The Bunnies are Coming!

I honestly canNOT believe that it's been almost a month since I posted my last blog- oh how the time flies! I am sitting in my room and decided to click on all of my tabs because I absolutely positively have no possible way to focus on studying right now. I think I cleaned everything possible and organized everything else that was left so I could avoid studying. I have a corrective exercises written and practical exam tomorrow morning so...well, hopefully it goes my way. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The last month has been pretty calm and noneventful. I mean unless you count an epic St. Patty's day celebrated with Irish class and in Polish style, nothing too crazy has happened. The next few weeks, on the other hand will be pretty busy. I am counting the days until I am done with this week and then I get to run my half marathon. I was excited to do this race because it's in my city and a few people I know are gonna be running it too. However, after I checked the weather today, my excitement was quickly crushed. I'm not sure if the "weather channel" website is trying out a new April Fool's joke or what, but the weather actually says that it will be 45 degrees with rain AND snow! I'm sorry, but what?! I refuse this kind of weather- so upsetting to say the least. I swear if I have to run with my winter gloves like in 2008 (shoutout to my "glovessss" buddy) I am going to flip a runner or two. I mean, I won't. Obviously. But it will change everything about the race! I mean I trained indoors, but for the past month, I have been running outside in fairly good weather of 60/65 degrees. Anyways, I'm not going to panic because I assume "weather channel" really is trying out an April Fool's joke. They better be!

After that race, I am going to see Wiktor sometime and somewhere. We're still trying to figure out details, but hopefully we'll know by the time one of us starts traveling. Let's be honest though, if I was the only one planning the week, we'd both know what were having for dinner. Haha! But yes, compromise is key. Either way, I am going to Pulawy for Easter and I am actually very excited. Not to say that I wasn't before, but I am stoked to do the Easter festivities aka egg dying with the kids. And most importantly I am so excited for the water fight on the Monday after Easter. Let me explain, the Monday after Easter is known as "Lany Poniedzialek" which literally means "Watery Monday." It is when you want to stay as far away from the public as possible. Strangers will actually pour water on you! But, let's be honest, it's your family that you need to watch out for- those are the devils of the holiday. The fam has no mercy whatsover. That's why I am coming prepared with waterguns and waterballoons and shields known as rain ponchos. Lany Poniedzialek- bring it!

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks! Enjoy!

Gosia, Ania and I at the ballet "Swan Lake"

Some friends at St. Patty's!

Army of Bunnies at the Browar

The master bunny and us!

I love the bunnies!

BUDAPESZTTTTT!

I am currently on the train heading from Krakow to Poznan (once again)
chowing down on a family sized bag of super salty, super fattening
chips (and thoroughly enjoying them might I add).. I started playing
with my phone and realized that I have Word on here so I figured it
would be the best time for me to update my good old blog especially
since I have tons to say, so please bear with me. Before I explain to
you why this will be an almost ten hour train ride, let me back up to
Thursday.

Thursday morning I went for a quick run and since I was in a hurry, my
run went better than expected. I hopped on the noon train to Krakow
and after spending 4 times as much on the ticket than I usually do
(mostly bc it was a fancy super fast train), I finally got to Krakow
where Wiktor picked me up and a friend of ours dropped us off at the
airport. Once we got through security, our flight was very delayed,
but we ran into Wiktor's friend who was going to Barcelona with his
friend with a connection in Budapest so the waiting time wasn't all
that bad. Once we arrived in Budapest, we quickly realized that people
no speak americanooooo! I'm not even kidding you, when I asked the bus
driver for directions he was pretty much miming to me and pointing
fingers and stomping and doing God knows what to explain to me how to
get to our hotel. We ended up taking the bus with literally all the
other Polish people on the bus which was super entertaining and
extremelly confusing. The buses smelled of pee (which you get used to
after living in the city for a few years), but they were old as hell
AND whenever the locals stepped on, it literally looked like an
episode of Jersey Shore. Everyone looked the same with their super
fake orange tan and jet black hair and bottle of wine in their hand
(yes, I said bottle and it's totally legal). The only difference
between the real Hungarians and the Jersey Shore crew was that every
Hungarian had a kebab in hand. Anyways, once we finally made it to the
hotel for a total price of zilch compared to the 21 euro aka 30 dollar
taxi ride that was offered to us, we walked into an amazing hotel that
I booked a while back. I'm not kidding, it was beautiful and very
modern and the buffet breakfast included was just divine....I mean
they even had salmon, not to mention the endless supply of pastries!
But yes, hotel was wonderful. The only weird thing was the front door.
Let me explain this to you because there were a few times we almost
got slammed in the face by these doors. These doors did not slide open
or open away from you, but literally swung open towards you! It was
the most ridiculous thing.

