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: