the pleasant run in. But yes, you'll learn why I was giggling in a short bit. First, though, well, you see, I got out early, so I had the chance to go enjoy E. Wedel with Gosia, Kasia, Nate, and Gosia's cousin, Jacek! We all met up in front of the building and went in to order. Per usual, it was delicious. Unfortunately, that was my meal for the evening. A strawberry sorbet to drink. Oh gosh. It was like drinking strawberries, yes, but I later on regretted not grabbing anything more... ya know... filling. Oh wells! Delicious foods!
I ended up packing all of my things that night. I had to pack them up and get ready for my parents arrival, as our family friend was to take my bags back to Strzelin so we wouldn't have to drag them all over Poland. Particularly since there was a lot of things I just did not need. Unfortunately, that meant being very uncertain in my packing and hoping the entire time I didn't determine to give away too many of my things, ya know... Keep enough for myself... I guess that's a matter of seeing in time, though! This also meant staying up until 4.45ish at least... In the morning. Yeah, not happy about that. But! I finished successfully! Because Friday was going to be a big day!
Friday morning, I woke up and really didn't do much but make sure everything was as it was meant to be and headed for the train station to catch my train. ;D Ah, the train station has pulled down some of its barriers for the construction they've been doing, which was nice! Although, it was quite unfortunate that none of the signs were showing what platform my train would come in on... With some logic, though, I figured it out and anxiously waited on Platform 3, in hopes that it was the right place. No worries! It was! I hopped on my train (through all of the pushy people; pushiest people I've run into! One of them even ended up turning around and pushing his way out. Super inconvenient and annoying...) and off I went!
Naturally, as my train was at 9.35, I was exhausted. You do the math on my sleep there. There wasn't much to do but to listen to my iPod (shockingly enough, it wasn't dead), and just think and rest... So I spent the entire train ride, doing so until my iPod died, then read a newspaper, and then just kept on resting... It felt like it took forever, simply because I was so anxious to finally be in Wrocław again! Well, that's not the main reason. I was just super pumped to see my parents. You see... I got in contact with Michał and his family a little before I left for Toruń. I wanted to see them again, and I figured, well I only have one good weekend to do so, and that was the weekend my parents would be there. However, I also figured: Well... as Poland is very easy to travel around, why not also make a surprise out of this? So I told Agata (Michał's wife) to keep this secret whenever she made plans with my parents. Voila. ;D Aren't I awesome? Hahah, but really. Back to the timeline.
I thought the train would be late, but it ended up being on time. When we pulled in, I was suddenly very grateful my parents were not leaving from the Wrocław train station. Absolute. Disaster zone. I'm not kidding. Hardly any of the platforms were active, and I'm not kidding when I say you could only see dirt on at least two, if not three, of the platforms. Major reconstruction. I would've thought they would've gotten way further ahead, but they're only in the baby stages!!! Ah well... hopefully they finish before the Euro Cup! Haha! But yes, left the train station and tried to meet up with Agata; she was a bit confused as really there were no choices on how to leave the train station, and she thought I'd meet her in the front. I had to wait outside as a storm began to pick up, but that wasn't an issue. At least Agata could pick up Antek without making her poor son anxious. Finally, she picked me up, and we started chatting and catching up! It took us an hour and a half to get across the city and back home, particularly since we had to also pick up little Hania from pre-school. I was so anxious, though, to finally get there. I just... wanted that moment to come. I really really did.
