...and boy, are my arms tired.
Ba dum, ching.
Well are safe and reasonably sound back in the great state of Oklahoma. In the coming days there will be many more pictures of our adventures and I'm sure a few thousand words on the trip itself.
I requested that no one meet me at the airport last night as I didn't want my husband and two young children (ages 6 and 3) to be out that late meandering around a terminal. It was the perfect decision as I was met with a lovely surprise when I got home. They had made a welcome home sign for the front door and then had hung streamers from the ceiling with messages attached that were related to the trip. One of my favorites said, "Czech us out!" Then there was a big bouquet of roses and a shiny bundle of mylar balloons floating in the living room. A sweet, sweet homecoming.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Goodbye Ukraine. Oklahoma, Here We Come!
We will be home in 31 hours and I finally have time and the internet access to catch you up on our Rotary meetings and events. I know some of these events have been touched on but I would like to review with the photos I have. Megan's camera was used for many of the meetings and I will upload in the next few hours.
We visited the Heart Sanatorium in Naleczow with our Rotarian hosts last week and are posed in front of a tree that they planted on the grounds after 9/11. The Poles plant trees in honor of major events, births of children and grandchildren, and in this case, their unity with America following those heart-wrenching events.
Our District Conference held in L'viv, Ukraine this weekend went exceedingly well, I think. The auditorium was unbelievably gorgeous and the perfect stage for our rendition of "Oklahoma" -which we sang following our presentation in Polish (with Ukrainian and English translations!). The District Governor, Andriy Bahanych, even wore our gift of the Indian headress while we sang!
We fell off the end of Poland...
...and landed in Ukraine. We're back in Poland for the last 21 hours of our trip and then we get to go home. Speaking for myself... I'm ready.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Paul Harris Music School for disabled children
After the recital and interview, we paused for a photo at the piano. The only thing wrong with this picture is that I dared look at the camera while everyone else looked serenely away! Regardless of that, we still make a beautiful team.
Kazimierz Dolny
Relaxation, Pivo, Lody & a 70's jump! Check out the lody (icecream) in the air! NICE JUMP, Megan!
What you can't see.
Completely independantly, Sheri and I seem to be sharing thoughts on Poland these days.
I have looked back over my journal entries and each time I have written something about the beautiful Polish spirit. The best word I can come up with is... Joy. And frankly, its a joy to see it!
Today, we visited 2 universities in Lublin.. Catholic University of Lublin and the University of Marie Curie, then we walked to Old Town and we were blessed with a musical concert from the Paul Harris Musical School for disabled children. They had true excitement and joy to be playing music, and to be sharing it with us, and we were so very happy to be apart of that experience.
Following the concert, we had an interview with a journalist from a local publication, and we heard the same question we've heard everywhere, "What do you love most about Poland?"
As Sheri noted, it was difficult to answer in the beginning as we had no experience to pull from. Now, however, my answer remains constant. The thing I love MOST about Poland are her people. I can read about history in books and libraries. I can even find books with amazing photos of her castles, museums, palaces, cathedrals, monuments, memorials, artworks, and landscape. What I cannot read in a book is the spirit of her people. I cannot sit down and have a cup of coffee, tea or beer, vodka or wine and talk to people in a book. I could know Poland, but I would never know her people if I did not come here.
Being a woman who loves history, I learned something of the spirit of Poland based on history, but I knew nothing of her people. And be real for a moment, a country is not a country without people; its just a piece of land... In my opinion, Poland's people give Poland it's greatest asset.
I have looked back over my journal entries and each time I have written something about the beautiful Polish spirit. The best word I can come up with is... Joy. And frankly, its a joy to see it!
Today, we visited 2 universities in Lublin.. Catholic University of Lublin and the University of Marie Curie, then we walked to Old Town and we were blessed with a musical concert from the Paul Harris Musical School for disabled children. They had true excitement and joy to be playing music, and to be sharing it with us, and we were so very happy to be apart of that experience.
Following the concert, we had an interview with a journalist from a local publication, and we heard the same question we've heard everywhere, "What do you love most about Poland?"
As Sheri noted, it was difficult to answer in the beginning as we had no experience to pull from. Now, however, my answer remains constant. The thing I love MOST about Poland are her people. I can read about history in books and libraries. I can even find books with amazing photos of her castles, museums, palaces, cathedrals, monuments, memorials, artworks, and landscape. What I cannot read in a book is the spirit of her people. I cannot sit down and have a cup of coffee, tea or beer, vodka or wine and talk to people in a book. I could know Poland, but I would never know her people if I did not come here.
