I am Fortune's fool.

My computer is broken. Hopefully, it is what I think it is and then it won't be so expensive. I finally found a shop that would fix a Gateway after going to 4 different places. It's amazing how accomplished I felt after getting it to the shop. I was walking around thinking, "Look at me. I have things to do. I'm walking around scary areas of town I've never been. I'm so cool."

It's only because I've been cooped up in my flat for so long. I've never had a cleaner apartment. I cook for myself everyday. Luckily, my ipod isn't broken. I'm glad I really like those songs because I'll be listening to them a lot. I also have some podcasts. In case you all have never listened to the episode of This American Life, "What I learned from Television". Please go back through the archives and find it. No matter how many times I listen to it I always feel warm inside after it's over.

So, I have to leave you here until 2010. Tomorrow, my Kiwi flatmate and my roommate are still away for the holiday. Myself, my Russain flatmate and her boyfriend are going to make dinner. I'm not sure what the plan is for night time, but I got a pretty skirt to wear. I feel good about that. I usually try to dress-up, but I don't have much to work with here. It's all part of my lesson in life that often less is more.

Happy New Year! Here's one of the songs from my ipod. I do recommend this album.

Boże Narodzenie. Here's the Deal.

Polish people have two days when they give presents. The first is on the 6th of December. This is St. Nicholas day. Good children wake in the morning to find candy and presents either in their shoes or under their pillow. However, although this holiday is observed, it pales in comparison to the birthday of Jesus.

On the 24th of December, the children look for the first star to appear (in remembrance of the star of Bethlehem). Once they see it the Christmas dinner may begin. They begin by sharing a holy wafer and wish each other Christmas greetings. Apparently, this is an extremely emotional event in the evening because with it they find their unity with each other and Christ.

Once they break bread it's time for the dinner. The table is set with a white tablecloth that has hay under it. This is to remember where Jesus was born. There is always an extra place set in the case that there is an unexpected visitor. This is a night where everybody is welcome.

The dinner is comprised of 12 dishes. These dishes include, but aren't limited to, barszcz with dumplings (as seen in the picture), mushroom soup, herring, fried carp (served first), peirogies, sauerkraut, compote, and cakes. Everyone has to try a little of everything.

Once dinner is complete the caroling can begin. They sing while they wait for Santa to come. The presents either arrive by Santa himself, are left one the doorstep in a bag, or surprisingly show up under the tree. Then at midnight they go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Everyone prays and sings.

On a personal note, I went to the mass. I would describe it as a marathon of boredom. I'll let you all know when I talk to you exactly how boring it was. That's pretty much it. The town is absolutely dead on Christmas day. I watched from my window and there was not a single car on the street.

I hope everyone has a great time with your friends and family as we work our way towards New Year's Eve. This is my favorite holiday next to Thanksgiving. So party your little hearts out.

Themed Out...

with my a clip from my favorite childhood movie.



I am a dork.

Once Again!

Here we are...once again in the holiday of all holidays. The great time to give from your heart and reflect on the closing year. I will spend my holidays reflecting constantly, and trying to forgive myself for my own harsh criticism. When I'm not doing that, I will be placing you all on a pedestal and kicking myself for not being more like you. At least for not living up to my own potential to make you all proud of me. Honestly, it's a good thing. I know that really you are all proud of me no matter what I do, but this is how I thrive. By doing so, I am busily compiling a list of resolutions for the following year. It should go something like this:

1. Quit smoking
2. Quit hoarding
3. Tone down my clothing
4. Stop picking on people
5. Work out more often
6. Eat better
7. Be cooler
8. Be more creative
9. Be more assertive
ETC.

Typical things that you would expect to be on a list of this nature. I believe that if I can accomplish at least the top three I will be a success. In the coming days I'm going to pick 3 things to get rid of each day until New Years Eve. I packed a retarded amount of shit when I came here. Daily, I ask myself, "What were you thinking?" And I know what I was thinking. "Maybe." Well, no more "maybe" for this baby. It's all yes or no. Life is just a process of acquiring a bunch of stuff that we all think we need, but don't. It's not our fault. I blame advertising. It's ever so subtle in insisting that we all could be just a little bit better if we owned whatever product they are pushing. I for one am a serious victim of this. Whenever I feel down I try to buy my way out of the problem instead of directly addressing it. I'm not sure that I will ever be able to escape the hold advertising has on my mind. But, I have a lot of hope that I've undone some of my subconscious impulses by living here in Poland. Obviously the signs can't hurt me here because I can't read them. Perhaps I can take this back with me to the U.S. and hold on to it in an effort to actually invest in something.

I think a fantastic example of this subliminal fuckery is seen during the shopping season. I watched my roommate try on all the scarves she bought as gifts and insist that she actually needed one too. (Xuane, I mean this in the most loving way. That green scarf looks great on you.) I've done the same thing. Go shopping and buy presents for myself instead of others, but why? I don't need those things. I just want them. I want them so badly that I won't even wait to see if someone else got them as a present for me. It's terrible. I'm going to add this to my resolution list, and I encourage you all to do the same thing. I know that Xuane and I are not the only ones.

Anyway, all of this was just an introduction for me to put up some Christmas links for you all to enjoy when you're spending time together without me. Don't cry for me, North Carolina. I'm a big girl and I'm learning to appreciate the important things in life. Look forward to an extremely educational Christmas Bonanza on Poland culture tomorrow. Enjoy the links and your figgy pudding. Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays from my little Christmas heart!

http://www.viceland.com/wp/2009/12/meet-the-sciortinos/

http://www.akqa.com/happychristmas/

http://blog.elfster.com/2009/12/16/homemade-snow-globes-brighten-any-home/

Christmas!

Howells, I have the ornaments. They are extremely breakable. What do I do with them?

Christmas is fun, and so is living with people.

Don't you wish you were getting a present like this from me?





Wrapped like this.




Since I'm not writing a blog because of the party. Please enjoy these pictures of me being a clutz after leaving the mustache party. We decided that it would be a better idea to eat the food we bought for breakfast for a late night snack. P.S. My roommate is currently trying to use the excess rice from dinner last night to glue her wrapping paper together.

I'm sorry...

I promise things sometimes, and then I disappoint. I know I said I was going to write an exciting blog, but I failed to do so. Right after I posted that last entry, the internet went out in the entire building for the rest of the evening, and most of the following day. My life is like an emotional roller-coaster right now. Bare with me. Some days are diamonds and some days are stones, but here there is no rhyme or reason. I'm trying hard to laugh at it all, but I want a hug. Unfortunately, Poland is fresh out of those. Two more months, and then I will weep as I nestle into the love that you all have afforded me. Until then, I will eat nails for breakfast whilst being punched in the arm to gain the strength I need to endure these mean streets.

I'm writing this entry as a consolation. I can't write a great blog tonight because I have to read an article on nationalism and group identification. Then I have to review how to speak Polish so I can stop staring down the student teachers in hatred of their lesson plans. I promise to not make promises I can't keep. Stay tuned, further intelligence will arrive.

You Are The Winner!

....of my heart! I'm so over that dog now that I found you little man.



I posted this yesterday, but I must have forgotten to actually post it. Today is the day, maybe. I talked to my father yesterday instead of writing the blog.

One more thing for today.

I moved to a nicer room. It's higher up with new windows. This means I have a better view of the city and I can't hear what is happening on the streets anymore. No more dogs constantly barking and sirens constantly blaring. Even the beds are a little more comfortable. Not comfortable, just not as loud and spring loaded as the last bed. I'm going to reconsider Poland tomorrow morning after sleeping in a quiet room. Tomorrow, I have the day off. I'm making breakfast with my friends because they're my new neighbors. I'll finish moving and then.....I'm going to write a really exciting blog.