When we finally got home, I didn't do much except watch Antek put together one of his Lego sets and even help out a bit. It was really fun! Gosh, I forgot how much I love Legos... I'm quite tempted to go out and buy some for myself again, just for the heck of it. We finished the water plane he had, and then he moved on to a Lego model of Mater, from Cars. As we were working on that, the door bell rang and Agata called us down, yelling out, "Guests!" Antek rushes downstairs, and I make my way downstairs as well. My parents are in the doorway, greeting everyone when my mom suddenly sees me standing on the stairs (yeah, really perfect set up), and her jaw drops. I mean, it just drops. And gapes for a good half minute. As did my dad's! Therefore, I WIN! My surprise was epic, and I just flat out won! :D Seriously. We asked them if they had any idea, and they had absolutely none. My dad was impressed because I even managed to surprise him, too! They were absolutely convinced they'd see me the next day, not a day early. Really, they kept on going on and how they could not believe I pulled that off, and then when they found out both Michał and Agata knew! Hahaha, oh my mom was in disbelief. They really really did love it, though. Haha, what's better, though, is that one of my babyhood friends messaged me, wanting to see if I could meet her up while I was in Wrocław, so she ended up learning about my trip to Wrocław as well, and she kept completely silent about it while my parents went and met with her. Now that one rocked their minds even more! I'm super thrilled with how much of a success my plan was! <3
We all had dinner, finally, as I was hungry, and we all just started catching up. Eventually Michał came home from work as well. I ended up helping Antek out with the rest of his Mater model (like, I built the second half; hoorah!). I also was exhausted, but we all stayed up for a while. It was really sweet watching my dad play with Hania and Antek. Although, I was not happy when they started calling him dziadek. ARGH! He's not a grandpa yet, no no no no! Oh, no worries, I obviously understand why, but it's still just one of those things which just... I dunno. It does bother me. He's not a grandpa, haha. In comparison, they called my mom ciocia. ... Yeah... Haha, oh kids are priceless. Ah, and it was wonderful being called ciocia again. <3 I really did miss seeing them, so I'm glad it all worked out. We stayed up rather late, but finally we headed onto bed, as we had to travel the next morning.
Saturday was our trip back to Kraków; I had completely prepared myself to buy a train ticket just in case they didn't have the room, but it wasn't an issue, fortunately! We kept my uncle and our family friend in the dark about the fact I was going to be going back to Kraków with them. Or at least for our family friend, who it was; he just knew an additional person had been added. We actually slept in rather late the next morning, especially considering we had to leave whenever they came to pick us up. We had a really nice breakfast with everyone, then we bid fare well to Michał as he headed off to work. (Busy, busy man.) Eventually, our family friend, Janusz arrived with his wife and my uncle. I pop up on the stairs again having just finished getting ready, and they didn't seem too surprised. They just sort of smiled. My uncle particularly just smirked. Oh, and the fact that little Hania is precious as hell, well, she was the center of attention. Can't blame them; she had a beautiful dress my mom got her as well, and she kept on wanting to wear it. Little star. xD
But yes! When my uncle was asked if he was surprised, he just sort of was like: Meh. Not really. The girl's really mobile. xD I mean, he knew I had been in Toruń the weekend before. In all honesty, too, he's right. I'm surprised myself that my parents had no idea. For goodness sakes, I will never have this kind of mobility in America, ever, so I may as well take advantage of it in my favorite country as well, ya know? He wasn't surprised, but he wasn't necessarily expecting it, though. It's one of those situations that simply made sense. ^^
We had some tea and coffee before we all had to head off. So we bid our farewells! I told Agata that I do plan on being in Poland again in the summer, and my overall plans. She was a bit impressed and reminded me that things might change, which I know. But I like plans. xD So we got into the van (yes, they made the room for me), my dad squeezed in the back with me for the temporary time before we were going to let my uncle off at a tram stop, and we waved good bye as we drove off. And the beginning of our three hour trip began! Eventually, my dad and Janusz's wife switched seats so that the women could talk with each other, and the men with each other. What did I do? I slept in the back, leaning against one of the suitcases, hahaha.
Oh! So eventually I woke up, and impressively enough, I recognized Katowice as we were driving by! My mom asked what city we were passing, and I naturally said Katowice. Note: I had only been in Katowice once, at night, with my aunt's brother and his family. I was impressed with myself, yes. And then, when we got to Kraków, I was the one directing Janusz where to drive! Janusz and his wife were like: Wait... You know Kraków this well? My parents reaction? Well, duh. She's lived here for three months. xD We managed to find a parking space, even, so once we parked, we unloaded, and I led my parents and our friends to the hostel. It's really nice, actually. Beautiful! You see, they have a direct view onto the Rynek, and it's gorgeous! Especially at night, whenever the entire market is lit up. Stunning! You could see all the people buzzing around. <3 Super awesome, truly! With my parents settled in, we headed to U Babci Maliny for some obiad, as we needed food. I grabbed some placki ziemniaciane, and it was quite an enjoyable meal, mostly.
