Spring

Thursday was the first day of Spring. This is an event in Poland. Traditionally it is celebrated by drowning Marzanna. Marzanna is goddess of winter and the harvest who is often represented as an old woman dressed in white. The idea is that she becomes a hag when winter arrives and as it progresses, she deteriorates and ultimately dies at the arrival of spring. Poles create replicas of Marzanna and on the first day of spring they head down to the river in groups, set her on fire and throw her into the river in order to banish the cold of winter and welcome the warmth of spring. This symbolizes the sun's rebirth as it returns with greater strength and begins to melt the snow and create green life again. The first day of Spring is also considered to be 'Play Hookey' day. Students in grade school and high school traditionally ditch school on the first day of Spring. Teachers often schedule field trips or activities like the drowning of Marzanna on this day to discourage unsupervised wanderings of the city, but still honor a break from instruction on the first day of Spring.

                       

Our rendition of Marzanna

                    Setting her Alight and Throwing her into the Wisła

On our Way to out to the River

At first I was a little weirded out by this tradition as it sounded super cult-y. Especially when I learned that we were expected to participated. In my folkflore class, we created a Marzanna together and on the first day of Spring we all headed down to the river, set her alight, and tossed her into the Wisła. It ended up being super-chill and not as weird as I thought it would be. Unfortunately, the arrival of Spring has not been evident. It has been the coldest all season over the past week and has snowed almost daily. 

Renata, Kasia & Ania

On Saturday my language partner, Ania, invited me to join her and her friends for Obiad (lunch). We made Naleśniki which are the Polish version of crepes, with a spinach and feta filling. We also made a Polish salad which consisted of a mix of corn, peppers, mushrooms, hardboiled eggs and dill in a mayo/yogurt sauce. We drank cocoa for dessert. They were very upset that I couldn't eat salad due to the fact that it had mushrooms, but they gave me so many crepes there was no way salad would have been able to fit anyway. It was a great afternoon, although quite challenging because they speak Polish very fast and use a lot of slang. They also talk about unconventional topics that I don't encounter in school and the subject would often change quickly without any context. I had to concentrate very hard in order to keep up. But Ania and I have developed a system. If she's talking and I don't understand I frown slightly and she uses a synonym in Polish that I am familiar with. I definitely did a lot more listening than talking as my language skills are limited when it comes to gossip and girly chit-chat.

Naleśniki ze szpinakiem

Today was Palm Sunday, another big celebration in Poland. The school funded a bus trip to Lipnica which is a small, historical town about an hour outside of Kraków. There we saw three very old churches, one of which was completely made of wood. The eves around the church are called 'Saturdays' because way back when, people used to travel large distances to go to church on Sunday. They often would arrive on Saturday night, and wait under the eves until the morning mass. We then walked around the market that was set-up in the main square. Lipnica is known for it's cured meat and of course for the palms. There was a huge variety of palms which are traditionally made completely of natural materials. Seeds, grass, hay, etc. They are enormous. Taller than the surrounding buildings, although small ones are also available. Traditionally, Poles make their own for Easter and have them blessed in the church. Masses were held outside as well as in the churches throughout the day and the square was absolutely packed with people even though it was the coldest it has been all winter (about 6 degrees F).

Inside of the wooden church. Every surface was beautifully painted

Palms

The square in Lipnica

Palms

Eggs and sugar figurines 

There is also an Easter market set-up in the main square in Kraków. After returning from Lipnica, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the main square looking at all the beautiful eggs, palms, candies, sugar figurines and tasting the various cured meats and sweet treats. The variety of eggs was amazing. You can get wooden eggs, blown-out eggs, hard-boiled eggs, porcelain eggs, etc. Some are etched, others are painted or felted, some are painted with added lace. Very different from our Easter eggs in the States. Although just like in the states, chocolate figurines are very popular for Easter. 

Candy

Getting into the Swing of things

It is once again cold and snowy in Kraków. I'm incredibly disappointed. I cannot wait until spring so I can stop wearing forty layers all the time.

This week was the kick-off of a Polish Exchange night that the students studying Polish studies will be hosting at a bar on the Rynek every week. This particular bar has a private room in the back which is set up like a lounge and has a piano. The idea is that every week students from all levels can convene and practice Polish by participating in various activities. The theme of the evening will change every week. This week it was sherades. It was a hilarious experience. We were split into three groups that represented a mix of levels and rules were explained. The categories were nouns, film, and idioms. Nouns were pretty straight forward and not worth many points. Film was a little more difficult because there were Polish and American films and the American film titles were translated into Polish, so I didn't always recognize them. You were allowed to guess the title in English if it was an American film, but then you only received a fraction of the points. Idioms were very difficult. We actually studied some common Polish idioms in class this week and they were quite amusing because they are so different in English. Here are some we learned:

Cheap as barszcz

Dumb as a left boot

Healthy as a fish

Ugly as night

Pale as a wall

Old as the world

It's like he has a snake in his pockets (someone who is miserly and never wants to reach for their money)

No one did very well with the idiom category. Only the advanced kids know the longer idioms and even they had trouble guessing. My team was really good at guessing quickly. We got second place. I got to act out 'Titanic' and 'Bambi.' I thought Bambi was going to be a challenge, but I tam guess it in under 30 seconds. 

