My darling Wroclaw, you will be missed....

It's more the Rynek than other parts I'll miss, but this city to me was the epitome of study abroad. Quaint, quirky, fun and troublesome.....with all it's little (and big) ups and downs, I can't imagine studying anywhere else.

Several times throughout the semester, I remember thinking, "Why oh WHY didn't I go to Estonia, or France, or Denmark? It would have been so much better...." And for parts, it's true. If I had gone to France, I would have vastly improved my French instead nearly forgetting all of it while I studied Polish. If I had gone to Estonia, I would have had the quiet, quaint little city to meander through.

But Wroclaw I picked and Wroclaw I went. And I couldn't be happier that I did. I was in such a great location for travel....so many AMAZING cities were only a few hours' train ride away. I managed to see ten different countries during my stay in Poland. I couldn't be more pleased.

And sure, some of the citizens of Wroclaw weren't my favorite people in the world, but the citizens of Olowek were. (And yes, I do consider us citizens of Olowek.....it took a lot to live there, and I'm quite proud of it. Olowek is like it's own private nation, I swear.) Not to get sentimental, but so many people in that place touched and influenced my life in ways I would have never expected. Study abroad makes you open your mind, and Olowek made me open my heart. I have made friends that will last for ages (including some great UNCG girls!), grown to love a place I thought I abhorred, and grown mentally on a different-than-academics level.

To all the Zubrowka I'll miss, the czeckolada i sliwka, and the bardzo tanej piwo, Wroclaw, I love you!

COMPUTER!!!

Okay, so I have many blogs to catch up on. As most of you know, my computer decided to end its life sometime back in April/early May, and due to the absolute hect-ivity (yes, I just invented a word!) of the last, well, SEVERAL weeks, posting has been quite a problem for me. So, here come the rants.

I'm going to dedicate this blog to my new personal awareness of just how much we rely on our computers on an everyday basis. Of course, there are important things like email and let's not forget Facebook, but also simpler things, like checking the weather. With the passing of a few seconds and the clicking of a few buttons, viola! We can have the weather of our city dispalayed on screen, right in front of us. Wondering what type of day they're having in say, Bosnia? A few more clicks and BAM! it's there.

In a dormitory where television doesn't exist, checking the weather via computer can be quite handy. I can't tell you how many times I cursed my Macbook as I trudged home in the rain because I hadn't known, based off of the sunny skies at 11 am, that by 2 there would be a thick black thundercloud over my head. It got to the point where I carried an umbrella nearly everyday, and why? Because my computer was broken.

Movie times, store hours, online translators, phone numbers and email addresses for flight companies and travel agents....it's HARD to live without a computer. You can't check email. You can't write an email. You can't write a paper. You can't upload photos (ladies, Russia photos are coming soon! I haven't been holding out on you!). You can't even charge your ipod or use the light from your laptop's screen to find your way across a dark room! Oh, the frustration.

Of course, there was the good side to the computer being broken. I didn't really need to worry about my roommate leaving my door unlocked and someone possibly stealing my computer. If they did, the joke was on them.....they just stole a seven pound piece of scrap metal and white plastic.

I have to say, to all the old fogies that nix computers......You're stinkin' crazy.

Back in the USA

So I have been back in the US for about two weeks and I think I have been really lucky concerning my level of reverse culture shock. When I was in Estonia, I was frightened that upon my arrival to the States I would lock myself in my room and not come out for a couple of days, but luckily, that hasn't been the case.

What really helped me cope with culture shock have been the people I have met. For instance, one day while at my local cafe drinking my third cup of coffee I started chatting with an old woman, who apparently had lived in Germany for several years. It was interesting talking with her about the similarities and differences between habits of Germans and Estonians like the pride they take in their baby carriages something we both found fascinating. I also think I have run into the only Russian family in Salisbury. Ironically, I have been following their art for several years without noticing that many their paintings have buildings from St. Petersburg, their hometown, incorporated within them (the painting has Our Lady of Kazan as the brim of the woman's hat). I know I've been really fortunate in meeting these people and many others who I can talk to about my experiences living abroad.

There have been other things like I have been cooking an Eastern European treat once a week. So far I've dabbled in pastry recipes that remind me of those in the local bakery back in Tartu. I also came home to a whole book shelf full of Russian and Eastern European literature as a birthday gift.

I mean, it hasn't been all kicks and giggles. When I got off my plane in GSO, I immediately missed the way Estonians dressed, how composed they seem, and how quiet they were. But, hey, I am in America so I just have to deal with it. So as you guys come home, my advice if you are having reverse-culture shock is just to talk it out with someone and I am sure you'll find your own ways of coping. Plus, as we all know, Skype is amazing.

It's just a dream

Last days in Wroclaw, last days in Olowek, everyone is saying goodbye with hopeful promises of future travel plans and long distance visits. Yet it seems that I am not really leaving this country that has taken up such a large portion of my life inhabiting me. As Mandy said, we'll get to the plane terminal and the stewardess will laugh and say, "That plane doesn't exist!" Goodbye parties have an uneasy sense of lack of conversation because no one wants to speak what is on their minds, no one wants to say goodbye. So conversations turn to remebering the times and recalling other parties which were more lively and contained that person that everyone loves but who now has gone home already. Hugs last longer and kisses are given more freely and the guys take in deeper breaths as girls swat the dense air in front of their faces and cover their mouths which tremble with the words; goodbye. Countdowns on Facebook get smaller and hearts get anxious, what a time to be in Olowek. The first to go really had it lucky.
When the first left, they weren't really gone. I caught myself going to the elevator and pushing the floor to their room.
Today is my last day, well for a while, I'll be back to Wroclaw to fly home so I can't say goodbye yet, but they are kicking me out of Olowek. I must say I can not wait to be faced with administration which I understand and who will understand me. Simple questions will be overcome with the beautiful fact of understanding each other's language...ahhhhh.
I was searching the internet for that cheap spa in Wroclaw and came upon someone's blog. They are British and had been staying in Wroclaw for the same time I had. I went to the first entry and began to read. It started the week before I first got into town. I read about how they dealt with the snow and cold and driving to and from work in it. They wrote complaints about the Polish cold disposition but wrote it off as winter blues, the same as most of us. I jumped around and read what drew interest, it was so weird reading about thsi person who was going through the same thing and having no idea about their existance. I have to wonder how many times we've passed in Rynek or sat near each other on the 17 tram. We live in a small world.
Leaving has so many feelings. I think it is this mess of emotions that takes the validity away from the event. I look forward to going home, well to most of it. I look forward to leaving Wroclaw, well most of it. I am sad to see my friends go. I am sad to leave behind that bakery beneath the dorm. I plan on hitting the ground running when I step off the plane, see if I can outrun those post-study abroad blues. Life is life as a friend here always says and Europe will always be here. The times I've had will always be with me, good, bad, and ugly. So I guess you can tell this is summing up to be my last blog entry (unless we have to write about the after effects when we get back) so goodbye blog writing. I will say goodbye to Wroclaw when the time comes. Blog Monster over and out.

