Oh Kielecka 12...

And the adventure continues!  Most recently, not to mention most annoying, we've had many problems with our flat over the last few weeks.  First, the gas that heats the hot water in our bathroom broke (no hot water for about a week), then we had to get a new washing machine (no machine for a few days), then something with the shower drain went wrong and the bathroom flooded every time someone took a shower, and finally we had to buy a new router this week and haven't been been able to hook it up yet because: (a) we don't speak Polish, and (b) we can't get information from the Internet company because we don't have any invoice numbers from past bills because the bills get mailed to the owner (this post is coming to you via Starbucks wifi...so very American of me, right?).  The owner of my flat is a really nice guy, and is usually somewhat prompt in addressing the issues we have, so I can't complain about him.  It's just the number of problems we've had has been frustrating, but it's part of the experience, right? As my German friend said, if we didn't have all these problems with our flat, our lives would have been a little more boring the last few weeks.

I feel like my time here is flying by fast, too fast in fact.  I don't like it one bit.  I feel like I was just talking about the 4 months I had left here and now that's down to 3 months.  But I have exciting things to look forward to--I'll be in Greece in 12 days now, touring the Acropolis, walking through Agora (the Ancient Athens, you know, where democracy came about and all), walking up a volcano, basking in the Santorini sun, and eating entirely too much feta cheese.  In addition, I plan to travel to Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic (at least) before leaving this continent again.  I've also recently learned that I will have some visitors in May--my cousin and later my friend, Laura.  I'm really excited to see them both, but even more, to show them around Kraków (I have this running list of places to take them to in my head, adding to it everyday)...I mean how can you not love this city?  But May will also be a hectic month.  At last count, I'll have 5 exams that month and should have my first draft of my thesis turned in.  Let the good times roll...or let the panic set in.

In other news, the International Film Festival of Independent Film--Off Plus Camera--has arrived in Kraków this week.  I'm pretty excited and really looking forward to seeing as many films as I can squeeze in between attending my classes and researching/writing my thesis.

But other than the annoyances with my flat, life is good.  I will officially be done with undergrad, both domestically and abroad, in August 2011 (as long as my university here gets my transcripts to GVSU asap) with two majors--political science and international econmoics--and two minors--philosophy and international relations.  I'm just going to keep enjoying my time here while it lasts and not let my thesis get the best of me in terms of time management (I will beat this thesis...I keep reminding myself of the European degree, the European degree...).

Until next time, do zobaczenia!

It's Official: Spring has Arrived

View of Krakow from Wawel Cathedral Bell Tower

Bike ride day :)

Vistula River

First, apologies for not posting in such a long time.  I'm going to do better in the future with blogging...it's still new to me.  But so much has happened since I last posted!  It's officially springtime!  The weather this week has been beautiful thus far and I'm hoping that it stays this way especially after hearing that my brother had a snow day today back in Michigan.  I mean I ate lunch at an outdoor cafe today and spent the afternoon walking around in a light jacket and sunglasses...not to rub it in or anything.

First, and most exciting, I have official Easter break plans.  I'll be in GREECE for 11 days!  Not only I am going to be in Greece, but I'm going to be in Greece on my birthday.  And not only will I be in Greece on my birthday, but I will also be joined by my Mom, Aunt, and close family friend.  Could it get much better?  We are in the process of finalizing exact locations still, but so far on the list is Athens and Santorini, to be followed by a few more places.  For those that don't know, I have been waiting to go to Greece for awhile (it was on my places to travel to the last time I was in Europe, but didn't end up happening).  I am literally counting down the days.  And yes, I plan to eat feta cheese everyday.

Besides my epic spring break plans, life has been great.  Classes are going along.  In another month, I'll already be done with two courses.  I don't mind studying economics because I find it interesting and obviously relevant to current times, but my favorite course here is International Political Relations because it is a political science course (for those of you who don't know, that is my major at GVSU).  And although it's been a great experience studying economics and branching out from my major a bit, I'm so happy that I studied what I'm truly passionate about for my first four year of undergrad.  I am even looking forward to grad school more and more because I'll be studying politics again (I must be missing it, right?).

