This has been a busy week and a half since our return from the official tour and we have taken advantage of the time to catch up on our rest where and when we can. We are readying ourselves for a Friday departure for Croatia.
This past Sunday was national election day in Poland. Everyone is talking about the low turnout and wondering why there is such voter apathy in this country. Sound like home? Sure does to me. Here is a country actually recovering from 40 years of occupation by the Soviet Union and doing an amazing job. Their institutional memory seems to have faded rapidly around the notion of freedom. Freedom is a delicate thing and one that I firmly believe requires people to participate at the voting booth. I don't have much luck with that belief at home and I guess things aren't that different abroad. But mark my words, countries that do not pay attention to their government, however badly you might think it is running, stand to lose their freedom. History shows us that there is always some power hungry nut case waiting in the wings somewhere trying to take over the world. It is so easy to become complacent. Especially when things are going along nicely and you have a job. The situation here seems to be that, while most people have jobs, the wages are low and the standard of living remains relatively fixed for the majority of people. Yet they are as wired to the western world as any country could possibly be. The Poles are eager to raise their standard of living but feel hampered by the slow pace of change under their current leadership. If they could look at this country as I have over the past five years they would realize that huge changes have taken place and and their economy gives the appearance of being on a real upswing. Patience dear friends. I realize that the major changes are taking place in the cities but those of you living in rural areas are also doing much better than you were five years ago. I see the evidence everywhere I go. Remodeled flats, new furniture, nearly everyone with a car (to the point where parking is a nightmare in the projects that were planned and built when no one had a car), modern appliances for sale in the stores, shopping malls with upscale shops being built right and left. Progress is happening. It is just that when you are living in the middle of it you don't notice it that much.
There is a part of me that wants to say, "stop. Don't go there. What looks like progress isn't always a good thing." A friend of Aneta's told us recently that Walmart has put out feelers for some construction contracts in an area of this friends expertise. Everyone is pretty excited to think that WalMart might come to Poland. My take on that is NO! Please don't encourage WalMart to come into your communities. The jobs don't pay well, the merchandise all comes from China, they undercut everyone else for price and put small businesses out of business right and left. Please don't go there! But they probably will and who can blame them? They have lived under such a system of austerity for so many years that just thinking the world giant WalMart might want to come to your neighborhood makes you feel all grown up. And unless something drastically changes in the way people live in these tiny little flats there won't be any market here for a Costco or other bulk retailer any time soon.
Fast food restaurants are springing up like mushrooms on a forest floor. There are KFC's, Mr. Burger, McDonald's and multiple others everywhere you look. But you still don't get ice with your soft drink at the theater. Go figure. Things here are such a mixed bag right now. One foot in another century and the other foot leaping off a cliff without looking to see where you might land.
Aneta and I finally made it to the "cinema" last week. We saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris and both just loved it. My first big surprise was purchasing tickets and having the cashier turn a computer screen around with a seat map and ask me where I wanted to sit. Assigned seats at the movies. Imagine! Such order and precision about something that in the US is the every man for himself seating system. Yet people park their cars on the sidewalk, tuck them in to the most amazing little spaces anywhere they can find an opening, and walk off. There is zero order to the notion of parking your car, but parking your hinny in a theater seat is serious business.
Next I went to the refreshment stand to get popcorn and a soft drink. I could see from the beautiful posters showing me what choices I had that I was going to get a soft drink cup full of ice and soda. That didn't happen. I said, "I'd like a medium popcorn and a Pepsi Light with ice."
The young man behind the counter said, "we don't have ice. If you want ice you have to take your cup over there to the Nescafe and they will put you some ice."
I said, "you're joking, right? You want me to carry my soda over to another restaurant and ask them to give me ice?"
"Yes (tak), he replied."
"Great," I said, "I suppose they will give me two pieces if I ask real nice, too, huh?"
"Tak, Tak," he said with greet enthusiasm, completely missing my sarcasm and very excited that I could be satisfied.
"Forget it," I said, and walked away.
"Wait, wait," he called after me, "what is problem?"
"The problem is," I said evenly, "that I can't believe this country. Your advertisement clearly shows a cup full of ice and you want me to take a warm pepsi to a neighboring restaurant where they will put in two tiny ice cubes that melt on contact. Just give me water."
"Do you want the popcorn?" he asked.
"Sure," I said. "Give me the popcorn."
Of course the popcorn didn't have any salt or butter or even that horrible movie theater butter that is so bad for you. It was just plain, dry, boring popcorn. Then I spilled half of it on the floor as I was navigating my assigned seat in the theater. The water was good.
