One year in Krakow

Exactly one year ago today I landed in Krakow to begin my life in Poland.

I just got home from celebrating this anniversary with my team, who are the entire reason for me being here. When I moved to Krakow last year there were 4 of them and today there are 12. Three of the original four have moved to new positions, so I've hired 11 new writers over the past year.

I can't say enough good things about my team. They help me navigate daily Polish life, and brighten my days with their youthful enthusiasm (more than half the team is under the age of 26), and are always game for whatever I throw at them, including pumpkin carving, easter egg hunts and playing ultimate.

And although they sometimes can't contain their laughter at my Polish pronunciation, they constantly try to help me in my attempts to learn the Polish language.

Tonight one asked me what was the hardest thing I've encountered in my year here, and I couldn't really think of anything to say. When another asked me if I had any regrets about moving, I answered honestly, "No".

They'll probably never read this, but I want to thank them anyway for making my first year in Krakow fantastic. Thanks team, I couldn't have done it without you!

Consolation

It's a beautiful weekend here in Krakow. The temperature has hovered near 20 degrees Celsius both days and the light has that special soft quality particular to spring.

I've taken full advantage of the weather this weekend: going for a long walk yesterday, stopping to sit in the grass by the riverbanks and blow bubbles with my friend and her 20 month old son; running in the Planty this morning, and then rollerblading around the Blonia this afternoon.

But my mind has been firmly in Toronto much of the weekend. In between outdoor activities, I've been immersed in Michael Redhill's excellent novel Consolation. The novel traces events in Toronto in 1997 and 1856. It deals with issues of loss, both personal and municipal (Torontonians have long been scolded for their inability to preserve the city's heritage), grief and loneliness.

The 1856 plot line involves a young Englishman struggling to make a life for himself in a new land in which he doesn't know anyone (sound familiar?), but what's even more compelling for me are the descriptions of the Toronto of 160 and 10 years ago. It's like reading a guidebook for the city I know so well. I've been transported to many places I haven't thought about in a long while.

I'm wishing I could visit right now.

If you don't see enough of your friends

and family, move to Europe. They'll all come to visit you.

Since I moved to Poland, exactly one year ago next Wednesday, I've only had two months when I didn't either host visitors here or meet them elsewhere in Europe.

Tourist season is just starting to heat up for 2008. My parents were the first spring guests in April. My aunt and uncle arrive for a week in early May, followed by an old friend at the end of the month. Then another good friend arrives in June.

Today I found out that yet another friend will arrive in late July at the exact moment another friend was instant messaging about meeting me in France in early July.

Then to round out the summer, my big brother and his family arrive in mid August for 3 weeks in Eastern Europe.

I am now accepting bookings for September and October.

Passports

Oddly, I know less about what goes on around me in Europe now that I live here, then I did when I was residing in Canada. And what I do know of current events in my neck of the woods often comes to me from overseas visitors.

For example, I found out from an American visitor (and confirmed with my parents) that when you travel within the European Union you no longer need to clear customs. Which is good news for non-EU holding passport travelers like me, as the lines were always longer.

However, I'll miss adding stamps to my passport. The pages of my passport, particularly those dedicated to Germany and Poland, have gotten pretty crowded over the past year. I was half hoping to fill it up entirely in the next year or so.

This past week I traveled to Slovenia via Austria, and only had to show my passport when checking in at either end. Quicker maybe, but now I'll never get to see what the stamp for Slovenia looks like.

Ljubljana

I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't know where Slovenia was when I applied for the conference here, and I am not sure that I had ever heard of Ljubljana.

I suspect many of you may also need to look it up, which is a shame, since Ljubljana is one of the prettiest (and friendliest) cities I've been to in Europe. But instead of writing more about it now, I am going to get dressed and go see more of it.

I'll post some pictures of it (and of Wroclaw, where I was last weekend, and also highly recommend) when I get home.

It's a small world . . .