It's been easy for me to make a life in Krakow for myself.  And lately, I could see myself coming back in the future.  There's just so much to do here and so much life going on!  Over the weekend I went to the Wieliczka Salt Mines.  And yes, it's cooler than it sounds.  They're no longer mining salt there, but it's still open to tourists.  We spent at least three hours down there and it was really cool to see cathedrals, statues, and different rooms carved out of the salt--there are rooms from the 14th century.  You can even get married in one of the cathedrals down there.  At one point the mine was even responsible for a third of Poland's wealth.  It was definitely a good half day trip to take though and I would recommend it to others planning to visit Krakow.

Last Monday I visited Schindler's Factory.  To get there, I took a tram, which happened to drop me off in the center of the Plac Bohaterow Getto--the Jewish ghetto used in WWII.  It was definitely sobering to step off there and see the 70 empty chairs that are part of a memorial now representing the furniture, suitcases, and other items Jews were forced to leave behind.  This was also the point of departure for thousands of people who were transferred from the ghetto to the concentration camps.  For those of you familiar with the movie Schindler's List, some of the movie was actually filmed in the old factory and throughout the city.  But now the factory has been turned into a museum of WWII history.  There are rooms and exhibits focused on Jewish life in Krakow, the ghetto, Plaszow Camp (which started out as a labor camp but later turned into a concentration camp not far from Schindler's Factory), the German occupation of Poland, and much more.  It was really interesting to be in a place displaying so much tragic history, while at the same time knowing that where I was standing was a place of refuge; a place where no Jew was ever harmed, mistreated, and received a sustainable caloric intake along with a sense of hope.  Schindler's factory was a safe haven relatively speaking, trumping the alternative of a concentration camp.

On a more cheerful note, two weekends ago I rented a bike with some friends and rode around the city.  We rode 12 km out to an abbey, called Tyniec.  It's an old Benedictine abbey that has been there for almost 1,000 years.  The bike ride out there was gorgeous!  It was a 60 degree day and sunny.  We saw great views of Wawel Castle, the Vistula River, and other sites.  The abbey was also very nice.  We walked around a bit, ate lunch, and went inside the church.  And not to be disrespectful in any way, but the organ music playing inside the church was some of the creepiest music I've ever heard in my life.  My friends there with me can attest to this.

But that is the update on my adventures thus far :)  Do zobaczenia!

Nicholas Copernicus statue

Alter of Mariacka Basilica

Plac Boharterow Getto

What's left of the old ghetto walls

Cracow, it's been great getting to know you.

When moving to a new city, there's always so much to explore, experience, and learn.  I've been in Cracow for a month now and like to think I've put in a pretty good effort in the above mentioned things.  But I learned even more this weekend.

On Saturday, I took a free walking tour of Cracow.  It was less than 20 degrees with the wind chill, but still a very enjoyable experience.  The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and it mainly focused on the Old Town (Market Square included) and Wawel Castle (that's right, I live in a city with a castle...be jealous).  We hit many famous spots in the city:  St. Mary's Church, the City Hall Tower, Cloth Hall, the Barbican, the Florian Gate, the Papal Window, and ended at Wawel.  It was a really interesting tour and we had a very witty guide--always appreciated when learning about history.

Sunday started with an enjoyable walk through the city since the weather was beautiful.  A group of friends and I headed towards Wawel Castle once more to tour some of the castle--some of the rooms offer free admission on Sundays.  We also visited the Cathedral on Wawel hill, a place of implicit importance for Poland.  It is the final resting place of the kings of Poland along with others who were very important to Polish life and culture.  We ended the day with a short walk along the river and dinner.

Even after being here a month, one of my favorite spots in the city (though I still have so much more of the city to discover) is still Market Square.  It is the largest square in Europe and is the only square  today that is still used for the same purpose as it was in Medieval times--for the trading and selling of goods (Cloth Hall).  Despite the season, it was packed full of people on Sunday (the sun was finally cooperating and the temperature was almost 40 degrees).  There was so much life going on there; horse-drawn carriage rides, kids and grandparents feeding the endless hoards of pigeons, vendors selling fresh flowers, tourists and locals alike admiring and taking in the sites.  It gives the city a vibrancy that I have yet to feel in the other Polish cities I've visited, though my list is very short.