Dear Diary,

No one reads this everyday. I am basically talking to myself. We are awesome. You're my best friend, because you are me.

Love,

Marlowe

This is just adorable.

I don't like this anymore.

I want a job. Where is my money? My trip was fun. I can't talk about it yet. The absence of my money has depressed me. I need you all to call me and tell me I'm special, and remind me that it is all worth it.

I also need to be encouraged to continue to learn Polish. I hate it. Today we learned the verb- to want, chceść. Let me type the sounds of it and then you can all practice it. H-S-eshcht, but don't emphasis the t. Once you get that right you can practice this sentence. Ja chcę książkę [Ya H-S-ewyn ka-sh-aown-szh(like vision)-keywn. I want a book. That is the easiest conjugation. Now, add in all this other bullshit that never makes any sense because they teach you the normal version and then all your examples are irregular. And! They talk to you constantly in Polish, but remember that all you know are verbs because they don't teach you nouns. Seriously, what is going on? I have to take a test on this. It is a retarded way to learn a language.

I have a suggestion. Why not teach us two or three verbs at a time, and then nouns that are related? That way we can logically create a sentence. If the language is difficult this might make it more understandable. That's not all. I have another suggestion. Why don't we teach a rule of grammar and then use it in examples? Once the students learn the rule they can move onto the exceptions to the rule.

My homework for the weekend is to write a paragraph about what I'm going to do next year because we are practicing future tense. What? How about an assignment on what I'm going to do tomorrow? Here is how this paragraph will sound in English translation from the Polish words I know:

Next year, I will sleep. I will drink a beer. I will eat. I will read a newspaper. I will study. I will buy food.

How stupid is that?! Can we please have a shred of organization?

At 3 pm, the administration came to my room and told Teresa and I that we had to move, today. We've been asking them when we would have to move for the last two weeks, because we knew it was coming and we wanted to plan. However, they don't care about us having things to do and they decided to give us zero warning (and half a day). I was so proud of Teresa because she just looked at the girl and told her no. She said, "That's not good enough." She explained what she had to do and that she would be happy to move Monday, but not today. The girl told her that it was necessary, and she said, "Or what?" It was awesome. Then the woman looked at me like she couldn't believe I let Teresa talk to her like that. I just shrugged my shoulders because Teresa was right. Our flat mates were out and it is weird to pack up their shit. And that is exactly what they wanted us to do. Pack up our flatmates shit and carry all of it up 10 floors. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I have no problem moving because the rooms are nicer, but I'm not moving other people's stuff.

All I'm screaming is that I'm ready to get into a country that makes some sense. Then I'll put all these good ideas to work and make money instead of spending it all.

This is how the rest of the world perceives Americans.

I'm serious.

It huwt and it's still huwting me...

Kiss it! I hit my head on the cabinets that never stay closed. Right on the corner. I think I concussed myself. All things heal in time, but if you kiss this picture it will at least make me feel better.

Moving on, I made my international Thanksgiving dinner. The students here were so excited. I made mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn, carrots, and peas. I bought rolls and, instead of a turkey, we had roasted chicken from the market. I don't know how we did it, but everything was hot when we sat down to eat. I gave one of my tear jerker speeches, and after dinner and dessert everyone played flip cup. There are pictures and videos on Facebook. It was a good evening.

Christmas is the next holiday I need to focus on. I was going with Teresa to her family's friends' house, but she just told me that it wasn't going to work. I'm going to see if there is someone else I can go with. I have to admit that I'm a little nervous. I'm going to keep my big girl pants on and my chin up. I'm sure that I can find someone to take me home with them. Who wouldn't want to have coffee with me on Christmas morning?

On a happier note, I am going to Paris and Barcelona! Plus, I'm almost out of money which means I can't do anything touristic there. I can only walk around, eat bread and cheese, and drink in the streets. Honestly, I never imagined that I would be going there this early in my life. Therefore, anything is better than nothing. Our hostel is near Monte Martre, or the artist district. We've had difficulty booking the train from Paris to Barcelona so we're a little concerned. We'll have to do it when we get there. I'll take lots of pictures of me looking cool and being awesome, and you all can tell me later that I look like I'm having a great time.

I'm one week shy of my third month coming to a close. I'm not dead and I'm mentally stable. I'm continuing to adjust and ignoring the fact that I'll have to readjust once I return. I look forward to all the correction of my forgotten language skills. Meanwhile, I have some scholarly articles that aren't going to read themselves. Don't forget to kiss the picture!

I Got a Visitor!

Hannah Banana came to see me! For those of you who don't know, that is my cousin. I picked her and Rich, her father, up from the airport this afternoon. After they took some time to freshen up I gave them a tour of the city. Then we went to the Christmas market. My adoring Howell family, we didn't find any good ornaments. They all looked ordinary. I think we missed an area of the market. I'll go back and look tomorrow. Unfortunately, that means they won't be going back on the plane with Hannah. I will not rest until I find the best ornament, and then I think they will be light enough to send.

Hannah and Rich leave early in the morning for Auschwitz. (Jessica Huffman, I heard you were looking for a souvenir from her. I'm still so curious as to what kind of souvenirs you think are at this place. You should write me a letter about it.) They looked so jet-lagged I can't believe they made it as long as they did. We had mulled wine, and looked around. Then I took them for traditional Polish food. They had pierogies and cheese soup. I ordered zurek and made them try it. Zurek is the traditional Polish soup and it is good. They didn't look thrilled about it, but I think they need time to adjust to the taste.

It was nice to see familiar faces. I put them to bed at 7. Then I returned to the dorm to watch television until I fall asleep. If you are interested, and I'm sure you're not, I've been drinking raspberry tea with honey like it's Kool-Aid. You should be like me and drink it to make you sleepy. I'm too tired to write anymore tonight. I leave for Paris and Barcelona on Thursday. That should be amazing. I'll follow the usual routine: post pictures, write a blog. Perhaps tomorrow I'll fill you in on my Thanksgiving dinner. I'm sending positive energy vibes your way. Do branoc.

The Hang-over

What happened? It feels like I got punched in the back of the head. I was cooking, and then everyone was cheering, and then I remember watching Teresa eating curry. Next thing I know, I'm waking up with a flat full of strangers' things. I want to leave this land of sirens and return to my home (http://www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/houses/morrison-seifert-murphy-berkshire-residence-dallas/). Is that too much to ask?

I love you Poland! I hate you Poland!

It's so pretty outside. You stole my coat Poland.

Genius in praxis.

I wish I was an artist. Perhaps if I had ever taken an art class I could pretend to be an artist, or at least be craftier than I am currently. Not that I've never attempted to be an artist of some form. In my youth, I spent time learning instruments that never seemed to have a promising future. It didn't help that I was deaf to the rhythm of the music. My parents were very supportive of my creativity, but I think in the end that it's safe to say I'm no artist.

That being said, I really enjoy artistic endeavors. At best, I can watch true creative genius at work. At worst, I can steal there ideas and morph them into something I can put my name on and seem psuedo-chic. It doesn't make me special, but at least I'm not boring.

Today's blog is my attempt to creatively express myself by admiring the fine work of brilliant artists. This is important for me because I'm learning about who I am whilst in Poland. I'm thinking about making these reoccuring subjects on this blog so please let me know if any of this is interesting to you, my followers and my readers. My creative expression will be presented in three sub-headings: 1. What I want when I grow up, 2. Eat what I eat, and 3. True Aptitude.

