Chocolate tasting #2

Here are the latest chocolates that we have tried.  More E Wedel - raspberry (malinowa) this time.

The Terravita is also Polish - tastes just like a jumbo Andes mint!  David went back and bought 3 more bars the next day it was such a big hit!

Update from Delaney

I got to go to a special field day event yesterday for school.  I had a lot of fun! It was at a large sports complex, not my school.  Mom came with me to watch.  My gym teacher welcomed me and helped me understand the rules for each of the activities.  We did a lot of relay races, then did a mini soccer tournament.  Mom says they are really crazy about soccer here.  Even though I had never played soccer, I did good.  I kept in my position and got to kick the ball several times.  After the game, we did free kicks on the goal.  I got the ball past the goalie once and everyone cheered for me!  I made friends with the only other girl who was there.  Her name was Gabi.  We shared snacks and played on the same soccer team.  I came home with a medal! -Delaney

Additional Comment from Carolyn:  I was totally impressed with the parents and children I observed today.  Although Delaney and Gabi were the only girls, I observed no behaviors that were rude or unkind to them.  Their teammates accepted them without a problem and included them in celebrating when the team scored a goal.  When Delaney got a goal during free kicks, the father who was commentating looked straight ate me in the bleachers and gave me a big smile.  There is a passion for soccer, and  good sportsmanship is also clearly a component of learning to play.  The kids celebrated each others accomplishments.

Baking pizza

We bought a frozen pizza to try the other day.  David took it out of the box to bake and looked at the back for instructions.  Would you believe the baking instructions were in 15 different languages? (Ukranian, Estonia, Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Hungarian -  But not English!)  Fortunately its not too hard to read 220 C, and 15 mins. regardless of the language...

First guest

We enjoyed dinner last night with our first guest at the apartment, Dr. Dave Jervis.  We enjoyed dinner and  a game of dominoes (Delaney won!).   Dave's presence in Lublin  is an example of the 'its a small world' phenomenon.  Dave and I have known each other for several years through the Midwest Model United Nations conference that we take our students to in St. Louis.  We'll be sharing an office at the University, and are also considering recruiting students from our classes to participate in a Model EU conference here.   -Carolyn

We had a wonderful dinner guest over tonight, Dr. Dave Jervis, the other Fulbright Scholar here from the U.S. He is also a beer lover, so we sampled two local brews. The first one was Dębowe (which means "oak". No, there is no tree theme with the local spirits that I know of). It is from Tyskie, one of the largest breweries here in Poland. It is drinkable but nothing special.
The second tasting was żywe (which means "life") from Browar Amber, a microbrewery located in Lask, Poland (near Gdansk). It was named beer of the month by the Krakow Post for Jan. 2011. It has no preservatives and is not pasteurized. It is a rich, moderately sweet beer that will be found again in our fridge.

Elmo sighting!

No...it isn't the lovable, fuzzy, red guy.  In fact, I'm not really sure who he is or what he does.  The outfit looks official, but its the label on the back that caught my attention : )

Speaking Polish

Today I had a vagrant approach me at the bus stop.  He started talking to me, but I didn't have a clue what he was saying, and was pretty sure I didn't want to know.  I just said "Nie rozumilam" I don't understand.  He seemed puzzled and kept talking.  So I said "Nie mowie po polsku"  I don't speak Polish.  At that point he looked skeptical but left me alone.  There is a certain irony to saying in polish "I don't speak Polish"!

Class preparation

I went up to the department today to work on class preparations.  First I printed my syllabus (had to reset my paper dimensions to A4), then I ran off 25 syllabi on the department copier.  It does single sided, uncollated copies, at a speed of about 15 pgs/min with no feeder tray.  When the copies were done, I put them together and stapled them.  I anticipate doing very little copying this semester : )  Then I put my assigned readings on reserve in the department library.  The students can come in to get a book, then copy it if they want.  I've also scanned the readings and posted them on my course webpage.  My colleague says the students will love to have access this way.  -Carolyn

Nuns

Did you know that nuns still look like nuns even when dressed for sub-freezing weather?  The Catholic University of Lublin is nearby and we see them around  regularly.  Today I realized that they were bundled in black coats (over their black habits), and their head coifs were a bit fluffier than usual - I think they must have had winter hats on under the head covers scarves, and they had special heavier/thicker white collars  (in place of the ever-present scarves that people wear to stay warm).  Random observation...