And they gifted us an entire page of McDonalds coupons - all showing a lovely soft drink in a cup filled with ice! They don't serve ice with the pepsi light at McDonald's either, however, as they only offer it in a can.
Aneta's in-laws "Frank" and "Maryann" invited us to Pszczyna to see the castle and museum that Aneta and I had made an aborted attempt to see a few weeks back. I never know what the agenda is on these outings as the planning is all done in Polish, of which I understand exactly nothing. So off we went, packed like sardines into the little Nissan coupe. Aneta, Maryann and Ania in her care seat stuffed into the backseat and me riding up front with Frank who speaks zero English and understands even less (is that possible?). I knew it was going to be a long day. I did, however, understand vry clearly when Frank blurted out, "look Ania a cow!" Don't ask me to repeat the phase in Polish but that is what he said, I'm certain of it. That was the extent of my participation in the conversation on the hour ong ride to Pszczyna.
Once we arrived and parked the car, Frank and Maryann took Ania and went to the large beautiful park to keep her entertained while Aneta and I toured the castle. I was really a spectacular visit. The castle has its origins in 1424-1449 and has sequed from gothic to renaissance to baroque. It is lovely and completely furnished with many of the furnishings of the last occupants, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the `Princess of Pless', Daisy of England. It really is one of the most intact and lovely palaces I have seen here.
This week Frank and Maryann invited Aneta, Ania and me to lunch at their flat. I had no idea I would have to climb up five floors of stairways to get there! Talk about working up an appetite before lunch. There are no "lifts" in buildings under 6 stories tall so if you have a top floor apartment you lug everything up all those stairs every time you go grocery shopping or buy a new lamp or whatever. Almost finished me off. And believe this: top floor apartments are considered desirable! Thank heaven Aneta lives on the ground floor - we only have to go up one flight of stairs! Remember that floor numbering here goes 0, ground, 1-2-3-4 and no elevators.
The meal was delicious consisting of traditional Silecian Dumplisgs, roasted pork and beet salad. For desert Frank managed to produce some delicious glazed donuts filled with raspberry jam.
Last Saturday was a major big deal party for friend Chris and friend Agnes, who share a birthday on October 4th. There were 12 adults and 5 children crammed into a very small living space with a large table laden with cakes of every manner and variety. Of course the ubiquitous Vodka - and not just any Vodka I was told - Polish Vodka. They were an eclectic mix of people from a coal miner with a school teacher wife who spoke very good English, to a successful woman Engineer and her equally successful husband, in some type of marketing career. There were three adult students, Aneta, tour guide and partner in an auto parts business and her fireman husband, Witek's cousin Ella who is the Executive Director of an S.O.S. home for displaced children and me, an old retired person with gray hair! The order of service for food was unusual by US standards. They began with cake, next served toast points with sausage and pickle or little roll ups with raw salmon or ham, followed by a pasta salad, followed by a hot sausage with melted cheese casserole. All the while saying "na Strovia!" and tipping back a shot of vodka every little while. I asked for a glass with ice so I could mix a vodka tonic. That went over like the party joke of the year. I got a glass of warm tonic water then they came and put two tiny ice cubes into it, which promptly disappear of course, and raised a regular hulabaloo when I up ended my shot glass and poured the vodka into the tonic. I clearly committed heresy and they will be talking about the crazy American into the middle of the next century. We left the party at 10 PM and walked the 5 blocks or so back to our flat. The night was very cool but it felt good after all the merriment and good will that was being tossed down in close quarters for the previous four hours.
Aneta has taken Ania to her regular Thursday swimming lesson tonight and I have dinner ready for when they get home, which should be any minute. I had my English student for an hour lesson this afternoon. She is doing better and she is very happy with her opportunity to spend time with me. It takes a little pressure off Aneta and she says she is learning right along with her student. Another of Aneta's English students is coming by to discuss politics with me this evening. That should be interesting. I know virtually nothing about their political situation here except what I've overheard about the low turnout for their election. I am looking forward to the visit. Signing off for now.
Linda
Well, I used to have gray hair at least. Yesterday Aneta took me to "the best hairdresser in Gliwice" who absolutely skinned me and dyed my hair orange. I am sick to think I have to go Croatia looking like this but it is what it is. Aneta got her hair colored a lovely chestnut brown and a very modern and stylish haircut. She looked beautiful and I looked like a train wreck. Such is life.
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