Turkey Time

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, so it does not exist in Poland. While I would have loved to have some of my Dad's turkey and some crazy family time, I can't say I really missed the holiday because it just feels like it isn't that time of year. 

Last week was midterms for students. I had three days of exams and was tested in Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar. However, we also had regularly scheduled lessons as well, so it was a week of information overload. However, I got my results back today and was thrilled to learn that I received the highest score in my class. I got a 98% on my grammar test and a 97% on my other exams!!! I couldn't believe it, because I walked out of my first day of exams feeling terrible.  One thing they do here that is actually very helpful is that when we got our exams back, we would go over all of the answers and then we had to correctly write any and all mistakes in our notebooks and have the teacher review them. It allows you to understand why something was wrong and what the correct version is.

A hidden clearing I found in the woods

view of part of the Byłonia from a hill

A rustic staircase in the side of the hill

Today I went on a personal adventure. I meant to go up to the Kopiec Kościuszki, (the highest point in the city) but I wasn't quite sure where the path started and I ended up discovering all kinds of things on my way. As I was walking up the street I noticed this very steep staircase set into the side of the hill. So naturally, I climbed it. At the top there was a sort of lookout, with a great view of the Byłonia from the west. Other than that it was mostly woodland, but the clearing was beautiful. I got very muddy. I continued on through the woods and eventually made it to the Kopiec. I didn't have any money on me so I couldn't go all the way to the top, but I can do that another time. Sunshine! That was the best part about today. Every day here is usually gray and completely overcast and if there is sun, it lasts for all of ten minutes. BUT, today it was sunny all day and I actually had to wear my sunglasses!! WHOO HOO!!! Nothing lifts your spirits like a little sunshine :-)

While there is no turkey tradition over here, I did go to a 'prophesy' event today, which is customary at this time of year in Poland. It's a type of party. One of the more advanced classes did it for all the foreign students. The room was dark and lit by candles and there were several tables set-up where you could have your future told in different ways. At one table you had to select one out of a series of cups and whichever tolkien it contained determined your specific fate. At another table you poured hot wax into cold water and then the reader would hold up your wax form and tell you what it represented. There were also lots of cakes and sweets set out for everyone to sample. It was a fun little gathering.

Tidbits

Last week I discovered a few new cafes. I love to sit and people watch over a cup of coffee and a sweet treat. Cafe Morela has booths with huge windows just above street level. It makes for excellent people watching. 

I learned a lot of interesting things last week:

'No' means 'yes' in Polish. It is used as an affirmative. I had a goofy mix-up with a Polish girl when I asked her something and she replied 'no' with enthusiasm. The look on my face gave me away and she quickly explained. Haha. I still do a double-take when I hear it.

We focused briefly on pronunciation in one of my classes this week and the different sounds in Polish that specific foreigners struggle with. It turns out that people with Polish heritage have their own category, and that includes people who never had any Polish interaction growing up. It was fascinating to hear that genetics plays a role in language acquisition. 

Coffee and Cake - My Favorite Time of Day

Even though it is getting very cold - it was 2 degrees celsius the other day. I still don't quite know what that means, but I'm getting better about not converting the daily temp to Fahrenheit - people are still out and about. The 65+ crowd is very active here and I love seeing them out and about and saying 'good day' to them as I make my way to and from school. They are always out doing yard work and the Grandmas go out and sweep around their home or store every day. Because of this the streets are very clean. You also see lots of grandparents out for walks in the parks even on the coldest days and they take the trams everywhere. 

Cafe in Kazimierz

One of the nice things about Poland is that everyone says hello or 'Dzień dobry!' everywhere you go. It is considered rude if you don't. However, 'how are you' is not just a casual greeting like it is in the U.S. If someone asks you how you are, they really want to know and a one word answer is not sufficient. If you just say 'good' then they want to know why, what has been happening, etc. It's rather refreshing. People make an effort to connect even if it is just briefly.

French Breakfast and Polish Breakfast at Cafe Magia

I had breakfast out for the first time since I've been here. They have this special breakfast deal for $6 at a cafe I discovered behind an art gallery. You get to pick either a Polish, Italian or French breakfast which comes with your choice of coffee and juice or water. I tried the French breakfast on the left which consisted of sweet buns, cheese, yogurt, jam and honey and Doro tried the Polish breakfast which included cheese, ham, bread, tomatoes and cucumber. It was delightful!

I also tried some of the fall drinks that are popping up on all the menus for the holiday season. I tried mulled wine, and meade. They were both a lovely warm-up and are served in rustic pottery cups or mini beer steins. Next on the list is mulled beer, we'll see how that is!

