Poland, I hardly knew ya...

Final thoughts of Poland before I get back onto my rightful path.

Poland gets a bad rap in the West and I'm not sure why. The land itself is beautiful and fertile, as evidenced by its larger, aggressive neighbors lusting for it and trying to control it for millenial. But the people have the identity of Poland in their souls, and they will never be assimilated.

The history is tragic, and travel here is a World War buff's wetdream. The museums are world class.

The food is fabulous.

The alcohol is fabulous.

The people are very well educated, with most students having at least 3 languages, a sport, and an art. Many of the kids are incredibly tech savvy.

Those Poles who have ridden the wave of economic upward mobility spend incredible amounts of zloty on their kids. Children get their own new mobile phones as early as 6 - Apple watch at 13. Children are decked out in Tommy Hilfiger from head to ankle and Adidas or Converse on the feet. These are at American prices plus the import fees -- much higher cost than we pay. Remember the base comparison - 16 oz beer for $1.25 at the convenience store; $37.50 for teeth cleaning.

Polish society is split exactly as the US, UK, France, Italy, India, and truthfully most of the world is today -- the educated, city dwellers with good jobs vs. the uneducated village people who dream of "the good old days". But the Polish PiS government has purchased votes for decades to come by giving monthly payments to families for every child they have - regardless of need. When you read news about Poland's Law and Order government - know that only 50% of the population actually support their ideas.

Those American who dream of taking a skiing trip to Europe should consider Poland over Switzerland / Italy / Austria. Fly to Krakow where you can experience tons of WWII history, and ski in Zakopane where your dollar will go much farther against the zloty than it will against the euro. 

I will definitely remember my times here, stay in touch with the friends I've made, and will probably visit again.

And now, back to Conversational Italian.

Coming to America

The trip home is all a blur.

After a bittersweet final goodbye to my managers, a delay in departure from Warsaw.

I was seated on a row with two ladies of about my age - one Polish, one Ukraine. We conversated with smiles and gestures. At one point it hit me - OMG, I'm the same age as these ladies, and they know it... but I didn't!!! God! The flight was really turbulent and at one point I grabbed the hand of the Polish lady next to me.

Passport control at JFK was quick (Terminal 7) but baggage took forever. I don't recall Customs... My 3 liters of vodka came through unscathed. Was unable to check my bags for my 6:30am American flight to CLT until 3am and then TSA opened at 3:30 (Terminal 8)...

I snoozed while waiting to board and snoozed the entire way to CLT.

Upon arrival in CLT I got the perfect airport pickup, and Big American Breakfast.

... It's a thing of beauty!

Good time Saturday night

Though it was rough getting up the appetite to drink again on Saturday, we had a long-scheduled "native speakers" final dinner planned and so, when the going gets tough, yada yada...

It was a low key affair - not every was able to come. A calm restaurant just off the main drag with excellent food. I had my usual -- the goulash soup and kick ass Polish beer. Man! I'm gonna miss the food!

Then we strolled to a bar where we had one more and the requisite selfie.

Goodbye!

Good time Friday night

On Friday a group of adult students invited their Polish teacher and me to an end of the year celebration dinner... Polski style.

Wow.

We went to a restaurant near Kozienice called Texas. It's a big wooden building with a fabulous covered porch where we ate in the air freshened by an afternoon thunderstorm. (There's also a kids playground which actually appears in the story a little later.) Through a backdoor near the bathrooms I saw a big woodpile -- and coming from NC I know a real wood fire means good cookin' and good eatin'.

They started by bringing out lots of water infused with lemons, strawberries and mint - both still and bubbly. And they kept this water coming all night. Though I really wanted one, I didn't order a kickass Polish beer because I'd been told I was expected to drink vodka with the guys and, though no professional, I know from experience it's better to not mix.

Two waitresses came through the door laboring to carry a wooden trencher -- 3 to 4 feet long and 1 foot wide -- piled high with dinner. We scurried out of the way and they hoisted it onto our table.

Looking at the trencher left to right, we had fresh slaw, purple cabbage, marinated carrots, and mustard and horseradish. Next was a heap of oven roasted potatoes nestled up against the largest pile of pierogi I've ever seen - big and browned. Then was the ginormous pile of pork - ribs, knuckles, and kielbasa. And finally we had pickled mushrooms, cucumber, sweet red peppers. Jeesh!

We served ourselves family style, and after taking a few bites of kielbasa I was introduced to the expectation that we would be taking shots all throughout dinner. Amateur Polski me, I had (naturally?) assumed that shots of vodka came after dinner... and that I'd take one and gracefully bow out. But nooooooooooo.

Vodka is actually slammed every 10 minutes or so throughout dinner, complete with a hearty toast of “Na zdrowie!!” and followed by a large slug of lemon water. And though I tried several times to explain the biology of how people who weigh more can handle more alcohol and therefore my relative size indicates I should have smaller shots than the men, my words fell on deaf ears... Funny how language learners have listening comprehension for the things they want to understand!

All told I had six shots over 2 hours of eating. (I like a nice mellow vodka buzz.)

The meat from the ribs and knuckles just fell off the bones, the pickles were fantastic. The pierogi - ah, the pierogi Most were "ruskie" - potatoes, onions and cheese - but I also got a mushroom and sauerkraut, and Agniezska told me I was the lucky one. I don't know if there really is a tradition of someone finding a mushroom and sauerkraut pierogi being lucky or if this was just her bottle of wine talking (and the fact that this stuffing is the hands down fave of most Polski).

