Tired and cold in Poland

I don't mean to start off my blog with complaining, but holy is it cold here in beautiful Lublin, Poland. The trip didn't start off so well. We were afraid that one of our co-travelers wasn't going to arrive to the airport before we left for Chicago. Then our flight to Warsaw was delayed three hours, meaning that we didn't fly out until 1:30 in the morning. I took my traditional two Dramamines and was out for most of the flight so I managed to get some sleep but it wasn't enough.

We arrived in Warsaw and immediately got onto a bus that dropped us off in front of our hotel a short three hours later. Despite all of the traveling, we all passed out rather quickly after a short meeting, dinner, and our first brisk walk in the Polish freeze. The temperature is comparable to that of Minnesota but it seems a bit harsher. The sign above our door today said -8.5 degrees Celsius and I haven't the mental capacity at this time to figure it out. The formula is something like 9/5 x (degrees C) + 32. So somewhere around 13 degrees. Look at that, I surprised myself.

We are in classes most of the day. It is especially amazing, the school that we are studying at. We are at Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski (KUL) which is where John Paul II taught before he became the pope. We are actually studying in the room where he taught. Let me tell you that just because a classroom is inside does not mean that it will be heated. The Poles are like steel to the cold. The room itself is painted a light yellow color, the main color of the buildings interior. Windows line one wall, overlooking the downtown to Old Towne area. That means that when you look out the window, you see all of the Soviet-style block houses that were built after the city was bombed in World War II during Soviet occupation. Wooden floors extend from wall to wall and wobbly tables literally are our desks. Rows of these tables sit in front of the teacher's wooden desk. Chairs line the tables and we sit there each day. We sit at them in the hopes that they do not fall over. Pictures of John Paul II wearing Ray Bans, sitting in church, walking in the courtyard, and more, circle around the room. A Christmas tree is in the front lefthand corner of the room with yarn and yellow paper cutouts stringing around it as garland. A few ornaments rest on its branches.

The roads are thin and brick and are covered in snow for the time being. Instead of salt they use sand to make the snow easier to travel on. This means that our shoes and boots are dirty by the end of each day. I can't say too much about enjoying my time on the streets, as it has always been cold and dark when we are out so I keep my head down so I don't trip over uneven brick or slip on the ice. It's usually a bit crowded on the streets at certain times of the day.

The hosting university has been very gracious and welcoming to us students. The regular residents are pretty much uninterested. When walking around Old Towne yesterday, some comments were made about Americans. The fact that we are tourists makes us stick out a bit - today at the grocery store, an old couple was pushed up to the front of our grocery line and we just stood in front of them instead of letting them pass us. The Polish have a deep respect for their elders. If you get on the bus and an older woman climbs on after you, you are supposed to give up your seat to them. When on the bus, my classmate offered her seat to a woman and she didn't want it. I guess that some don't want to be treated any differently but for the most part, the principle remains.

Food, food, food. One of my favorite things in the world. I've had pierogi quite a bit actually. It is a staple food here. Also, a lot of meat with brown sauces. And coleslaw. For breakfast, they offer fish and pasta salads. I ate a spinach and feta cheese crepe last night. Other than that, I haven't tried much else. I'm looking to get outside of the big group going out and go have a decent meal with another person or two.

What I've done:
- rode public transportation
- bought food from local grocery store
- been to Lublin's mall
- been inside of a castle and the Holy Trinity Church
- eaten and drank at a local pub not far from our hotel
- met a US diplomat
- met the Governor and Marshall of the voivodship (province)
- learned a few phrases in Polish Co to jest? Jak sie masc? Jak sie nazyvasc? Dziekuje. Do widzenia. Bardzo Dobzre. Zle. Dobranoc.
- met every person on this trip already

So I'm tired. Tomorrow I am going to the concentration camp Majdanek. It's going to be a rough day. Goodnight everyone!