I stayed at Doro's dorm last weekend and first thing in the morning, Kinga opened the window. I started laughing and asked why all Poles do that. She explained that in Poland they believe that fresh hair helps your brain function better and that if the room gets too stuffy or warm you get sluggish and don't think as clearly. Fresh air is supposed to stimulate learning and brain function. Because of this, Poles open the window for 15 minute intervals first thing in the morning, between classes in school, and at night before they go to sleep.

Independence Day - Dzień Niepodległości

 Flags started sprouting up all over the city in anticipation of Independence Day. Independence Day here refers to WWI 1918.

Flags in the Square

We learned one of the traditional Independence Day songs at school and were invited to come and perform at the concert on the Main Square (Rynek). Usually it is a national holiday, but it fell on a Sunday this year, so it didn't disrupt any normal activity.

The Concert Program

Banners along ul. Grodzka

The Rynek and surrounding streets were packed with people, many of which were carrying flags.

Banners, signs and flags were displayed all over the city.

A decent size group of students from school showed up for the concert as well as teachers. We got on stage and the director of my school made an announcement before we started, explaining that we were all foreign students who had come to Poland to study Polish Language and Culture. The crowd became very excited and everyone started waving and smiling at us. Many students were overwhelmed as it was their first time on stage. The view from the stage was incredible. The square is enormous and as far as you could see there were people crammed together. A sea of heads that was bordered by the old buildings.

'Backstage'

Clowns Sitting on the stone lions making balloon animals

The crowd-filled square

Manda's Visit

Marta decided to go home to the Ukraine for the holiday, so Manda came to visit for the weekend! 

FRIDAY - 

Doro's parents were in town from Germany this week so I hadn't seen much of her outside of school. On Friday I went shopping with her and her Mom and then we met her Dad at Cafe Bona for some afternoon coffee and cake. Her parents were absolutely lovely and were actually a lot like my parents. Her Mom is German and her Dad is Polish and they have similar personalities and physicalities to the Gretchen and Peter we all know. We had a charming afternoon together filled with a mix of English, German and Polish that somehow worked out beautifully. Her parents asked me if I would come and join their family in Germany for the Xmas holidays and naturally I accepted. They became very excited and started telling me about their home and the different things they would like to show me in Germany (the xmas markets, different towns, the nearest city, etc). They are very close to the French border and said that if we have time they would like to take me to a sweet little town in France as well. Doro's Dad also informed me that he would only speak Polish to me over Xmas. I told him that was a great idea. I was so touched by their warmth and generosity, especially since I am practically a stranger. They both gave me big hugs when I left; feeling very blessed and lucky.  

Once Manda arrived, we went to Ikea to get some things to organize my life. It's enormous and took us forever to find the checkout. But now I'm all set in terms of organization :-) After Ikea we headed to the Kazimierz to meet up with some of her old classmates for dinner. We had delicious falafel and hummus at this hole-in-the-wall place Aunt Valerie discovered when she was in Kraków and then we headed to Alchemia to met more of her friends for drinks. Alchemia is a cafe/bar that is filled with old wooden tables of all sizes and random mis-matched chairs. They play great music and sometimes have life performances downstairs. Every table has a lit candle on it and that is the only source of light. About halfway through our second round, Damian stands up and starts yelling, 'her hair's on fire!' I turned around just in time to see the flames climb up this girl's beautiful long dark hair at the table behind us. Petro immediately jumped up and started smacking her head to put out the flames and a horrendous smell filled the room. Petro kept saying 'sorry, but your hair was on fire' and the girl just glared at him. I think she thought he set her hair alight. What had happened was the candle on the table behind her was on the edge of the table rather than the middle and she had leaned back just far enough to light her locks. As scary as those few seconds were, the image of the flames in her dark hair was mesmerizing. She was just sitting there and talking like it was the most natural thing in the world.

At Wedel Cafe

SATURDAY - Manda and I went for a run around the huge field (Błonia) in the morning and then she went to meet up with friends while I got some studying and fluting in. She brought me my flute that I had left at her apartment when we first got to Poland. It was a lil rusty, but felt good to play again. I got no complaints about the noise. We'll see how long that lasts.