I definitely feel like I'm in a city that suits me well here.  Even more that I'm in exactly the right place that I should be at this time in my life.  In fact, I haven't been this happy since I lived in Italy (though Italy is still more of a home than Cracow to me and always will be).  But it helps that Cracow reminds me of Italy in certain ways, like the narrow cobblestone roads and parts of the Medieval fortification that still exist around the Old Town (Macerata, where I lived in Italy, was still surrounded by the Medieval fortification walls).  There's so much culture in Cracow, too--always a museum to go to, a concert to see, an opera to attend, a historic site to tour.  Boredom, at least at this point, seems virtually impossible.  There are so many cafes, pubs, restaurants (vegetarian ones at that too!), and clubs to visit it seems like I won't have time for all of them even in the five months that I have here.  Since living in Italy, I've had a yearning to move to Europe--maybe not permanently, but for a time at least.  Cracow has only enhanced that feeling.  There's just something about Europe for me, some irresistible pull that is hard to verbalize.  In the simplest terms, my soul feels at home here.

I added a few photos to the post: sunset on the Vistula River, me on Wawel hill, a shot of Market Square, and me in front of the castle (all my Cracow pics are at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2497621&id=22425039&l=d9e8509c5d).  Until next time, do zobaczenia!

New City, New Experience...and So Much More.

I'm finally doing it...blogging, that is!  I meant to do so while living in Hungary last semester, but it just didn't come together (I'll blame it on too many distractions of living in the dorms with crazy--yet very fun--international students). And as many of you know, during my semester in Italy, I sent out updates of my adventures through emails and got so much positive feedback about those that I wanted to do something similar to keep my friends and family at home updated about my life abroad.  And now it's a new semester, new experience, and new opportunity to blog throughout my time in Poland.

For those of you that don't know, I'm residing in Cracow this semester.  I couldn't have chosen a better city to come to (outside of Italy, of course) and partake in the culture, learn the history, and experience all this place has to offer.  It's a wonderful city with so much to do and see.  And the people have been wonderful so far.

People often ask me which city I prefer; Krakow or Debrecen, Hungary (where I studied last semester).  Both cities have a uniqueness to them, a wealth of experiences I couldn't have gained anywhere else but that place, and people who made my experience so much more than I could have hoped for.  But aesthetically and culturally (so far at least), I do like Krakow better.  There's so much history here, not unlike other places in Europe, that it is mind-blowing.  I'm currently reading "Schindler's List" (some of you may know the movie) and it is eerie to read about the man that saved more Jews from certain death that any other single person during WWII and yet recognize the street names and areas of town referred to throughout the book (since Schindler lived and worked in Krakow).  I always enjoy learning as much about new places I'm living in as I can, but this time it's much sadder and heart wrenching.  But it's part of the experience.

On a happier note, I'm very happy with the start to my semester here.  I live in an apartment within a five minute walk to the university and 15-20 walk from the city center or Market Square.  I have two great roommates so far, one girl from Bulgaria and another girl from Croatia, with a third roommate from Croatia set to move in sometime next week.  Our apartment is a good size; nice kitchen, big bathroom, and I have my own room!

My classes started this week and there has been a little bit more frustration there.  I'll be taking 9 courses this semester while writing my Bachelor's thesis.  I'm part of the STAIR (Studies in Trans-Atlantic International Relations) program here and it is a dual-degree program.  This means that at the end of my time in Europe, I will have a second Bachelor's degree in International Economics from Cracow University of Economics.  But to do so, I had to take a number of required courses and write a thesis on a topic of my choosing, preferably related to economics in some way, shape, or form.  Call me crazy, but I'm actually, kind of looking forward to doing it...

Other than that, I've been to two other cities besides Cracow since being in Poland.  The first was Warsaw, the capital of Poland, where I stayed with friends I met in Hungary for a long weekend.  Warsaw is a really nice city, perhaps with an even more devastating history than Cracow.  But they have rebuilt and the city is beautiful.  I'm looking forward to visiting again and learning and seeing even more.  The second city I visited was Orawka, near the Slovakian boarder in the mountains.  We went there for an "integration" weekend with most of the other international students attending my university.  It was a really fun weekend and I met some amazing people!  There is such a greater amount of diversity in my program here in Cracow than there was in Debrecen, something I really appreciate.

Well for now, that's it for me.  By the way, if you're looking for pictures, you can find most of my pictures up on my Facebook page.

Do zobaczenia!