Please allow me to introduce myself and provide a slight bit of background as to who I am and why I am here in Wroclaw before I relate the events of my first full day in Poland. My name is Robert Gilbert, and the story of how I wound up at UNCG would take a little while to recount, and would perhaps be beyond the scope of this blog's subject matter. Feel free to email me if you would like to learn more. At UNCG, I am a double-major in English and International Business with a minor in German. I would also be considered a second-semester freshman for all intents and purposes. I work for The Carolinian so some of you may recognize my name - I covered varied Spartan athletics for the duration of the fall semester and will continue upon my return to Greensboro in the fall. I also am one of the inaugural members of the Honors Ambassadors program at the Lloyd International Honors College. It was at the LIHC's welcome dinner for fall semester 2008 that I heard part of an announcement mentioning the Honors Abroad in Central and Eastern Europe program. It stuck in my head, and I continued thinking about it. The application deadline was some four or five days after the dinner, so I did not have much time to make my decision. I finally decided to apply for this study abroad program, and be a relatively rare second-semester freshman international student.
My reasons for applying were varied, but some of the most central were related to the fact that I intend to go through law school in the states and become an international business lawyer. I felt that in the long run, the more cultures I saw, the better I would be able to approach my career. This program would guarantee my being able to see at least three different countries and their respective cultures within the course of the semester. I chose Poland over Estonia due to several minor reasons - the Catholic presence in Poland, the Germanic history of Wroclaw, the proximity to other European countries, et cetera.
My process of actually physically leaving the United States and arriving at my destination was perhaps one of the most complicated, drawn-out procedures intrinsic to such activity. Some know the issues I went through attaining my passport, blood-type for insurance purposes, and the multiple departure date changes incurred as a result of the aforementioned problems. It eventually entered the realm of farcical happening, and I reached the point mentally where I could only laugh at each subsequent occurrence, watching the size of my bank accounts dwindle daily.
After initially deciding to arrive in Wroclaw on 6 February 2009, I did not actually step foot in Poland until 19 February 2009. I flew from London via LOT Polish Airlines, with a connection in Warsaw. My first reaction to Poland, specifically Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw, was that of bemusement tempered with understanding of the reasoning behind Polish concepts. The Polish airports have a state of security that would put American and London airports to shame, the London airports being the closest to those of Poland. Unlike in America, the Poles have security checkpoints when you disembark your plane at your destination or layover in addition to the standard security protocols before your initial departure. I also observed that Frederic Chopin Airport has chain link fence in the terminals all the way to the ceiling, a rough guess of which would be circa 125 feet high at its apex. There are also a large number of Polish flights that bus passengers from the gate to the airplane, or the airplane to the gate. Moreover, as in London, there are guards patrolling heavily armed with assault rifles, sidearms, and other accoutrements. To digress for a moment, I will say that London's guards were slightly more impressive, as they carried Heckler und Koch G36 assault rifles, pistols, and at least two other kinds of weaponry. That said, England is able to spend more money on their equipment as opposed to the Poles. Lastly, another interesting point about both Polish airports I was in is that the security checkpoints required that you open your laptop, which has never happened to me at any other airport.
I transferred to Wroclaw's Copernicus Airport, landing at roughly 16:45 CET. For those in the eastern time zone, that would be 10:45am. It was snowing lightly and the presence of a few inches of the lovely white flakes was already on the ground, thusly making my first impression of Wroclaw about as good as it possibly could be. Again, those of you who know me know that I am in my element in what would be frigid temperatures for others, and especially snow, and by snow I mean serious snow, not North Carolina snow. Thusly, arriving in Wroclaw with snow both on the ground and in the air was as if Wroclaw had rolled out the welcome wagon on a red, velvet carpeted road. Speaking of the welcome wagon, my ride from Copernicus Airport to Olowek, one of many student dormitories in this city, was late. I waited roughly 30 minutes and had decided if it were another ten minutes and no one showed, I was taking a taxi and doing it myself.
Well, about two minutes later, my ride showed up, and my first solo adventure in Wroclaw was delayed. The two students who picked me up provided me with some basic information, and helped me check-in at Olowek. I met my roommate, a Turkish man, who has been perhaps the best roommate someone could possibly have. Shortly thereafter, I went out with Mandy and others to Pasaz Grunwaldski, the mall I have spent many an afternoon at and will spend many more at during the remainder of the semester.
I had already unpacked, having left over half of my stuff and nearly 2/3 of my clothes in London due to yet another issue on the way to this country. Mandy and company purchased ice cream, but I held off, going the route of pizza instead. To date, I have yet to discover good pizza, but I have already obtained a promise from a friend back in the States to buy me real pizza when I return.
I then went back to Olowek, chatted with my roommate for awhile, and went to bed. The next morning I went to the last session of the two-week Polish intensive language course I had missed completely. After that class period, I went to the Foreign Office of the university to pick up my student ID, my February stipend, and check-in with Urszula Broda, my contact in Poland throughout my entire application process to Wroclaw University.
After completing these orders of business, I took the tram back to Olowek, but after awhile went back to Pasaz Grunwaldski. I spent awhile shopping, making various purchases of an electric and electronic nature to enhance my flat's capabilities. I had picked up several Polish phrases already and have since learned a relatively decent conversational amount, and am sure I will learn more on the fly throughout the duration of this semester. Later, I returned to the dormitory, and went to bed early. I am uncertain if my first day were typical of stereotypical first days in foriegn countries, but I will state that I was never nervous about my ability to handle being abroad. It has merely gotten to be an even easier transition over my first fifteen days in this country. Please feel free to comment or email me with questions, and I will get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
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