Being a woman who loves history, I learned something of the spirit of Poland based on history, but I knew nothing of her people. And be real for a moment, a country is not a country without people; its just a piece of land... In my opinion, Poland's people give Poland it's greatest asset.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thoughts on Poland
Well, I have about 10 mintues before for I leave for a super-long day in Lubin and surrounding areas. We are to visit a university and a beautiful city called Kazimierz Dolny. I'm warming up my shutter finger as we speak.
There are only a few more days for us in Poland. Less than a week. Last night my hosts and their twentysomething son sat down with me in their living room and asked me the million dollar question. All the Poles want to know what YOU think of Poland and, though this question was hard to answer in the beginning, it is getting much easier at the end of the journey. Not only do I have the experience of the month with which to form my opinion, I also have the experience of answering this question for the 30 billionth time.
But I enjoy answering it. And I am sincere in my opinion of Poland.
It is a beautiful country, rich in spirit. The theme for this land is perserverance. You may not be up to speed with the long and sometimes tragic history of Poland. The only other country who has an older constitution than the US is Poland and despite their intense love of freedom and democracy, they have be ravaged in the game of world politics. From the time that Germans were invading, to when the country was completely divided among three nations and there was NO Polan, to the times when Nazis were invading and mass-killing 6 million of its citizens, the spirit of Poland remained strong. And even after WW 2, when Russia "liberated" Poland and gifted them with 50 years of communisim, they stayed strong.
When communism fell, the Poles flourished and I am so thankful to be here not only in the spring of 2008, but the "Spring" of Poland. They are blooming and I can't see how much more growing they will do.
There are only a few more days for us in Poland. Less than a week. Last night my hosts and their twentysomething son sat down with me in their living room and asked me the million dollar question. All the Poles want to know what YOU think of Poland and, though this question was hard to answer in the beginning, it is getting much easier at the end of the journey. Not only do I have the experience of the month with which to form my opinion, I also have the experience of answering this question for the 30 billionth time.
But I enjoy answering it. And I am sincere in my opinion of Poland.
It is a beautiful country, rich in spirit. The theme for this land is perserverance. You may not be up to speed with the long and sometimes tragic history of Poland. The only other country who has an older constitution than the US is Poland and despite their intense love of freedom and democracy, they have be ravaged in the game of world politics. From the time that Germans were invading, to when the country was completely divided among three nations and there was NO Polan, to the times when Nazis were invading and mass-killing 6 million of its citizens, the spirit of Poland remained strong. And even after WW 2, when Russia "liberated" Poland and gifted them with 50 years of communisim, they stayed strong.
When communism fell, the Poles flourished and I am so thankful to be here not only in the spring of 2008, but the "Spring" of Poland. They are blooming and I can't see how much more growing they will do.
Straight to the top!
We've been to the top of Lublin... and back!Lublin is wonderful, warm and welcoming. We come home in only 6 days. Can you believe we've been here for 24 days already???
We will try to post more later, like about our meetings with the Lublin Rotary clubs last night and such... but for now, we're off to Chelm!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Hello world!
My brain is about to explode with all the things I want to share about Poland. A few random bits right now and probably more detail later as I can unwind into my new accomodations. First:
Not all the bed are hard as nails. Who knew! For the last week or so I have spent the slumbering hours in two different palaces complete with soft beds and daily maid service.
Second, not all Polish drivers brake like the fate of the world depends on the brake pedal hitting the floor board at Mach 2.
Thirdly, I thought there would be more to discuss, but turns out I am a bit overwhelmed. I think all of us team members are getting a little frayed on the edges. We're beginning to get homesick not only for our "people" but for our food, too. On the way to Lublin this afternoon, Megan and I had a 20 minute conversation about breakfast cereal. Just cereal. With ice-cold milk.
Earlier this afternoon we had dinner (lunch) at an artist colony that was established 10 or so years ago out in the middle of nowhere. These glorious, artsy people saw an impoverished part of Poland that had little economy and even less cultural arts, so they set up shop and began building this teensy village for artists. They did it for the love of paintings, theater, music, etc..., but also to give the poorest people of Poland exposure to exceptional art that they might not otherwise be privy to, due to their economic status.
They also made us an incredible meal, from scratch (as if there's any other kind of meal in Poland) and a home-made wine from wild plums. It tasted like liquid candy and carried just enough kick to allow for a short nap in the car to the next city. Perfecto!