Afterwards we all hungout for awhile and the various pianists in the group played some tunes. There are some really talented musicians at the school. After that, Karaoke started in the main bar so we all headed over and did some singing. After Karaoke we stopped by a club on the way home and danced a little before catching the night tram.

On Thursday, my classmate, Nati, arranged for our class to all have lunch together at an authentic Mexican restaurant. I was super psyched because I have been missing Mexican food like you wouldn't believe and the Mexican restaurants in Kraków are unpalatable. It was delicious. I walked into the restaurant and it smelled like the Garcia's kitchen. There was music playing and the waiters spoke very little Polish, and they had all the food I've been missing. It was so hard to decide what to order on the menu. I will definitely be back for more. 

2nd Semester

I'm back in Kraków and the second semester has started! The first week of school we had placement tests. There was some confusion about where the students from the first semester would be placed so my friends and I re-took the placement test. My teacher from last semester was NOT happy about this. As soon as she saw my exam she ambushed me - in the bathroom. After reprimanding me loudly, she informed me that I did really well on the placement exam and that instead of going from A1 to A2, I was going to be placed in B1. 

View of the Wisła from under the Overpass not far 
from Wawel Castle

Walking along the Wisła

At first I was nervous about being placed in B1, but now I really like it. B1 focuses heavily on communication skills since at that point you have learned all the fundamental grammar. Improving your ability to speak, listening comprehension and expands your vocabulary bank. My class has 11 students, which is pretty big, but no one ever speaks English either in class or socially, so it's great practice. Most of my classmates are more advanced than I as well, which I really like. Last week we talked about fairytales in class. Next week we will take turns telling legends from our country to the class and the teacher will correct our mistakes as we speak. It's definitely like being in the hot seat, but it's incredibly helpful and we have such a supportive environment that everyone enjoys it. 

Lovelocks on the bridge to Podgorze

Me, Diana and Sunshine

My class is a nice mix. There are students from the U.S., Germany, France, Mexico, Ukraine and Japan. I also have several of my friends in class with me for the first time, which is nice because we can help each other with homework and since for the most part we all have the same schedule, it makes socializing easy. In addition to my normal classes, I'm taking several extra classes: Communication and speaking, Theater, Polish Grammar, Polish Film, and Polish Folklore. I also have a meetings with a language partner twice a week - once in Polish and once in Spanish. So things are a little busy and there's lots of Polish going on. I actually have days now where I don't speak English. It's strange to think that now my life takes place in Polish and five months ago I couldn't put a sentence together in the language. Listening to people converse on the tram used to be exhausting and now I find it highly entertaining.

The Gang on the Rynek

Sunny Sukiennice

Last week we had several days of.....SUNSHINE! It was a complete miracle. We have not had sun in Kraków since winter started. Not only was it sunny, but so much so that I had to bust out my shades. It was also really warm. We went for walks along the Wisła (the river that flows through Kraków and in front of Wawel Castle), and sat outside on the square with nice cold beer between classes. It was divine. Of course now it's cold again and has been snowing, but we definitely got a nice little taste of spring for a few days. 

Bein goofballs

'The Head' on the Rynek

Manda came to Kraków for a quick visit. Unfortunately she wasn't feeling well, but we did get some good cousin time in and she brought me my christmas presents! A little late, I know, but Warsaw isn't that close and she has been very busy. We also found her a dress for the wedding! Unfortunately, i'm still on the hunt....

My Women's Day Tulip

March 8th, was dzień kobiet (women's day) here in Poland. This is a European holiday on which men honor the women in their lives. Traditionally tulips are given to women as they are the first flowers of spring, but roses and other flowers are also given. My teachers informed us that every woman should receive a flower on Women's Day. It was very touching to experience. Most of the women I saw were carrying flowers. Some of my classmates received flowers from complete strangers and one of my friends bought a bunch of flowers and gave one to every woman he walked by on his way to school, which is not unusual. Traditionally men say something like, 'on the occasion of women's day, I would like to present you this flower.' I received a beautiful pink and yellow tulip that has brightened up my tiny dorm-room significantly.