We're in Poland!

First, some shout outs. I would like to thank Josh for deftly pointing out to me that my new friend Kostek is probably studying Capoeira dance fighting, not Capabera dance fighting. Capybera are South American rodents. I would also like to thank the Building JJ Collective for their gracious link and rave review. Right now, the Building JJ Collective has contributors from many corners of the globe (Ben in Germany, Josh in Hawaii, and Pat in our nation's capitol) commenting on culture, music, sports, and politics. It's worth a click.

But now back to me . . . I had the kind of weekend that makes me want to stay in Wroclaw and not attempt to travel the eastern Baltic while I'm in this part of the world. I think I might be falling in love with this city.

Friday night we had a barbeque with the Aiesecers. We ended up buying beer at a minimart and going to drink under a bridge. Sound familiar?

And Saturday was a very full day. We went to the market to buy cherries, cheese, bread, tomatoes, krakowska, and yogurt. Aside from pierogies, cafeteria food, and beer, these have been the staples of my diet. After the market, we took the tram across town to the Polish National Museum. I was desperately searching for recurring themes or styles that would characterize all the art there as Polish Art. Basically, the Renaissance-era paintings weren't as good as the Italian Masters, the impressionist paintings weren't as good as the French, and a lot of the contemporary art looked like hard rock album covers. In any case, it was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Afterwards, Jackie and I met up with our friends from Couchsurfing. They were hosting another Couchsurfer from Perth, Australia and they brought a few more of their friends. We sat around drinking beer and sharing travel stories, like the one Daniel from Perth told us about taking the trans-Siberia train across Russia. Daniel has been traveling Europe and Asia for something like 14 months. He's not the only hardcore traveler we've met so far. Another one of the Couchsurfers we met that night was about to leave for a two-month trek across Australia. It almost makes me feel like my dinky two-month work stay is a little too tame. But I'll leave my amazing backpacking adventure for another time.

After our meeting with those friends, Jackie and I went to meet some other Couchsurfers at the University of Technology for yet another barbeque. Five guys we didn't know met us at the tram station and took us to a dark park. It would have been sketchy, but these boys were impossibly awkward. It's nice to see some things (like IT guys with ponytails and black t-shirts) transcend international boarders. We drank some beers and chatted in the park for a few hours. They were perfect gentlemen and walked us back to the town square so we could get a night bus home.

Sunday, one of the Aiesecers who took a training course to be a city tour guide took us on a three-hour walking tour of Wroclaw. Everybody's favorite tidbit of the tour was the joke about the nude male statue on the University campus. If ever a girl graduates from the University a virgin, the statue will get an erection. The statue's been there 103 years and it hasn't happened yet.

Wroclaw really is an absolutely beautiful city. It's large, but manageable -- it's a city I'm looking forward to really getting to know.


Polish Phrases of the Day

Masz ochote na ciastko? - Would you like some cake?
Nie wiem. - I don't know.
To pasjonujace. - That's fascinating.
Prosze isc w prawo i prosto. - You should turn right, then go straight.