When every day is a sunny day

No one ever tells you about this Poland.  Only the "horrible winter". Except Martin. No one ever told me about the spring, with a coolness and a warmth at the same time. The trees budding waiting for bees, the flowers just beginning to grow and spread color, and the promise of long sunny days, some afternoon showers, and growing, constant growing, into fruit, vegetables, sweetness. This year's winter was dark. The darkest in years they say. And long, longest in years, they say. But it is worth it. If you get to arrive at this and know that the best is yet to come.

Fun Photo Friday

I hope you all have a great weekend!

This country just has some of the most supportive Roosters!

The smell of Poland.

Back in the states, riding behind a big diesel dump truck...

Me: Ahh...it smells just like Poland!
Martin: You mean it smells like exhaust fumes.
Me: well, yeah, whenever we drive there we're in the Passat and it doesn't have air conditioning so we drive with the windows down and the fumes are in the car... this guy's truck reminds me of Poland
Martin: That's not what "Poland smells like"...that's what CARS smell like.

Goodness... touchy, touchy.

No, friends, *this* is what Poland smells like to me...

Burning leaves and grass. Smoldering and smokey.
Food. Frying, sizzling, the air filled with "kotlety"
Exhaust fumes, black and thick, hanging there
Dirt and gardens, flowers, everywhere

(see what I did there, with the rhyming... yeeeeah, buddy)

And it's all back.
The smell of Poland.

Ignore the dust. I do.

Just Felek crying and me weeding. 

You can just see the remnants of the neighbors burning leaves. Ah, smoke inhalation and 2 year old lungs. 

Going topless.

Ditto. (that, friends, is a convertible Ford Escort. This man is clearly very awesome.)

No more itchy tights!

Something in this general direction smelled like fried chicken. And those buds are about to burst. Finally!

Do Americans have "habits"?

After my last post concerning the proper way to disinfect food that has been dropped on the floor before handing it back to small children,  I got some great comments. One of you ("goury") asked me if Americans have "habits". *Ya'll won't believe me, but I'll say it anyway... I have been thinking all week about this question. Partly because it's really hard for me to answer, and partly because, whether goury meant it to or not, it opened up a whole other train of thought for me.  And after all is said and done, I would love for any of you to chime in with your thoughts...

Of course I started racking my brain for all those things Americans do similar to blowing on dropped food. Quirks, if you will. Habits, yes, things we do without having to think about it. Things we "must" do or else we feel like something is "off."

The answer is yes, that Americans do have habits of course. Habits that have been passed down from their parents, just as Poles have inherited their's from their parents. The difference is, in a nutshell, that America is just not as homogeneous of a culture as Poland. What quirky habits got passed down to me can be, and most likely will be, wildly different  from those passed down to my best friend who lives right next door. Certainly some traditions or customs in America, like fireworks on July 4th, Christmas trees at Christmas (even if you don't believe in Jesus) and so on and so forth, will be pretty much the same in every household. As they will also be in Poland. But the little things, as I've already mentioned, and others that I haven't (and trust me there are some really interesting ones), just aren't as prevalent in America... unless...

...unless... as an American I am just blind to them. And quite possibly, this is the answer. Enough people have commented and told me that they never realized these things were "Polish" until I mentioned they don't exist everywhere that I am willing to bet that there are things Americans do that they don't realize the rest of the world doesn't do.  AND/OR there just are no habits I can think of that are "American" because to be American, by definition, means to be, in a sense, from somewhere else entirely. Yes, even over 200 years after the founding of the country, there are still many people who are celebrating holidays, cooking foods, raising children, and picking their nose, in the exact same way that their ancestors did in Mexico, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Lebanon, Israel, China, etc. Because that is what has been passed down to them. Just as here in Poland things have been passed down for several hundred years.  But again, in Poland, everyone has the same things passed down (more or less, of course there are exceptions) because everyone here is Polish and has been for 100's of years (more or less). In America everyone is American but that means something entirely different.

Does that make sense? I'm trying to make this make sense.


When it comes down to it, the best I can do is think of things  that I have found are distinctly American, and this would be mostly societal norms. Social awareness, because of the fact, perhaps, that Americans are all so vastly different in many ways behind closed doors, that in public we are very quick to establish "ground rules" or "norms" that everyone understands. Much like the "padding" I spoke of a couple posts ago. Almost as if, by creating these norms, we are creating an almost perceived (not fake) sense of "American culture". If, in public, we all adhere to these common, understood, rules, then it will seem, and does in fact seem, that we are all part of one big homogeneous community. And it works. And we do feel that way, for the most part, at least in public.  ;)

examples:
- forming lines for everything, and NO CUTTING
- "minding your own business" (sometimes to a fault)
- lots of personal space
- "padding" what you say (especially to strangers)
- others, ya'll can think of some


And if you've made it this far, I applaud you, because here is where I really go off on a tangent...

At some point this week it hit me how very opposite America and Poland are on the spectrum of homogeneity. Because of communism in Poland for almost two whole generations you come upon a country that even late into the 20th century often had no access to "other" (at least in a global sense). America, on the other hand, has been  gobbling up "other" as if it were the Thanksgiving turkey (irony being that if you served anything other than Turkey on Thanksgiving, you would be thrown out of the house). And so I find myself asking Martin, asking other Polish friends and family... why? Why do you do these things?  Why do you believe this will happen if you do that? Why?! Did you read that somewhere? Did you see it on t.v.? And a lot of the time the answer will be, "well, that's just what we've always done, my mom and dad did it, and now so do I."  Of course a lot of that is changing. Poles are moving all over the world, or even staying right here. Wanting "other" and getting it. Gobbling it up. For better or for worse.