What I Want When I Grow Up

It can be argued that at the age of 25 and moving rapidly towards the age of 26 that I am a grown up. I'm going to disagree with that argument and state my case as being childish from lack of responsibility. When I return home and get a job, get an apartment, get a future, get bills, get a boyfriend, get married, have kids, etc. This is when I turn into a grown up. I would agree, however, that these things take time. I'm looking forward to a lovely transition from now to a stage where I can look around, pat myself on the back, and say, "good job". Therefore, I'm compiling a list of things that I want in that future. Since I have been trying to declutter my brain of my material possesions, this list will be my new defining properties. Here is the list so far:

1. A room with nothing in it except a chair. This will be the thinking room. It's brilliant. Nothing to distract me and anyone else who needs a break from overwhelming distractions in the everyday world. No music, no pictures, no discussion, no color, nothing.

2. A guerrilla garden. A space that is reimagined and reconstructed to become a garden. This innovation is an encouragement for everyone to reimagine the world around them.

That's all for now, but I'll keep working on it.

Eat What I Eat

Today I made this for breakfast. My room mate liked it so much she wanted me to take a picture of it. As I was making it I thought of the breakfasts that I consumed in the U.S. and thought to myself no wonder I was a fatty. Which made me think maybe I should share my skills now instead of waiting until I get back. So, this is a pretty simple breakfast fix. This has mayo on it, which is fine, but of course I recommend cream cheese. I couldn't figure out which cheese was which at the grocery store that's why I used mayo. Using toast instead of a bagel cuts down on carbs, but make sure it's wheat with lots of grains so you get your fiber intake. Cucumbers and tomatoes should be lightly salted and peppered. Then, smoked salmon topped with fresh dill. The kiwi is cut in half so you can use a spoon to eat it. It cuts down on prep time. Very tasty and it will leave you satisfied until lunch time.

True Aptitude

I was watching short, documentary type, videos of different subcultures all over the world this morning. I'm a sociology student so of course this is interesting to me. If you are interested the link is: http://www.babelgum.com/viceversus. As I was surfing around this site I found this other site: http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play/SEARCH,channelID:180160,hint_no_featured:1,order:MOST_POPULAR/0,3014270. It's super cool. Take some time to check out how people are reimagining the world.

Womp womp

Who remembers when I said I was going to try out for America's Next Top Model? This photo proves how photogenic I am. What a waste of talent. I really botched that opportunity. Which opportunity? Well, the day after my 21st birthday they were holding auditions at Oak Hollow Mall and I didn't go. I squandered it along with a long list of others. I believe myself to be a Jack/Jill of all trades so I'll spend my time pursuing one of my other many talents.

This week I'm in my "dip". That's what the international department called the first low you feel after you have been in the country for a little while. Luckily, the weather is gorgeous. I'm going to spend my day rocking the hell out and hopefully I'll snap out of it. I'm not the only one in this stage. I'm just the only one who can't go home for the weekend. Another American friend and I were recounting tales of the U.S. to the other students yesterday. "There, they have free refills, and free water." "They fill your cup with ice, and you can drink water from the tap." I realize that everywhere is different, and without those differences life would be boring. Here the bars close at like 6 am, and you can buy liquor at any grocery store and gas station. Not to mention, I'll be making you all delicious savory pancakes, zurek, and omelets when I come home too. So, for now I'll just focus on the positive.

Monday I'm going to Prague for the night to take a break from this city. Teresa's dad is in town and he's going with us. I like hanging out with my friends' parents. It's just an older version of them so why shouldn't we all be friends? Anyway, I'm scatter brained these days. I'll keep you posted as always. Happy Birthday: Grandma Towa, Grandpa Sims, Jessica, and Alex.

How am I not myself?

Cultural breakdown is confusing me. Normalcy is established through routines and rhythms of everyday life. Don't take that for granted people. When your routine is taken away and you are presented with the freedom of choice life feels chaotic.

Things to do:

1. Get over material possesions

2. Get over yourself

3. Get over routines

4. Figure out what you like to do

I'll see you all when I accomplish these things.

You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war.

That's what I learned this weekend after visiting the Panorama Racławicka (don't forget to pronounce that crazy l as a w and that w as a v), aptly named after the battle of Racławice. I was going to write out a report for you, but now I found the website to the museum you see here to the left. It's way better. Here's the link:

http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html

That way we can get straight to the jokes. First of all, that website is perfect. You don't even have to go see this in person. It gives you all of the interesting information sans the really boring breakdown of the painting. Not to mention the website turns the painting into a magic trick. I.E. "The large painting (15x114m) 'transfers' the viewer into an altogether different time, a reality of its own, by artfully combining painterly devices (special kind of perspective) and technical effects (lighting, artificial terrain, dark and usually tortuous passage to the viewing platform)." Tortuous passage and technical effects? Poland, are you aware that you are Poland, and the only thing technical and tortuous about you is the insane/nonsensical way you manage yourself? I have to admit that I was excited to go to the Panorama. The Polish people are really proud of this and the name sounds bad-ass. In all seriousness, Panorama is more like a talented 4th grader's diorama that got stuck in the way of Rick Moranis's laser (the second machine), and since then has been scented by the sweet perfume of an old lady fart stuck in an armpit. I'm not even sure who the hell won the battle. I thought it was the Russians, but Xuane thinks the Polish won the battle and the Russians won the war. Anyway, the moral of the story is Europe is Poland's bully.

That's another thing that I've learned on this trip. Not all history is interesting. Pretending that it is doesn't make you smart, and it sure as hell doesn't make you fun. One of the great things about the U.S. is it's so young in comparison. I was never one to study a lot of U.S. history, but you better believe I'm going to start studying it. It's short and easy compared to this place. As a matter of fact, that's exactly why I haven't studied U.S. history, because I've been studying European history. When I was in Krakow I made the executive decision to go to the Castle Cathedral instead of the Saltmines (perhaps a huge mistake) and it was filled with the dead Kings of Poland. The tour guide was giving us a fatiguing rundown of the history, and she was summerizing it. I think the main things that I noted after that tour is the different styles of art (i.e. Renaissance, Baroque, Romanticism) and that the Kings were buried in an awesome tradition ( involving the removal of the heart). In the future, when you pick your tourist destination, make sure the history is something that you really are interested in because one hour tours will turn into a three hour tours faster than you can imagine. Furthermore, don't come to Europe to explore history just come to lose weight because your fat American ass is going to be walking around forever to get to these destinations.

The final note for this week is in regards to my personal favorite, Thanksgiving! Family and friends fear not that I will be alone on this holiday. I always take initiative, and this year I will be having my very own Thanksgiving dinner for myself, the other Americans, and any of the Erasmus students that want to participate. I'm going to have to be creative with space and food, but I'll take lots of pictures because I'm sure the outcome will be entertaining. Also, to my followers, you are awesome. Congratulations on proudly standing up and saying, "I read this blog." Most people think that true love is proven by marriage, but they are wrong. If you want to know if someone really loves you start a blog and see if they read it. Until next time, adieu.

Bloggity-bloggity

Cleaning Cleanerton

I'm going to clean the whole flat today! If anyone has some music they think I would like then you should recommend it to me. I was planning on taking a walk around the city to excercise my body and my creativity, but to no surprise it's cold, dark, and raining. So, now it's "dance around with a mop and broom" time.


I found this and I thought that it was funny. I don't think this guy likes to read. Do you?

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter8.html

Oh! BTW, the movie for this week was equally as unrelatable as last weeks. I also went to the counter culture exhibit, but it is in Polish. My friend Maria's friends are coming into town this weekend and we are going to the Panorama. It's a gigantic mural. Maybe I can put together a history presentation from that.

Follow me!

