Things I Miss About America..

After being here for little over a month now (38 days to be exact), I'm definitely settled in, and not looking back. But of course there are some things about living here that constantly reminds me that I am not in New England anymore.

This feeling was of course to be expected. I am living in a completely different country. What I took for granted in the States is a luxury or unknown thing here. Not only are some things different but I've started to crave things (and eat things) that I don't typically want or eat at home. My world has been completely turned upside down and I am constantly trying to right myself again.

Here is a list of things that I miss or crave...
1. Charmin Toilet Paper (Decent toilet paper). When we first arrived in Nawojka (our lovely dorm), we encountered the realization of the value of toilet paper here. The toilet paper that was supplied to use and is still bought by our suitemates has the texture and appearance of cardboard. The Charmin bear would be running to the hills if she saw this type of toilet paper.

2. Home-cooked meals. Since we don't have a meal plan here and little kitchen supplies, I find myself eating out for almost every meal here. I know what you're thinking, how can I afford this? But trust me, everything is so cheap, I usually only spend $10-15 per day on food (30-35 zloty). We don't have a fridge and since it is warming up outside, we have lost the ability of putting our drinks and yogurts out on our window ledge to cool. Luckily, I have found cheap places to buy fruits & veggies, and everyday I buy a sandwich for 4 zloty ($1.33) at a sklep (store) or I dish out more zloty for a zapiekanka (a open-faced baguette or bread topped mainly with mushrooms and cheese and other vegetables and tomato sauce) and a coke. I am excited to attempt to make polish cuisine back home!

3. English! This of course wast to expected. Polish is a very hard language to pick up. Thankfully I am in a Polish language course four days a week which is helping tremendously. I love walking through the Rynek (Main Square of Krakow) and stop dead in my tracks when a fellow English-speaker walks by. I am so in tuned to English here now, no matter the accent that is attached to it. I listen into their conversations like a pro-stalker and for that moment I forget where I am. I try to smile and make friends with every English speaking person or at least acknowledge them.

That's all that I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure I will be able to think of more and add it to the never-ending list. Now don't get the wrong impression that these things and my complaining is consuming my time here. It's not. I can proudly say that last night I walked home from Kiefirek (Polish grocery store, on almost every street) with the cardboard-like toilet paper in tow because it is wicked cheap. These are all just adjustments and I'm certainly enjoying and entertaining myself more than complaining. I have enjoyed finding some little things that I wouldn't ordinarily think about. This experience is just teaching me to not take even the littlest thing for granted.

As always I am living and learning, and above enjoying life here in the great city of Krakow.
Next up: Easter Extravaganza!

Dr. Vincent Comes to Visit March 12th-13th

On Monday March 12th, Dr. Vincent, one of my professor's from Keene State College came to visit Krakow and the Center for European Studies. He sat in on our Polish language course, where we all attempt (and struggle) to learn this difficult language. My classmates are a pretty impressive bunch of students. Megan and I are the only Americans, everyone else is from all over Europe. And most have a thorough knowledge in other languages with English being their second language. 

In the afternoon, Dr. Vincent sat in on my Jews in Central Europe course as well. It is interesting learning about the Holocaust in a country where these atrocities occurred and are being taught by a professor who has her own experience, perspective, and point-of-view. My classes at the Center for European Studies are very small (4-9 students) and then the one other class that I am taking is through the School of Humanities and has 54 students. It is nice having such small courses though, it reminds me of my seminars and classes at the Cohen Center. 

The Center for European Studies at Jagiellonian University

At night, Megan and I met Dr. Vincent at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama Mia at 7:45pm. We sat in the classier section and had a wonderful conversation over a delicious meal of pizza and calzones (bon appetit). It was great expressing all of the highs and lows of our experiences in Krakow thus far. We have a lot of great stories. Of course all of our intense experiences have only made us stronger. I was telling Dr. Vincent how we get tested and challenged everyday. I am constantly embarrassed at my attempts of speaking Polish, and being made fun of from my pronunciations. I enjoy being tested and being constantly pulled out of my comfort zone. It is a great growing experience. I hope we didn't portray our experience as a bad one. It is the complete opposite. 

Dr. Vincent, Megan and I finishing up our delicious meal at Mama Mia

It was great seeing Dr. Vincent and getting a chance to show him that we are getting along quite well here. Krakow is a wonderful place, full of surprises. It was great connecting Keene to Krakow. I will do my very best to bring back all that I experience in Krakow to Keene and to convince others to study in Krakow. GO TO KRAKOW!