But anyways, on with the trip. The next day
we went on a free walking tour around the city and I got to wear my
leather jacket which I was so pumped about- mostly because whenever I
wear my leather jacket I feel really European. Haha I know it's kinda
stupid, but Iove wearing the leather when I travel! Needless to say,
the weather was amazing- around 50 degrees the whole time and plenty
of sun. We literally did not see a single cloud! Perfect leather
jacket weather if you ask me! We also stopped at an amazing dinner
where an appetizer, 2 main entrees, dessert and a bottle of wine cost
us 10,000 forinths. I think I just really like saying that I had
dinner for 10 grand! That sounds ridiculous I know, but in translation
it was around 50 dollars which is absurd. This restaurant was really
fancy too, but everything in Budapeszt was pretty inexpensive
especially compared to Spain or any other country that uses the euro!
After dinner we quickly changed and went to the Opera. The building
was beyond beautiful and the show was magnificent and I feel like I
need to use words of that grandeur because I went to the Opera. Even
though we attempted to be all fancy, we were exhausted after being
outside all day and so Wiktor fell asleep at the Opera. Thank goodness
we didn't invest in the really expensive seats because we decided it
would be better if we left after the first half and went on a walk by
the river. I mean we did have 8 bridges to see afterall! And we are so
glad we ended up doing that because the bridges all lit up at night
were gorgeous! The next day we went to the Szchenicky (sp) baths aka
the thermal baths. It was such a cool experience. It was 50 degrees
outside and we were all in bathing suots in an enormous outdoor pool.
The water, though, was very warm and very relaxing. After the thermal
baths, we met up with Wiktor's friends who came back from Barcelona
around noon and showed them around town. Then we all decided that it
would be nice to sit on top of Castle Hill and drink a bottle of wine
or two. It was just very relaxing and fun to chat with everyone and
get to know one another. Later that night we all had a flight back to
Krakow. Wiktor and I planned on going out for a drink with a few
friends, but decided that there was no way our eyes would stay open so
we chose sleep instead of drinks.

And we finally got to today. So like I said I am currently on the
train heading to Poznan. My train will be almost three hours delayed
aka I will get to Poznan around 1am which is pretty late especially
since I have class tomorrow from 8am until 7pm. Let me explain to you
why my train is so delayed. Last night at about 10pm, two trains
collided on the route Warsaw-Krakow. So far there are 16 casualties
and 60 people in the hospital in critical condition. When I heard
about this, Iiterally got the chills mostly because that's the train I
take very often going to or coming from Krakow. Fortunately, I was not
on that train, but it puts things into perspective in terms of
constant planning and worrying about stupid things that don't really
matter. I won't say much more expect it would be wonderful if everyone
said a quick prayer to everyone affected by last nights accident.

But to leave you on a happier note, I will add pictures from my trip
in the next post because my lack of technology skills is holding me
back from using my blackberry to upload pics! I know this post is
hefty, but the next one will balance this beefy guy out.

Oh and one more thing about Budapeszt. Their escalators are carzy
fast! I mean it- you gotta GO on those things!

Livin' the Dream

Just got back from the gym and am devouring fresh bread rolls. Yes, I know that I just worked out and am eating bread so my workout probably cancels itself out with these bread rolls. But you don't understand. Bread and rolls and anything pastry related in Poland is just one of the greatest things- mostly because anytime you walk into the store, fresh rolls are being taken out of the oven. It would be illegal NOT to buy just a few. Back to the gym- I am still training for the half marathon (God help me). I think it's funny that when you sign up for a race a few months before you're supposed to do it, you are more than confident that it's pretty much gonna be a piece of cake. Then there's a few weeks or days left and you secretly are hoping that the race is cancelled altogether. I'm not saying I don't want to do it, but 13.1 miles just seems like a lot. Today at least. Tomorrow it might be a bit different. Hopefully because I literally have 9 miles to run. We shall see how that works out.