Yay! I have 4 followers! I would like to take this time to thank you all for electing me team leader. I will do my best to take you to the most extreme limits of blogging. I promise to be a gentler, more rational, and more audacious writer than other bloggers that have come before me. You will not regret this.

Today was the Polish independence day. Mom, I saw your question, "What do they do to celebrate?" The answer is: not much. They had a parade this morning, but it was very small. Some people hung flags, and there were people passing out balloons in the town square. Apparently, the Polish people aren't used to celebrating their nationalism like the United States does. I would imagine that if the United States had been erased from the map three times we might find it hard to feel as much pride and devotion to the symbols that represent our "freedom". Everyone got the day off, and that was nice.

I skipped the parade, and made breakfast for my flatmates. I have been gone the last three weekends so it was nice to spend quality time together. Then we met some of the other international students and a few Polish students in the main square for a scavenger hunt. We had to walk around and see who could find the most dwarfs. We won with 38. Our first place prize was a bottle of vodka. I'm pretty sure that none of us really cared about the vodka. We just wanted to feel like winners. It wasn't very nice weather, but it was nice to walk around the city.

Lately, I've been staying around the dorm to save money. It's so boring. Luckily, I met a nice Turkish girl who studied here last year. Over the summer she lived in Boone and just returned to finish her University career. She knows heaps about the city, and I'm looking forward to her taking me out of the monotonous life that I've grown to hate here. I'm also trying to get a job. I can't express to you how much time I have free here. I have no classes until next Tuesday. I know that I wanted to grow as a person, and I promise that I am. I just think that if I spend too much time thinking about things I'm bound to over think them and thus drive myself crazy.

Today also marks the end of my second month. It's easy. No, not really. I think that I've adjusted, and some ways I have, but I can never fully adjust because it's all so temporary. Plus, the multiple levels of cultural adjustment are mind boggling. I couldn't even fathom moving all over the world, or giving up everything to move somewhere and help other people. This is kind of personal, but I think it's very interesting. You see, I've always thought myself to be an unselfish person, but now I think it's not true. I find myself longing for my things. These objects which I acquire at an alarming rate. Also, I feel as if my friends and family also belong to me. You all feel like possessions that I want to protect. I never thought about it this way before, but you all define me. Here, what am I without you? What am I without my things? I'm still me, but a disjointed self. I can't really speak about you to my friends here because there is no tangible connection. I can see they become bored and can't relate. Yet, my friends here and I are so close because this transition is so difficult. The honesty that our behavior exudes is incredible. There is so much wonder for what this world holds for us. Together we embrace it to whatever extent we can afford.

I can remember waiting to come here. Looking out of my apartment window, I would wonder what it would be like to look out of my dorm window for the first time in Poland. When I got here the first thing I did was look out the dorm window, and I remember thinking nothing. Just staring in disbelief. As if I was looking at the world through new eyes. Now, I find myself standing on my balcony wondering the same things about the U.S. What will it be like when I come home? It's strange, but I want to be the same person for you, and yet I fear that I might be a stranger. I won't think about it anymore. Happy independence Poland, and I love you America!

This is what I'm talking about.

I just want you to see the madness that is my life. I came home to this last night and just bursted out laughing. How does this happen?I feel like our kitchen is possessed. Seriously, why are all the drawers open?









































Before I went to sleep I cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes. The next morning I awake to this.

Control is an illusion.
















It's cool because check this out. That is my dorm made cappuccino. I'm like a MacGyver in the kitchen. I'm bringing this back with me Ameryki! I will share the pleasure of my ingenuity with you.

C'est la vie.

Dear diary,

I have no control. Control is an illusion. Materialism defines me. I have to define myself. What do I do?

Love,

Narlowe

I Need a New Plan.

There are just so many plans to make. Currently, I am working on a new trip. I think we have it all worked out, and the next step is to book it. Two other American girls, myself, and my right hand man Nils are going on a 6 day vacation during our 5 month vacation. The plan is to drive to Berlin. From Berlin we will catch a flight to Paris and spend a two or three days there. Then we will take a train over-night to Barcelona and perhaps Madrid. Then we'll spend a couple of days in Spain before we catch a flight back to Berlin. Then we'll drive back home. Since there have been so many trips back to back, I need to regroup. This trip won't be until the beginning of December. Then I need a plan for Christmas. I've still got time for that. I'm so super excited about this one because trains are the coolest. I'll probably be singing a different tune when I'm trying to sleep on one, but for now I'm going to marinate in my own happiness. Weee! I'm spending so much money in Europe. I've thought about it and this is the vacation of my life. Seriously, when will I ever get to live for 5 months in another country, travel, not stress, and not work. It's amazing.

Click and spin this: http://fromparis.com/modules/quicktime_fullscreen_display.php?style=qtfullscreen&pano=000091_02

The other plan, I was talking to one of the American girls and she was telling me that in ECU they are currently playing a campus wide game of Zombie tag. I would also like to play a gigantic game of zombie tag. Apparently, they wear something to show if they are a zombie or not, and someone has an online list of whose a zombie and who isn't. So, put your brains together and organize this for me because it sounds fantastic.

Think like one: http://io9.com/5286145/a-harvard-psychiatrist-explains-zombie-neurobiology

This looks good: http://forkableblog.com/?p=65

This Little Light of Mine....

Hold on a second. Someone call the gazetta. We've had a break through. I was waiting in the cold dreary Polish rain for my tram. When it came, it just passed me by. THANKS POLAND! So, I had to wait for the next one which would be somewhere around 12 minutes later, and would make me late for class. This older woman in her 60s walks under the tram stop with me. She started talking to me in Polish and she was being so nice I just didn't tell her that I spoke English. I just smiled and nodded. I think she was complaining about the rain, her hair, and her broken umbrella. Regardless, she just kept talking, and I kept smiling and nodding. I gave her the time and she smiled at me. Did you read that? SHE SMILED AT ME! Oh, the joy was over whelming. It was like realizing I'm in love. The tram was late, but she just kept making frustrated faces at me because of the tram's tardiness, and I kept smiling. Just as the tram arrived she asked me a question, and obviously I couldn't answer. I told her that I didn't speak Polish, and she laughed. That's right, LAUGHED! Then she continued to talk to me in Polish. She didn't care and neither did I. This event has not just made my day, but my month and next month too.

Listen up Poland! You think you can be mean and break my spirits, but you can't. I'm going to love you anyway. Do you hear me! Deep down inside you know it's true. You can be as cold as you want, but I got a light and it's going to shine, and you can't take that away from me!

Anyway, I'm so over dramatic. I did, however, have to walk quickly to class so I didn't dance and skip down the street. This Wednesday is so much better than last Wednesday.

The City Where No One Cares: Amsterdam

Halloween adventure is completed. It was a rocky start, but we got through it with only a few tears. My tears that is. I'll explain it to you since my weekend was full of unnecessary explanations. You see, in a rented van with 9 people, we drove 2 hours to the border and got stopped by control. Now, even though I asked if I needed it before, to my chagrin I didn't have my passport. They told us that either I could go to jail and the rest could continue the trip or we would have to return to the dorm to retrieve the passport. I detained the entire group for 4 hours. I swear, before you all think I'm an idiot, I asked and they said my I.D. was fine. Also, in my own defense, I didn't need it in Berlin or Munich. Everyone was very nice about it, and they explain to me at least 20 times that it would only be a joke in the future. I learned my lesson.

I am a firm believer in the fact that Amsterdam is just one gigantic tourist trap. It goes something like this: get up, go to a coffee shop (if you catch my drift), walk around and laugh at the city, go back to a coffee shop, laugh some more at the city, take a boat tour, coffee shop, walk to the Red Light District and go to a bar. With this mentality the city just rakes in the money. People who are high on coffee and other such things will impulse buy like you've never seen. Sadly, the industry has grown too large for the cities own good. There are far to many ethnic groups inhabiting the city. If you saw the pictures on Facebook you might have seen that I named only the restaurants on our street. By the restaurants alone you can see the booming diversity.