Left My Heart In Ireland

Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland

For St. Patrick's Day I spent the weekend in Galway, Ireland with a few lovely Keene girls. Megan and I met up with her roommates, Hannah and Chelsea, who are both studying in Ireland. Going to Ireland has been on my bucket list forever but this weekend was only my introduction to this beautiful country.   After graduation, I hope to return for a month and galavant all throughout the land of the Irish. 

Keene Girls: Chelsea, Hannah, Megan and I beginning our all-day Galway Tour

This weekend was a little Keene State reunion. There were 8 KSC students in all there and it was great meeting new faces and reminiscing about good ole Keene. As we have been saying, this is the start of our senior year and what a great start it has been.

Ireland is such a beautiful country. It is a very luscious and green place. Everyone in Ireland is so friendly, granted we were in Ireland for St. Patty's Day, which of course is the friendliest day of the year, but it makes no difference, i stand by what I said. Also, one other amazing thing about Ireland is that you can drink the TAP WATER. I have been deprived of that luxury here in Krakow. Sometimes I just want to drink from the sink, what say you? I love me some all natural tap water.

We encountered many interesting people and situations in a short weekend visit to Ireland. Here are just a few anecdotes:

1) While flying from Krakow to Dublin at 8:30pm (after a three-hour delay) we sat next to a guy who was completely wasted and who continued to drink until we landed 2.5 hours later in Dublin. Megan and I tried our best to get the point across that we just wanted to read our books but he wasn't having it. He concluded that we were rich girls returning home to Ireland. No way were we American because our accents didn't sound like it, at this point I told him to just leave us along and keep his assumptions to himself. A very interesting encounter to start our weekend off.

These are the "cliffs of insanity" from 'The Princess Bride' and were in 'Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince.'

The Cliffs of Moher

2) On Friday we spent most of the day on a Galway tour with our final destination being the Cliffs of Moher. Our tour guide came straight out of the Disney film "The Luck of the Irish," he was the exact replica of grandfather. His name was Desmond and I already miss that great Irish man. We sang "Galway Girl" and learned other Irish music. 

3) I was told that I am not Irish, only an American who wishes she was more Irish, fml. I am still Irish at heart though.

4) I forgot how easily it is to communicate with people when we all speak the same language. Of course, we had to decipher through the many accents that belong to the English language but it was a nice change of scenery being able to communicate so easily. I love the challenge of a language barrier in Poland but it was a nice break for just the weekend. 

Dunguaire Castle

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Galway, Ireland

Representing Polska all the way in Ireland, see you at Euro2012. I was so happy to see a Polish themed part of the parade. It has only been four short weeks since I arrived in Krakow, but I am already beginning to consider it my home.  

Some Krakow roommate love <3

This weekend was an amazing introduction to Ireland, and I am counting down the days until I can return again. Until next time Ireland, I will be seeing you again soon, stay classy. 

"Whoever Saves One Life, Saves The World Entire"

Today, we took Krakow by storm and spent a well needed entire day being tourists in our city. Alex, Megan and I ventured to Kazimierz and Podgórze because we were focusing in on Schindler's Factory today. First adventure of the day was to find an American-run bagel shop, Bagel Mama. I was the leader this morning and using my guidebook we ended up going to the shop's old location. A little back-tracking and questioning of nice-friendly street-goers and a very helpful internet cafe man we eventually find its new location on ul. Dajwor, and it was totally worth the struggle.

Delicious bagel shop which serves up a wide range of food. 

Warming up with some goraca czekolada

The Classic: smoked salmon slices (lox), cream cheese, tomato, and red onions. (Bring some gum or breathe mints for after, but smelly breath is so worth it)

 

After we satisfied our bellies, we walked across the bridge and entered into Podgórze. Podgórze is the place where in WWII, the Nazis herded some 15,000 Jews into a ghetto and then liquidated it by way of deportation to concentration camps. There are numerous sites recalling these events-the eerie Plac Bohaterow Getta, which was the center of the Jewish ghetto, now named after the 'heroes of the ghetto;" the famed factory of Oskar Schindler; and the site of the former Plaszow concentration camp, a short distance to the southwest. 

This was the point of departure for thousands of Jews who boarded the waiting trains to various camps. This memorial consists of 70 eerily empty chairs, which represent furniture and other remnants discarded by the deportees. 

 Walking through the endless rows of empty chairs, one is overcome with a sense of emptiness. My first thought as to what the empty chairs represents, is that of the people who are not here today to seat in them. I got the sense that they were representing the loss of so many innocent victims.  It was a very eery feeling indeed seeing this memorial. I loved the simplicity and boldness of it. The information plaque below is the only source of information as to what this memorial is. This makes it even more suspicious and thought-provoking, making people investigate further into what this memorial represents. Today, when we went, it was filled with tour groups and people milling around. You could get a sense of the close proximity of living quarters one must have felt living in the ghetto. 

