As 2014 draws to a close, I again think about how different thing are this year than last, mostly because I am again in another part of the world. And it gets me thinking about the little things that add up to the big changes.
I am often asked how I am adjusting to living in Poland, and the answer is always that I have found it pretty easy. I have gotten settled comfortably, I am getting more used to what my job entails, I still explore around the city and have found a few restaurants and cafes that I like to return to while discovering quite a few that I want to try. Some of the local merchants and people in the gym I go to seem to recognize me. I am learning where to find information about cultural events and have a loyalty card at one of the movie theaters. I am enjoying receiving 80% reimbursement for my medical costs without having to jump through hoops of doctor networks, prescription formularies or second guessing of medical care. I have developed daily routines and life is pretty normal.
I am still having some trouble finding a few things that I would like or need, but then once I find one, I see them everywhere - dry cleaners being a good example, gyms being another. I am still trying to find a shoe repairman more convenient than the mall, but no luck yet. I need to get used to different sizing systems for clothes, but I can manage. I can't find shoes my size too easily (surprising, given how many tall people there are here) but I have found a few shops lately and Berlin has plenty.
The fact that many people speak English continues to make it too easy not to learn the language but I am trying. My first course of Polish lessons didn't get me very far, but it created a foundation and I can now pick words out of conversations (sometimes), I can ask some basic questions and understand the responses (sometimes), and I am continuing on to the next course in a few weeks. I am also going to try watching TV here as listening to speech patterns can help also (although I don't know if Polish soap operas are as good as Armenian ones I watched for that reason...)
I am also asked often how I like the food here, and the answer is that I do - a lot. Polish food is hearty, flavorful and varied. I really like the core P foods - pork, pierogis, potatoes and pickles. Other favorites are zurek (a soup make with a rye base, often including sausage and a hard boiled egg), salads, and kielbasa (with which I have finally developed a taste for mustard). I have heard of a place that offers Polish cooking classes in English, so maybe by this time next year I will make my own pierogis! For variety, there are also lots of other types of cuisine available. Recently, while watching an American TV show in which the characters were eating Thai food, I suddenly had a craving to have some myself and knew right off where I could go. I have also been to Croatian, Indian, Italian, Moroccan and Mexican restaurants that have been good (margaritas excepted). I am cooking at home less than I thought I would, but there are too many restaurants to try.
Traveling is also very easy from here. Beside the places in Poland I have been to, I have had easy trips to Austria, Montenegro, Holland, Armenia, Germany, England, and tomorrow I am off to Italy. All of the above can be reached within a three hour flight and it is nice to arrive in a European city without jet lag. With six weeks of vacation per year, in 2015 I may make a dent into the list of countries to visit that I have been compiling since being here. The US is likely in 2015 also, since I get that question a lot also, but the jet lag....
This time of year, it is nice to see how Warsaw gets decked out for Christmas. A few of the streets are lit up for their entire lengths, there is a skating rink in the old market square, the castle has snowflakes projected onto it with a big tree outside, and there are market stalls near the barbican walls.
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| Nowy Swiat |
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| Swietokrzyska |
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| Swietokrzyska |
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| Castle Square |
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| Castle Square |
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| Castle Square |
So, I find myself feeling again that time is flying - I have been here nine months already - but that so much has happened that I feel I have been here longer. There are things I don't miss about the US (I am glad that my exposure to the recent elections was limited to what I read in the paper and casting my absentee ballot) but plenty that I do, although I have seen some of my family and friends since I have been here.
But I feel like I am making a home here and am glad to have the opportunity to do so. While I am making a home, I don't know if Warsaw will ever feel like "home", but so far the people here have made it very comfortable. There is a lot to be said for that.
