KIELBASA HEAVEN

Went to dinner with a friend.
We were eating outside.
There was an awning above.
Something hit the one above the table next to us
then hit the floor.
It was a raw sausage.

It's raining sausages in Poland,
literally.

ZAKOPANE MOUNTAIN WOMAN

Just call me "mountain woman!"

I finally saw Zakopane and although I didn't see as much of the mountains as I would have liked to, I still had an absolutely fabulous time. I went with a friend/student that is almost as lazy as me and we were able to sit, shop, watch people, drink, eat, sit and eat some more. It was great!

I haven't written in a while so even though this news of Zakopane is new, it isn't all. I went to Piastanalia (I'm pretty much positive that I spelled that wrong), the university "party" festival that lasts three days. There's concerts and drinking and eating. But mostly a lot of drinking. I went Wednesday night as my morning class cancelled and I didn't have to teach until Thursday at 3:30. I drank slightly too much Piast beer and was way hungover the next day. I went to class though (I'm a trooper when I'm the one to do the damage) and came home to plan my next lesson after scarfing down some pizza. Around 9:00pm, I felt extremely ill and had to go to bed. I was shaking and sooo cold. I had the heat cranked in my room, socks over the bottom of my pants, a t-shirt and long johns and I was still freezing. Finally got to sleep but was waking up in the middle of the night. When morning came, I showered, got clean pajamas on, and called in sick. By the afternoon, I had caught up on my sleep and was able to make it to Kluczbork. That night, after my students scared me into thinking I might possibly have sepsa (the fatal drinking virus in the surrounding towns), I was on a train to Zakopane.

SQUeeeeeZING IN ONE LAST TRIP

Heading to Zakopane this weekend and I'm very excited. A friend of mine and I will be hopping on the night train on Friday and spending the weekend (hopefully) with the "mountain people" drinking strong vodka and eating sausages. Yeah!!! I'm hoping to find some regional-specific vodka but am a little nervous as to how potent it can be. (Check out the link below.)

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006764717

Also very excited about next year's prospects. I've decided that since I won't be able to see my great aunt this coming June (I would have to skip this semester of school), I'm coming back to Poland next year and moving (if I can find a job) to Rzeszow - the city she lives closest to. I don't go drinking, I don't even really go out exploring - living close to family is ideal for me. I only hope that she'll want to see me as often as I'd like to visit. Family is one of the main reasons I am here and I feel so lucky that I'll be so close to family when I return.

NERD ALERT

I am currently working on my presentation for school this June: half-hour on the topic of single-sexed schools, which I know nothing about. And without adequate access to online journals or books in English, I'm not that confident in the information I'm gathering.

I have found a website to help put together this fairly random presentation. I recognize that I make way too big a deal out of these things (the majority of my classmates will either be stoned, half-stoned, half-drunk, hungover, sleeping or thinking about their own presentations when I'm up there talking) but I can't help but obsess. If I don't, it will go even worse than planned. I guess I'm just one of those people that has to plan out the details no matter how unimportant the presentation task is.

So here's the odd part. Every time I'm getting ready to do a presentation, I can picture myself ("visualize", if I may) giving this totally awesome speech at some college or women's conference and I wonder how I'm able to imagine myself doing this if I can't even do a half-hour bogus presentation in front of my peers in a summer course. Maybe it's because the topic isn't of that much interest to them, or me for that matter. I chose single-sexed schools which, in an education class, was the closest I could get to going in the direction I'd like to go after I get this master's degree. (Scratch that. Sexual education would have been more interesting and more relevant to my future studies but this is TEFL - how can I really say that the topic of teaching sexual education relates to any of us in that room, at least at this point.)

So I'm heading to Zakopane next weekend and I'm hoping I can print out my information for the presentation so I can work on it during the night train ride. For some reason, working on school work during a ride somewhere always makes me feel intellectual. It's gonna feel SO good when I get to jump on that plane home after finishing all that work. Can you believe it will be only one more semester and I'll have a Master's degree in Education??!

HOLIDAY, CELEBRATE

Finally, more pictures!

Went on holiday this past week and had a fabulous time. Started out going to Gdansk on Monday morning. My train left at 6:30 and I made it to Gdansk around 3:30 that afternoon. I spent two days there (more or less) and left Wednesday morning to meet a friend in Warsaw. The trip was great; I spent most of my time leisurely, albeit coldly, walking the city and popping in to various shops and restaurants. Took myself to a nice dinner both Monday and Tuesday night, both including wine and a candle.

Spent another three or so days in Warsaw. I had heard a lot about how unattractive this city is and I must admit that aside from the old and new town centers, it really is a fairly accurate statement. There's a lot of graffiti and cold, gray buildings. But the restaurants are great and so was the company.

Finished off my vacation in Opole. Went with a friend to see Moszna Castle. It's currently used as a mental hospital/classical concert site and although the latter caused us to miss seeing the entire interior, the outside and the grounds were spectacular.

Enjoy the pictures. I apologize for the smudgy thing on some of the Warsaw pictures. It's really annoying. Next weekend, Zakopane - minus the smudge.

THE OLD MAN IS SNORING

It's raining, it's pouring
The old man is snoring
He bumped his head
And went to bed
And couldn't wake up in the morning


What is that song exactly? I remember singing it when I was so little and for some reason, it made me so happy. Maybe it was the lyrics taken literally. Maybe it was its illustration in a book. Maybe it was some little thing I did with my parents when it was raining and I was so young I could barely have a memory: making cookies, reading a book, playing hide n' seek in the house. Who knows. But regardless, it rains and I smile so big inside. And I wonder if this is what parents are for: to provide you with not only the tools to succeed in life, but to give you the memories and feelings to make you really appreciate life.

So here I am, loving life. There's a slight overcast (but not enough in my opinion) and an on-again, off-again drizzle. The kitchen is warm and there's a comforting fog growing on the windows. I'm cooking what might possibly be the best batch of kapusta I have ever made. I have already cooked the onions and have breathed in their intoxicating effects of bringing me back to yet another wonderful memory growing up. (What that memory is exactly, I'm not so sure but it definitely involves my mother and a warm glow above the kitchen stove.) I am reading an Elizabeth Berg book that my mother sent me (both women are magnificent) and am about to pour myself a hot cup of tea. At this point, I couldn't be more feminine, more pms-ing, or more happy in my own little world.

Unless the kitchen was at home.