3 weeks, 5 countries
I'm getting dizzy, the world is spinning so fast. Time to slow down. 3 weeks ago we left Costa Rica, went to San Francisco, then made a pit stop in Toronto, Canada to transfer planes to Copenhagen. Then after 2 weeks we took a bus to Sweden, caught a ferry to Poland, and we have been in 3 cities in Poland. Whew.
Where to begin? I haven't had the needed combination of time/internet/space to write.
I can tell you about today. The one day with the minimal amount of reflection before writing. All of our kids are 8-9 hours behind us in time. We get to do everything first. It's 11am for them and 7pm for us. Weird.
We didn't travel much yesterday, but it feels like I finally have jet lag today. I did almost nothing, and it took me all day. We are settling in! Doesn't seem like a big deal, but it really is. We have been living out of other people's houses for 8 months. Wonderful people, mind you. But a little privacy goes a long way. I miss my God given right to re-arrange furniture. I got to play House today.
We have a cute little apartment that is fully furnished. We are in a big city called Lodz, in Poland. It's where my maternal great grandfather Henric Szpradowski was born. So I came here to feel my Polish influence, and do some research. I went to Denmark to try and feel more Danish. One of my uncles - Uncle Gunnar - did a huge amount of research and traced the tree back for centuries. I want to be cool like him.
Since I arrived, Poland has truly felt different than Denmark. I don't know how to explain it. Some part of me wonders if it's the difference between the land of conquerors, and the land of the conquered. I've been learning about Vikings and the Holocaust. Quite the combination, eh?
We are in Poland, but I just wanted a simple meal that I could easily order. So we went out for pizza. Not so easy. The place had 64 kinds of pizza. The ingredients in English were in really fine print. After squinting for a while, I picked number 7 called the Campagnola. It said salami and onions, but it's a good thing I like garlic. Although that garlic breath for hours after is not as likeable. Ours was tasty, we liked it. They had one called the San Francisco. Glad I didn't order it out of nostalgia. The toppings were listed: pineapple, banana and curry. (For real?? Not even morbid fascination would make me order that). The most expensive thing on the menu was the UFO pizza. Now, there was a Super UFO pizza. Toppings? Believe it or not: "double batter, ham, champignons, tuna, salami, olives, shrimps, mussels, onion and paprika". I'm trying to find the words to describe how this makes me feel. This is a real thing. People order this? On purpose? They should re-name it: "I lost the bet!". Maybe they are just joking around with the English speaking patrons? I don't know. But tuna was on the list for several pizzas. I had to read it several times, my brain could not process that someone thought this could ever dream up and move forward with this idea. There was a pizza with asparagus too. I had to give up after that. It hurt my head to consider these options.
Now a quiet night at home, watch the grey rainy sky turn to black. A reason to turn on the huge cool lamp in the new living room. It's almost as big as me. I don't have to rush around anywhere tomorrow. That's so wonderful!! I think we will go scout the neighborhood. Pick a direction and start walking. I will say one thing about Lodz - these people love their graffiti. Big and little. Everything from Shrek to rainbow words. Maybe I will do a photo session of graffiti later this week.
Oh, and we went to the grocery store after dinner. Both are within 5 minutes of here. I don't know if I will ever go to that store alone. It's too much, I require a buddy system. Everything is the same, but different. More currency conversions, words I will never make sense of, and what if I accidentally bought some pig knuckles? Plus, I feel like a chump wandering the store feeling a tinge of hopelessness. Hey, I found the yogurt. Give me another 5 minutes and I'll find the kind with actual flavors. Ah Poland, you challenge me. I feel so alive! Challenge accepted.
Where to begin? I haven't had the needed combination of time/internet/space to write.
I can tell you about today. The one day with the minimal amount of reflection before writing. All of our kids are 8-9 hours behind us in time. We get to do everything first. It's 11am for them and 7pm for us. Weird.
We didn't travel much yesterday, but it feels like I finally have jet lag today. I did almost nothing, and it took me all day. We are settling in! Doesn't seem like a big deal, but it really is. We have been living out of other people's houses for 8 months. Wonderful people, mind you. But a little privacy goes a long way. I miss my God given right to re-arrange furniture. I got to play House today.
We have a cute little apartment that is fully furnished. We are in a big city called Lodz, in Poland. It's where my maternal great grandfather Henric Szpradowski was born. So I came here to feel my Polish influence, and do some research. I went to Denmark to try and feel more Danish. One of my uncles - Uncle Gunnar - did a huge amount of research and traced the tree back for centuries. I want to be cool like him.
Since I arrived, Poland has truly felt different than Denmark. I don't know how to explain it. Some part of me wonders if it's the difference between the land of conquerors, and the land of the conquered. I've been learning about Vikings and the Holocaust. Quite the combination, eh?
We are in Poland, but I just wanted a simple meal that I could easily order. So we went out for pizza. Not so easy. The place had 64 kinds of pizza. The ingredients in English were in really fine print. After squinting for a while, I picked number 7 called the Campagnola. It said salami and onions, but it's a good thing I like garlic. Although that garlic breath for hours after is not as likeable. Ours was tasty, we liked it. They had one called the San Francisco. Glad I didn't order it out of nostalgia. The toppings were listed: pineapple, banana and curry. (For real?? Not even morbid fascination would make me order that). The most expensive thing on the menu was the UFO pizza. Now, there was a Super UFO pizza. Toppings? Believe it or not: "double batter, ham, champignons, tuna, salami, olives, shrimps, mussels, onion and paprika". I'm trying to find the words to describe how this makes me feel. This is a real thing. People order this? On purpose? They should re-name it: "I lost the bet!". Maybe they are just joking around with the English speaking patrons? I don't know. But tuna was on the list for several pizzas. I had to read it several times, my brain could not process that someone thought this could ever dream up and move forward with this idea. There was a pizza with asparagus too. I had to give up after that. It hurt my head to consider these options.
Now a quiet night at home, watch the grey rainy sky turn to black. A reason to turn on the huge cool lamp in the new living room. It's almost as big as me. I don't have to rush around anywhere tomorrow. That's so wonderful!! I think we will go scout the neighborhood. Pick a direction and start walking. I will say one thing about Lodz - these people love their graffiti. Big and little. Everything from Shrek to rainbow words. Maybe I will do a photo session of graffiti later this week.
Oh, and we went to the grocery store after dinner. Both are within 5 minutes of here. I don't know if I will ever go to that store alone. It's too much, I require a buddy system. Everything is the same, but different. More currency conversions, words I will never make sense of, and what if I accidentally bought some pig knuckles? Plus, I feel like a chump wandering the store feeling a tinge of hopelessness. Hey, I found the yogurt. Give me another 5 minutes and I'll find the kind with actual flavors. Ah Poland, you challenge me. I feel so alive! Challenge accepted.
Comments
Post a Comment