Although, afterwards, we headed back through the market, and I ended up treating everyone to chocolate covered fruit (surprised?)! I got kiwi again, which is helping me slowly but surely figure out my favorites, I think. Maybe I'll finally be determined by the end of my stay here. :P We'll see. We had to go back to the hostel and pick up some bags so that we could go to my apartment and grab my stuff for Janusz and his wife to go back to Wrocław. So we did! Back at the apartment, I introduced everyone to my parents, and we packed my stuff all together, and off it went! We said good bye to Janusz and his wife, and really, for the rest of the evening, relaxed. I meant to get stuff done, I think, but it was just a good moment to chillax, especially considering we had plans for the next day. Nonetheless, though, my flatmates and neighbors and I all gathered to plan out dinner for the next day. And aside from that, we also ended up playing a drinking game called King's Cup. xD It was actually very enjoyable! Particularly since we learned a lot about each other, hahaha. Although, I was the only one without alcohol. Hoorah for disliking alcohol! (I'm not kidding... everyone keeps asking if I am truly my parents' daughter due to this...) So for me, it was just pure game, and no drinking (in the typical alcoholic sense). So that was fun. Although, we stayed up until 2, hahaha. Bad move on our part, but, we enjoyed ourselves, so I'd say all was well!
The next day was Sunday, the 18th, my birthday. xD Unfortunately, I woke up feeling nauseous... I really don't like how that was the second week in a row my stomach had been giving me issues, but what can one do? Kasia gave me some Amol, and I guess it ended up helping out? I sort of wish I had known what was wrong. Regardless, eventually we all went to meet at Filharmonia in order to go enjoy a concert of the Nutcracker! :D It was performed by the academy of music in Krakow, and I'd say they did quite the stellar job! The conductor was a blast to watch, as well. Incredibly enthusiastic conductors are always the most enjoyable to watch. You could see him trying to quiet down the orchestra or get some person's attention. Oh, it certainly reminded me of my days in band. xD When listening in to sections, I particularly tried to tune in on French horns and flutes, obviously. The flutes did rather well, though at parts they were uneven. At reasonable parts. And the horns did well as well; some times they were out of tune, but... I honestly don't blame them. Hitting the right tone on a French horn is like hitting a bulls-eye from here to the next county. ... Yeaaah. I was very very happy to go to the concert, though, and also quite satisfied that my parents got in for free since two people could not join us, hahaha.
Afterwards, we headed back to their hostel apartment, due to the fact that we all needed to eat, and they constantly get food for breakfast in the morning that could easily last them the day. Plus, I honestly needed a lighter meal for my stomach to not be upset. So we spent a short time there, where my mom gave me some presents. I got a nice present from Ciocia Monika and Wujek Dzidek, as well as from my ciocia Myszka and Wujek Mirek. The cards were gorgeous and thoughtful. In the morning, the first pair called me to wish me a happy birthday, so I called them again to thank them, and I called the latter to thank them and they wished me a happy birthday as well. Mama i Tata gave me a gorgeous golden ring with sapphires (I think) and diamonds. Delicately sophisticated and gorgeous. I've been wearing it since. I don't really like gold either, but this was too pretty. Oh, and I also got a business card of a Polish genealogy guy here that I can talk to when trying to figure out information about my family tree!!! Super exciting!
Finally, when we were done, we walked down to Wawel together, particularly since my parents did not have tram passes... My parents went to the Lost Wawel in the morning, since I wanted to sleep in and had been there. This time, though, we went to the State Rooms in Wawel, which I had not seen this time! (I saw them in 2005 for sure. Don't remember them last year.) They were pretty interesting; lots of paintings and wall carpet mural things that I don't remember the correct terminology for. It was mostly bare rooms, considering that many things have likely been lost. The head room was interesting! Heads on the ceiling! Sculpted, obviously, but yeah. It was quite amusing, though, because my dad was just walking around, and the one time he pulled out his glasses? ... To look at the percentage the dehumidifiers were working at. xDD Meanwhile, my mom kept on asking me about the centuries things were made in. We walked through it, and then we went through a special exhibit afterwards on the Sapieha family! Very interesting, actually, because I never heard of that Polish genealogy. xD Although, the kings and royalty in it did an excellent job trying their hardest to have everyone painted and making a tree. The tree was enormous! And difficult to read. And the paintings were apparently not too accurate, as the person commissioning the drawings wanted everyone to look perfect, ya know? The coolest part of the exhibit was the books, though! Eventually, we left.
