Rainbow Adventures

I have been wanting to buy a new sofa, but kept thinking I'd do that after moving. However, during the past few days, I have begun to think I can't stand to wait that long. This afternoon I decided to go shopping. I drove through sunshine and heavy rain all within 5 miles. Thus, it wasn't a total surprise that the combination led to a gorgeous rainbow. It was so wide one could see all the colors, and arches across the sky; I was able to see both ends of the arch.

I walked into the furniture store and found exactly what I wanted. I have to wait a bit for delivery, but at least there is some gold at the end of the rainbow. I'm definitely going to be happier with the new look.

The last time I saw such a beautiful rainbow was during a trip to Hawaii. I parked and lept out of the car to take a photo. Then I discovered that this car had automatic locks and keys were in the ignition. I had to wait a good hour for the car rental facility to come rescue me. Only that day I'd read the material about that and wondered how someone could manage to lock him/herself out! This time only good things happened.

Visiting a Museum Outdoors

Maybe this happens elsewhere in the United States, but certainly not in Minnesota. In several places in Poland this summer, I've visited museum displays outdoors. This particular display comes from Warsaw. It is a collection of historical pictures of 1930s life in villages of ethnic minorities in areas now that are part of the present southeast part of Poland or western Ukraine. Certainly moving displays outdoors allows many more to see them. It's a good idea.

Remembering Adventures -- Saxon Gardens

Last evening I got the courage to download photos from my summer trip -- all 1400+ of them. As one may guess, it took a bit of time for that to happen. Now my plan is to edit photos while watching the Olympics.

Here are two photos from a walk through the Saxon Gardens in Warsaw on a lovely afternoon. I was pleased to finally be able to do this. On previous visits a combination of rainy weather or lack of time has prevented my visiting here. After an incredibly busy time at work, it was a pleasure to spend an afternoon quietly strolling here and eating a delicious ice cream cone. Those who have not yet tasted Polish ice cream have a treat to anticipate.

Eating Adventures

I think one of the misconceptions Americans have about Poland is that it is still a developing (sometimes called yet by people I know as a third world) country. Yes, Poland has been running fast to change conditions from pre-1989. What most don't appreciate is how good the food is.

The bottom picture is from an afternoon snack in Zakopane that I "forced" myself to eat while relaxing for an hour until I could get a manicure. This is a nalenski (sorry if I have mispelled this word -- I know it well enough to get them when I want them!). The top picture is from my choice while stopping at a sidewalk cafe in the Warsaw Old Town area.

What I'm not showing are treats such as tomatoes that really taste like tomatoes -- I have to keep reminding myself to eat them, as I usually avoid them at home since they are now mostly tasteless. Also bread that is heavenly, soups are unbelievable, and I can't overlook my favorite candy -- krowki!

Cultural Adventures

Our team leader in Poland always speaks about cultural practices -- asking us to find what is the same and what may be different. This year I found something different. On our way back from Zakopane to Siedlce we stopped at a gas station about an hour north of Krakow. I was puzzled when the boys and girls all lined up at the same restroom door. When it finally became my turn I found it was an unisex bathroom. There were two doors providing privacy for two cubicles inside and people simply took their turns. I learned, by law, that gas stations must provide restrooms for travelers.

When we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum we again found a unisex restroom -- the same set up, only this time spaces for about 12 people at one time. Each of these were very, very clean.

So what was different -- that public restrooms in gas stations are very, very clean and free for use. What is the same -- men in Poland don't put the toilet seat down either!!!

Did you know?

I have had a chance to meet an Olympic judge. The current governor of Siedlce County in Poland is one of the weight-lifting judges. Weight-lifting is a big sport in this area of Poland. His journey to Beijing is itself olympic. He explained to us that first, from Poland, they must fly all the way west to London to get the Beijing flight. Then they fly back over all of Europe on their way to China. I think I may have forgotten a couple of other steps in this journey.

The governor is always so gracious to the Global Volunteers. He invited us to his office and spent nearly an hour with us.

End of the Poland adventures

On Friday morning the camp director came in asking if we would mind teaching one less English class so that the theatre and dance teachers could have the students practice for the final program. Their time usually was during the same hours that the program would be today. My answer, Bless you.

So I had my students primarily practice for their final program from their English class. Then for two hours we had a scavenger hunt prepared. The questions or commands varied from "Collect 15 white stones" to "What shape in the kuchina sign on the outside door?"

During the break I managed to get some laundry started so I could bring home more clean clothes than smelly clothes.

The scavenger hunt was great fun to watch. During the afternoon I got packed up and then went to take a shower at 4 PM to get ready for a 5 PM dinner, and hopefully to have my hair dry before going to bed. Even with a hair dryer, it takes awhile to get my hair dried.

The final program was wonderful as usual. The students presented us each with a T-shirt showing Reymontowka as the Heart of Europe and then cities elsewhere in Europe that are their partner cities. I was pleased to get this for while I remembered that my 2007 German students came to Poland was Oberhavel, I could not remember the city for the French students. Now it's on my shirt-- Nevers.

My students sang "Do you know the Muffin Man" with the third verse being: We are the muffin kids who dwell in Siedlce town." I had brief comments translated to explain that we had made muffins during camp. Else I figured out that the parents would not know why we had the sung this song. The second song was "If you're Happy---" only we added a verse, "If you're happy and you know, shout "Sto Lot."

The next morning the alarm went off at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00 and we were off to the airport by 6:30 AM. We got there about 8:00, just at the right time to check in three volunteers to a Lufthansa flight that left at 10:05. They were relieved for Lufthansa was on strike part of last week.

Then I wandered over to Terminal 1 and got myself checked in for the flight first to Amsterdam. I had enough time to wander back to Terminal 2 and meet one of the incoming volunteers for the next camp. She came from Wisconsin, so the midwesterners are representing themselves quite well this summer.

My KLM flight left a bit late from Warsaw due to "traffic congestion." I had to hustle at Amsterdam to make my flight to Minnesota, but did it with 10-15 minutes spare. I had a wonderful seat mate who also had been in Poland. She, too, was glad to have someone to talk with about Poland. She immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was 2 years old and has gone back 2-3 times yearly since then. She said, too, her friends don't understand why she likes Poland.

We got to Minnesota about 30 minutes early. I got through immigration and customs without any problems and my daughter picked me up and got me home. I didn't last too much longer after that, for I had not slept on the flight at all. My body thought it was 1 AM. The flight schedule I did this time is so much better for getting onto the right schedule. This is how I'll do it in the future. Changing in Amsterdam is SO MUCH better than Chicago.

Not necessarily happy to be back home!