The Most Wonderful Place in the World

If you have not been to the Estonian countryside, stop what you are doing, buy a plane ticket to Estonia and a bus ticket to any city in the South and you will find happiness. This is what all fortune cookies should say because it's true.

During my last weekend in Estonia, my friend, Colin and I decided to bike to several towns in South. The tour included Polva, Rouge, Voru, and Otepaa. Ambitious, yes. Delusional, yes. Possible, no (at least not for us).

After four hours of biking in the pouring rain and gusty wind in the only part of the Estonia that had hills, we revised our plan and took a bus from Polva to Voru. Now note here: After giving my drawing covered in stick figure versions of us and our bikes with arrows pointing to a rectangle with circles underneath to the bus attendant, I was amazed to find out that not only could we take our bikes on the bus with us but we were not going to be charged extra. I would suspect in the States, this would not be the case.

Once we made it to our guesthouse, everything went smoothly. The guesthouse was run by a cute old man, Tiit, who was obediently followed by his golden retriver and black cat. Tiit cooked us two meals each day. They were simple usually composed of fried eggs, a slab of ham each, a fresh cucumber-tomato salad that was generously topped with dill, a loaf of bread, an A Le Coq, and yogurt for desert. Simple, but it was the best couple of meals I had all semester. On the last day we were there, he told us of his life in the Soviet Union and when Estonia gained its independence he decided to move from the city back to the "motherland" to live out his life.

In Voru and Rouge, we rode our bikes around visiting the churches and gawking at the natural beauty. In Rogue, there is a nature park where you can walk along the outskirts of the deepest lake in Estonia. I feel, only in Estonia would you find a nature trail dedicated to water pumps. The path was lined with moss-covered metal cylinders and signs explaining the challenge of pumping water up a hill. I have never been so knowledgeable of hydraulics in my life.

Now, I love Tartu and I am quite fond of Tallinn (because of Alexander Nevsky), but the Southern towns were what I imagined Estonia to be like. They were rustic, and did not specifically cater to tourists. The birch forests were amazing because they lack undergrowth so you can look in and feel like the rows of trees go on forever. The hills, although a pain to bike, just increased the charm because you couldn't see what surprise was next. With all the quaintness, I definitely advise future students of Tartu to visit Southern Estonia.

The Great St. Pete

So here's me being uber late with all my blog entries... first off, St. Pete.

My expectations of Russia were complied from a conglomeration of sources such AP European History, what little I had learned from Estonians, clips from the news and of course, spy movies. I had expected Russians to be boisterous with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a furry cap upon their heads. Fortunately, or unfortunately (I was really looking forward to the hats), this was not the case.

As for the city itself, I really wanted to dislike it because everyone who had been there told me I was going to love it. In the end, there are some buildings I adore such as Our Lady of Kazan or the Dom Knigi, but the gaudy European Baroque style that adorned most of the buildings just does not appeal to me.

What really interested me, as usual, was the food. Tepemok, the blini place we visited, I would venture to say is average fast food for Russia, and in that case, the Baltics as well (I visited a similar pancake place in Vilnius). Compared to American fast food, I found Tepemok not only more flavorful but also more healthy. An American greasy french fry which occasionaly will bend on its own, falls flat to the light yet filling side order of simple blini and smetana. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

When it came time to leave St. Pete, I have to admit I was overjoyed to be going home to Tartu. Although St. Petersburg is lovely, I wish we had a chance to explore more of the "real" Russia; the Russia that isn't so Europeanized. But as our bus rolled away, the scenery slowly changing from a maze of canals to forests of birch trees, I seceretly couldn't wait to return to St. Petersburg and Russia once again.

Nie dobrze

I know in Russia I was saying 'bardzo dobrze,' but I'm SO far behind on posts I can't even bring myself to say those words in this blog space.....So, in the honor of being behind, I would like to make a few observations about Polish Erasmus.
I am excited to come home and have responsibilities again. Not the thing you'd expect to hear from an Erasmus student, huh? While my experience has been amazing and I wouldn't trade it for anything, I must admit I am getting weary of the life I lead in Poland.
As far as responsibilities go, in Olowek, you literally have none. You aren't even responsible for your keys. First of all, if you leave the building, you're to leave your keys at the reception desk. The lovely (haha, not) ladies in administration hold on to them for you and give them back when you return to the building. Or, in my case, when you drop your keys down the 15th floor elevator shaft, they'll call the elevator man to fetch your keys and loan you out a spare set.
You don't have the chore of checking your mail. It's delivered directly to the reception desk, and you don't even have to ask for it. They inform you if you have a letter or a parcel.
If something happens, and for some reason you can't get into your room, you always know at least one person whose roommate is currently travelling and you can just sleep in their room.
Wake up late? No worries, there's several buses and trams each hour. Don't bother remembering which turns to take, don't worry about having to physically exert yourself by walking. Someone else can drop you off right at the door while you doze on the way there.
Don't feel like going to class? It's okay. The vast majority of professors don't take attendance, and honestly, don't care whether you come or not. If you turn in the essays, take the exams, and do the presentations, you'll get your grade and your credits. Don't worry about coming to class. Its really no biggie if you miss a class....or twelve.
Forgot to pay rent? Don't worry. Administration will remind you. When you pick up the keys you aren't responsible enough to carry from the reception desk, there will be a little tiny note attached to your key ring, telling you that it is necessary to pay the rent. Can't remember after that? Don't worry, they'll keep reminding you with little notes.
I know the point is to have an amazing time experiencing the country and its culture, but really? Can we not have a few more rules? A few more things to be held accountable for? Where there are no rules, there are no consequences, and I know that myself, personally, will have a difficult time readjusting to all my responsibilities at home.