We walked back up to Rynek, where we determined we should go eat dinner early at Wierzynek. Wierzynek is the oldest restaurant in Kraków. As in, from 1364. ... Yeah. Thas right. That, my friends, is history! Obviously, this was for my birthday dinner, and so it was a very fancy place to go eat with delicious food. We all sit down, and it's all absolutely gorgeous and the waiters and hostesses are very kind. We try to figure out what to get. My mom ends up getting an entire Christmas meal, which included: carp in gelatin (on the sweet side), majewki (or something like that; French pastry thing with mushrooms on the inside), mushroom soup with pierogi z kapustą (pierogi with cabbage), a lemon-mint sorbet with cinnamon on top, eventually got to the main meal (in which we were all finally included) which was goose (yes, freakin' GOOSE), makownik (I have no clue how to explain this one; it's a dessert), and miodowe grzaniec (warm alcohol!). .... Yes, it was a lot, and yes she let both my dad and I try something every step of the way. ^_^ Meanwhile, my dad and I only ordered an entry, because well... I wasn't certain about my stomach and the prices. xD (Although, thanks to the prices, I made a joke at the perfect time in regards to the poor man's meal vs. the rich man's meal. Ask me about it, bahahah.) Although, I ordered comber z sarny, meaning the freakin' saddle of a deer. With some little pierogi as well on the plate! Oh dear goodness, it was to die for. SUUUUPER juicy, sweet but not to a painful degree, well spiced. Absolutely delicious. And the pierogi were delicious too! Goodness gracious... And my mom's goose was phenomenal as well. The way it was made was with a sweet thing, and the meat itself was wonderful. Plus the sorbet was my favorite, and just everything was good. I even tried the carp, and I liked it! My dad even stated it was a good carp. Oh, and my dad ordered some sort of fish. He admitted he had the worst choice, but it was still all delicious. And my dad ordered a very typical Polish dessert for wigilia. I tried that as well, but neither of the desserts really struck a vibe for me. The sorbet in the middle of the meal most certainly did, though! Overall, I was incredibly impressed by the experience. <3
The food was delicious, the atmosphere was nice, minus the fact that... they blared the American pop Christmas songs while you could barely hear the Polish Christmas carols... >( IN A POLISH HISTORICAL RESTAURANT. My dad was not happy and actually called the manager over; but we weren't the firsts to complain. I can't blame people; it's a Polish restaurant. I mean, I understand a nice mix, but it was hardly an even mix, and the American songs were literally pumped to their max, while it was difficult to hear the carols. Besides that, we were all very satisfied. In fact, my mom scared the waiter by calling him back in order to order a second cup of grzaniec, because it reminded her of her grandfather's grzaniec she drank as medicine as a kid. (Which I.... was appalled by, as it was not good at all. But I'm weird and don't like alcohol.) Ah! At dinner, my Wujek Bogdan and Ciocia Mariola both called me as well to give me their best wishes, and my mom's godson called and learned it was my birthday, so he certainly gave me his best wishes as well! Overall, it was just really wonderful to be in the same country to make the calls and everything that much easier, and I really did appreciate every single call. <3 So meaningful. Later in the afternoon, my cousin called me as well to wish me a happy birthday, as did my mom's best friend. So nice! So so nice. <3
Speaking of the evening, though, we did leave the restaurant and headed back to my apartment for a small birthday gathering. We even invited Piotrek and his wife, and they came before I did! I saw my parents on the way back on the tram as well (and unfortunately I had to wait a while for the tram, but it all timed out well). In the apartment, everyone just had some wine in celebration, and we all just chatted about all sorts of stuff. (Nate was unhappy with the fact that I did not have to drink, hahaha. That's another story, though.) It was an absolutely pleasant evening, and that's all I really need for my birthdays at this point. To spend some time with good family and friends in a nice environment, just talking. It was really nice that Piotrek and his wife joined us as well. We actually met his wife for the first time that day cause she had to be with us at the concert. She was impressed by the fact I had played French horn, and of course by the fact that I love Poland so much and want to stay here. Ah, Monika, Nate, and Michelle ended up leaving in the middle to go grab cookies to go with the wine, since the bakeries had been closed that day (eh, it was a Sunday, haha). Unfortunately, Piotrek and his wife had to leave early, but we all sat around and talked for a while longer before my parents left as well. It was all just very very pleasant and nice and I was very very satisfied with the end of my birthday. Ah! My parents arrived with roses for me as well. Absolutely gorgeous!