Why? One might ask. Well because nobody works there and nobody cares. They just own hostels and let the tourists do the rest. Our hostel was 36 euro a night and it was filthy. It wasn't even masked to look nice. I am positive the caretakers were out on the veranda smoking pot and laughing at us behind our backs. They told us they were going to provide us with breakfast. Breakfast turned out to be toast and marmalade with coffee. I, for one, feel satisfied that my money was well spent (actually no, I don't). Aside from the hostel, the atmosphere of the city was pleasant. Everyone was so nice, and I think that we all needed that because there is such a tense atmosphere in Wroclaw. It felt like being home in the U.S. but everyone is a liberal. The good news is I myself bought a few senseless things. I couldn't help myself. I thought they were funny.

Next weekend is Krakow. I know I've told you all that a thousand times, but once more won't hurt. The Polish movie this week wasn't interesting enough to blog about. I'll go tomorrow to the counter culture exhibit that I said I would go to last week, but didn't. I can see that no one was interested in my college discussion so I'll try something else. I'm beginning to fear that no one is actually reading this, and that you all tell me you are to make me feel better. I won't second guess myself and continue to write as if you were completely enthralled.

One final note, with the time I've spent here I've been thinking about a lot of things. One of those things is how important you all are to me. I feel like I took you for granted and often didn't listen when you were talking, or I was just plain old mean spirited. I promise when I return to be a better listener, take careful consideration of any advise I seek from you, and to have an optimistic view more often. I think that you should all keep in mind how important those that you love are and take the time to tell them so. Moreover, as I said earlier, the people in Poland are not so friendly. I also took that aspect of my everyday life for granted as well. So, try to do nice things for strangers when you can, and smile more often. Even if others don't smile at you just do it anyway. I promise it will make at least our country a better place. I know this is cheesy, but I don't care. Usually when I put cheese on top of gross things it makes it better. Meanwhile, I'll be standing on my balcony singing this:

Bob's story....

This is my uncle, Bob Huffman (pictured with his lovely wife and daughters). This is his story in reference to "I Love Fanta!":

I made the same mistake too, should have left Bass Barbershop in Clarksville, Virginia when I realized the barber must have lived through the Civil War and all the hang-arounders in the shop were "slow" and "closely related" if you get my drift. The haircut started off badly when he put the neck tissue & cover cloth on sooooo tight I thought he was trying to kill me, my face turned as red as the leather on the barber chair. His dull scissors & shaky hands soon began pulling and yanking out my hair but the worst was yet to be. I was terrified to hear the sound of metal slapping a leather strap, yep, he was yielding a straight razor! Before I could move he had it to the back of my neck, thankfully the scissors were much sharper than the straight razor, he just pulled & scraped all the hair out of the back of my neck. My relief was short lived when he slapped tonic across the area he just "shaved" causing a burn I'll never forget. My ordeal over, I got up, paid & tipped him which got the unwanted attention of everyone in the shop, guess they had never seen tip before, I was setting a really bad precedent and their eyes told me so. Walking down the streets of Clarksville, I saw my reflection in the old wavy glass of the shop windows and thought this isn't that bad. Entering the ladies clothing store I was quickly corrected by the immediate laughter I received from my family and the shopkeeper they were talking to. The shop keeper KNEW where I had been and she informed me, "none of the men in town go to Bass, they all use the beauty parlor for their haircuts". Monday morning I was back in my usual barber's chair getting a real haircut.

WTF

My blog is somber and no where near action packed. I'll try to make the next one a little more up beat. Today, I just thought I would bitch about my morning because I have no one to talk to in my flat. So, it starts with me over-sleeping (or so I thought). I ran out the door with no breakfast or coffee. I missed the bus by, no kidding, one minute. I could see it rolling away as I waited for the traffic to slow so I could cross the street. Then I waited 30 minutes for the next bus. I bought coffee from a coffee machine then spilled it all over myself. I got to class and no one was there. At this point I was just totally pissed off at how the morning is shaping up. I walked outside and started heading back to the bus stop. Then I remembered my friend Craig's confusion when I told him I was late for class. I looked at my watch and I was an hour early. I forgot to set my cell phone an hour back. Then I waited productively by reading articles and studying my Polish nouns and adjectives. When class finally started I could not stay awake. Plus, this teacher relies on me for adding commentary and helping her explain things in English. I was so embarrassed. I literally fell asleep sitting up. I suddenly felt my head falling and woke up. I'm actually laughing out loud at the computer all alone in my flat right now. I am a special person. You are all very lucky to know me.

Next,when I got home I find that there are no coffee cups. I know they are all locked in the other room in the flat. They do this to me constantly. We have like 6 coffee cups and I bought a new one yesterday in hopes that could solve the problem. Nope, all gone. Unbelievable. I'm going to get out of here and go for a walk since it's a beautiful day here. Those always make me feel better. They have really pretty parks around here. Here are some Halloween links that I found very special:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2009/10/21/2719847.htm

http://www.swanbones.com/paintinggallery.html

Eat your candy and drink your beer!

Germany, part 2

Gutan tag! I'm back from Berlin, obviously. It was a beautiful city, and I want to live there. I could be so cool if I lived there. Living in Greensboro I'm not cool at all. Here I'm only a little cool. There the cool possibilities are endless. There is no glass ceiling for people like me. "Berlin, where all my dreams come true." Like I have dreams anymore. I spent a superfluous amount of money, but I got some new shoes. They are just what I was looking for in a winter shoe (leather, insulated, and a sneaker). I also bought some trinkets for a high price. I'll have to cut whatever corners I can in Amsterdam and around Poland. The city has these bears all over the place. They have some connection to the bear on the Berlin flag. Hence, Bearlin.

We stayed at my friend Nils's best friend's flat. You saw the pictures on Facebook. On Friday, we went to the Robbie Williams concert. These Europeans listen to Robbie Williams and Frank Sinatra, sometimes Robbie covering Frankie, like it's going out of style. The point is it was free, and I'm having fun bragging about how I got to see him to all the Erasmus students who didn't come. After, we went to see the fake wall, but then traveled back to our base camp. The owner made us dinner and we had some drinks before we went out. We got into a very fancy and expensive club. Both of the hosts are "high class" guys (if you catch my drift). It was fun, but I felt under dressed. Then on Saturday we went out to lunch and then walked about town for a while. We visited the check-point Charlie museum, and then we went to the destroyed church. I had misled our guide. Berlin is well known for it's shopping districts. Some are high class and some are eclectic. I told him I wanted to go shopping, and he took me to Gucci. It was still amazing. Saturday evening was basically spent in a cab. Then Sunday we went to the flea market and ate this dish called Currywurst. It was basically a hotdog with barbecue sauce. It was good, but apparently a very popular part of Berlin. A lot of Turkish people live there so the Currywurst and the Kabob are the big dishes. My favorite part was this moment that we had stumbled upon a gay bar for men. I asked this German guy if he would order me a beer there that was popular for the region. He brought me back a Beck's, and if you see nothing wrong about that you should know that Beck's is not from that region. It's more like a PBR or some other run of the mill beer.