American Accent

You're in the grocery store and there is a buzz going on around you. Moms are scolding kids, couples are cooing, and the young store clerk is helping an older lady carry her bags. So much can be understood by all these situations just by looking at them but as I get closer to each I find that I can't understand anything else from them because of the language barrier. In the beginning it was frustrating because it was so strange and a feeling of exclusiveness messed with my brain that was so used to participating in other people's conversations. Now when I walk through Carrefour (err I mean Delicatesy because that strike is going on against Carrefour) I hardly notice the discomfort. I now know what the labels mean on the items I'm buying and so dinners have gotten way more satisfying since Februrary. This is such a cool feeling! I guess it feels like a really big accomplishment in my life and it is neat. I have a friend coming into town soon and I can't wait to see her reaction when we enter the grocery store, in a hope that I'll get to witness what my reaction must have been but this time from an outside view. Her and I went to Edinburgh and it was her first time out of the country, out of the US. I knew this but I still forgot to be sort of careful to the fact as she slunked off her 8 hour flight and I bounded off my 1 hour one. It was a bunch of big hugs and giggles and then off to the hostel, to throw our bags down, join a free tour of the city, and then scramble for a cheap but delicious place to eat before places started closing for the day. Over dinner she finally confessed to being absolutly blown away today by it all. I laughed and apologized for being so inconsiderate and she rebuted me with no worries and just went on to say how shocked she was by how different it really is and how the realization of being so far from home swamped her about an hour into that free tour and how she had a few weeks to go before she went back. It was so neat to talk about all these things because I felt them so long ago but the exact same things. She said she was scared to tell me (:P silly friend) because she felt silly about it. I told her not to worry, it's something everyone reflects on and feels and that I certainly felt the same for a long time. So I can't wait until we get to where no one speaks English and to see and hear her first impressions. We've met some fun and friendly Irish fellows on our travels and twice now we've had conversations about the "bizarre Poles." They go for trips over into Krakow and Warsaw and soon to be Poznan for a wedding frequently and they can't get over how "unhappy" the Polish people are. They claim Ireland to be the happiest country on the planet and so it's a really big shock for them when they visit the country. It was also funny to talk about the outdated tram system and the way Polish people never cross on the red at crosswalks. While we're speaking it's kind of cool to talk about a place I call home, I don't know I guess I feel like I have authority to share a little knowledge about the place. I'm giving the guys a list of some more useful words and phrases in Polish seeing as the only one they claim to know is kurva, not a very helpful word. After traveling through Scotland and hanging out with these Irish guys, when we entered the airport yesterday morning I finally heard it, the American Accent! I used to think that our accent "didn't exist" and that we just spoke "plain English" but after talking to some Scottish and Australian People about it my friend and I found that they enjoy it. Not in the sense that it's melodic or even interesting but because it's exotic, it's different and so it's just plain interesting to hear to them. I found that to be quite neat. :) It was funny when we asked them to do impressions of us, well Americans in general, we came off sounding like jerks as they mimicked George W. Bush and Tom Cruise. But after enjoying the Scottish accent for a few days (I've decided it's my favorite now, it is soOo sexy!) when I heard an American, well a ton of them, around us in the airport it was music to my ears; in the sense that it was familiar. I really liked it. When we started talking their ears would perk up to us as well and we did the lil chin up hello because we hold something in common, our homeland. It was neat. But as I'm excited to go back to the states in a few weeks, I'm also excited to get back because I miss Wroclaw; I want to be able to show my friend the good places to eat and my school buildings and just sleep in my own bed. Crazy how that happens.

Missing: 4 months and focus

I cannot believe that I leave Estonia for good in a month. I know this is how things go, and how people said it would. But to be in the cross paradox of everything is a little mind blowing. The first days of ice, snow, and sledding seem like a year ago, but it feels like I've only been here a couple of weeks all at the same time. Last week I was more than ready to come home. I was just done being here, I'm sure you all know what I mean. But now that days are flying past, I'm realizing the people and aspects of life here that I will miss.
Spring has finally truly come to us. I think my concentration and focus on school work faded along with the cold. All I want to do now is be outside, and doing really anything other than sitting at my desk working. I have only 2 more papers of my Tartu University career, but it is just not getting done. I still find it strange that I never had a true test/exam this whole semester. The only things I have been graded on are papers, papers, papers, one essay exam, and one oral exam. This oral exam was for Archeology of the Ancient Near East, and my first one ever. The whole process was quite intimidating, and hopeless if you hadn't studied. This is how it went: the four of us that showed up for the exam sat in front of the professor as he wrote 5 subjects on the board. We volunteered for what order we would go in, and then picked a subject. With this subject, you were to say everything you could on the matter, and then wait for you slow and painful interrogation. I happily made it out with a B, but not with my pride. If this class was truly critical for my major I think I would have been mortified, but since it wasn't, the whole process was actually amusing. Our professor made every one of us look like idiots, no matter how smart the student. And it's not even that he was trying to, he was quite nice about the whole humiliation.
I've been trying to think some more about the culture here in Estonia and how to evaluate it. I have a friend who is currently in New Zealand, and when I asked him about the people there, he said that they were both similar to and different from Americans, but he couldn't pin point the "why" of either. I think this describes exactly my experience. Every where I have gone this semester, it seems that there are obvious differences and similarities to America, but then this whole underlying layer of subtleties that I can't put my finger on. I think similarities between places I have visited and home might have a lot to do with globalization mixing up all kinds of cultures. There are distinct foods and styles that belong to countries, but they have all been traded and spread around. It becomes hard to weed out what belongs to a country and what doesn't.

View From the Outside

Sorry to bombard the blog but I got so behind with entries!
Ok so on to more Polish observations: I haven't spent too much time in Wroclaw for the past few weeks but I have still managed to gather blog entry material. :)
Polish immigrants are surging into wealthier European countries right now searching for jobs. Thus they are becoming the poor minority of several countries. Just from talking to international students here in the dorm I have gathered that most held a low view of Polish people before coming here based from the ones entering into their towns and cities as immigrants. I haven't really asked if anyone has changed their mind after living here but that would be interesting to find out.
It is easy to spot a Polish person outside of Poland, they will be the dudes that look like they're on steroids with shaved heads and workout gear on. They usually have smallish eyes and undefined or really rounded jaw lines. The females are harder of course but they're usually pretty slender with sharp features and really straight blonde hair. Of course not all Polish people look like this, it's just if you see someone that does fit these descriptions, they're probably Polish. Guys have gotten the worst reputation for being ill tempered and "always starting fights." This is commentary from the people I've stayed with in other countries. It sucks but I think it is the fate of most minorities in a population who have to deal with poverty.
I have to say it is fun when to pick out Polish people when I see them. Of course the confirmation comes when you pass by and you understand what they're saying, usually, "Tak, tak. Dobry." Fellow Olowekers do the same thing, it's like a neat little inside game. :) At first I was picking out English speakers, Americans mostly, where ever I went; now it is Polish speakers, there are far fewer of them so the challenge makes it more fun.