I went to bed and woke up the next morning rather early knowing I needed time to do my normal morning message checks as well as get ready for the day. I felt rather well, not too sick, but I was quite surprised. Lo-and-behold, my dear Ani was still online! I knew it was late for her back in the States, yet she's on, waiting for me. Why? She had a friend of hers make me an absolutely stunning piece of art of one of my personal characters with one of her personal characters for my birthday. I was dumbfounded and blown away by its beauty, motion, and colors. What a wonderful day to start the next day! I had some of the bread my parents sponsored me from their hotel for my breakfast, and eventually I headed over to meet up with them at the hostel. Our plans? To Schindler's Factory! This would be my second walk-through, but it was something I had wanted to go see again, as the first time I felt a bit rushed and I felt as though this time I could absorb it even better.
I was right, too, because I did absorb it far better the second time around. I noticed new things, and I felt a bit more engaged in the museum; it truly is an impressive and moving museum. We even stopped and watched the movie (which unfortunately I slept through the end due to being tired... whoops! I'd love to see it again). As always, it's a very difficult museum to go through. The subject material itself is heavy and depressing, so nothing less should be expected, right? I noticed this time around the swastika patterned tiles in the propaganda room, as well. My dad kept on pointing out things he remembered from his childhood that he saw in the museum, and he explained to me what it was like. Most shockingly, though, there were pictures of one of my distant relatives... Nonetheless, family. It was in the Sonderaktion section, which was dedicated to explaining the arrest of the professors at Jagiellonian University, and my great-grandmother's cousin was one of the men arrested. There were two pictures of him! Two! Very shocking, that's for sure.
Reading all sorts of stories and personal writings was as moving as ever, and of course, seeing all of the ways things used to be done was fascinating as well... I think my parents enjoyed going through the museum as well, at least learning about the war times in Kraków. Of course, it was super depressing, and by the end of it, you sort of just want to rush through and get through all of the pain and be grateful for the fact that such has not happened to your home, but that's it. The last two rooms were very moving as well; one was a circle with brief quotes in all languages of what it was like to be a Jew during the war, and the very last room was a room of burnt Torah's...
We left the museum, then and we went home to their hostel to eat some sort of lunch from their leftovers from breakfast. Simple, but effective! We just sat and relaxed while trying to determine certain logistics over the next few days, such as how to get to the train station on Thursday. Once all of that was determined, though, my mom and I headed back downstairs; she was to head to the Underground Rynek Museum, and I was to head back home! But first, we stopped at a souvenir shop, where I got a few things for myself and friends. Although, that's not the last of the shopping I truly need to do. But, I got a nice little hat as a present from my aunt, actually! It says Kraków! :D It looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.
When I got back home, all of us started prepping the dinner we had sometime last month, because that had been the original plan for my birthday, and because I honestly did not want to go and eat out again. I don't like eating out so often... Therefore, people went shopping, Kasia and I started getting what we had ready, and ya know what? In good time, everything was done. The folded-over chicken, the delicious cheesy, peppery pasta. We even managed to get the table all set and ready to go for my parents to come over, too, and we were the ones waiting! Hahaha, I found that amusing, but not surprising. I am just really glad everything went really well. Weird to think it was our last homemade dinner together, though... But all of the food turned out excellently, because all of us were quiet little mice hungrily nomming away at the wonder that was dinner. Afterwards, they pulled out the cake they bought earlier in the day as well as the awesome awesome candle that was essentially an enormous sparkler. On the cake. Haha, we actually got a cake with nuts in it, particularly cause Gosia was not around to die from even being in the same room. And yes, the cake was to die for. Apparently, Monika went to the store and asked for the best cake with nuts; I'd say she certainly got it! So, that was birthday celebration part 2. Yeah... my friends are pretty awesome for doing that and going through with the dinner though it wasn't my actual birthday. <3
Although, once we were done, we had to quickly head out to go catch our tram to go to the ice rink!!! That's right! Plan for the evening? Ice skating!!! (Despite the fact that my legs were sore as heck...) So we got to the ice rink, and neither of my parents ended up ice skating, actually... But! We were there before Piotrek! (Haha! He got there like... 20 minutes late. 8 o'clock sharp... Riiiiiight.) It was our plan to go ice skating together back here in Kraków after he couldn't go with us in Budapest. But we went in, and goodness gracious, was it packed. I got a pair of leather figure skates. Let me tell you. These were the best rental skates I have ever worn. They were super tight and actually fit well and quite comfortable! I was very impressed! But the rink had essentially no room and no rules. Pro skaters were swerving around people here and there, occasionally bumping into people. Yeah, that would not fly in the States. But hey, that's freedom, right? ;) But it was a lot of fun! I couldn't practice my style too well, particularly because of the crowds, but... eh! It was still enjoyable; I had to sit out for a bit, but I was still really glad to be there. Oh, and we ran into one of our classmates there, as well! He wasn't doing so well, poor kid. And we saw some guy wearing a 2014 Salzberg shirt... I only assumed he's somehow involved with those upcoming Olympics, but can't ever be certain...