We had dinner with Doro and Josephine at Manda's favorite Indian restaurant in Kraków and then went to buy Manda's ticket home and naturally stopped at the Galleria Krakowska on our way back. We discovered an international food store, Kuchnie Świat, (world kitchen) where we found speculoos. It's a Belgium spread made  from a cookie that is popular in Belgium. It tastes like a cross between a gingerbread cookie and graham crackers. I picked up a jar to try and then we headed to Wedel Cafe in the Rynek. Wedel is a Polish chocolate company and at the cafe they have this thick menu filled with all kinds of chocolates, chocolate drinks and desserts. The girls each tried a different exotic hot chocolate and I settled for some orange, vanilla and cinnamon tea which was delicious. It came with a natural vanilla 'branch' which looked like a thick cord, cinnamon sticks and an orange slice all submerged in it. Then we headed back to the dorm to do our nails and watch a movie.

SUNDAY - Manda headed to Church and Doro and I spent the afternoon at Cafe Bona and wandering around some new shops we found. We met Manda and her friends for obiad at a vegetarian cafe I had heard about. It was excellent. I had lentil soup with fresh rye croutons and Doro had placki with feta which were scrumptious. Then I took Manda to the train station and we ta-ta-ed for the time being. 

Wszystkich Świętych

 All Saints Day. It's a national holiday here. The city was completely shut down. Restaurants, schools, offices, bakeries, grocery stores and even the mall were all closed. The city was completely deserted and most of the residents in my dorm went home for the long weekend. Buses function as shuttles and run back and forth to the cemeteries all day, and THAT is where everyone in Kraków was. The cemeteries were packed with people.

Flowers for Sale Outside the Cemetery

All Saints day is Poland's day of the dead. Everyone goes to mass and then heads to the cemeteries to clean the graves of their loved ones and cover them in flowers as well as light candles in their honor. People pray and sing and the church in the cemetery broadcasts an ongoing mass throughout the day. It was so crowded that people were standing out and around the the church, listening.

Big Lanterns for Sale Outside the Cemetery

One of my classmates has his great-grandparents and his great-great-grandparents buried in the cemetery in Kraków. I went with him and Shelley to go commemorate his family. 

Dusk. The Lights Are Just Starting to Twinkle

 We went to the Cemetery around 4pm, when the sun was just starting to set. It was perfect timing. We got to see the cemetery during daylight hours, caught a stunning sunset and then got to see the lights glowing when it got dark.

Candles Outside a Sainted Grave. They Grew Exponentially by the Time we Left

The scene was unbelievably beautiful. It was impossible to capture it realistically on camera. Everywhere you turned there were flowers, candles and families. It was a surprisingly festive scene. The ambience was light, and joyful, not somber or sad. People were laughing, smiling and very affectionate towards one another. 

Old Graves

It was a surprisingly spiritual experience, even though I didn't go to mass. It was like being surrounded by good energy and the candles created a physical heat as you walked by so there was a warmth that surrounded you even as the sun began to set.

Candles Outside the Main Church

After lighting candles at William's family grave, we walked around the cemetery and just looked at all the beautiful old graves. Some are so old, it was impossible to tell whose grave they marked. We then spent some time outside the main church with the crowd and watched as the grouping of candles grew and grew by the minute. 

The Candles After Dark

I wish there was a way to capture the how the cemetery looked after dark. It was like it was filled with little fairy lights. It was a lovely way to spend the evening.

The Cemetery Ablaze

SNOW!?!?

I woke up on Sunday to a winter wonderland. October and all of Kraków was covered in snow. 

The view from my room

Part of Wawel with Fall Leaves and Snow

The snow only lasted a few days. It snowed for two solid days pretty much non-stop and then it warmed up a little so it has all pretty much melted. It was quite a shock for me. I'm not used to thinking of October as the onset of winter. The strangest part was that all the fall foliage is still around, so it was like having two seasons on top of each other. The fall colors were now tinged with white. It was very beautiful.

Trees Outside of Zaczek

Shelley and Doro's Pumpkin

They don't celebrate Halloween here, really. But my friends' teacher brought pumpkins to their class for them to carve. The pumpkins here are really funny lookin'. They all have that weird pattern on the rind. 

On Halloween I went to a party hosted by the 'Couch Surfing' group. They hold a little meet and greet every Wednesday in a different spot around Kraków. It's a great place to go to meet new people from all over and it's fun to go to the big bulletin board in the squaTre and find out where the meeting will be this week. At the party I met lots of people, but they had a girl painting everyone's face and between that and the costumes it was impossible to see what everyone really looked like. It will definitely make next week's gathering that much more interesting. 

The party itself was pretty cool. It felt like being in a speakeasy. It was this old coffee shop/bar filled with tiny, round, wooden tables. The music was live. It was this guy dressed up as a scarecrow playing guitar and singing his heart out. He did a great job and played lots of classic American hits. It was a buzz with life inside but from out on the deserted street, it just looked like a coffee shop about to close up for the night.