Let's Back Up and Define this "Couchsurfing"

A year ago I stepped off a plane in Greensboro from working in Alaska for two months to find that my nicely preplanned trip into Costa Rica with some friends was falling through. I kind of got kicked out of the club over ex-or is his an ex-boyfriend issues. I had a $700 plane ticket due to fly the next day with no accommodation when I got there and no itinerary. I freaked out a bit and went to shed a few tears as I was cancelling the ticket, and then I remembered this website that a friend had told me about a few months prior, couchsurfing.com. You register, post a profile and a smiling picture of yourself, and boom, you're in the "Couchsurfing Community." I had a really good experience with two families there and made it out alive much to my mom's surprise and relief.
Here in Europe I used it for the first time with Mandy in the previous blog entry, in Riga, Lativia. The guy turned out to be really gracious, helpful, genuinly interested in getting to know us and just a regurlar human being like ourselves. He was also a traveler and was young and so our conversation was never stale. We were able to ask him questions about his city and country instead of sifting through media rhetoric and we were able to just get to know his interest like music and studies. A hostel would never have provided this. My other experiences with couchsurfing over here have been again with Mandy in Stockholm and then a couple nights in Brussels and Amsterdam with some friends. All of these experiences turned out really, above and beyond expectations. Well the one in Stockholm was different but the guy even gave us the key to his house. There is something to say about people who trust strangers, and I think it's crazy but I'm thanking the greater powers or else we would not have been able to get that tub of ice cream (which was our lunch).
The website is what it is, a place to post up available temporary living space versus meeting people and maintaining friendships through messages and photo tagging. It's more up to the traveler how involved they want to get in meeting the host and how much time they will devote to keeping in touch afterwards. It is really risky but I think it is a good thing that people still trust each other even with hyper media encouraging them not to. Going to a place to meet some of the people there just make for a more memorable experience. And you could get a free Ipod if you're sneaky enough!
I have to admit that it is a weird thing to do and that the surfer takes just as much risk as the host when entering into the agreement. The benefit is to realize that people on the other side of the world wide web are just people too. They want to share their experiences with you and share what they have, little or great. Etiquette kind of calls for the surfer to bring a gift to the host. I really like this; when I took a greek mythology course through UNCG the professor mentioned that it was just as important to be a good guest as a good host. I feel that most people I've invited into my home have failed to do this. After these past surfing times I have been inspired to reopen my home when I get back to Greensboro. We'll see because I think getting back into the old study regime will be a bit shocking upon arrival.

Cruisin' It and Breaking the Couchsurfing Rules

Mandy and I continued on our journey after Tartu on up to Tallinn where we boarded a 'ferry' (cruise ship) to Stockholm where our flight home (that's right, new home Wroclaw) was destined to fly out of. We got off the bus and boarded the ship in incredible timing and with Duty Free wine in tow. After finding the room and unloading we went straight to sleep, because that lovely 12 hr bus ride from St. Petersburg was rough and we jibber jabbered the entire bus ride up to Tallinn. We were dang tired. We caught a 3 hour nap and still managed to wake before the boat set sail. We got up and explored and bought some dinner: sandwiches-so cheap and juicy! Then we began in on the wine. And we got into a situation in which the little club we were inhabiting did not like that we brought our own drinks and even worse that we even thought to drink it out of plastic cups. How silly, we were stuck on a ship in the middle of the Baltic and still got kicked out of a bar. :P
We woke the next morning to the beautiful sunny shore of Sweden. I've found that it's always very impressionable when you enter a country for the first time whether it's good weather or bad. I was in love! We took our time taking in the view from up top before we had to say goodbye to the Baltic Queen. We finally made it to a metro stop and discovered that, yes, Stockholm is very expensive. We hopped on a train to the center where we tried repeatedly to get in contact with our couch surfer but all in vain. So we stored our luggage at the train station so we could explore unburdened. That is one thing I am glad someone came up with, lockers at the station, it's genius really!
The weather stayed good as we walked through green green parks overlooked by blue blue skies. We found a spot on an inlet of water and whipped out what we had been saving up for so long, our extremely moldy loaf of bread which had traveled all the way from Poland, premold of course. That loaf of bread went through 5 countries with us with most of it becoming our breakfast under peanut butter and honey some mornings. Ultimately it became the dinner to seagulls right there on that shore. It was funny though because the seagulls were not like ones I've encountered at Myrtle Beach which would take your head off if they could. No these guys were scared of the bread we were throwing at them. It took them a while to figure out if it was food or not. Mandy and I still aren't sure whether feeding them was illegal or not.
We finally got in touch with the couchsurfer, Mikael, originally from Stockholm. We met up with him and took him to his centrally located pad. We met the two other girls who were surfing there, quite a stud wasn't he?, who were from Germany and were really sweet, one more so than the other. Then we went to sleep, glorious glorious sleep.
The next day we set to exploring again with the main event being a paddle boat ride down the Djurgardsbrunnsviken. The weather was super sunny so we aimed to get a tan as well as ride and relax. Mission was accomplished successfully. We found some food, the tub of ice cream we left in Mikael's freezer from the previous day, and sat in a park with the locals and chilled out on the grass. The Swedish locals are not in any way similar to Polish locals that I've encountered. For example: Polish Local- stares at the strange lack of clothing coverage even though you're in a tank top and shorts then when caught staring they give you a "where are you from look," a role of the eyes, then looks away. Swedish Local- may look your direction but it's just because of that dog barking or child laughing behind you and will smile immediatly if you make eye contact. I have to say I liked the Swedish people better; this interaction is what I'm more familiar with and is more friendly to me. We went out later that night for a really great evening of dancing and meeting some of Mikael's friends. Bardzo Dobrsze!

Home is Where the Piast Is

The ten day escape from Olowek and it's night after night of drinking was super refreshing. It was really cool to see how you guys were living it up in another Eastern European country and how different it really is from here in Poland. This whole time I had it in mind that it must be the same, only more cold because you guys are so far north. I can't wait to come back up that way, Mandy and I still have to take the time to figure out another excursion; one that does Not go through crappy Riga. Coming back to Olowek was such a weird experience in itself too. As soon as we stepped off the plane in Wroclaw Mandy kept exclaiming, "it feels like we're home! I mean Home home!" And it did, the welcome parties came even though I really wanted to just roll over and sleep. It was nice though. We were really missed by people that we've only known a few months but now feels like a lifetime, for most of them. Now going home seems really Really close. Ah! And I haven't filled out any of those forms Tom's been sending by email.... Now I finally feel driven to jump into my classwork like I mean it. Hopefully the feeling will last but it is annoying to be a student and not be involved in your studies. I am choosing to be a student because I want to learn what I can (and get a degree saying that I did) right now in my life. What I am learning is how to manage in this crazy environment where I have to wake up at 6am to book a laundry machine and deal without a good library to write papers. I guess more of the surprise is that somehow I'm making it in this 'crazy' environment. The neatest thing is to see or more hear Polish people outside of Poland. I hear, "Tak, dobry." and my ears go, "Hey! I understood that!" This happened in London as me and a friend studying here too stayed in a hostel in the Polish district. They also had a display by the Thames about Poland's Wildlife. Of course we were cracking up and were like, "why haven't we seen any of these things?" But we took pictures and pointed to our Wroclaw on the provided map. So now Wroclaw is home more than homebase. Weird but neat.

