Burt Bacharach

Raindrops are falling....

As soon as I think or say the words I remember Docherty Avenue, sitting in a hot tub. In fact, every time it rains I think of this song...

Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Crying's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothing's worrying me.

... And I say this like it’s something new here, the raindrops falling that is. I’m not sure the streets ever dry. The whirlwind of my “settling down” involved a night in Dublin which resulted in a handprint shaped bruise on my ass. Could I expect anything less from the Irish lad I had been chatting up for over 5 weeks while I was in Poland? Funny how we have now ran out of things to talk about, the physical chemistry is there the depth is missing. But, there is something lovely about a simple man with simple goals, his happiness is easy to achieve. It’s just a bit dull for the likes of me who discusses politics these days, is it too much to ask for a beautiful man with deep thoughts? Could I be content without a real discussion? We did have a rather entertaining argument about pairing socks. The jury is still out.

Sometimes tinder produces some gems and sometimes it’s an overly awkward pint, and me trying to be polite about getting the fuck out of there as fast as I can. I have come to the conclusion I’m starting to like men closer to my own age now that I’m all grown up. *cough* But seriously, I feel like I’ve been dating 36 year old men my whole life. I guess I’m still trying to find the same man I dated all those years ago that intrigued me. Only, now it seems ten years later that 36 year old men are not the same as they used to be. Which is probably why I found myself changing my “discovery preferences” on my Tinder account yesterday. Maybe it’s just old men on Tinder that are weird? Anyway enough of that rubbish.

There is one Irish man in my life over the age of 30 but he is in a league of his own. Maybe it was him telling me all about the Irish independence while my mouth was full, or my reading of “A Little History of the World” to him whilst sitting on him, that put him there. Comfort in your own skin is not something to be taken lightly.

I have hap hazardously tumbled into this incredible situation. My house mate is this cluster of brilliant white light. With a never ending positive wave, a sheer inability to sit still and a genuine gratefulness for the world around her. Sometimes you meet people in life at the most brilliant times. She reminds me so much of Carebear, she almost laughs the same. I guess she has always said if she won the lottery she would get a live in chef. So, she thinks she has won the lottery, and I think I have because I ended up in this amazing place that is Galway; thanks to her. I feel like if I can capture just a little bit of her and carry it in me it forever; it will make me an infinitely better person.

The church bells are ringing, Mumford and Sons is on the CD player (yes a CD player, it also plays cassettes what are those eh!) The sun is peaking through the rain clouds and I am filled with overwhelming feeling this is where I am meant to be at least for the time being. Why Galway I will never know but I think I need to thank Randell for that one.

I haven’t even bothered to look for a job yet, maybe that can be my new year’s resolution. Always best to pick one you can keep! For now I pass my days in the kitchen, not getting caught up in the consumerism of the season. I have resolved to spend Christmas here with Tompers and he has not requested anything for Christmas, although I may try to find him a green geansai.

Oh mother dear, I'm over here and I'm never coming back. What keeps me here are pints of beer, the whiskey and the craic!

Sláinte!

The rest of the Polish saga

                There was something more that came from Angloville, something unexpected which truly gave me a further appreciation for “Polish hospitality”. One of the participants from the second week’s program lived in Gydnia so rather unlike me I asked if it would be possible to catch a ride with him. As the journey back to Warsaw would be 3 hours then I would have to take the train from there as I was planning to visit Gdansk on my week off. (Gydnia, Sopot & Gdansk are called the tricities because they are all very close together on the Baltic Sea) Not only did I get a ride to Gydnia they also took me in for the entire week. They became my Polish family for a week and “mom” was amazing. She would come home late after working a VERY long day (by Polish standard this is normal) and put out this assortment of meats and cheeses and fish with eye balls. We would drink wine and just spend time together, not just watching tv, (possibly because EVERYTHING is spoken over by one dude in Polish) but chatting. They even tried to teach me Polish! Which they realized is VERY hard, but I have some great notes forever in my journal to help me fake it till I make it.