My new host family is busy preparing to go to Mass. They asked if I'd like to join them, but I (hopefully) politely refused. The laptop with high-speed wireless Internet was too much temptation on this sabbath.
Well, I'm off to unpack and perhaps try to take some quiet time and process the last few days. It has been a whirlwind, complete with a helicopter ride one evening and fireworks the night before that. Pretty awesome!
Not all the bed are hard as nails. Who knew! For the last week or so I have spent the slumbering hours in two different palaces complete with soft beds and daily maid service.
Second, not all Polish drivers brake like the fate of the world depends on the brake pedal hitting the floor board at Mach 2.
Thirdly, I thought there would be more to discuss, but turns out I am a bit overwhelmed. I think all of us team members are getting a little frayed on the edges. We're beginning to get homesick not only for our "people" but for our food, too. On the way to Lublin this afternoon, Megan and I had a 20 minute conversation about breakfast cereal. Just cereal. With ice-cold milk.
Earlier this afternoon we had dinner (lunch) at an artist colony that was established 10 or so years ago out in the middle of nowhere. These glorious, artsy people saw an impoverished part of Poland that had little economy and even less cultural arts, so they set up shop and began building this teensy village for artists. They did it for the love of paintings, theater, music, etc..., but also to give the poorest people of Poland exposure to exceptional art that they might not otherwise be privy to, due to their economic status.
They also made us an incredible meal, from scratch (as if there's any other kind of meal in Poland) and a home-made wine from wild plums. It tasted like liquid candy and carried just enough kick to allow for a short nap in the car to the next city. Perfecto!
My new host family is busy preparing to go to Mass. They asked if I'd like to join them, but I (hopefully) politely refused. The laptop with high-speed wireless Internet was too much temptation on this sabbath.
Well, I'm off to unpack and perhaps try to take some quiet time and process the last few days. It has been a whirlwind, complete with a helicopter ride one evening and fireworks the night before that. Pretty awesome!
Friday, May 9, 2008
We've stormed the castle!
That's right folks, we stormed the Lancut Palace. OK... maybe we actually stayed in the portion of the palace that has been renovated into a hotel but either way, very cool! The area of the palace we stayed in used to be the servants quarters. We did get to tour the castle with another group of tourists and what we saw was quite beautiful. However, because our host Rotarian knew the Director of the palace museum, we got a rare private tour and saw rooms that were either under restoration or had been closed to the public to preserve its history. I don't get choked up often but the library made me misty-eyed. As Sheri put it, this palace and its contents were straight out of a Jane Austen novel. I am not able to post pictures right now but we'll have plenty to share with you when we get back.
Besides our exciting palace adventures, we traveled to Rzeszow and met with their equivalent of our state governor. If anyone is interested, you can see our pictures on their government website at the Rzeszow Government page. Later that day, we went to visit the Lancut vodka factory were they produce a variety of vodkas from Sobieski to toffee flavored vodkas. We not only learned the history of vodka distilling but also had a tasting party. FUN!!!
We unfortunately were not there for the Lancut Rotary meeting but were fortunate enough to meet some of their members at the vodka museum. Like all other Poland clubs, they were very warm and welcoming.
We are now in Jaroslaw with our new hosts. Laura and I are staying with a family in a village just outside of Jaroslaw and Danna and Sheri are being housed in yet another palace hotel. We are off to eat dinner (again!) so goodbye for now.
Besides our exciting palace adventures, we traveled to Rzeszow and met with their equivalent of our state governor. If anyone is interested, you can see our pictures on their government website at the Rzeszow Government page. Later that day, we went to visit the Lancut vodka factory were they produce a variety of vodkas from Sobieski to toffee flavored vodkas. We not only learned the history of vodka distilling but also had a tasting party. FUN!!!
We unfortunately were not there for the Lancut Rotary meeting but were fortunate enough to meet some of their members at the vodka museum. Like all other Poland clubs, they were very warm and welcoming.
We are now in Jaroslaw with our new hosts. Laura and I are staying with a family in a village just outside of Jaroslaw and Danna and Sheri are being housed in yet another palace hotel. We are off to eat dinner (again!) so goodbye for now.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Flexibility is the name of the game.
I am yet again the slow poke in keeping up with my blogging and for that I apologize. In my defense, I'm in Poland and having too much fun to slow down!