Afterwards, we also headed over to Alchemia! It was our last chance to go, and at first, we were quite bummed, because it was very crowded, but eventually, we noticed there was a large table with only two people sitting there, but there was a small table for two with no one... ... Yeaaaah, I ended up having to ask them to move, and they happily did! So we had a nice table, and my mom got me a hot chocolate (as in, melted chocolate, essentially, not cocoa), my dad had a beer, and my mom had a coffee with adwokat in it, no surprise! xD The rest of the group ended up getting Polish martinis: 1 part Krupnik, 1 part Żubrówka, and 1 part apple juice, with some lemon zest. I tried two different cups, actually, and honestly... They had two very different tasting drinks. One of them was waaaay strong, and nasty, and the other was probably the best alcohol I have tasted. ... But I still didn't like it. (Haha, many would call me hopeless.)
Not only did we have our last night in Alchemia together, but we also stopped at the Zapiekanki place on the little square there in Kazimierz. Kasia and I split an onion zapiekanki, with my half of course having ketchup. I need me ketchup, after all! I am a bit sad I did not manage to get out there a bit more often for more zapiekanki, because they did make truly good and reasonably priced zapiekanki. My parents tried them as well! I actually don't know what they thought of them... but my dad got the Góralska one, and my mom just got plain oscypek. Ick, to both. Because they include this really heavy Polish cheese that I dislike... the smell is far too overwhelming for me. With the end of the night being quite late, Kasia, Michelle, and I grabbed a taxi (as I can't walk too much...), and we all went home! Nate and Monika walked back, and so did my parents, because they were all rather close to the main Rynek. When we got back, we all planned on going to bed, but instead... we all sat in my room and had these heart-to-hearts... And ya know what? That was actually really nice. Just a wonderful moment of bonding between the all of us, sharing personal stories. I do not regret the fact that we stayed up so late to just enjoy eachother's company. Even though the next morning I had to wake up at 6... (I ended up going to bed at like... 2.30, maybe 3)
Why did I have to wake up the next morning? Because, me being stupid, well, I had not finished my Ghetto paper yet. In my defense, most of it was done! I just wanted to wait to write on Schindler's Factory until after my second visit, because I truly felt it would be more effective and meaningful after going twice and really absorbing everything. I'd say I was right as well. I woke up in the morning and finished up the paper, including all sorts of editing and proofing, and this is again a paper I am proud of. I got my points across clearly and meaningfully. I explained my reactions and thoughts to the best of my ability. I just had to get it printed out, so we all headed to our last Holocaust class ever (well, minus Kasia, as she's staying for the next semester as well). Honestly, it was only a review, and I was dozing at points, but it was very interesting to just go over the review. I'd say it was an effective way to end the class before the holiday break. From class, I went and printed out my paper, and then I headed on to her office hours so that I could hand in my paper and say thank you.