It's nice to be back in the Wroc-love. I would say I am completely adjusted. The Polish people are nicer to me because I can at least tell them what I want without messing it all up, but I am still not fluent in the language. There will be problems in the future, but I can deal with them easily. I even went to the post office today and got stamps. However, I wouldn't expect postcards any time soon because the mail system is extremely slow, even with priority. Aside from that, I forgot to go to the Polish film because I was at IKEA again. Unfortunately that means you won't get your Polish lesson for the week from that. However, when I was in the city center today I saw an outdoor exhibit on Polish counter culture. I'll go visit that, and see if it's in English and then I'll take some pictures and relay the information. That way not all is lost. Only I'm the loser because I forgot to go to class.

I leave on Thursday evening for Amsterdam and then arrive back in Wroclaw on Monday morning. We rented a van and will drive there. On the way back we are going to stop at Nils's parents' house for dinner in Germany. This crew of people are around my age which is nice and I've been traveling with younger people on the other trips. There are still many problems with large groups, but we can all handle them more maturely. I've been working on organizing and settling into my flat. I'm ready for it to feel more homely. I like to think of it as nesting. It's going well. That is why I missed class and I was at IKEA. I needed lights for my desk and bookself. Then I became enchanted with candles and kitchenware. Time flies when your having fun. The point of me telling you this is I think this will be the last post for this week as well. There are only 2 days until the trip and they will be spent in preparation. Not to mention I will probably revisit this post to correct any mistakes I have made.

I just want to also mention that I miss my kids movies, new and old. When I return I would like to make a pillow fort with you all and watch all the movies I'm missing. We'll have popcorn, blankets, cokes, candy, snuggles and anything you all want. It would be my honor to make you happy. That's how much I miss you. Someone should dress up as me for Halloween. That way I can be there even though I'm not. Keep it real. Ciao.

And this too, I don't recommend the album.

WELL I'LL B, DEM R DUCKS!

I want this blog to be good so that each day you all will check it because you're hanging on the edge of your seat to see what I post next. I realize that this is merely a dream, and in reality you all have better things to do with your days. Well I don't. I spend my day carefully considering what golden nugget of information to drop on you next. I even keep a little book to jot these ideas down in to make it a little more interesting for my audience. I'm trying, and that is what is important. I find it conceivable that one day I might call myself a decent writer, and I'm sure that you will all enjoy watching me morph into what some might even call an eloquent or an articulate writer. It's not there yet, but I intend to hang in there and I encourage you all to do the same.

After that speech, I would like to present this blog in two subheadings: 1. This Ship is Obviously Sinking, and 2. Radio Free Europe. To start, a quick update and then we’ll move onto some discussion points. The trips are on! I leave for Berlin on Friday morning, and therefore this will be the last blog of the week. Rest assured that you might all look forward to an excitement packed blog on Monday as well as pictures on Facebook. The next weekend is Halloween. I hope you all have very spooky plans and clever costumes. I demand pictures! I'll be going to Amsterdam costumed as a citizen of the ever-prestigious United States of America. Then the 6th of November we go to Krakow! I'm excited to get on the list because they plan the trip for you and they usually get a tour guide to take you around. Jessica Huffman, you had better pay close attention after that weekend because that is when you'll get your Auschwitz information. Everyone else please send me a picture of people doing nice things for each other so I don't go to a dark place. Without further adieu...

This Ship is Obviously Sinking:

Since most of the people I speak to usually tell me about how great college is and how much they miss it; I thought that I would just involve you in some of my class discussions and personal thoughts. This is the first time that I have been able to sign up for classes just because I thought they would be interesting. Previously, of course, I had requirements to fill, but those days are over.

You know what else is over? Working for a grade. I actually requested extra reading assignments today because they keep reducing their work load which was laughable in the first place. I didn't tell you this (because I didn't think you'd care and you probably still don't), but I signed up for an extra class. That's right, a class I don't even need. Which just goes to show that a person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it. I digress, and so this subheading poses the question: What do you think is necessary for global and regional governance (with concern for contemporary war)?

This comes from my class...wait for it...Global and Regional Governance. It was posed to my fellow classmates and myself on Monday. Now, I have no background in these things, but I did just fine presenting a list of my ideas to the class of people who specifically study international relations. I’m sure most of you could come up with at least one thing if not more. These lists might include, but are not limited to, clean water, energy management, environmental regulations, industrial regulations, education, etc. After each person in class had presented their ideas it was a very large list. So large in fact it looks like an impossible problem. Each of these problems is so tightly interwoven that it would be impossible to knock them out one at a time like an itemized list. Furthermore, there is no way to balance out these problems because there are far too many of them, and, again, they are all heavily interconnected. Thus, balance is inevitably impossible and if survival of the inevitable is the only conceivable solution then what are we trying to do? Why do we ship aid to Indonesia for Tsunami relief when we know that another tsunami is going to hit them? Why do we disperse economic aid when it puts the countries further in debt? Is it this idea of survival of the inevitable? Is this why we globalize our markets and create other country's dependency on us so that we can further exploit them through their dependence? Is that the freedom that the U.S. so fanatically shoves down the rest of the world's throats?

I know that I'm in college and that means I'm going to find passion in every little thing I figure out (stereotypically). However, I'm not trying to do that. I'm just questioning the opinions of my friends and family to see what they think. I don't really know a lot about this, like I said earlier, but I thought maybe someone would have an opinion (sarcastic or serious). Please email me and let me know your thoughts in general on this topic. Just because I'm in Poland doesn't meant that we can't have interesting conversations.


Radio Free Europe:

A.k.a. Watch out the K.G.B. is right behind you!

The Polish videos that I am watching as a class are actually documentaries about Poland. I thought it would be good for me to share with you what I learn from them for two reasons. The first being that it’s interesting, and the second is I’ve got to take a test on what I learn at the end of the semester. This week’s video was about Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE).

From the beginning of the 1950s up until 1990, RFE was the radio and communication organization of Poland. Deprived of freedoms of speech from the oppressive Soviets. The U.S. funded the station in an attempt to spread anti-communist sentiment. The Polish people used it as an outlet for their creativity. The station gave them a way to establish an underground movement of nonviolent protest to win back their freedom and confidence from Mother Russia.

For 40 years (Stalin was only alive for a few of those) RFE jammed Russian radio waves to deliver information into the homes of the Polish people. Aware of the frequency and time of broadcasts, the Polish people would stop their duties and listen to the valuable information being delivered over the radio waves. Keep in mind that the people that ran these stations were simply journalists delivering the real news instead of Soviet propaganda. Obviously, these things didn’t run smoothly. As a matter of fact, many of these journalists were taken to court to be tried as U.S. spies [Just like me, shh! (or as the Germans say it, psst!)].

Over the years, as power changed hands and inspiration grew throughout Eastern Europe. RFE continued to deliver news to the Eastern Block. Eventually, history wrote itself, and obviously Poland is working on improving its economy, but this all ended just around 17-20 years ago, and here I am sitting in the middle of it (which is bananas). Wrocław was the first broadcast in Poland, and RFE continues to deliver news in areas where uncensored news is hard to find.

That concludes my intelligence of the day. As a special treat, I have left links to explore since I will be away for so long. I love and miss you all! If inspired, go forth and inspire!

http://www.sonnyradio.com/hongkong.htm

http://www.misternicehands.com/

http://www.johnsadowski.com/big_spanish_castle.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Toft

Partners in Crime

This man is Ben, and he was Teresa's surprise birthday present. We did such a good job keeping secrets that she was writing angry songs about him in her room while I was sending him emails to confirm his arrival and deliberating our party plans. We have a slight language barrier, but that never stood in the way of true friends. You all might remember him as our connection at Oktoberfest. Anyway, we spent the weekend hanging out with him. He went to stand in the hour-long line at the store for us, and then made us breakfast 2 mornings in a row. I was very impressed.