Anyways, let me tell you about my semester break. First of all, I canNOT believe it's been a year since the girls visited me in Poland! Time flies, that's for sure! I definitely didn't expect to be back in Krakow a year after we all visited. Somehow, I did make it back and had a blast as always. There's something about Krakow that gives you the modern entertainment mixed with the old feeling of the cafes and everything else. I was able to workout quite often in a really really really nice gym. It's funny how the atmosphere of your surroundings make you more "fit." We went bowling where I won three games in a row (I wish you could have seen my face...pure excitement, zero pity). Oh and we played in the snow because it finally snowed more than 2 inches in Krakow which was awesome. We also made it to a show at the theatre which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially since there was a huge discount for students that day. All in all, Krakow was a blast. After Krakow, my friend Ania and I were supposed to go down to Zakopane for two nights, but unfortunately she broke out in a high fever and felt miserable. So, I decided to cut my trip short and go up to Pulawy to visit my family instead. Seeing the fam bam is always entertaining. I wish I could explain the way we all are with one another. It's like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" meets "Home Alone" with a splash of "The Matrix". I'm telling you, my family is a hoot! We did some face painting, ate a lot, went to Kazimierz Dolny, ate some more and laughed uncontrollably while eating. I decided to leave on Friday morning so that I could get organized and so that I wouldn't have to be rolled out of Pulawy after eating like an absolute pig.

As for my plans for the weekend- nothing too exciting to tell you the truth. I mean, I am going to switch out my winter and spring clothes which I am beyond excited about and I already cleaned my room from top to bottom which was a blast, but nothing that normal people would consider exciting. I also have to organize our Budapest trip. I am leaving to go down to Krakow (yet again) on Thursday afternoon because my flight is out of Krakow later that night. I'm so excited to go! I already have a tour figured out and we're going to the opera and to the thermal baths!!! Like I said, I am beyond excited! I shall post pictures when I get back that's for sure. Oh and I have to organize my binders because the new semester starts on Monday aka class from 8am until 7pm, five days a week for the month of March. It shall be interesting to say the least. One more thing- I dominated on those two exams I was telling you about a few weeks ago! Whooooooo! And good news, I don't have to see that awful professor until next year- yay!

Alright, I'll leave you with a few pictures! Enjoy and have a great weekend!

What up Krakow?!

Too excited!

Such a homeless look

Passed out

Trying to be a role model

Oh man...what did I get myself into?

Of course we're related

:)

Babcia very upset I was taking a picture haha

Study Time aka Procrastination Time

Hello fellow blog friends!

It's that time again when I am extremely busy with studying and preparing for exams that I have tomorrow. To translate, this is the time where I am finding everything possible to, surprise-surprise, not study. I always wondered if the older we got, the smarter we got when it came to doing things last minute and it turns out that, that is not the case at all. In fact, we find hundreds of other ways to keep ourselves busy and not do what we're supposed to do because those things that we're supposed to do are things like chores and studying and bills and God only knows what. Needless to say, I am currently at a coffee shop I used to go to quite a bit, but haven't had a chance to make it here in quite some time. Actually, I wasn't even supposed to come here, but I decided the library wasn't something too appealing today. As a result, I packed up my good ol' backpack and walked over to the best coffee shop in City Park. Now, when one thinks of the best coffee shop, they usually think of things that appeal to all customers. So, I ordered myself a soy cappuccino (due to my lactose intolerance in case you were all dieing to know why I was drinking soy instead of wonderful lactose infested milk) only to have the barista tell me they have no soy milk. Next step if you can't have coffee at a coffee shop, get some tea, right? Well guess what? They ran out of tea. What kind of place is this?! As a result, I ordered juice. Yea, that's right, I ordered juice. I wanted to be all adult-like today and instead I got the same thing as the little 3 year old boy standing next to me with his parents. Awesome, I know.