I want to know if any of you have experienced American "habits" and if so, what are they?
And for my Polish readers, tell me, what were your biggest influences growing up, besides family? Responses from older generations are greatly appreciated.

P.S. Poland, if along the way you decide to ingest the idea to form lines/queues/kolejki in an orderly manner, it would be greatly appreciated.

*I have been spelling this word wrong my entire life. And have made the decision to never correct myself, ever.

Clash of Cultures: You best blow on that food!

You know, when you marry someone, you marry their family too. If you didn't already know that, and are thinkin' of gettin' hitched, you should probably take a good long look at the family you are about to join. Spend some time with them, their mannerisms, their quirks, their brilliance, their annoyance. Take a good hard look because 1) you are now going to be spending at least some time with those people, even if only on the holidays...foreknowledge is forewarned and 2) you are marrying the product of that family. True, "he is not his family," he can choose to reject or embrace their craziness and loveliness and whatever else comes with them all on his own but sometimes, sometimes it's there, they're there, in him, whether you like it or not. Habits, traits, and odd ideas about food.

Once again folks, it's those odd ideas about food that have brought me to the computer this fine frosty, rainy/snowy day in APRIL, with a cold Tyskie (that's a beer) in my hand and a roll of toilet paper at my side (I have a cold, tissues are dumb) convincing myself that you all would love to hear me tell of my latest "is that just Martin, just his family, or just a Polish thing?" ( you have absolutely no idea how many times I ask him this question on a daily basis... sometimes even he doesn't know the answer).

Drum roll please.....


The blowing on of food that has been dropped on the floor.


Now hear me out on this...please, before you turn away in yet another instance where you stumble here only to roll your eyes at the clearly neurotic, sheltered, uncultured, 'merican, with the sometimes Texas accent... listen to my words and decide for yourself whether or not this is a Polish thing or just a Martin thing, or perhaps just me making too big a deal of something so small.

And speaking of small, just how much actual dirt and grime do you think blowing on a piece of bread, or fruit, or candy, or whatever else it is that you just rolled around in the dirt, do you think you're going to get off? Just by blowing on it?!

And that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! When a piece of food falls to the floor the man picks it up and blows on it! Every. single. time!! Anything.  Anything that falls. He quickly snatches it up, and blows on it. Then he flips it over, to the side that never touched the ground, and blows on that side too!

Look, we've all heard of the "5 second rule". Or if it's something you really love to eat and it's been more than 5 seconds then of course the rule quickly becomes the "10 second rule". This just means that no one's going to think you're gross for popping that watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher back in your mouth after it fell on the sidewalk. I mean, it's watermelon. So few of those come in the package and they are the only really decent flavor, they might even get a 15 second rule if maybe it fell out and then rolled a little ways and it took you a bit of time to spot it. But really, please, enlighten me, what the heck kind of good is it gonna do for you to blow on it? Seriously? Because chances are, whatever gross thing you are so desperately trying to blow off, and probably shouldn't be ingesting, has managed to survive on the very surface on which your piece of food fell (as they are wont to do). If it managed to survive this long, then it will, most definitely, continue to thrive in your stomach and intestines and attempt to undo all that creation has rightly ordered in an upheaval that will have you wishing you had never set eyes on a Jolly Rancher in your life. And *blowing* on it...is only going to anger it.

(whispering) pssst... hey, you,  there ain't nothin' there, on your food, that's gonna kill you if you drop it on the floor, whether you blow on it or not...

Now, I know what you're all thinkin', Oh, I know! "This chick is off her rocker. Her husband clearly just learned this little habit, this little tick, this completely irrational and silly ritual that he is passing on to the kids, from his parents (they do it too). And they're just weird. Why is she takin' this out on us poor normal Polish folk? Just sittin' here on our Friday night, watchin' our reruns of "M jak Milosc" and eating our pickled Herring, being assaulted by her finger pointing and name calling....!!!"

First of all. Ya'll need to calm. down.

Second of all, I would never speak of something so ridiculous and TRUE, if I didn't have proof...

A story.

Three weeks ago I was taking the kids to their weekly Catechism lesson. We were running late and I had them eat their Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches as we walked to class. We have to walk quite a ways. Kacio refused to let me carry him so we are walking as quickly as possible while escorting a 2 year old snail child, scarfing our sandwiches when suddenly an older gentleman and his wife yelp out, "O, o, kanapka, spadła!" I looked down to find that Kacio had dropped his PB&J right on the sidewalk which was not the cleanest after several snowfalls and melting's. I quickly scooped the sandwich up and proceeded to flick off the biggest chunks of mud and gave it back to him (of course). Thinking the ordeal over, I begin to press on when I hear...

*"Nie, nie, dmuchaj! Dmuchaj! Accompanied by the sound of said gentleman, and his wife, blowing on my son's sandwich.

It spans generations, it cannot be stopped. It is passed down as surely as the banana tip is spat out, and the feet are bare upon entry. And *this* shall the future husbands and wives of my children marry into. You have been forewarned.

Blow on that piece of food one more time! Go ahead!! I dare you...

*"No, no, blow! Blow!"