This is how the weekend played out because my weekend starts on Thursday. Thursday was a dinner to plan our trip to Amsterdam on Halloween weekend. After that it was bedtime. Then on Friday, Teresa and I took Ben on a tour of the city. It was cold and raining so we stopped to get some mulled wine at a pub in the city center. There is a picture of the wine on Facebook in the Wroclaw photo album. It's hot wine with an orange slice, nutmeg, and cloves. It was perfect after being out in the cold for so long. Then we met with my friend Maria and we went to eat traditional Polish cuisine.

After dinner we went to our first live music event in Poland. These events take careful planning because we can't read the signs that tell us what they are and where to go. There was the band and they played a montage of footage from different films on a big screen. It was cool, and we had a good time. We had a slight altercation with one of the Polish men. Apparently, the Polish men are very possessive. The guy got jealous that Ben was talking to Teresa, Maria, and myself so he tried to pick a fight. I told him to leave and he did. Later that evening a very nice Asian woman told me to be careful. She said she remembered me from the last time I was there (2 weeks ago) because all Polish men were watching me. That scared me a little, but I'm going to find some mace and go out in a larger group. We took a taxi home. My roommate informed me the next morning that I was speaking French to Ben on the balcony once we got home because of our language barrier. She said I was speaking it perfectly because I was drunk. The funny thing is that Ben doesn't speak French.

Last night, Saturday, we went to the pub, with the swings, across the street. Two of the Erasmus students were the DJs. It was crowded and hot. I would describe it as muggy, almost like standing in a sauna where the steam is other people’s sweat. I was told I have a classic Slovak beauty, which boosted my self-esteem. We got to the party late and then left early. I was tired and I wasn't in the mood to socialize. Plus, everyone was so drunk when we got there it was hard to hold a conversation. The photo is of Teresa, Jenny-Vaugn, and myself on Saturday night. Right after this Jenny-Vauhn asked me if someone ripped my tits. She meant to say tights.

This is going to be a normal week. Friday we go to Berlin and I'm really excited about that. As I said before, the next weekend is Amsterdam. Then the weekend after that is Krakow if my request is accepted. If anyone has any interesting questions about what I’m doing here, the culture, etc. Please let me know I would be happy to post a blog about it, and I’m sure that others would be happy to learn more about the country. Stay tuned!

What happened to fall?

It's so cold. I'm talking below 0 already. I got lost this morning after missing my bus stop. I walked around in the freezing rain for an hour thinking, "Oh great." I really need to learn Polish. It's hard to be covert when you carry around a map and smile like a crazy person because your laughing at yourself for being so hopelessly lost you can't find a bus home. This is going to be awesome.

Ok. Alright. It's ok, I'm alright.

Dzien dobry! I have gotten over my inadequacy a little. It still pains me that I am not as cool as some of the people I'm with. These kids are younger than me with so much ambition. They are just everything I want to be. So, I guess it's good I'm hanging out with them. I just feel so inferior because here are these people that speak their mother tongue and my mother tongue. Then on top of that they are learning Polish as well as other languages. There is one girl who speaks something like 15 languages. I can barely speak a paragraph in French, which is never understood by the French people here because my words are drowning in my accent. By the way, it turns out American accents are ugly. I know this because they pick on me. I still try, and as time progresses my language ability will also. I'm so glad that I am here because it felt like I was walking in circles living in Greensboro. I'm starting to not take myself so seriously, and who knows maybe someday I might be the life of the party. I'm just kidding I was definitely always the life of the party, maybe.

Everything is working out very well with school. I was freaking out about it a little, but it turns out it's fine. I'm taking the Polish course, sociology of politics, a class on global and regional governance, a polish movie night course (you just watch polish movies with subtitles in English), and contemporary polish society. The classes are an hour and a half one day a week, each class on a different day. Now you can see why I have all this free time. Teresa has some diplomacy workshops she is going to and I'm planning on joining her for some of those. I'm trying to find the school gym, and there is also a gigantic pool here with water slides. Maybe I'll come back to the US ripped, but I doubt it.

So far, that's the update. Some of the other students and I are planning a trip to Berlin not this weekend, but the next. Also, Stockholm is in the works, and maybe Amsterdam. I'm not really crazy about going to Amsterdam so maybe not. There is also a trip being planned for Krakow. Just outside of Krakow is Auschwitz and we will have a guided tour of that when we go for all you Nazi fanatics. The group that is planning that trip likes to give a one day notice and you have to sign up because there are only 100 slots available out of 300 Erasmus students. It is possible that I might not go because I can go later and it isn't a problem. I promise I will go so my family doesn't freak out. I personally think that going to Auschwitz is going to scar me a little, but you can all hug me when I return. I think both the Stockholm and Amsterdam plans are for around that same time. All of them, however, are not until the end of November with the exception of Berlin. I've talked to Jenna, and she will come sometime after December. I think I'm going to wait for her to get here before going to France or Italy. It depends on what she wants to do. There is talk of trips to Prague and Barcelona as well. I will keep you all up to date in photos and such. I am also accepting any kind of donations for hostel costs, food, a leather jacket, etc (did you catch that?). I can't afford to buy presents for everyone and pay for the trips. Also, the gifts have to be shipped. Just a little thought for food. I hope everyone is well, and I will try to be in contact as much as possible to feed you stories of life in this backwards country (that's no joke). Do widzenia!

Je ne suis pas originale.

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Oh good, I wasn't expecting that, but now I can see that was obviously going to be how this all turned out.

This is the grossest thing I've come across so far. Here we have a Polish hamburger. It's hard to see by the picture, but inside there is ground beef, white cabbage, red cabbage, bread and butter pickles, corn, vinegar, and 1000 Island dressing. You can pick up your own hand full of "fuck you taste-buds" outside of our dormitory. My flat mates were eating these and tried to tell me that they weren't bad, but I know what they were up to. After this they continued into there regular late night eating spree with some fried cheese that smells and tastes like my Vans. These girls are human garbage cans. We seriously ate chicken butts the other day. I tried it, but no more chicken butts for me.

Today's blog, however, is not about food. Instead, I want to gripe about my experience at the movies today. Xuane and I awoke to a rainy, cold, Polish afternoon and decided to skip the National Museum to go see District 9. I really wanted to see Zombieland, but this is Poland so you take what you can get. One cool thing about the theaters here is that they serve booze at a fairly normal price. I am a full fledged fan of popcorn and soda (I don't like to eat the popcorn), but I can think of times it would be cool to have a beer. Today's choice: Sprite, caramel covered popcorn, and assorted Haribo gummies.

Now, let's start with the previews. Saw VI is on it's way. Um, can somebody please kill the cash cow already? Honestly, what is wrong with people today? Those movies aren't scary they are just gore fests. I can see having a small market of those kinds of movies, but 6 of the same terrible plot!? Do these people not realize what is happening to them? Have they never heard of a capitalist market? Not to mention most "scary movies" like the Saw empire are exactly the same. Someone has to account for taste. This needs to stop. I could go on a similar rant about the Final Destination movies. I get it. The guy is cursed and instead of him dying all his friends die in abnormal ways. Good, one more reason for me to be afraid of the world around me and the life I'm living.

2012, I wish the media would leave this one alone. It's going to turn into the 1999/2000 fiasco where paranoid people start freaking out. People that tell me information about the world coming to an end when there is nothing I can do about it drive me nuts. Why would I want to know that Yellowstone is a super volcano that is long over due to erupt, and if it does most of the people on earth will die? Or, the poles are 1000 years over due to shift. If that's the case, I'm constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's a thrill that I can live without.