Anyways, I am studying for my biomechanics presentation and final exam tomorrow. Talk about not knowing what I'm talking about when it comes to that class. I learned that when you don't know something in that class, the answer is usually "torque" so I'm hoping that gets me through tomorrow's hell of an exam. Now it would be a bearable exam if perhaps it was in written form such as a multiple-choice test like any other class that has a sane professor, but not this one. Not only is it biomechanics, the exam is oral. Yup, you read that right. It is going to suck the living daylights out of me. Whooo! Can't wait for tomorrow. Once I'm done with that I get to study for Methodology of Motor Teaching. I plan on dominating that exam just so I can throw it in the professor's face. In case you didn't pick up on it, I don't exactly like her. Actually, that's a very nice way of saying it- I would rather get kicked by a horse numerous times- no, no, no- I would rather drink my own urine everyday for a year- no, no, no- I would rather let someone spill acid on my hand repeatedly than have to listen to this woman speak. She is by far one of the most impossible people I have ever met. But, good news- once I'm done with this exam on Tuesday, I won't have to see her for...well until next year.

Best news ever- once I'm done with this exam on Tuesday, I will be done with my third semester in Polska! Isn't that crazy? Time has literally flown by and I would continue talking about this, but I'm nervous I'll become super emotional and get kicked out of this so-called "coffee shop". My plans for semester break are the following: I am going to Krakow, Zakopane and Pulawy. Whooo! Can't wait! Everything is sort of random and unplanned and going to be very spontaneous especially since I am going on this mini Polska trip with my friend Ania. Can't wait!


So get this, after booking our flights to Budapest and being really excited about going, the airline that we were supposed to fly with went bankrupt. Hilarious, right? Oh it was not. I was so angry, but after working some magic and calling the infamous Mama, everything got figured out and new flights were bought. Thank goodness! For a split second, Budapest was starting out as a disaster and is starting to turn around...let's keep it that way hahaha.

I think that is all for now. My computer is low on battery and I have to head out of here shortly because I'm going to the gym at exactly 4pm because that's when my gym opens on Sundays. The problem is that if I get there later than 4pm, I'll have to wait for a treadmill and all the people that are walking on them for literally an hour. Just a quick little ventation-to-the-nation: if you go to the gym, please don't walk on the treadmill. I do apologize to anyone that I am offending, but come on! Run on it or something- anything! Just please don't waste my time and walk on a treadmill because news flash!- you can walk outside. Ohhhhhhh! Is that why they made sidewalks? Just saying.

On a positive note, there is the cutest puppy here at the shop and I secretly want to steal it. I am wearing my backpack today so I figure I can hide lots of things in there. I think I'm gonna do it...just have to wait for the right...

End of January! What? What?

I am sitting at my computer and constantly trying to find something else that I could be working on. I finished a calendar on shutterfly for my parents and emailed back everyone that I was supposed to. I'm attempting to work on a presentation of the biomechanics of the wrist- exciting I know. In all seriousness though, it is pretty neat except not exactly something I thought I would be doing on a Friday night. That's right- I am staying in on a Friday night and no I am not sick. I'm not really sure if I am getting older and more mature or just plain old lazy, but the last thing I wanted to do tonight was go to a smoky bar and scream to my friends just to be heard while getting beer spilled on me by the drunk skinheads that can't seem to stand up straight. So yes, I am staying in and working on biomechanics and yes, I have checked facebook every 7 minutes on average just to be sure I didn't miss something unbelievable while trying to figure out this whole wrist thing.

Also, I realized that I can't do much studying or homework in the comfort of my wonderful room. Why, you ask? Well because I'm like a vacuum cleaner. By that, I do not mean that I have been cleaning like crazy. I mean yes I did the dishes from the past couple of days, but I mean I'm pretty sure I cleaned out everything edible in my kitchen: peanuts, cereal, yogurt, took a bite of a chocolate bar (turns out it was way too old to eat so there went that) and some lactose-free cream cheese (yes with no bread...please don't judge).