I'm in Ljubljana today and have been since Wednesday. I presented at my first European conference here on Thursday, which was a bit of a thrill, but not really much different than presenting at a conference in North America.

I did love the international aspect of it all - although there were less than 50 people attending the conference, the attendees were from multiple countries: Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and of course, Poland.

And it really is a small world. The key note speaker for the conference was a Canadian, (currently working in Sydney Australia), who went to the University of Waterloo at the same time I did, in the same program, and who worked with a friend of mine in Waterloo.

Really, I'm an adult . . .

But you wouldn't know it when my parents come to town.

I love it when my parents visit me, just as I love going home to visit them.

Last night I got home from work sometime after 7 and dinner was ready! Then after dinner my mom cleaned up, while I lay on the couch and chatted with my dad. At one point I asked her what she was doing (knowing full well that she was cleaning up), and felt guilty about it, but not guilty enough to actually get up off the couch and help.

I am a lazy, terrible person, but sometimes it's really nice to have your dinner waiting for you when you get home from work. Lately I've been so tired after work that I can barely make instant oatmeal for myself.

She's already planned tonight's menu.

Thanks Mom!

My Easter Basket

As you can probably tell by all of the Easter-themed posts the past few weeks, I very much enjoyed the Easter celebrations in Krakow. I suspect this will be my last Easter post until next year, but I couldn't let go of Easter until I had shown off my Easter basket.

On the Saturday before Easter Sunday, most Poles fill a basket with eggs, bread, sweets, meat (I considered substituting tofu, but didn't have time to buy some), and salt. They then take the basket to church where the priests bless it. On Easter morning, the Poles eat these blessed foods.

My friends told me what to put in the basket, and even suggested plants to make it look more attractive. So after my final dental appointment on Good Friday, I ran around Krakow gathering things to put in my basket.


Saturday morning I met friends for breakfast in a restaurant near the Rynek. Since we were meeting more friends later to go to church and have our baskets blessed, I took my basket with me. I wasn't alone. Everywhere we looked people were carrying baskets.

I noticed mine didn't look exactly like everyone else's. First, I am sure I was the only one with a green basket. Also, I seemed to be one of the few who had an entire loaf of bread in their basket, and I was probably the only one with pansies.

I know I was the only one with Cadbury mini eggs.


At the church, priests bless baskets every 15 minutes. We arrived just as a blessing was beginning, and I had to scramble up to the front to place my basket in the blessing area. Unfortunately I forgot to remove the cloth napkin that was covering the food, so technically the holy water didn't actually touch most of the stuff in the basket.

No matter, carrying my basket around the streets of Krakow for five hours made me feel like a true Krakovian.

And as my British friend suggested to me, mini eggs are even better when they've been blessed. Same goes for the egg salad sandwiches I made out of the eggs.

Dishpan hands

Sometime in the midst of my uber-busy work week, my dishwasher stopped working. No warning, no noise, no nothing. Just no water. Which translates to no clean dishes.

Luckily, I ate very few meals here last week, so was able to hide the dirty dishes in the non-functioning dishwasher. Sadly that tactic couldn't last forever . . .

Today I started to wash all the dishes the old-fashioned way. It's been years since I've lived in a place without a dishwasher. I realized quickly I have a very small sink and a very large dishwasher.

Fortunately the washing machine is working, as it's been going full-throttle all weekend, chugging it's way through the mound of laundry I have neglected in favour of working the last few weeks. The parents come to Krakow tomorrow, and if my luck holds, they will have clean sheets to sleep in, and fluffy towels to dry off with.

April Fool

I'm here, but haven't had a moment in the last week to catch my breath, let alone blog. Once again I am in a crazy work cycle that I hope will slow down later this week.

Last night at 8 pm (while we were both still at the office), my manager told me that not one, but two executives are showing up at the office today. Planning for just one visit has taken all of my time, and now we have a second one on the same day!

I suggested to him later that someone was playing an April Fool's joke on us.

No such luck. So it's off to work for me.

Talk to you all later this week, after a long nap.