Finally, District 9. Oh man, I wanted to go to sleep in this movie, but my chair wasn't comfortable enough and I was on a sugar high. I didn't realize that aliens understood English without speaking it, and that people from South Africa could understand alien language without speaking it. Hey writers, that doesn't make any sense. I personally have no idea what the aliens said because it was all in Polish subtitles. This baffles me because if Tom Cruise can play an English speaking Nazi with no accent why couldn't the aliens speak English? Is it more believable that 2 different species can communicate with each other perfectly without ever using a symbol, hand gesture, or common form of language? I know it's a movie, but I just want them to try a little if I'm going to spend $9 on it.

What I hated the most by far was the figurative elbow that I felt in my side from the writers whispering, "Get it? It's about the apartheid and racism." It was so obvious that this is what they were getting at that they might as well just flashed it up on the screen before the movie started. Then, to add insult to injury, they put the setting in Johannesburg. Really!? They turned the native Africans into racists. As if those people didn't suffer enough going through it themselves. They make this movie that basically says, "Hey, don't forget how easy it is to be racist." No duh. No one should waste their time or money on this 2 hours of a reminder that some people are straight up stupid. But, that's just my opinion. I don't know what the aliens said. There could have been some key information. I think I got it, but I'm willing to debate the facts if their are any disputes of this opinion.

Good news! I signed up for internet two weeks ago and I finally got it.

Let the skyping commence!

Germany, part 1

I'm back to Wroclaw or Breslau depending on if you ask a German or a Polski. It was a great experience, but supa-expensive. I dropped 200 euro at least. I might have to pick up a job. Although, I doubt I will spend so much in other cities that I go to in the future. It was a long car ride. It took about 9 hours which isn't bad, but with strangers feels a little longer. Oh well, the French girl we were with didn't speak English extremely well so we were entertained by her mistakes. For example she told me she, "needed to check her cunt" and she asked me to, "close the condom," instead of telling me she needed to check her bank account and to close the curtain. I also got to drive on the autobahn. I got up to 180 km (110-120 miles per hour) before I was scared I would kill everyone in the car. Surprisingly, the speed is not the scariest part. At some points the road is just ridiculously narrow. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I took it, no regrets. The countryside in West Germany is beautiful. There are fields and fields of hops gardens and wheat. Plus, they have these giant modern windmills that look so space age. I couldn't get a good picture of it for you guys and that makes me sad.

The pictures are now posted on-line with info. Like I said, I'll try to get the other pictures from Juliana she is serious about some photo taking. In the coming days I'm working on figuring out my classes. There is a boat trip/party on Wednesday, but I'm not sure you will care to see those pictures so I might not post them. It's time to settle back into a normal lifestyle. I need to save money after this trip and the haircut fiasco. There is still no internet at the dorm. I'll keep trying, but it is a very difficult situation because the administration doesn't speak English. Anyway, in order to talk to anyone that isn't available between 10-2 in the mid-morning/afternoon I would have to stay up until like 1 am or 2 am. I'll figure it out. I miss you guys so much!

I love fanta!

So, I got a haircut today. If you are taken to a salon where the furniture is still ruled by communism and the hairdresser is older than dinosaurs, heed my advice and just leave. I was so dumb and sat down because I was like, "Oh, she obviously has a lot of experience." It's true, she did, but one must differentiate between a hair dresser and a stylist. It was the worst haircut I have ever had, and I almost cried for the first time. The first cut was about $15 and then I spent another $40 to get it fixed. It took a total of 4 hours to get a haircut. So, now I have no hair. It's an exciting and new look for my exciting and new life.

Speaking of exciting, tomorrow at 11 am I'm going to Octoberfest in Munich. Yay! I'll post the pictures later of the great time I had. Lots of love!

Nie mówię po polsku, ale mówię po angulsku.

Yo-ski! I skipped the Polish lesson and ignored my blog for a few days. I apologize for the delay, but frankly I was busy. Last Wednesday I made a long trek to IKEA. It was my first time and I was disappointed to be honest. I got things for my kitchen at an affordable price. Then I had to carry it all back to my dorm. All together it was a four-hour trip by tram, bus, and foot. Then, stuff happened, I posted the pictures on Facebook. There was the zoo trip on Thursday, and then we make party on Friday and Saturday. Sunday we went to the other city Świdnica. It was a cute city, but I didn't do my research and therefore missed out on a couple of old churches as well as a castle. Then, I came down with swine flu while I was there. So upon our return I went immediately to sleep from 6-9. I got up made some dinner and then got the worst nights sleep of my life. It was so loud on the city street I could hear people breathing. I spent the whole night crying while pulling my hair out. Luckily, in a mad-dash all the students at "the D-building" got to move to "the pencil" (which means nothing to my sleepless nights). After that nightmare we could all begin to relax in our new flats with flat mates of our own choice.

Xuane, my previous roommate, and I decided to stay together in a room. We share the flat with Teresa, the kiwi, and a girl from Russia that is very nice. It feels like a good group because we can balance work with play. For instance, last night everyone went out to celebrate our new homes, but all of us were out of the flat by 9:20 this morning. None of us felt very good, but we all at least felt it was important to take care of our business. Anyway, the flat is small, but much bigger than the last place. We have a fridge the size of one you would find in a regular dorm room, and 2 burners for all four people. That is our kitchen, plus a sink and a small table fit for 7 year-olds. There are an absurd amount of cabinets in this place. That's good I guess. The bathroom is normal, and we have an entryway, which is nice with a place to hang our winter coats. We have Internet, broadband, no Wi-Fi. It will take only two days to connect hopefully, but no less then two. Then we can all Skype like I'm right there in the room with you.

Today, Teresa and I went exploring to find the things we needed around the building. We found 2 washing machines for all 16 floors (each floor has 8 flats, each with 2 rooms, each room with 2 people). There are no dryers. Apparently, Poland doesn't like dryers. You have two hours to use the washing machine and then you have to let someone else have it. We also found the TV Room. I'm going to have to post a picture to show you how hilarious this room was. More important, there are like 7 channels of which maybe 2 are actually in Polish. The other 5 are other languages, some of which are English, but they are all dubbed over by the same guy. Just to be clear, you can still hear faintly what the people are saying, but there is one guy talking in Polish for every character, and it is the same guy on every channel. It is terrible. After these two disappointments we returned to the room to try to figure out something else to do. Apparently there is a ping-pong table and a foose-ball table up on the 12th floor too. By day, I will hone my skills in these games so that I may return and slay all those that claim to be victors of them (you know who you are). By night, I will teach the international community our fine American traditions of beer-pong and flip-cup. It's going to be a good 5 months.

Speaking of me, I'm doing very well. We started the process of trying to sign-up for classes. I don't think I will be able to finish the anthropology minor. I'm not sure yet, but I think that is where it is heading. It's ok, I'm thinking about taking courses in economics. There is also a large community of Global Studies students here so maybe I'll look into that as well. I'm getting around just fine now. I'm even taking on the city alone. I find that when people start speaking to me in Polish if I just look terrified they will just leave me alone. If it is important they can use hand gestures. I can say something’s like good afternoon, how are you, how I am, can you repeat that, I'm listening, I don't understand, can you write that down, please, thank you, excuse me, yes, no, and good bye. I'm also very good with poultry so I've been eating a lot of chicken because I can't recognize what anything else is on the menu or at the store. I'm still trying to figure out what the deal with brewed coffee is. I think these people only drink espresso and instant coffee. I can't find coffee filters anywhere. I'm going to need someone to send me some of those, and some American coffee because it's week sauce here.

Well, I could go on and on, but I won't to spare us time so I can watch my American television shows while I wait for the rain to stop here. Winter is blowing into town. Keep watch for more posts! My new and now permanent address is:

Uniwersytet Wrocławski

Dom Studencki Ołowek

Pl. Grundwaldzki 30

50-363 Wrocław