Sopot - Baltic Sea

          Whilst staying with this lovely family I had lots of time to explore the tricities. Tompers is still complaining that he never did get to see the infamous wild boars or deer that allegedly live in the area. However we did get to go to the beach and we had it all to ourselves, Tompers was hiding in my backpack because he said it was too cold to be at the beach. Silly bear. There was a SUPER adorable spaniel that when running past me in the water with a big stick in his mouth. He looked like the happiest dog in the whole world. This made me miss my little noodle. It’s funny how you can be on the other side of the world and seeing something just brings you right back to memories of home. I went for dinner at this place called Literacka in old town Gdansk, it made me miss my bestie who had she been there we could have tried more of the fabulous menu.

Sad to be leaving

This was my first taste of Polish hospitality. They took care of me like I was one of their children and even drove me to the train station early in the morning when it was time for me & Tompers to leave. It was hard to say goodbye but I know once I am settled we will arrange to have skype wine dates (aka English lessons with the grammar police).

                 

          Our next adventure brought us to Konin, which is in the center of Poland, however that is not where we stayed. We were picked up from the train station in Konin by our friend (I met in the first week of Angloville) and drove literally to the middle of nowhere Poland. There was actually a “pop-up” sawmill on his street! I have never seen the likes of that before. They had a little stove I’m not sure if it was to keep warm or just to burn the scraps or both, but it was in open air and they were milling trees like proper old-school style. It was such a lovely break from what was a rather busy past 4 weeks. There was literally no noise, and it was incredible to sleep in complete silence. Oddly enough we drank Irish whiskey instead of Polish vodka and shot the shit for endless hours.

He also took me to the Thermal Pools, which was the coolest thing ever. It was about 0 degrees that day and we were swimming laps in an outdoor pool. They also had a dizzying array of saunas, that was my first time in a cold sauna and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. #canadian There was also a small cold pool (alternating between extreme heat and cold is really good for your nervous system) it just felt like a lake so that was normal. Much warmer than when we went swimming in the Bug River.

 

Oh right I forgot to tell you at Angloville we got the bright idea that we should go swimming in the Bug River. You know me, I’m always down for going swimming in freezing cold water after multiple shots of vodka. That was COLD, and sobering.

 

                Poland wasn’t all fairy tales and butterflies. There were moments when I felt frustrated and “over-it” because the language really did become a barrier at times, and I not only did not know any Polish I didn’t even have a phrase book which normally I always carry when I travel just to make it easier. I also felt a bit lonely in Poland. Other than one night in Warsaw when I got drunk with a Ukrainian lad, all my hostel experiences were rather lonely. I didn’t meet people to go out with and because of my slightly insane scheduling I didn’t really have nights to go out. So not someone to go with, I just didn’t bother. So how is the nightlife in Poland you ask? I have NO idea! Maybe I should have stayed at more social hostels instead of the cheapest…

 

                

         To finish off my Poland trip I travelled to Krakow for two nights, then spent one more night where it all started. In Wrocław for the Christmas market and mulled wine. Even more fitting I ate at the same restaurant where I ate the first night upon arriving. I even had the same server. Only this time I stepped out of my comfort zone and ordered three different kinds of pyrogie. 

How I ended up in Poland in the first place....

There is an odd series of events that led me to Poland in the first place. I had received this email through my helpx account asking if I had ever thought about teaching English in Poland… To be honest, has anyone? It seemed like a bit of a scam but for some reason, probably due to a lack of anything better to do, and seeing as I would be unable to work thanks to my car accident, I signed up. Angloville became this amazing experience I got to be a part of. I had the absolute pleasure of being one of the 15 or so native English speakers participating in the program. I did three weeks of this program in total, and every week was completely different. I made friendships I hope will last a life time. I found people who were willing to talk history, religion, sex, and communism with me. You spend five full days with these incredible people, which really is a lot of time and you spend even more time with the ones you really connect with. I have no idea how many bottles of bison grass vodka we consumed but I do know I bought a litre of it leaving Poland so when I am missing the amazing people I spent that time with I can toast to them, na zdrowie! I’m not entirely sure why the last group was the one in which I connected with the most people, it might have had to do with being put in the “party house”. Being a host I felt it was my responsibility to make sure people felt welcome and that I had something to offer them when they came over, so the second day I found someone to take me out to the closest market so I could stock up on supplies. There is this funny thing in life, when you are generous it can go one way or the other, either people appreciate and reciprocate or nothing. I am naturally a person who is generous so it was amazing the third night when the girls showed up with all the same snacks we had out the night before. (because they knew we would like them) The last night they showed up with what was left in the store. We stayed up till 4am! When the last two Polish people left I called it a night, because in all honesty I never felt a connection with any of the other English speakers. When I went to bed that night I wrote in my notes on my phone “how lovely it felt to have the polish tell me how wonderful I am, and yet how bad the English people at the end of the night made me feel” It was a bizarre dynamic for me, and I don’t think they intended to make me feel that way it was just a shocking realization that I did not get on with that group of people. I guess sometimes age really does make a difference. Maybe I was getting on better with the Polish people because they were closer to my age. At the end of it all though, I met some truly amazing and lovely people, I learned a few words in Polish, and Tompers sure misses Elle. 