Russia

I've been thinking for two days now what to write in this blog about our Russia trip. I still really have no idea what to say about it because there was just so much that we experienced and saw. I can say that this trip has definitely been one of my favorites of the semester. I remember one of the first facts I learned was that St Petersburg is actually made up of 42 islands. I had always assumed that St Petersburg was a mainland city, and realized right away that I had so much to learn about it. I also learned on this trip that the movie Anastasia is not real. That she was actually shot and put in acid, then thrown down a mine shaft with the rest of her family. And peasants did not actually sing and dance in the street, but died in the street from hunger instead. And Kathleen happily ruined my fairy tale by drilling this into my head.. sound effects and all.
My favorite places that we went were the Yusupov Palace and the State Russian Museum. In the Yusupov Palace I enjoyed seeing how a true royal family lived on a daily bases, and was quite blown away when I learned that this included a private theater located just downstairs. I also learned that you cannot touch the authentic velvet upholstery in the theater.
The State Russian Museum housed the works of Russian artists. Many of these artists are not well known, and I had never heard of or seen many of the things there. This art turned out to be my favorite, however. Even over the grand collections in the Hermitage of world renown artists. I especially loved the enormous narrative paintings. You could stand in front of one and feel as if you were seeing the actual event take place. These were different from the usual ceremonial and proper depictions of history.
The large paintings seemed to fit right in with the scale of St Petersburg. Everything was so big. The size and grandioseness of the city was overwhelming, but in an exciting and invigorating way. Sometimes it felt as if we had stepped into a story. Not everthing was so enchanting though. The food and bathrooms made me miss dearly what I have in Estonia. Twice I went to the WC and opened the stall door to find a hole in the ground. One place was a museum, and the other was at the bus station. In both places I would have thought that they would have complete facilities. And like I said, the food wasn't wonderful either. We found the secret to why Russian girls are so skinny. I did like the caramel ice cream, but other than that I'm glad Moma Roma was just down the street to take care of us.
The people were also different in Russia. I found that, compared to Estonia, people interact much more assertively and aggressively. Walking down the street or through a store in Russia, I would have people meet me eye to eye, and I felt that in a way, I must return the look to avoid showing weakness or suspicion. In Estonia if I meet someone in the eye in public, we both look away. After returning from Russia, I realized just how much I've adapted and changed my behavior to mimic that of Estonians in order to fit in here. To make a generalization, I feel that the way I act in public here in Estonia is almost one of demure shyness in comparison to interaction in America or Russia. Estonians have a reserved meekness about them.

Like I said, there is so much that happened during our trip. I think I would write a small travel book if I talked about everything. At the beginning of this semester I knew very little about Europe and its history, especially Eastern Europe. I also knew very little about Russian hisory. But being able to see places and monuments of actual history and events, I learned so much in just a short 5 days. Russia no longer seems so strange and far off.

A New Poland

I'm running quite behind on entries, so I will try to get caught up before our trip to Russia. It may be somewhat difficult, however, because my Mac has finally fallen victim to the strange forces of Olowek and is no longer functioning. It suddenly decided that it no longer knew where to find my hard drive, so I'm going to have a great time trying to get that one fixed.
However, despite the shortcomings of my computer, I am beginning to fall in love with this city. Twelve weeks after arriving may seem a little late, but better late than never, right?
The day of my arrival, the weather was nice. It quite reminded me of a North Carolina winter, which was perfect, because I'm not the largest fan of winter weather. The day was sunny and even somewhat warm, and I was a bit ill at myself for packing snow boots and sweaters. Two days after being here however, the temperature plummeted, the sky darkened, and the snow began to fall. At first it was beautiful and entertaining, and I thought then that I would love the city, but after weeks of bitter cold and trudging through snow and no sight of the sun, my opinion of the place matched the bleak atmosphere outside. Then rains came, and though at first I was happy to see them (finally, something different), they were miserable as well. It turned all the snow to sloppy slush and you were frozen to the core and soaked by the time you got indoors. I never wanted to venture outside, and I even began letting myself think about how nice it would be if I was home.
But eventually, the sun cracked through the cloud covered sky, and it slowly began to warm the earth. Snow melted and in it's place there was grass, with little flower buds pushing their tiny heads up from the mud. Trees budded, shrubs showed signs of life. And then one day, everything was green! There were leaves on the trees, the sun was out, birds were singing, peacoats and scarves were left at home. The city was alive again and so was it's people. Everyone wore a frown in the winter, no one was ever pleasant. But now people smiled, you heard laughter when you walked through the park, and the cashiers at Carrefour even greeted you with "Dzien dobry" and a smile before scanning your items and shoving them at you.
People are now venturing out of doors and making themselves seen. This weekend past, Deep Purple came to play in the Rynek in Wroclaw, and the crowd they drew was unbelievable. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, hours before Deep Purple would play, there were already thousands of rock-clad Poles, with guitars in hand, playing along with opening bands. I've never seen Rynek like that before, there wasn'teven space to move.
Overall, I think I'm finally starting to get a grip on this Polish life. And I have to say, it might not be so bad after all.

Manners, Manners, Manners!