Our next stop is Schindler's Factory, ladies and gentlemen. The factory is in a depressed industrial area and is a five-minute walk from Ghetto Heroe's Square (Plac Bohaterow Getta). I was very aware, that the workers who worked in the factory could have very well walked the same path that we were walking to get there. For me, this entire experience of actually seeing and experiencing what I have been reading about for so long, is so overwhelming. It is an entirely new feeling, that I have not gotten used to yet. Being here, is eye-opening, and I love what it means. 

Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik - German Enamelware Factory

The permanent exhibit titled Krakow under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945 offers visitors a time travel through the city's history. It presents the history of Krakow's inhabitants, both Polish and Jewish, of the Krakow' factory of enamelled vessels, of Oskar Schindler, and of the prisoners of Plaszow Concentration Camp he managed to save. The museum features exhibits on the Nazi invasion of Poland, daily life in the ghetto and Plaszow Camp, as well as a re-creation of Schindler's office. This museum, is a three hour history lesson of Krakow's experience under Nazi-Occupation. I highly recommend going to this permanent exhibit museum and take as long as you can (there is 28 different sections to this place). I know that I will be returning to it again. 

I am going to explain this museum through pictures. Here it goes:

Hans Frank takes up residence in Wawel Royal Castle

The first acts of Nazi terror - the arrest of Jagiellonian University professors and other Krakow-based academics by the Gestapo on 6 November 1939.

The establishment of the Krakow Ghetto and the extermination of sixty thousand of Krakow Jews

Re-creation of Oskar Schindler's office

Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory at ul. Lipowa 4 in Krakow 

Ghetto Walls

Plaszow Concentration Camp

"The Survivor"

After finishing the museum, I could honestly say that I was exhausted. The facts presented at the exhibit helped me rediscover that period of Poland's history, commemorate the wartime victims and heroes, reflect upon the criminal nature of the Nazi regime, and, finally consider the impact of WWII and the Nazi occupation on the shape of contemporary Krakow. Walking through this museum, is like sitting through a history class of Poland but being able to witness first hand, an interact and detailed textbook through your senses. The entire atmosphere of the exhibit is teeming with history. 

I will sign off with saying that I will be returning to this factory. I still have more to learn. And of course my motto here is Live & Learn. I don't want anything thing to slip by with wasted time spent. Krakow is filled with amazing tidbits of history, and it is bursting at the seams just waiting to be explored. Luckily I have 4 months to explore this beautiful city. Until next time, thanks for viewing my experiences :)

This could not be more true. I will be living by this quote this semester while I am in Europe, experiencing so many things for the very first time. I believe that you do have to get out of your comfort zone in order to enjoy life, and that is my plan. Confronting culture shock on a regular basis, and a language barrier that i keep attempting to knock down are just two examples of what it will take to fully experience this adventure that i have overtake. And I am loving every minute of it. 

First Post!

Czesc! 

Hello blogging world. I am finally getting the chance to start my blog so I can keep everyone who is interested updated with what I have been up to in Krakow. It has already been over two weeks since landing in Krakow the time seems to just be flying by! Krakow is a very beautiful medieval city, filled with very interesting people. Of course, not knowing a lick of Polish when I arrived, I have ran into my far share of language barriers from the start. But, looking on the bright side of things, it is challenging me to learn Polish and dive into their culture headfirst. And luckily for me, I have Polish class Monday-Thursday for 1.5 hours, I will be fluent in no time! I think I have done well against the feeling of culture shock. I have been able to find one of the best English bookstores in Krakow and the best place for pizza so whenever I need a little taste of Ameryka, I will run to these places. I have gotten lost, yes, but luckily I always keep a handy-dandy map in my jacket pocket. This city is really easy to manage on foot and I am thankful for the exercise. 

Well, this is just a short treat to what my blog and travels will be about, I want to make this blog a priority for me to make sure I stay connected to those who are back home in the 'States.' 

The Rynek-Main Sqaure in Krakow

Mamma Mia-Polish pizza at its finest, will be making regular trips to this cozy restaurant

Main Square

Preparing to leave for Krakow! All of the essentials packed

Massolit Bookstore is a wonderful place, filled with many rooms of books

Enjoying myself out on the dance floor, clearly i am laughing at my failed attempts at dancing

Megan and I getting ready for a night out on the town

Let my adventures begin!