Wonderful Polish dinner!

Last night the family was invited over to Dr. Pietras' home. He is head of the International Relations department at the university. Also present was the other Fullbright professor (from southern Illinois) who had arrived in Poland the day before (and whose name is Dave, naturally). Dr. Pietras and his wife(a physician at one of the city hospitals) prepared a delicious meal, complete with traditional Polish dishes, wine, vodka, desert, and several glasses of her homemade fruit liqueur (very potent and very good).
The first dish was a cold freshwater fish with lemon. The name of the fish escaped us in Polish, and our hosts did not know the English translation.














The second dish was a kind of mushroom jello (mushrooms in jelly, pictured above). The third dish was a hot mushroom soup, and following this was the main course:














Roast duck with raspberry sauce, baked apple and steamed vegetables and potatoes. It was all very delicious. Desert was a type of custard, creamy and sweet.
Wine from Chile and Italy accompanied the meal, along with oak flavored vodka. Carolyn and Adam both tried the vodka, neither had a taste for it. I had three glasses (because our host kept pouring!).  Following the vodka were two home brewed liquers fermented with dogberries and quince. (Glad to say we caught a cab home!)



















Also present were their two cats named, Easy who is furry and very friendly, and ??? a large furry black cat that was very timid until well into the evening, and a very large chocolate lab with the largest head I have ever seen on the breed. His name is Silver and he quickly made friends will all.

Feeling settled in

With the unpacking of our two boxes, and the experience of living in our apartment for almost three weeks, we are starting to feel more settled.  Whenever you move to a new place, it takes a while to figure out if you like your plates in this cabinet or that cabinet, or the broom in the coat closet or the pantry.  Little things like that.  Rather than leaving everything piled on the coffee table, we are starting to find logical places to put things away (and remember where we put them).  I've finally created a workspace for myself on the desk in my bedroom and feel like I can focus on finalizing my classes now.  The extensive   initial "to do" list is shrinking: get student ID cards, get tax ID number, establish residency at city hall, purchase bus passes, find out where to get a recorder for Adam's music class, locate the pool and ice rink, search for various food items in unfamiliar stores, etc. -Carolyn

Polish tutor day 2

I joined two of Delaney's classmates today for another session in languages.  We used words describing family - masz brata?  Do you have a brother?  (Yes, the word for brother is "brata!"  It can't be coincidence!)  Tak, mam brata.  Yes, I have a brother.  The two classmates have sisters, and one has a dog.  She was very surprised when I told her Delaney had a pet waz (snake)!  One classmate brought and english/polish picture dictionary that was a lot of fun.  We spent more time looking at that and practicing saying different words in it.  I went out and bought one for Delaney later...

Plac Litewski

The Political Science building is located on Plac Litewski (Lithuania Square).  The square has been renamed several times in recent history:  during WWII it was Hitler Square, after WWII it was Stalin Square, following the end of communism, it became Lithuania Square.   My department head explained that because Poland and Lithuania formed one of the first Unions in Europe (over 500 years ago), they are very close. The statue is Josef Pilsudski "the first Polish Marshal"  1867-1935.  The building below is the Wydzial Politologii (Political Science Department).  The bottom picture is the front entry of the building.

 
 

Yummy dessert

We tried out  nalesnikis for dessert last night.  Basically like crepes with cottage cheese filling.  We topped ours with strawberry and cherry jam.

2 of 3 boxes arrive!

I was so pleased to receive a call today from the department office that two of our shipped boxes had arrived!  David and I immediately went to retrieve them.  One of them had considerable extra tape on it and the canned soup cans were heavily dented!  Fortunately all the items inside were ok.  Delaney was delighted to have new toys to play with.  Here she is exploring her new additions...

The boxes also included a lot of reading materials (including extra copies of my textbooks to go in the department library for students).  We don't have to pace ourselves quite so carefully anymore, although at the rate Delaney is going, she'll still run out by the end of the trip.  We'll just have to make a few more stops at American bookstores when we travel!

Teaching polish!