Poland 2015

       I feel like one of those ignorant people. I had no idea that Poland even really existed. Okay, I knew it existed (after all I booked a plane ticket there), but I did not think anything was left after being destroyed by the Germans and again by the Russians, not to mention not even being a country for over 100 years. Communism did one hell of a shit job rebuilding Warsaw, but that is all beside the point. Not only does Poland exist and boast nearly the same population as all of Canada, but the people are absolutely LOVELY. The landscapes are breathtaking and the cities that were not entirely destroyed are beautiful and enchanting. Every country has its own heartbeat and Poland’s is fierce. A country that has been destroyed so many time has managed to ignite its people with strong beliefs and an unwavering proudness of who they are as Poles. Not to mention an unbelievable talent to drink endless amounts of vodka as if it were water.

Lucky for you I am not here to give you a history lesson on Poland. Because it would be SHOCKINGLY terrible! How did I not learn a thing about this country growing up?! Excuse me Canada, might be time to do a better job teaching WW2. Granted I learned all about Hitler and Stalin. I took a class in university called “War, Terror & Civilization” yet I learned nothing about the Solidarity movement. Which blew my mind, might I add, for the entire 4+ hours I spent at the museum in Gdansk. 

I had never even heard about the Warsaw Uprising which I learned all about in one of the most heart wrenching museums in Warsaw, the sad part is most Poles didn’t even know the truth about it until many years later, after many of the people who fought against the German’s had be executed or died in prison, as they “acted on their own” and therefore Stalin (lovely man that he is) imprisoned them for treason. After all, you wouldn’t want people willing to die for their freedom running free in a communist regime.

Model of Warsaw in 1945

I visited more castles than I can remember including the largest brick castle in the world, Malbork. Which naturally like most of Poland had been thrashed numerous times over the years. However, they are doing an amazing job of restoring it. I travelled underground down a total of 800 steps into the depths of the most incredible salt mines at Wieliczka. Three men carved out one of the most impressive churches I have ever seen, and believe me I have seen my fair share. (Keep in mind I have not yet been to Rome) You can get married there for the low low cost of 3.000zł per hour. (1,000CAD) depending of course on the number of guests.

I did not pay to take bad photos of the temple so if you are curious check out the link below to the google images search... 

www.google.ie/search?q=Wieliczka+Salt+Mine+St.+Kinga%27s+Chapel&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7sNuY7dbJAhUBdQ8KHc_cDG0Q_AUICCgC&biw=1366&bih=599

Most importantly though I made the journey (pilgrimage might be a better word for some) to Oświęcim, located about an hour and a half drive outside of Krakow. This is the location of history’s most extensive experiment in genocide, the death camps known around the world as Auschwitz – Birkenau. There really are no words for that experience… Seeing the nail marks on the walls inside the first gas chamber at Auschwitz… The feelings inside me mixed in a sickening way, hatred, pain, sadness, fear, compassion for those who suffered, and an utter disgust for those who could do such a thing to another living being. Did you know they could burn 5,000 bodies a day at Birkenau… A DAY. I really don’t want to say anything more about that except do you know how many people 1.5 million is? And that is an estimate.