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.