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.