And as I eat and facebook and blog and talk to Katie on gchat, I am also searching frantically for train/bus/plane tickets to go to Budapest. I'm sure some people are saying, "What is wrong with her? Budapest? Hungary? Turkey? What?" Mmmm turkey...sweet potatoes, pieeeeeee! Sorry, must focus. Budapest. I bought yet another groupon for a trip to Budapest. I swear to you, in the next few years people will no longer be attending AA meetings, but GOA meetings- groupon annonymous. "Hi, my name is Ola and I am a Groupon addict." But in all seriousness, as my bank teller lady explained to me, groupon is a way for people to buy things they don't necessarily need. I completely agree with her, but honestly, this trip to Budapest I really did need. So it's a 3 day, 2 night trip with food for two people that has to be used by the end of March. And you're wondering who I'm going with and to make a long story short, remember that guy I met at the wedding way back when? Well, him. Yea I know it's kinda crazy that I am going on a trip somewhere in Europe with a boy, but I think we'll be good at traveling together. We shall see at least! Anyways, we are in the process of trying to figure out when exactly we are going to go. Cross that, he needs to figure out when he can go because I already know all my vacation times for the rest of the year and it's looking pretty good I must say. I think I'll be able to get a few more trips in the next few months! So excited...well not excited for my bank account, but at least I'll learn new wise ideas from my bank teller. Gotta look at the positive side of things, right?

On a different note, I went to Pulawy last weekend for Zosia's birthday and it was tons of fun. The children are growing and I'm loving it. They're no longer scared of me and I can throw them around and give them piggy back rides. I feel like my singing and dancing also improved after hanging out with them as well. We can ask the kids what they thought later. All-in-all it was a quick trip, but very family oriented which is something I definitely needed. I will probably go back sooner than later because my friend Ania wants to see Pulawy and eat a fine meal. Plans for February in terms of traveling will be announced shortly...or spontaneously- whatever comes first! One thing I know for sure is that I literally have five exams and one presentation that I have to get through in the first two weeks before I start thinking about fun activities.

Alright friends, time for me to finish this presentation and I am definitely due for a facebook check. You just never know what happened in the seven minutes I last checked! Peace and Love!

Really Winter? This is all you got?!

It's the middle of January and guess what? NO SNOW! I mean there were some flurries two days ago when I was sitting in class, but once I stepped outside, nothing at all...not even a trace of white fluff. The other day I freaked out for a little bit because I thought to myself- wait a minute, if there is no snow and it's fairly warm and it's the middle of January, does this mean that I am smack dab in the middle of a hole in the ozone layer?! After some time of consideration, I decided that I'm probably just out of my mind and panicking for no apparent reason. But in all honesty- where on earth is the snow?! The funny thing is that once we do get hit with snow, I will be probably be angry and not want to leave the house due to absurd amount of slush that will take over the streets of Poznan. Crazy how that works isn't it?

Onto more serious things...well not really serious, but thought I'd get your attention somehow! I am officially back in Poznan and enjoying it quite a bit. I was in Krakow visiting a friend for a a few days last weekend which was tons of fun. Our days consisted of food, working out, food, sauna, food, theater, walks and food of course. And might I add that the fitness center that we were going to was absolutely amazing! If I had a gym like that to go to in Poznan, working out would not be a process. Glass walls, high tech running machines and a swimming pool with jacuzzi? Don't mind if I do! Oh and don't forget the sauna, bowling and ball pit of course! After I got back from Krakow, I have been extremely busy with school and errands and everything else in between. Between doing laundry, getting groceries, tutoring, going to class and studying, my day has been filled from morning to night. But for those of you who know me well, that is exactly how I like it. I have been working out quite a bit and have sucked some friends into it as well. I am currently training for the Poznan half marathon. I know you guys think I'm crazy for doing it especially since I was having some knee issues recently, but my knee issues have been improving and I have been doing a lot of exercises to strengthen my lower body. So, I haven't only been running, but have been changing up my workout routine quite a bit which has proven to be a lot less demanding knee-wise.

All in all, everything has been wonderful. I have been looking at different trips to go on so hopefully I can decide on something sometime soon because my semester break is coming up soon! I will keep you posted of course.

That is all for now...and I'm sorry, but I don't have ANY pictures because I have not been very good at taking them recently, but I promise in the next two weeks, I will have a plether of them :)

Until next time world!