Who would have thought I that I'd end up serving as a Polish tutor of sorts?  Today I started doing English/Polish lessons with Delaney and two of her classmates.  Delaney has been feeling pretty isolated at school because of the language barrier.  When her friends can't communicate, they just ignore her.  They aren't being mean, but they just can't find common ground to engage except in art, dance, and PE.  In addition, Delaney is resistant to trying to speak because she's afraid she'll make a mistake. (I fully understand this hesitation, but you just have to jump in and try).

In an effort to try to help Delaney learn more Polish and help her classmates get to know her better, her teacher agreed to let me meet with a few students and do some simple exercises with them in both English and Polish (limited though mine is).  Today each of the girls answered "Co lubisz jesc?" (What do you like to eat?) and "Co lubisz grac?" (What do you like to do?)  I thought it would be fun (and helpful) to create little notebooks for them that they could illustrate.  This is the page I created for them today...

Tomorrow I think we'll work on asking questions about family - do you have a brother? a sister? a cat? - Pani Carolina (Ms. Carolyn)

Travel plans for Rome

Its official, we've booked tickets for Rome at the end of February!  Adam is totally psyched. He loves history and archeology.  It will be quite a change to go from Polish emersion to Italian, but will be much more familiar to Adam and I with our Spanish and French.  Its a direct flight from Warsaw (3 hrs) with three full days in the city.  We're looking forward to slightly warmer weather (although compared to Wichita is balmy here in Lublin.) -Carolyn

Prepping for classes

A number of friends have asked about University life here...I expect I'll add a lot more comments shortly.  My two classes begin Weds Feb 16. 

I've been finalizing my syllabi this week, trying to decide how I want to structure the classes.  The teaching style here is largely 'sage on stage' with a heavy emphasis on lecturing.  The students' grades are based on a comprehensive final and sometimes a paper.  My style is much more discussion based and includes a lot of role playing, so it may be quite a shock for the students.  I'm hoping they enjoy the different pedagogical approach.  It will do me good to have to explain why I do what I do in the classroom. -Carolyn

drinking water

We were warned in advance not to drink too much of the tap water - heavy metals contained in it, not bacteria.  We bought  bottled water upon our arrival and learned right away that we were looking for "niegasowana" (no gas).  The sparkling water has never been my favorite, although it appears to be preferred by many here.  After bringing in 2 liter bottles every time we left the apartment (and making Adam shlep two 6 liter bottles home on the bus one day, we decided to look into Brita water filters.  David did his research and discovered that the Brita Maxtra filter passed quality tests in Lublin and several hundred other cities, so that was our next purchase at the store. 

Taxi

Would you ride in this taxi?

Chocolate tasting

As David continues his beer tasting experience, Adam, Delaney and I are beginning our chocolate tasting endeavor.  The chocolate/dessert aisle at the store is huge!  Some of our favorites thus far are:

*  Solidardnosc chocolates with Nałęczowskiej Plums inside (Polish)

*  Milka with yougert (made in Austria) - they are kind of like Hershey brand in the US, but still yummy.

 *  E. Wedel Chocolate - the cherry filling is delicious! (Polish)

Transportation in Lublin

Many residents in Lublin do not own cars and simply travel by bus or taxi.  There are a lot of these private mini buses that come in from the suburbs, linking residents to the city transportation system. They pull up to the curb and people quickly pile out, then the buses race off again.   Probably 15 of these buses come by our bus stop each  morning as we are waiting for the kids' bus.  The other day, one rider hopped out and opened the luggage trunk in the back.  He grabbed his bag, but before he could close the trunk, the bus pulled away - ha!

The traffic congestion in the city is pretty minimal (getting most busy around 'rush hour' at 3:30 in the afternoon).  There are a wide variety of cars on the street, with the most prevalent being Volkswagons (Golf) and Mercedes. 

    

A main highway runs by near our apartment (where the bus stop is for the kids' school).  There are lots of semis that drive by on the road.  None of them are "18 wheelers" - they have 12 wheels.  They also all have canvas siding instead of aluminum.  I expect this makes them lighter, use less gas, and probably easier to load and unload too.

Cabs are also very available.  We've taken one a couple of times when we've missed a bus and didn't want to wait in the cold for the next one.  

You DON'T want to "ride black" - ride without a validated ticket.  There are Kontrollers who randomly board buses and fine anyone who doesn't have a ticket.  Adam faced their wrath this week on his way to school.  The bus was crowded and he couldn't reach the validation box.  They yelled at him, but didn't end up writing him a ticket.  They cover the routes pretty extensively, I've been on a bus that they've boarded almost every day. -Carolyn

Carolyn used wine to make the quiche. Too bad she didn't put any in the food.