So - as my title says, flexibility is the key word for today. We were surprised to find out a change in our luggage requirements for a future flight we have within the European Union; we must each lose one suitcase. With four women, this is a challenge! As I sit here and type, my fellow teammates are upstairs organizing and repacking. Our first hosts in Warsaw are coming to our rescue though. We will be shipping a few boxes of personal items to them to hold until we arrive back there in 2 weeks. As we've been learning over the last few weeks, our host Rotarians are amazing and they continue to be by helping us.
We had another presentation tonight with one of the Krakow clubs and as all other clubs have been, they were a fun and energetic group of people. (I unfortunately do not have the pictures from the meeting so we will pass along at a later date.) Tonight's presentation was quite funny for a few of us because their club meets in a very popular tourist restaurant... complete with traditional era costumes, singing and dancing. We learned this in the middle of Laura's speech as song broke out in the restaurant and drowned her out. She was a champ though and kept on going even though Sheri and I (yet again) broke out in a fit of giggles.
Because I haven't been diligent in my posting, the below pictures are out of sequence but these are some of my favorites. Do wizdenia for now!
So - as my title says, flexibility is the key word for today. We were surprised to find out a change in our luggage requirements for a future flight we have within the European Union; we must each lose one suitcase. With four women, this is a challenge! As I sit here and type, my fellow teammates are upstairs organizing and repacking. Our first hosts in Warsaw are coming to our rescue though. We will be shipping a few boxes of personal items to them to hold until we arrive back there in 2 weeks. As we've been learning over the last few weeks, our host Rotarians are amazing and they continue to be by helping us.
We had another presentation tonight with one of the Krakow clubs and as all other clubs have been, they were a fun and energetic group of people. (I unfortunately do not have the pictures from the meeting so we will pass along at a later date.) Tonight's presentation was quite funny for a few of us because their club meets in a very popular tourist restaurant... complete with traditional era costumes, singing and dancing. We learned this in the middle of Laura's speech as song broke out in the restaurant and drowned her out. She was a champ though and kept on going even though Sheri and I (yet again) broke out in a fit of giggles.
Because I haven't been diligent in my posting, the below pictures are out of sequence but these are some of my favorites. Do wizdenia for now!
More pleasurable impressions
I feel so behind in keeping you up-to-date. So I'll just go forward. The girls have done a fabulous job letting you know everything. Since it has been a long 4-day weekend here in Poland, surrounding May 3rd's Constitution Day (their Independence Day equivalent) we have had the chance to explore a little on our own for each of the four days. Megan is well on her way to recovery after her bout with a vicious cold - and I am halfway there. Here are a few pics from the last few days. One of the girls at Wawel Castle and one us with Cracow in the background. We also had a surprise flag presentation at the RC Krakow President's manor in the country after a kielbasa cookout. Stay tuned for more ...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Polish Consistencies
Sheri and I are keeping a rough list of things that are (or have been) consistent for us throughout this trip. Here are a few of my notes:
- Tasty treats! Mmm. Kielbasa, peirogis, lody, bread, bigos, amazing soups and on and on and on.
- Riding (or driving) in cars here is like playing "chicken" constantly with every other driver on the road.
- Crossing the street is like playing frogger.
- Friendly, welcoming hosts with a sense of humor, warm heart and undefeatable spirit.
- Tasty beer and vodka!
- Roads that rattle your teeth loose... even the "super-highway"! (that's a joke you'll have to come to Poland [soon] to get! :)
- Toilets that flush like a hurricane. Our new saying is "nothing flushes like a Polish toilet flushes!"
- Extremely firm beds. Sheri has termed them "Springform Masonry"... the brand may catch on some day!
We're still talking about the "food" post... hopefully, we'll get pictures and descriptions up someday soon-ish.
Stay tuned to our adventures!
Headed to the mines
It is Sunday morning and I'm taking a quick break from the morning ritual of getting pretty to post a few words here. See? That's how much I love you. I am sacrificing eyeliner and lip gloss so you can hear more about our days. Its all about you, dear reader. But it is endearing. ;-)
Today we are headed out to a salt mine and museum. We've been warned that the descent is something like 372 steps down into the cold, Polish bedrock. It should be quite fantastic and at least at the end of the experience there is an elevator. We weren't quite as fortunate at the silver mine last week. Maybe 25 meters down and 18 or so meters back up a narrow winding stairway.
Descending into the ground has actually been something that occurs with frequency on our trip. We've been in tombs, mines, dungeons, jails, and even an underground lair. Yes, I said, "Welcome to my underground lair..." as we walked in. Easy punchlines are hard to resist.
