Oh, how nice, I hear they take real good care of their customers. Do you need any help with your bags?
Staying for 6 months I see, well then, I'll just place this in your room.
We have all the latest appliances, even those that may be necessary when traveling with children. You never know when they might need that late night bottle.
Feel free to put anything you like into the fridge.
And the bathroom is just across from your room. Oops, looks like someone's in there at the moment, but we all know what a bathroom looks like, don't we?
And should you need to make a phone call, there is a phone right there on the wall by the front door.
I'm not really homesick yet, although I do miss my mom. More for her support than her actual presence, and I mean that in the most loving way possible. The essence of my mom is what I am missing right now. The unconditional love and support and *faith* she has in me. She always says that everything I cook is delicious. And she always tells me I am talented when she sees what I've sewn or knit. A regular person might only see the plainness or the flaws or simply not care, but she only sees accomplishment. Not because she's just being nice, but because she knows how hard I've worked and how important it is to me. And sometimes, that's all you really need, you know? Someone else to be proud with you, of you. To make it easier for you to keep forging ahead. To not give up after many failures. To have faith in yourself.
I didn't mean for this post to turn into one about my mom but now I'm thinkin' about her and all that and here it is. So, I guess what I've been doing all month is trying to accomplish things to make myself feel proud - by myself. To restore faith in myself - by myself. To find some source of encouragement that I'm on the right track, that I'm doing it right. That I can do it, in the first place. All from within.
Ya'll, I'm exhausted. I know now, even more than before, why we surround ourselves with people who love and care about us. Because we need their faith to help carry us through the rough patches. We need their encouragement as a source of motivation to finish the task at hand. To avoid becoming cynical and sour. Being your own source for these essential and real emotional and psychological bolsters is exhausting.
My mom's own mother, my grandmother, died when my Mom was the age that I am now, 31. She has not been able to receive encouragement from her mother for the last 20+ years. It has only been a month here and I have been missing it already.
I wrote her an email yesterday telling her a little about how I've been feeling. Her response wasn't very long but it was just right.
She concluded with:
"I love you more than you will ever know and pray for you all the time... Be confident because you are doing what God has called you to... "
Friday Night: Making Plum-filled dumplings. Kacio helped.
Fine form, boy.
Tasted great. More dumpling than you are supposed to have but *somebody* was too lazy to go get more plums and so, not wanting to waste dough...
Saturday Morning
Nothin' like starting Saturday morning with a fresh hen from an Uncle's farm. Into the pot for Chicken broth. Simmer all day.
Parking at the Galeria. Martin moving the car to a more "open" spot to avoid theft. Paranoid much?
Top floor...huge mall. Huge.
Right out those windows is our destination...
...that's right, the Creamy Wagon. The picture on the side is exactly what you get.
Martin and I got one to split. The children had licks.
A couple Obwarzanek for the road...
...the road. Florianska street. Little Lina and a helpful Felix.
Barbakan! The last remaining gate to the entrance to the city. Martin teaching some history.
A sideways video of the children attacking the city gate. Very convincing. NOT!
Sharing the legend of the Mariacki Cathedral.
Two brother were building the Cathedral. One brother, the younger, began to build his tower faster. The older brother, in jealousy, killed his younger brother and was sentenced to life in prison. The knife that did it hangs in the Sukienice...
...the knife that did it.
Too much walking for so little a girl.
At the Wawel Castle. Looking out over the Wisła. River.
Wisła River, and Hejjo with a weird face.
Stop that, you two! You're making me look bad!
In the Dragon's den deep in the castle.
A balloon for sightseeing and a blinding sight.
Felix running back when he heard the word, "nectarine." He has been likened to a fruit bat.
Taking a break, eating a snack. In the Planty, the park around the Old Town.
The children's turn for ice cream. This woman was mesmerized by Lina and gave her a cone for free. Really? As if she couldn't get any harder to live with...oh well...
Sunday
Mass in English every Sunday, 10:30am. We try to go here every other Sunday and Polish Mass every other Sunday. Also, English Confession on Thursday nights.
A really lovely, tiny, little Church. I love it. It makes me think of what it must have been like in the earlier days of Christianity. Intimate and almost secret.