Cooking fun

Ever wonder why the sides of a pie dish are sloped?  Because if they aren't, the pie crust will kind of melt and collapse down the sides of the dish! 

Valentine's Day

Apparently Valentine's Day is celebrated here too... 14 Lutego is February 14.

First Ice Skating experience for Delaney

We got to the local ice rink today ("Ice Mania"). It looks like it could be a hip place to be in the evenings when they light the disco balls.   It was a bit of a challenge to get in because of a lack necessary vocabulary.   I asked for "lyski" (spoons) instead of "lyswy" (skates) - the cashier figured out what I was trying to say.  Then she wanted to know what size skates we needed.  Adam had the good idea of taking off his shoe and looking for the European sizing in it.  David also had a tag in his.  Delaney did not, so we guessed (wrong).  "Za male" too small.  We finally got the right size skates and got out on the rink.  It was clearly a time when lots of families were there.   A number of kids were working their way around the wall just like Delaney.  After about 4 trips around, she was ready to skate just holding David's hand and they started picking up speed.  An hour was enough for Adam, who had a broken lace which as bothering his ankle.  Delaney, of course, wanted to skate the whole day!

Some of the words I learned in Rosetta Stone I had doubts about ever needing in Poland, but today we had the opportunity to use "pingwingny" (penguin).  They had little gliding penguins that kids could use as they learn to skate.  Delaney opted not to use one.

Adam is in the dark green shirt.

More signs from home and other random sightings.

Corona Extra on the import shelf at the E. LeClerc (our favorite grocery store). I won't drink it here since I don't drink it at home, but it was a nice sign none the less (and it reminds me of sunny beaches, and I don't mean the people that drive you crazy).















Carolyn needed vanilla for baking. It is sold in tiny glass containers (single measurement?).















When Carolyn and I were in the Stare Miasto (Old City) yesterday, I spotted a man shoveling
coal down a coal chute.
















Carolyn and I saw many sidewalk vendors near the outdoor bazaar. I saw these LPs and thought of you, Brian W.

Girl Scout cookies?!

Delaney and I are both sad that we are not in town for Girl Scout cookie sales.  She sold over 75 boxes last year and wanted to top that this year.  I just wanted to fill my freezer with yummy cookies.  As we were shopping in the Bazaar today, I saw this large package of cookies...they realize look like Samoas aka Carmel Delights! -Carolyn

Trip to the local flea market

Delaney and I stopped by the Bazaar after going to the mall.  Its an outdoor maze of mini stalls with fresh vegetables and meats (anyone want to buy a chicken sitting in a dish from a guy on the side of the road?),  shoes, undergarments, scarves, and other random things.  I've never seen so many different shoe/boot stores before as I have here in Lublin.  As I already noted, everyone wears every style of boot in the winter.  They must spend a lot of time keeping them looking good, because they are clean and well kept. -Carolyn

Mom and I went shopping

I asked mom the other day if she had packed any dresses for me.  She said I only had summer dresses and she didn't bring them.  I begged to go shopping for a new skirt and dress and some tights.  Today we got to go look for some.  We went to the Olimp mall. I found a purple (fioletowe) skirt, pink (rozowe) dress,  blue (niebieski) jumper, and a purple shawl. Oh, and a purse!

After we were done shopping, we had lunch...gelatto!  I had balonowe (bubble gum) and mom had cherry. -Delaney

Delicious meal

David and I finally found time to get out and explore a bit.  Adam's class went on a field trip to the old city (Stare Miasto) and we needed to pick him up there at 2:30, so we decided to go find a restaurant in the old city for lunch.  This is the place we found.  It gets an A+ for ambiance.

We both ordered 'tarty' (quiche-like pastries) that were the specialty.  Mine had spinach and onion and David's had salami, red peppers and cheese.  Yum!

Some signs from home

Although we have seen some familiar signs from the US, they are not widely present in Lublin.  We haven't seen a Starbucks yet if you can believe it! I've also seen one KFC, but the bus goes by it so quickly that I can't get a picture... Note:  we have not eaten at McD's in Lublin.  We have found wonderful local food that is much more interesting.