I have never missed the South as much as I miss it now.
I have been traveling quite a bit since I arrived in Wroclaw, and the cities I've visited include Prague, Berlin, Kudowa Zdrój, Budapest, and Vienna. The photo is of the Chapel of Skulls in Kudowa Zdrój. The skulls and bones are from victims of the Silesian and 30 Years Wars. Pretty neat, huh?
Two weekends ago, I was in Vienna. Out of all the cities I have been to since I arrived in Europe, if I could pick any one to live in, I do believe it would be Vienna. The city is beautiful, and absolutely littered with parks. If you walk around, you will almost always pass at least three parks before you reach your destination. I thought everything about Vienna was beautiful.
Except for the other tourists.
Now I'm not one to go around saying "Bloody Tourists!;" after all, I am one myself when I'm traveling through these cities. But the tourists I came into contact with in Vienna were a bit of a nightmare. No one could say 'excuse me;' it was common to get body slammed on the street in passing. People were also frequently rudely asking you to move if they were trying to take the perfect photo. Even vendors were a bit rude. One particular incident sticks out in memory, though.
The traveling group consisted of myself and Danielle and one of our other friends from Olowek, and on one of our nights in the city, we decided to go see an opera. Tosca was playing in the opera house, and standing tickets only cost 3 euro, which definitely fit our budget. The next available ticket was 29 euro, so we opted that we could deal with standing for a few hours. When we informed the man trying to sell us the 29 euro tickets that we couldn't afford them, he shrugged his shoulders with a bit of a sneer and said that the cheaper tickets were no good. He called us cheap as politely as he could.
However, when we tried to purchase our cheap tickets, we were impolitely informed that two of us were dressed inappropriately (we were wearing shorts that were above the knee). Our plan was to purchase tickets and then run back to the hostel to change. This was still unacceptable, so we left to try to find a shop to quickly purchase something nicer to avoid returning to the hostel, which would take a considerable amount of time. Of course, all the shops had already closed. So we literally had to RUN to the metro, jump it to the closest stop to the hostel, jump off, sprint to the hostel, change, sprint back to the metro, and then run the rest of the way to the opera. Running through the streets in dresses will get you some pretty crazy looks.
So we made it to the opera, purchased our tickets (although receiving disapproving glances for being flushed and out of breath), and made it through the doors right as they were shutting them. It took us all about 15 minutes to catch our breath.
The first act went through, and because we had come in so late, we were standing in an area where it was quite difficult to see. During the first intermission, everyone cleared out. We took this as our turn to move a little further down so we could actually see some of the stage. Intermission lasted about 20 minutes, and no one came in to get a spot until the second act was about to start. At this point, people began filtering in.
Danielle, our friend, and myself were standing quietly when a large woman who had been standing next to us earlier came up to us and said "Please," and motioned for us to move. We turned and looked at her, confused, because CLEARLY we were standing here to watch the opera. Again, she said "Please," this time with an aggravated tone in her voice, and swatting at us as if we were flies to be shooed. We told her that we were standing here to watch the show, and in broken English, she explained the spot was reserved. She motioned to a small piece of paper, a program to the opera, folded over the railing, then pointed to herself, and again motioned for us to move. Everyone in the opera house had these programs, who was to say it wasn't ours? Danielle asked the woman how much she paid for her ticket, because it was standing, and Danielle said she was sure they had paid the same amount and that there were no reservations in standing area. She tried to tell us that we had to go stand where we had been standing earlier, and when we pointed out that she had been standing there as well, she changed the subject back to us needing to move from her reserved spot. This conversation went back and forth for about five or ten minutes, with the woman growing ruder and ruder about her "reserved" standing section. Frustrated and completely annoyed, we gave up and moved down the row, but we didn't miss the woman's insult of "You should learn," meaning that we should learn to behave "properly" in the opera house.
I think that 3 euro means 3 euro, and it's first come first serve. This is clearly what she was trying to tell us, when she said our standing area was at the end of the row. But nevermind that she had been standing there as well, she now had a "reserved" ticket. She also continued to throw ugly glances at us through the rest of the performance.
There really is something to be said for Southern hospitality.

Student Days!

I think this week has been one of the most exciting, and definitely one of my favorites, here in Tartu. Since this past Monday Tartu has been celebrating the coming of Spring with festivals, concerts, square markets, beer in the park, and tons of events. The whole town seems to have come awake, and ready for a party. Student Days began with a 6am wake-up call Monday morning as a van pulled up outside of Raatuse and blasted music to jump-start the celebration. Monday night everyone gathered in the town square for a traditional Estonian concert. After this part of the evening we all paraded through town to an open area with a stage and band set up to lead the next part of the song festival. There were people everywhere. I didn't even know that many people lived in Tartu.
The international students also had the opportunity to help out the community this week by building dog houses for the local animal shelter. I didn't know what to expect when I signed up, but I like making things and I like animals, so I was excited about it. It turned out that ESN had partnered up with this event through a Catholic church/school in town, so we got to work with kids on the project and meet a lot of locals. To be honest, I had expected some kind of assembly kit project that we easily put together and paint. But when we walked up to the yard there was wood, saws, hammers, and nails. We built these things from scratch. The plan was that we were going to build 3 houses by dividing everyone into groups. Each group was assigned a wall or floor, and was to build 3 of the same thing. My group volunteered to make the floor. It seemed simple enough. Cut and nail the support beams together, then cut and nail the floor planks on top. After one hour on the first floor, however, we decided differently. Finally we got the carpenters, who were there to over-see things, to help us out with the sawing and measuring. After lunch and the first practice run, everyone felt a little better and kind of knew what they were supposed to do the next time. So the next two came together much more efficiently. It was hard work, but we had so much fun doing it.
The festivities in town picked up again Friday, as it was the first of May and a major holiday here. There was a large market in the town square, concerts, plays, and an extreme sport competition that took over the whole middle of Tartu.
Last night I got to take part in my first Estonian dance festival. There were tons of people crowded on one of the main roads by the river dancing and singing. We learned traditional folk dances, and had a blast trying to figure out what and where we were supposed to go. I think each group ended up making their own rules to the songs.
I am really looking forward to the last events today. This afternoon we will go to the river to watch participants try to fly across to the other side with home-made airplanes/boats. I've heard that no one ever makes it over, but that's really the fun of it. I think there are some last concerts and things tonight too to end the week of celebration.
I wish Tartu was always this energized and festive, but I guess it's back to work tomorrow.

Count down!

Hello all! I'm getting really excited about our upcoming trip. I just want to give you some itinerary info/contact info for me while I'm in transit.

I'll be in Wroclaw, Poland on Monday May 4-Thursday May 7. The best way to contact me there would be to send an email message to Ula Broda in the International Office. I'd love to see the students who are studying in Poland, if you are still in town?
ulbr@adm.uni.wroc.pl

On Thursday I'll head to Estonia. I fly into Tallin late afternoon (5:35 pm) and will need to catch a bus to Tartu (anybody wanna meet me?) I don't know where I'll be staying yet--but the International Office will know where to find me. I think that Piret Must will be out of the office, but Sirje Uprus will be in touch with me.
sirje.uprus@ut.ee

Once I'm in Estonia, I'll also have this phone number 372 5311 6581 SMS 372 533 57081

We'll head out on the bus at about 11 pm on the 8th (Friday) so let's be in touch about when/where to meet--I'll need to check out of my hotel midday I guess, I'll be checking in at the university, but maybe dinner?

Once I have our final packet with our intinerary in St. Petersburg, I'll send you the hotel info in case you want to leave it with anyone back home or in Poland/Estonia.