Well, my time with you is up, dear reader. To make up for the meandering topic this morning, I will leave you with a few of my favorite photos from the trip thus far. These are all ones from my camera and available for viewing at Flickr. And yes, I know they are teensy resolution. I'm shooting huge and the originals take too long to upload.
OH! And before I forget I'm so excited about tomorrow. It is my vocational day and I get to visit two Chambers of Commerce. Which is where I work in Oklahoma City. Can't wait!
Photos:
Today we are headed out to a salt mine and museum. We've been warned that the descent is something like 372 steps down into the cold, Polish bedrock. It should be quite fantastic and at least at the end of the experience there is an elevator. We weren't quite as fortunate at the silver mine last week. Maybe 25 meters down and 18 or so meters back up a narrow winding stairway.
Descending into the ground has actually been something that occurs with frequency on our trip. We've been in tombs, mines, dungeons, jails, and even an underground lair. Yes, I said, "Welcome to my underground lair..." as we walked in. Easy punchlines are hard to resist.
Well, my time with you is up, dear reader. To make up for the meandering topic this morning, I will leave you with a few of my favorite photos from the trip thus far. These are all ones from my camera and available for viewing at Flickr. And yes, I know they are teensy resolution. I'm shooting huge and the originals take too long to upload.
OH! And before I forget I'm so excited about tomorrow. It is my vocational day and I get to visit two Chambers of Commerce. Which is where I work in Oklahoma City. Can't wait!
Photos:
Friday, May 2, 2008
Wawel Hill - Krakow. May 2nd
Wawel (Vavel) Cathedral on Wawel Hill in Krakow, Poland. May 2, 2008.
Yesterday, we had a charming outing to the Krakow-suburbs\countryside viewing centuries old churches, walking through a charming cemetary and singing with our RC Krakow hosts. RC Krakow is an all-male club, but they brought their wives along, and we had a wonderful time together. They sang happy birthday to me in both English and Polish versions and toasted me. It was lovely!
We sang Oklahoma to them.. Yes, I feel sorry for them too! :)
Our host also had a cat, and I petted him all afternoon. I hadn't realized that I missed Makenzie so much until I could hold and pet another cat. Then we took a stroll through the woods and found a sweet little puppy. Oh my. I'm so animal crazy! At least Megan got goo-goo about the puppy too. Too bad there were boys in the park that she belonged to; I think we may have tried to bring her back with us!
We're 13 days into the trip. We have 17 days left. It feels like we've only just arrived, and that we've already been here a month. Homesickness is finally starting to kick in for me...I knew it would right around 14 days, so no surprises there! I may have forgotten just how long a month can be though! haha.
Anyway, thank you to everyone that remembered my birthday. It was lovely to log into my email and see that I'm not forgotten, even so far away.
Please keep checking flickr for fun new pictures, we promise to update as often as possible!
Stay tuned!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
That 70's Team jump in the Polish countryside outside Krakow
Check out flickr for more fun and favorites!
And now we Krakow
Yesterday we arrived in Krakow and checked into a hotel, courtesy of a local rotarian. The day was spent unpacking, napping, and in the evening we took a little (5 mile) stroll through various parts of the city, including Old Town.
Last night was also Laura's birthday and we treated her to an evening ofZubrowka iced apple juice and McDonald's. Actually, I think she bought her own fries because Danna and I were trying to figure out why our Happy Meal had Arby's fries in it.
Today we spent the day touring the real countryside. It was all farmland and tiny villages with ancient churches. We ended the day at the home of a rotarian that he purchased back from the Polish government 5 years ago. During ww2 it was taken from his family, who was a duke and duchess. The house was about 400 years old. Incredible!
Tonight we are back at the hotel and trying to use the free internet connection in the business center to get caught up on all our correspondence, photos, etc... Tomorrow we should actually have a whole new batch of photos from the trip AND a hidden video of my favorite catch phrase. Please stay tuned!
Last night was also Laura's birthday and we treated her to an evening of
Today we spent the day touring the real countryside. It was all farmland and tiny villages with ancient churches. We ended the day at the home of a rotarian that he purchased back from the Polish government 5 years ago. During ww2 it was taken from his family, who was a duke and duchess. The house was about 400 years old. Incredible!
Tonight we are back at the hotel and trying to use the free internet connection in the business center to get caught up on all our correspondence, photos, etc... Tomorrow we should actually have a whole new batch of photos from the trip AND a hidden video of my favorite catch phrase. Please stay tuned!
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