At one point, while we were discussing the merits of this playground in specific and all playgrounds in general, and that I really love swinging but how an adult with no kids can't swing when people are on the playground because others assume you're a perv, I noticed that the playground was totally empty. So, I went to swing. And emboldened by the warm vodka buzz I swung really high into the night air in my dress and Italian sandals, and then jumped, like I was 10 again, gliding like a Russian gymnast in a flawless dismount. Complete with arms in the air. Score!

And my students cheered me.

Thank you again guys for such a lovely evening. Everything was perfect. I'll remember it forever!

What I'll miss... 3

These way cool windows. Turn the handle to horizontal, the window opens wide from the side. Turn the handle all the way up, the window opens a crack from the top.

Only downside, no screens

Sunset Watch: Final Edition

We haven't checked in on the sunset in a while, and actually we have a BIGGER consideration... sunrise!

Today the sunrise was 04:19. That means it starts getting light at about 3:50…. and by 5  the flames of hell are licking my legs in my bed through the linen-weave polyester curtains in my bedroom. Compare this to Charlotte’s comfortable sunrise of 6:07

Sunside is now 8:46, which passes Charlotte’s sunset of 8:34

Sancta Sanctorum

This notice informs passing demons who may want to possess you - and also informs your neighbors - that you have had your house blessed this calendar year, in exchange for a suitably pious donation to your local priest.

Dżem

While listening to radio in the car between villages I happened upon a Polish band which, while I couldn't understand the words, reminded me of the music of Sex, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll (before the BeeGees, obviously!). The band is called Dżem (prounced "Jam" — as in “to jam”).

Started in 1973, Dżem was lead by singer Ryszard Riedel -- who, as countless rock heroes, died of complications from opiate abuse. (Though he was pretty much older than 27 and prolly shuda known better.)

When I was in Poznań I enjoyed a street musician who, according to my friends, was playing Dżem. (Yes, yes! Videos should be in landscape, you idiot!)

Listen to them on YouTube here.

What I worry about

I'm concerned about some of my teenage students.

This article in the NY Times tells how the PiS party has named gays as the biggest threat to life in Poland as we know it and has ever or will ever be encountered ever for the next election. I hate to think that these kids will be relegated to a life in the closet, or be forced to move to a more accepting country.

I am SOOOO looking forward to... 2

Mexican food. Real American Mexican food.

What I'll miss... 2

I found some colleagues who just GOT ME, and who I got as well. I'm happy I had the opportunity to know them and I'll be sad to lose that part of my life.

I made good friends with a few of my adults students, and I believe we'll keep in touch forever.

And I can really see the potential in some of my students -- these folks will do amazing things in the future. And be funny while doing it. I’ll miss the verbal sparring.

I Love New- what????

One of my students was wearing this shirt, which made me go hmmmmm... for multiple reasons... First the Y in the Polish alphabet doesn’t have the little slash through it.... then the Polish spelling of New York is Nowy Jork - the Y in York being replaced with a J.... 

I went to a Polish Barbeque...

To celebrate the end of the school year, our school had a party -- a Polish barbeque.

Polish people love to be outdoors, enjoying nature. Often people in cities and towns -- apartment dwellers -- will have a piece of land outside of the city where they keep a vegetable garden.  Sometimes the plot is simply the vegetable garden, a tiny house with electricity and plumbing, and a small area of grass. Sometimes there's enough room to have a play area for the children.

You're not allowed to live in these houses -- you cannot set up residence in these houses by law -- but during the summer months people may live there or simply go there on the weekends. And party.

Party hearty.

Polish barbeque is all about sausage on the grill -- nary a hot dog, hamburger, rib or chicken breast in sight! And you don't put these sausages into bun, oh no! You hold them in your hand...

So we've got kielbasa on the grill with a series of little slices along the top, so that you easily can take bites off the end without having to gnaw through the casing. There was mustard, but no sauerkraut, so I'm thinking the kraut must be a US addition.

And then there is the blood sausage. A mixture of mystery meats, kasha, and pigs blood stuffed into an intestine, this is cooked on the grill in individual foil pouches and eaten with a fork. Don't ask, I didn't try it...

We also had some fabulous salads - cole slaw, cucumbers stuffed with feta cheese and sunflower seeds, and broccoli salad. With yummy bread on the side. And homemade desserts. And of course, kickass Polish beer. Too many of those.

Such that I tackled the rope net (usually meant for kids, but hey!).

6

6 more days in Poland 

KD Tea Room

KD 2

Kazimierz Dolny 1

My final trip from Hooterville, I went to Kazimierz Dolny, a sweet little town on the Vistula established in the 12th century(somewhat reminiscient of Asheville or Sausalito). It is home to historic buildings, lots of art galleries, and a globally recognized film festival.

We took a ferry across the Vistula from Janowiec to get there. Two thick metal cables were anchored into the ground on each side of the river. The ferry then used the cables as navigation, pulling itself along the cables from one side of the river to the other.

As always, we had fabulous food! And we capped our trip with dessert in a fantastic tea shop.

11 USD

All these products, purchased at my local Zabka (7-11-ish), were 44 zloty or 11USD.  Those are 16 ounce premium beers. And a Starbucks latte.

Yes, I live a healthy lifestyle here as well.

Poznań odds and ends

What a fancy Zabka

A pierogi restaurant called “prozac”

Award winning Italian food in Poznań

Italian husbands and Polish wives left Sardinia to set up this restaurant. We had breakfast and lunch here!!!