See you soon--
Kathleen

Frogs

I came here with the intentions of taking Biology courses. As that was not possible, I sought out a professor in the Zoology Department here at the Uniwersytet Wroclawiu and asked if I could help out in her lab doing research for credit. She said yes and I met with the Graduate and PhD students in her lab right away. We exchanged emails and phone numbers and I was invited to help with amphibian relocation and rehabilitation. I was excited.
A month later one of the students finally got back to me. She is only two years older than I am and is working on her Master's degree. She invited me out to catch amphibians from this lake that is being destroyed due to a new stadium being built pretty much on top of it and move the lil guys to a lake within a park about a kilometer away.
It was a warm, sunny morning and we jumped trams and buses until we arrived at our destination. I asked a million questions about amphibians and learned that there are more than just toads, frogs, and salamanders. It is all very interesting. I had to admit that while I had done research in lake systems I knew nothing about amphibians and so she told me even more; fun stuff like coping mechanisms for such a cold environment :). After breaking the ice with science we turned into two girls around the same age interested in the same things and so talked about being who we are in two very different countries. Comes to find out we're not all that different in the end. We talked about boys, about friends, and music. Ok I'm getting too cheesy so you get the picture. Then I had to ask why it had taken so long for some one to get back to me about the research when I knew they all had mentioned needing help the week I met them. She gave a an uneasy "uhhh....well Danielle..." and told me that they were all nervous about being around me. Why? of course I asked. She said they didn't want me to laugh at them or think badly of them for not knowing more English while they're at almost professional levels of education. I couldn't believe it but of crouse I understood it. It's weird though to think that they would even assume I would laugh at them for something like that, I can't speak a lick of Polish past, "My name is Danielle and I have a question." Anyways I told her that I would never be so rude and I didn't know many that would and that I understood they were the ones doing me a favor. I haven't heard from any of them still but I am planning on going on a bat excursion with them this weekend in which we follow and record behaviors of local bats at nighttime for two nights. I hope to make amends or things clear through the experience as well as get some photos of cute flying rodents.

They shave their heads and throw the salute

Running behind on blog entries so I'll so a few in a row here and boy do I have some things to write about.
Last Saturday I went to my first concert in town with two girlfriends from the dorm. It was a pricey concert but my friend said that the headliner band was "totally worth it." So I decided to go.
We start our journey on the tram taking it until our directions told us and then we had to walk about a kilometer past the tram stop. It was a series of lefts and rights and right agains and as we walked we noticed the streets getting a little dirtier and less crowded with people. At one point we passed a house that had 7 to 8 grungy middle aged men sitting on the broken boarded and paint chipped porch. But we laughed and took note to take a taxi home.
The last stretch of the journey led us down an ally, pretty well lit in actuality, and to a man selling tickets for the show. We bought three tickets and entered the joint.
The inside was like any other bar, two nice enough bartenders serving cheap beer; the walls displayed a number of figures including a graffitied portrait of Bob Marley. A space was cleared for 'dancing' and tables were set up for setting drinks down while you enjoyed the show. The first band were tuning their instruments up on stage while we grabbed a beer and went to a table behind the 'dance' floor.
Finally the band started playing and as it was all in Polish we just bobbed our heads and danced around a little bit. At this time the crowd began to congregate on the dance floor and moving to the music. The girls had partially shaved heads, plaid where there could fit in into their wardrobe, and big, hunking army boots which they kicked around as they danced in the punk rock style that has been popular for some time. (Lame excuse for dancing if you ask me.) The guys had camoflauge where the girls had plaid, T-shirts old and worn, and often suspenders which held up their skin tight pants. And they all had completely shaved heads. Looking around I noticed that more and more of the guys had this shaved head, skinheads. The band played on and it went to leave but recieved an encour. The request went out for some song and the band agreed to play.
The song started out like their others, lots of guitar, crap bass, and a drum skeme that lacked creativity and the dance floor filled up. Then I thought I understood some of the lyrics, was that english? Yes, it was english. "Skin head for life!" was repeated over and over and the crowd did something I least expected. They all threw up the Nazi salute. Girls, guys, young, old all put their flattened hands towards the band at that unmistakable angle.
It was a werid an scary feeling to be in that bar then. Us three girls decided to just play it cool until the headliners came on and certainly get our money's worth of the music. In between bands you could hear, "Adolf! Adolf! For Life!" I just wanted to scream at them all and ask them how they, of all the countries affected by the War, could remain so ignorant. I want to bust full beer bottles over the guys' heads. But I also didn't want to get the crap beat out of me.
The headliners came on and we stayed for a while but decided it would be smart to leave a little early. The headliners seemed scared themselves with the croud as they were a band out of London with one of the guitarists out of Paris. They spoke into the microphones with chilled English accents but gave the crowd nervous glares and played on anyways with songs containing lyrics such as, "I call and you but you'll never return!" and "Oo oo baby, you don't want to stick with me..." Very corny stuff that surprisingly the lame skinheads took to.
I am never going to another concert at that bar again.

Polish Easter

So I comprehend that Easter is about a week and a half removed from now, but this post was delayed by my laptop's unexpected hard-drive crash. As I was determining what topic to do for this blog post, I realized that one of the things I had been most looking forward to with a semester in Poland was to observe the Easter holiday and see how it is done here. Being Catholic myself, one of the reasons I had chosen Poland was for the strong Catholic background of the country, and the presence of Catholic churches every block much like Baptist churches in North Carolina. 

As I have traveled all over this city, exploring the various regions, I have always been struck by the number of clergy, particularly nuns, that I have seen going about their business. How often does one see a nun in the traditional habit going through the checkout lane in the grocery store in the US? To me it has been refreshing, a place where religion can mix in public society without causing stares or insulting comments. There is nothing like running into a nun on the street to remind one to attend church on Sunday. 

Anyway, as Easter approached, I was looking more and more forward to attending Mass in the Cathedral of Wroclaw. I was also looking forward to finding some ham and making a brown sugar glaze over it as is traditional, but more on that in a few moments. 

I typically do not go grocery shopping until I run out of food - it saves money that way, to me. This way, none of my food goes bad, and I stretch my stipend as far as possible. That reminds me, someone needs to educate this country on how to make a proper pizza, but since I do not possess an oven, I guess it will not be me. 

I managed to have 'perfect' timing, running out of food on Holy Saturday. I figured 'No problem, I'll run out when I wake up Sunday morning and find something.' Well, it never occurred to me that being in such a prominently Catholic area, stores would be closed for Easter. Turns out every grocery store near Olowek was closed, and had been closed since Saturday, and would be closed until Tuesday. Momentarily stumped, and completely out of food, I was a little uncertain as to what exactly I was going to do in this situation. Finally, I reasoned I could survive on junk food for two days, and I went in to the petrol station next to Olowek to see what food I could find. Turns out gas stations in Poland are unlike gas stations in the US for what food staples are available, as I could only muster potato chips and ramen noodles - ramen noodles! I almost never eat ramen, let alone purchase it for myself, let alone eat it as my Easter dinner! So there I was, Easter Sunday, consuming potato chips and ramen noodles, listening to my mother tell me about the wonderful ham and brown sugar glaze, mashed potatoes, and black forest trifle she had made, and then listening to my girlfriend describe what her family was having - Italian beef, ham, cheesy potatoes, and the list goes on and on - my noodles paling in comparison between either family's repertoire. And of course, Monday I ate the same thing as the grocery stores were still closed. 