We had a very enjoyable conversation. We talked about schools in America, such as how the top notch schools aren't necessarily always the top notch, and how you don't typically want to go to a big school for your BA so that you aren't just another number and more money. We also discussed Polish communities in America and how people find their way to said communities, if they are smaller or bigger. How Poles find their way to random tiny towns, such as being doctors and going to underserved communities. I really really do love Professor Orła-Bukowska. She was an excellent professor, and I am going to miss her. She also admitted she is going to miss us Americans, because we were the only ones to really be super interactive and always answer. Typically the Europeans just sit on their hands in the very back of the classroom, uninterested and uninvolved. So that was a wonderful compliment as well. So yeah, I just thanked her for the wonderful semester and all her help, and how I would definitely keep in touch with her as I keep on trying to figure out my summer. She's even writing my a recommendation for a Fellowship program! Hoorah! <3 I just hope I get it! And she gave more more suggestions on places I could try and work at. I am really grateful that I had her as a professor here, because she is opening so many wonderful doors for me, and this semester helped me slowly learn what I want to do as a professor. Nothing is finalized, but I can feel my mind shifting around and slowly determining what I am supposed to do for the rest of my life. Haha, and at the end she said she'd have to come visit Tennessee one day now, thanks to Gina and I both. I really hope she actually holds up to that! When I told my parents, they even told me to go ahead and tell her she is always welcome at our place. No surprise there. :)
After that meeting, I headed back to the Rynek, and on the way I called up my mom's cousin, Marysia. She was very excited to hear me on the phone! She asked all about my parents and if we wee in town, and what we were doing, and that my mom had to call her and that we were definitely going to see each other. It was really nice to hear someone so excited once again to be talking to long-lost family, essentially. xD In some other manner than holiday cards, of course. I also managed to get her sister's number so that we can hopefully meet up in Kraków, as she lives here as well! Besides that, I just walked around the Rynek, scoping out potential presents for people. I'd say I succeeded tremendously, as well. I just have to go get them, and I can only hope the people will like them! :D While walking around, I lost a small piece of paper that held my aunt's phone number (the one I just received) as well as some internship information. Go figure, me being the stubborn girl I am, I started retracing my foot steps, and lo-and-behold, I found it again! Yeah, it probably wasn't that big of a deal, and I shouldn't have worried about it, but eh, whatever. I was going to meet with my parents in front of their hostel as well, but my mom had bought out a tour guide for a tour of the Wawel Cathedral... ... Mind you, they ended up going there at 11.00... they left at 14.30... .... and it was only supposed to be an hour. Oi.
Therefore, I just went and met up with Nate for our last lunch at the pierogi place. I got a typical mixed plate so that I could have all of their pierogi. Then we went to class, and well... our professor came in upset that he had to come in, because he had forgotten to tell us classes were cancelled for this week... YEAH! That's right! He was cancelling classes for this week, and he forgot! Therefore, he cancelled class for Wednesday instead. :D Yeah, everyone was rather happy, particularly since Wednesday it is likely everyone's first class of the day. We talked about free elections in Poland, and well... I'll be honest... I slept most of the class. Like, full on, lean my head on the wall sleep, because I was tired. I wish I had paid attention, but I just couldn't. So after class, we said our farewells as he walked out, I met up with my dad to make plans for the evening, and I went back to the apartment and took a well-deserved nap. It was hardly enough, but I had to wake up eventually so that we could go eat.
I took my parents to the good, cheap place Gina took me to a few weeks ago. It took us forever to find a place to sit and to determine we were staying and to order, but in the end, the food was quite delicious, and the service was kind as well. I got tomato soup and a chicken kotlet, my dad got pierogi, and my mom got some pork with pineapple. After eating there, we called up Basia (Marysia's sister), and we made plans with her while heading to Piwnica pod Baranami. While in the pub, a guy started talking to us, but someone chased him away, because he was an obvious roamer or just... someone who was not meant to be there. Plus, my dad started talking with some random guy while waiting for our drinks. Eventually, Kasia, Monika, Nate, and Michelle joined as well, and it was yet another pleasant evening of discussion. Yeah, my last evenings in Kraków definitely went well. We talked about everything and anything again, and it was just nice listening to each other's stories and what not. After a while, we all determined we were tired, my mom and Monika took a cup that they had gotten from the bar, and we left, haha. Lots of pictures were taken, courtesy of my mom! I'd say these have been the most group pictures we've had at all, which has been nice. We headed back to the apartment, my parents dropped me off and caught the tram back to the square, and that was it for that evening. At home, we mostly headed on to bed.
And finally, today, Wednesday, this morning. I woke up naturally around 9-ish, and really I've spent the day in the apartment, cleaning, packing, typing up this ridiculously long blog post, and that's it. I had leftovers from two nights ago for lunch, Gosia came back home, which is nice, and now it's snowing outside! As in, thee is a pretty layer of snow on the ground. Yes, yes I am ecstatic! <333 But that's been my week. Today I'll be moving out, as we determined it'd be easier for all of us to leave from the hostel, and that's it. To Gdynia we go, tomorrow!
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