Lunch after mass.
Walking back to our car down a "secret" short cut. One of the prettiest streets in all of the Old Town...or so they say. I agree.
A really great weekend. The first one, in a while, that has been so relaxing and easy.
Today is the Feast of the Assumption, commemorating and celebrating the day that Mary, Mother of Christ, was taken to heaven, body and soul. In Poland it is a national holiday, all the shops are closed and all the Churches are full. It is also a day here where you bring flowers and herbs to be blessed, plant life, fruits and nuts, these types of things.
I have yet to really experience a Theological holiday in Poland and this is as close as we have come so far. Our Mass was standing room only and they have Masses being said all day every 1.5 hours. Many people brought bouquets to be blessed, including us (thanks to Babcia). It was a nice Mass, with a rather American Idol-esque Polish rendition of the Ave Maria during Communion, but overall it was lovely, with a special blessing on all our bouquets and a priest who was quite eager to make sure that not a single bouquet was missed during his sprinkling of Holy Water.
I also wanted to take a few pictures so that you can see the inside of the Church down the street from our house. This is where Martin went to Mass growing up and where we will attend Mass every other Sunday and other Holy days, unless we are visiting family. The other Sundays we will be going to the English Mass in the Old Town.
People walking to Church, so many trails coming from all the apartment houses heading straight to the Church and back, through the woods.
There are no books or pamphlets to let you know the readings or follow along with the prayers. You just have to pay attention. (Which is easy since no Polish children ever cry or talk during Mass, ever. Except Kacio of course, it must be his American side.)The songs are projected onto the wall for all to sing along. I knew this one! (this was the end of Mass song)
During every single Polish Mass we have been to there has been at least one confessional with a priest hearing confessions throughout the Mass. There is always a line.
The herbs and flowers being carried by women in traditional Polish folk dress.
The altar. This Church is called "Church of the Divine Mercy" so of course it has the image of the Divine mercy above the altar set into a structure to resemble a monstrance. There is a red light above the tabernacle to remind us that the Eucharist is present and an open Bible. I really like the open Bible, it reminds me of the Torah at the front of a Jewish synagogue. The red light...meh, I prefer candles.
This was side area with the Baptismal font and a beautiful window. As well as a large picture of St. Gianna Molla. Lina and I had a moment to ourselves here.
A fountain outside the front of the Church. Such a large area.
The Church, at least one side of it. The whole complex is huge and has many other buildings. Dad, you would love this Church. Lots of concrete!
Think about what that word means to you, and then think about another country other than the one you live in, and then imagine that's Poland.
Normal.
A Normal Country.
What does that mean?
That means that you buy food at grocery stores, you buy gas at gas stations, you shop at IKEA (don't you love how IKEA made it into my "regular" list ;) ), you drive on the right side of the road (GB is OUT--- again with the joking),you eat the food, you drink the drinks, you poop, you laugh, you cry, you say please and thank you, or not, you shop for clothes and hope you look nice, you go outside on sunny days, you stay inside on rainy days, you bundle up in the cold, you wear less in the heat. You paint the walls, you make the beds, you do the laundry.
...and so on and so forth.
Normal, everyday stuff, in a normal place.
What?
What makes Poland not a normal country? Tell me.
Because I'm beginning to see that when people say that something is "so typical" of Poland, or that Poland is "backwards," or they say "wait and see, that'll never get done in Poland" that most of the time it's something that they think should be different. It's usually something that they think is inconvenient or somehow lacking in the country. And if you're comparing it to America, then don't even get me started on what my definition of "normal" is, because plenty of things there are backwards, that land "flowing with milk and honey." Plenty.
Is it possible that there is no objective definition of "normal" or"forwards" (whatever that means)? Is it possible that every country is just different?
I don't know, you tell me. What's so *irregular* about Poland? What's so backwards about Poland? Manage my expectations. Because, so far, it's all been pretty normal.
I got my wish! The rain came, the air is cool and crisp. t will warm up again soon, but right now, this is perfect snuggling weather. With hot tea and knitting. And maybe some Star Wars thrown in for a bit of balance in the force. I did just say that.