However, at least the Mass was excellent. It started exactly on time, at 18:30 hours (6:30pm), and was about as traditional as Mass can get. Those in attendance were of course dressed in their Easter finest, high-class formal clothing. I do not understand much of it, due to it being entirely in Polish, but still, it is always nice to see such a high level of reverence and respect displayed. Younger members of the congregation paused and allowed the elder members to approach the Communion line first, everything was conducted almost silently, the choir singing in the background, etc. As I was not sure what to expect from an Easter Mass in Europe, I cannot say if my expectations were met or not, but that I was completely satisfied with what I received.

ASAP

I need to know the status of Robert and Gabriel's visa application right away. Please email me TODAY to let me know what you've done.

71 days...

Before I left the States one of my friends told me that I would go through stages of being here, which sound a lot like the whole culture shock talk from orientation now that I think about it.. He said at first everything will probably be overwhelming, be you're making so many friends and having so many fun new experiences that you push through and adapt. Everything continues to be fun as everything is new and there is so much to discover in every day. Then things will lose their new appeal and you might get bored of them, even frustrated because they are new and different, and want to come home. Then it's time to go and you become sentimental and don't want to leave, as you realize that realistically you may never see these places or people again.
I've been watching to see if these stages develop, and have definitely seen them here to some degree, in myself as well as others. I noticed recently how there aren't so many new things in my day anymore. Last week my Mom came to visit me. She kept pointing out and observing so many things that were different from home. These same things I didn't even notice anymore, they've just become a common part of my day and surroundings. My mom and I traveled to Helsinki for a couple of days too while she was here. As much as I really did enjoy Finland, I felt a little bit relieved to be back in Tartu, I think it's becoming a second home to me.
Before I left home I had also heard that it wasn't a good idea to visit with people from home mid-way through the semester, so I was a little worried about what would happen after spending a week with Mom and then having to say goodbye again. But I think it was more helpful than anything, kind of like a refresher of home. It was also nice for her to see everything in person that I had been trying to explain through words and pictures. Now she can relate more to my experience here.
I have been feeling a little homesick lately though. I've even noticed myself missing random things, like graham crackers. I was a little worried about this until a couple of other people here started talking about missing home too the other night. For whatever reason I think now is when it's starting to sink in for a couple of us that we're away from home and have been for so long. It is pretty much the halfway point. But there is still so much to take in and experience while I am abroad. As much as I want to be with my friends and family from home again, I want to take advantage of the relationships and time I have left here.

Bus or Car Or Bike or Train?

There is a reason why transportation systems are different in the United States than they are in Europe. For starters, as everyone is aware, Europe is not as large as the United States. You can drive through three countries in less than a full day.
Europe also has an excellent public transportation system in comparison with the States. Subways, trams, and buses are all very accessible, some are 24 hours and almost all are very inexpensive to ride.
On this note, however, I would like to point out that the States are miles ahead on roads, road signs, and drivers....at least in my experiences.
For example, two weekends ago, three friends and I rented a tiny little Fiat to drive to Budapest. All was good in theory, except the driving friend figured she knew the best way to go based off a tiny map I had in a traveling book. Error number one.
8 hours later on a trip that should have only taken 6, we were still no where near Budapest. No road signs were even telling us what road we were on or if we were even going the right way. Kilometer after kilometer of bumpy and pot-holed roads, and still no clue of where we were. Not only had we not seen a single road sign in over an hour, but we had nearly been run off the road several times due to impatient drivers behind us. Not only did they pass us, but they sped off into the distance, down the topsy-turvy roads, only for us to hear them squealing tires turn after hairpin turn. As if they had a death wish.
10 hours later, we have finally spotted a sign for Budapest while we were in Slovakia. Tiny, inconspicuous, and out of the blue, we had no clue if we had been going the right way or not until we stumbled upon this sign. And it was the only one we saw until we reached Hungary and were about 10 minutes outside of the city.
Finally arriving in Budapest after 12 hours of driving, double the amount of time it should have taken, we still had to navigate the city to get to our hostel. However, in Budapest, all the names of the streets were posted on tiny signs in seemingly 12 point font on the side or a corner building.
"Is this Erzbeth?"
"I don't know, I can't see...."
Passing the turn.
"Yeah, that was Erzbeth."
I think we must have pulled at least 20 u-turns getting to the hostel.
The trip was great, but then the return home was also a nightmare. Before leaving, we looked up directions on Google Maps to avoid another 12 hour adventure. But no one wants to listen to the American driver when she points out that it would be much quicker to cut through the corner of Czech then it would be to drive straight across the middle of Slovakia. European drivers, even ones that have only driven from Wroclaw to Budapest once before, apparently know better.
So, a 10 hour drive home, with many more rocky shifts, crazy drivers passing us at the speed of light, and guessing at which fork in the road to take, we arrived safely home in Wroclaw.
I think I prefer Europe's public transportation, and I think next time I'll take the train.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

I hope that you all have a great Easter...I'd love to hear what goes on in Estonia for Easter, but for those of you in Poland, I hope you'll make an effort to be around Poles this holiday weekend. Since many Poles are Catholic, Easter is a pretty big deal. Enjoy!

I also wanted to point out an issue that is on the table at UNCG that you may be interested in. Have any of you lived in on-campus housing at UNCG? were you on the quad? The Board of Trustees is holding a meeting on April 16th (next week) to discuss a master plan for the quad. There is a link on the UNCG home page (Board of Trustees to Hold Quad Forum) to the Chancellor's web page for comments and suggestions. I thought that since you've now spent some time abroad and maybe had some reflections on what you've enjoyed at your host institutions and what you miss about UNCG, that you may have some productive suggestions about how UNCG could rebuild the quad to house more students and house them better!

At any, just a little news from home! Enjoy your holiday and then get ready for a great trip to Russia! As I get the final details, I'll be in touch again. I'm planning to arrive in Wroclaw on May 4 and then I'll head to Tartu on May 7th. I'll post my cell phone number (I think I have an Estonian number!) so that you can contact me if there are any last minute issues. I'll also be in contact with the International Offices in Wroclaw and Tartu.

Peace