Primitive form

When I was very young, my mother worked outside the home for a short time. When she was working and I was sick and home from school I would "ride along" with my dad. He owns his own company which pours foundations for homes. I would  ride in the front seat of his truck while he went from job site to job site checking to make sure everything was going smoothly with his slabs. I wondered how he understood anything on his C.B. radio, especially because almost all of it was in Spanish. But he always understood. He always chewed gum. And his truck was always freezing. I also learned some things. Just by watching. And I thought it was fun.

Being here and watching others build, and now building ourselves, it's been... interesting. Foundations, thankfully, are pretty much the same anywhere that people know what they're doing and have the materials. They use all the latest techniques here and I'm sure my dad would give his stamp of approval. Building the house on the other hand, often makes me pause. It's just so different from what I know.  A few posts back someone commented that the first time she saw a house being built in Poland that it looked so "primitive". I laughed at first because I know exactly what she means. It looks a lot like... building blocks. How children build with building blocks. How you and I, when we were little, would stack the blocks so they were sturdy and not fall over. This is, in a way, sort of primitive.

We will be building our house out of these same materials.  I will admit that I was a bit prejudiced against them in the beginning. I turned my nose up at the idea. So primitive! So basic! So...simple. And yet... it works. It's another one of those times when I find myself stating, "it's not better, or worse, it's just...different."

* the pictures are from the house being built right outside our bedroom window in the house we live in now

Sweetness

I told my sister before we moved here that in Poland you can pretty much stick anything in the ground and it will grow, without much help or care from humans. There was a lot eye rolling involved but I must say, upon returning and seeing how well our strawberries and pozomki are doing , I believe I am vindicated. ;)  And of course the cherries, which I had no hand in planting but will be more than happy to harvest. Lina pointed out the Weronisia has cherries on her shirt, and wanted to take a picture. She loves her little sister.

Back in Poland

 Martin and I were talking about how our expectations  are much more... mundane this time, but in a good way. We know our limitations here. We also know the benefits. We know where to buy things, where to eat out, and what we can and can't do. Those were a big deal before. I spent a large amount of time in the beginning, almost 2 years ago, scrambling, trying to hunt down where to buy things, where to get the best prices, where to find the odds and ends that would make our house a home. I also had to learn the routes to stores and restaurants, and now, well, returning, I already know all of those things. There is less anxiety, but also less excitement, but again, in a good way.

We are returning with a whole new person and a lot more stuff for that whole new person, but also thanks to three holidays, a Baptism, a First Communion and basically six months of my children being indulged by grandparents. They are still riding the sugar high. And our flat is busting at the seams, even after a good purging of trash and old toys. It doesn't help that I loaded up on English language books while we were gone. I couldn't help myself.

Our house has begun! We will have a finished foundation by next week or the week after, depending on the weather. And I know that Martin feels the same way I do, that the house is really the only place we ever want to be. We visit whenever the kids will allow it without a complete revolt and it's all very exciting. Beginning a house while living in another country is tedious work. I'm glad we're back.