1. The heat. It's hot everywhere. Except the southern hemisphere of course. So, It's hot everywhere in the northern hemisphere right now, at least comparatively, and Poland is no exception. It has been in the 90's for the last couple of days, if not the entire last week. There is no air conditioning anywhere here, at least not where I'm hanging out. It's hot. And heat can make people testy. That's right, "testy." And smelly. I'm smelly right now. Very smelly. A cold front is coming through tonight bringing 80's and some wise old ladies have said that this may be the cold front to - and I quote - "end the summer." Bring it on. I can't wait to duke it out with this so-called "harsh" Polish winter... what you got, winter?! (and can I have some now... please?)
2. The cooking situation. Well, it would be easier to cook if we had food. But we don't, so I can't. We don't because I haven't been able to go the store to buy food and must rely on Martin to go when he can between work and other errands to get this family legal and what not. Plus, there's the whole car thing... oh wait...
3. WE GOT THE CAR! And because Martin and I miss those long nights of no sleep when Felix would scream his little round head off for hours on end, we decided to take the night train to Gdynia to pick our car up over Thursday night last and Friday morning. A night train, in the seats, not the beds - because they didn't have any left. But we did go 1st class. And after seeing the 2nd class seats and finding out there was no dining car at our disposal - and we had not brought any drinks - those 1st class seats - that reclined just enough to make my feet stick out so I had to pull them in each time the rather portly gentelman next to me wanted to go to the bathroom, which was quite often - were just about the most pleasant thing possible for the almost 13 hours it took us to get there. I smelled at the end of that trip too. It is also hot on trains. But wait...
4. WE GOT THE CAR! The real life, honest to goodness car! It's here and it was in perfet condition and thanks to Martin doing all the paperwork beforehand we literally just showed up, signed some stuff, and got to take it home. I also got to sit in the office by myself for about 30 minutes where I met a very nice man named Val. His life guru is George Carlin and he had nothin' good to say about Poland after having lived in the U.S. for 22 years. But I figure, if George Carlin is his hero then there isn't much he really is going to like anywhere, ever. And that's a fact.
5. THE CAR!!!
(highlighted portions are the most important if you just want to skip over the other nonsense)
My sister had a particular fondness for my beloved childhood doll. I know she would be secretly heartbroken if anything happened to her, so, just so you know Teresa, Patooty is fine. She's here, with me.
That's her giving the thumbs up. She doesn't mind that I smell...she hasn't been washed since I was eleven so she kind of smells too.
Along with all our other stuff, which arrived in excellent condition. I cannot recommend more the company we used. They were professional and helpful and friendly here in Poland and in the states. Highly recommend!! )
6. And the Polish coast! Contrary to what a lot of American beach volleyball fans would like to think, Poland does have a coast (aside form the fact that you could just dump sand anywhere and bump a ball over a net...hellOOOoo). I didn't see any of it. We got there at 8:30am...took a taxi literally 8 blocks away, got our car and drove home. We were tired, hot and smelly, and hungry. And you know what else...we didn't want to get out of the car...why? you might ask... three guesses.... Air Conditioning!!!!! Lovely, lovely, lovely cold air, at my fingertips.....ahh... I think I may go down and sleep in the car tonight, with the A/C on, of course.
7. *I* drove home from Bielsko-Biala after we visited family there over Saturday and Sunday. I know, Dziadzu, I know. But it had to be done. And we all, that's right, the whole family, all 6 of us, lived. We're alive. So I guess I *can* drive in Poland after all. I'm a *real* adult now! (IKEA, grocery store, fabric, yarn, all at my fingertips!!!)
8. No new pictures. We went to the complete other side of Poland, the complete other side. We live South, Gdynia is North. We took a train up and drove back directly down the center of Poland and I have no pictures to show for it( except one,) because we still do not have a charger/converter for our camera. Pbalapgsbktgkubkjakbadb... or as we say in our family....*gerrrbles.*
The one picture
Martin enjoying one of the many sandwiches I made for the trip, *before* he knew there would be no drink s for 12 hours. And the only picture I could eek out of our iPod with it's non-existent battery life.