I'M BACK!

Let me start off by saying the following- I’M BACK!!!

I would like to start off my saying that I would like to apologize for falling off the face of the earth since my last blog post in June. It goes without saying that I got caught up in a million other things. Between school and work (I shall explain) and trying to figure out internships and practicals and my social life (of course) things got a bit out of hand in terms of my infamous blog writing. So I hope everyone is ready for today’s blog post which is essentially the mother of all blog posts or the captain of the Titanic or the Einstein of physics…basically it’s gonna be a big one.

I will definitely write everything in good old bullet points and include a few pictures to make it easier to follow because let’s be honest, there is no way anyone is getting through 10,000 words even if you are procrastinating at work.

School. I know I decided to start off with the boring part of my life in Poland, but I mean that is why I’m here so it’s probably the appropriate topic to start with. The semester this year started fairly slow, but then took off full force to say the least. For almost two months we were literally in class from 8am until 7pm which proved to be fairly difficult especially with studying and being attentive with our patients during practicals. Speaking of practicals, we are now at the point in our schooling where we are given a patient and told to think of exercises for their particular disease or disability and work with the patient one-on-one. Sounds pretty “okkk and your point is?”, but it is SO cool (best word to describe it). Well think about it, you’re a student and you have your own patient to take care of and you’re wearing white scrubs and people think you’re important. Like I said, COOL! I was fortunate enough to get a few pretty good patients with diverse conditions which allowed me to think of original exercises and refresh my memory in terms of symptoms and treatment plans. However, I also had one patient who proved to be fairly difficult to work with. The only reason being that he just didn’t want to do the exercises. Let me just say the following- I have never had to be that creative in my life and for those of you who know me, creativity isn’t exactly my strong point so it took a lot out of me. This was a patient who basically made my life a living hell, but as many of you know, I don’t really deal well with people like that. I’m not going to say that I made his life a living hell because I didn’t, but with a few threats that included making him do his least favorite exercises since they were extremely painful allowed me to make progress with the patient. It’s funny because it was with this patient that I realized that I will REALLLLY like my future job because of the challenges that came with it. June 2013- can’t wait! 

My first time paintballing and only had two welts!

It's all about the look.

This is what I wear to class. Just kidding, Halloween! I was a nerd- typical.

Wilhelm, me, Adrian and Michal. This is what they usually look like.

Ania and I getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Valerie, me, Michal and Tim at Thanksgiving dinner!

Gosia's surprise birthday party!

Zosia came to visit :)

Robert, Dorota and Zosia at Malta!

We were trying on new outfits of course.

Krakow and the Wedding. Although I already told many of you about my wedding experience, I would like to make sure I have a written documentation of how much fun I actually had at this thing. I stand corrected- it wasn’t “my wedding experience” so nobody freak out. I am not married. The so-called “husband hunt” is definitely still in full force (I will get to that later on haha). So anyways, going back to the wedding. I used to always make fun of my friend (she shall remain nameless, but you all know who I’m talking about) who would always say something along the lines of, “I love, love.” And naturally, I would always make fun of her, but at this wedding I found myself saying the same thing, “I love, love.” I guess it’s not until you’re at big events that represent such an important union of two people that are in love that you realize how beautiful and touching this sanction really is. Even though I only knew the groom (and hadn’t seen him in probably 7 years), I felt like being at this wedding I was witnessing the true unification of a couple that has finally found the so called “true love.” Anyways, enough of the sappiness and me spilling out my feelings about love. The wedding. Yes. The wedding. It was so elegant and so relaxed that I forgot that I was wearing uncomfortable high heels and a dress that required me to stand up straight. Even though I only knew five people at this wedding, towards the end of the night, I was friends with most guests. To tell you the truth I have continued a few of the friendships that I made at the wedding. One of my new friends even came and visited me in Poznan! The networking I tell you! I don’t have many pictures from the wedding, but I hope these will work. Enjoy!

Don't worry the sweet table was right next to my table. Coincidence, I swear.

Amaaaazing cake!

My only picture from the wedding!

