Welcome to Poland

I woke up on the train when the night watchman said we were a half hour outside of Warsaw. I looked out the window and saw the picture above. First Impression: It is cold here! The train stopped at a station before the main Warsaw station. The other person in my couchette said we had one more stop. After being stopped for a minute or two I looked out and saw the word "Zachodinia"--NO! THIS was MY Stop and I only had four minutes to get to my next train! I got off the train and asked the conductor which track was mine, but he did not know. I ran down the stairs with all my bags and asked another conductor. He told me where to go and I got on the train that was there but when I showed my timetable to someone on the train, they said I was on the wrong train so I got off. I ran down the stairs again to where this guy told me to go and the train was going in the wrong direction. Needless to say, I missed my connection and went to the ticket window to see what I could do. After about 5 minutes I had new tickets with an extra connection and arriving an hour later. The train from Warsaw Central to Poznan was packed and my bags barely fit! I was sitting next to a guy and when the beverage service came (after being on the train for an hour) he started speaking to me in English--who knew? He helped me order a coffee and then we began to talk. He is a photographer from New York and was coming to Poland to a Fashion show in which one of his photos was being displayed. We looked at some of my photos and he showed me a few things about reading my exposure meter....something Peter tried to tell me over a year ago. Anyway, I made it to the train station and met up with Maria and Ev...super excited that I actually was here! They took me to the center and my apartment. My apartment is decorated so cute...more than I could have ever done and way more than I was expecting!!




I had a few days to settle in and unpack before I had to start working. We took a trip to the grocery store so I could get more food and see what it was like--different and I find myself looking at pictures a lot! I had time to do laundry and found out that clothes dryers are not common here. I have a few drying racks and place them near the radiators (the heat source for my apartment).

I explored the neighborhood a little on my own and found a few places where I could get groceries and mail a letter, get cash, eat out, etc. On my first Saturday here, I got to meet some of people that go to church here--dinner and games at someone else's house. It was a great evening and some good chili! Sunday we had brunch with the people that are most involved in Poznan. It was nice to meet them, most are about my age so it is nice! We also discussed the goals of the church in the next year--some exciting things are in the plans!

Monday was the first day of work and we hit it hard and I tried to get the basics and see all the information that needs to be done and the general process that has been followed. I continue to look at things the next few days and we decide to pay bills on Wednesday, met with the Polish Accountant on Thursday and prepared for Ladies Night/Bookclub on Friday! I read the first part of the book, got filled in about the middle, and then finished the book. The twist at the end was really sad and touching! I made a cake for the evening and I thought it was actually going to be my first major flop! No joke, I had bought what I thought was frosting at the store, but it was way too thin and would not stay on the side of the cake. I tried to thicken it with powdered sugar, but it did not work!!
I took my first tram and went to the only grocery store I know about and buy more powdered sugar and those wafer sticks that are usually filled with chocolate. I stacked them around the whole outside of the cake and it turned out to look great! The night went better than any of us thought--we had English speaking girls and Polish speaking girls and everyone had a great time.

Saturday morning Maria (the one standing beside me in the picture above, a Polish girl that helps us with translating) was going to show me where a gym was. When we got to it, the doors were not open so I decided to go back later and Maria was going to look it up online. Maria had some shopping to do and so I tagged along. It was an amazing adventure. We went to about seven stores for groceries that all fit into Maria's backpack and one cloth bag. We got a loaf of bread at one backery, lunchmeat at another place, potatoes and mushrooms at the open market, something at the pharmacy, chicken at a butcher, white eggs at another place...I could compare it to one of my days of Christmas shopping, but I drive to the different places which are quite a distance from my home and I come home with a trunk load of stuff!! We were home within two hours, but had spend a few hundred Zloty (pronounced zwotee)

Saturday night we went to an outdoor production of the Passion of the Christ. There were thousands of people all standing in the dark waiting for it to begin. It was all in Polish but the acting I could understand. It was a nice production and was a reminder of how Christ suffered for us!I about froze to death and we were far enough away that pictures are blurry because I cannot hold my hand still while the picture is being taken.
It was interesting to hear it in another language. In general the language barrier here has been very hard to overcome.


So now, once again I am caught up on my blogging. It has taken all day for these two posts so I hope you all enjoy! I am having a great time here in Poland. I have finished my work for this month and have made plans to fly to Paris on Thursday. Not St. Patty's day in Ireland but I saw an Irish pub a few blocks away from where I live. I hope to take the night train on Monday night to Krakow to see nearby Auschwitz and the Salt Mine and then come back in time for my flight!!

Until the next post take care!!