Family. I apologize for the choppiness of this section, but it was very difficult to express myself in a smooth manner where it all made sense, but I think you’ll get the jist of it. As many of you know, my grandma passed away in November. The whole family came in from around Poland and the States to say their final goodbyes. Even though it was a very difficult time, it helped to have the whole family there reminiscing together. My family and I really appreciate all the wonderful prayers and thoughts coming from everyone. I believe Mrs. Nancy Jones said it best, “You will miss her everyday, with every beat of your heart and she will always be alive as long as you remember her.” But enough of the sadness because Babcia Wanda wasn’t too good at that. She was all about the dancing and cracking jokes (even though I sometimes had no idea what she was talking about) and being a real babcia making you eat more than is humanly possible. So whenever you get a second, say a little prayer for her and I’m sure she’ll send you a potato pierogi or two from up there in heaven! 

The family!

Me and Babcia Wanda <3

Angelica and Wroclaw. For the past few years, I have been trying to get my friend Angelica to come to Poland when I am visiting and now that I am living in Poland, I have been trying to persuade her to come visit me in Poland. After some planning and figuring out of schedules and finances, we finally figured it out! Angelica came and visited me in Poznan for a few days before Thanksgiving and then I went to Wroclaw, the city that her family is from, for the day. I absolutely loved having Angelica in Poznan with me. She was able to meet my friends and see what my life in Poznan is like. When I went and visited her in Wroclaw for the day, we did a very fast complete tour of Wroclaw while getting some light shopping done and visiting the Christmas village, of course. I had an absolute blast. Since Poznan is only three hours away from Wroclaw, it wasn’t a hassle in terms of traveling which is nice. On the other hand, Polish railways are slightly turned upside down nowadays so delays are a different story, but all-in-all the traveling went pretty smoothly. And talk about a quick getaway to a new city! Once again, here are a few pictures. Oh and did I mention that Angelica was randomly interviewed and was on TV?! She’s so famous!

Angelica and I in Poznan

Love Locks in Wroclaw

At the Christmas village in Wroclaw!

She's famous!

Husband Hunt. I know most of you probably skipped all the other points in my blog post and went straight to point numero cinco because who doesn’t want to read about my so-called “love life”? I won’t get into too many details, but I will say the following- I love going on dates and apparently I love drinking a lot of tea because that’s what boys here in Poland do. I have never drunk so much tea in my life! I feel like I am officially an expert in that department- the tea one, not the husband one. Basically, I am still living the single life, but enjoying meeting new people. I will keep you posted if anything changes, but until then, keep looking for me :)

Natalia’s Surprise Birthday Party. A little background about my friend Natalia. I’m pretty sure I mentioned her before, but if I didn’t, here is the quick description: She is dating one of my classmates Nathan and she is my main workout buddy who happens to be from Canada which is why you may or may not hear me say “eh?” every once in a while. Thanks a lot Canada! Anyways, her birthday is December 23rd, but she never gets to celebrate because it’s so close to Christmas that barely anyone ever gets to hang out with her on her big day. As a result, Nathan decided that we should throw her a surprise birthday party. And who else to help in that department of surprises and parties? Who else, but the queen of surprise parties- ME (reminder: Katie Brennan’s 21st birthday extravaganza back in 2008…success to say the least)! About twenty of us are surprising her at a Greek restaurant she’s wanted to go to for quite some time now with balloons and gifts and most importantly, cake! I am very excited because when I say that she has no idea, I really mean- clueless! Unless of course she reads this blog post and well there went that. And after dinner and the big surprise we plan on celebrating out on the town. That leads me to my next point…

Home Sweet Home. Since my flight isn’t at 1pm, I will definitely make it on time! Believe me. A repeat of last year is NOT in the plans. I mean the flight is at one in the afternoon. I can make it. Right? Well we shall see. I am beyond excited to go home. I can’t wait to see my family and friends and the crazy new child in our home- Bobby. And when I say child, I mean puppy. He is apparently “driving everyone crazy” so I am very thrilled to experience this as well. It will be his first Christmas with us, so let’s hope we don’t lose all our ornaments this year. In all honesty, I really don’t have too many plans for the break, but that’s sort of how I “planned” it. I’m trying this new thing where I don’t do too much planning and just wait for things to fall into place because they eventually have to.