Sleep continues to be a challenge. Sometimes Katie gets up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I told Mike to rest up now so he can take night time duty for a while! I'm sure I will be exhausted by the time I get home! I am starting to get symptoms of this nasty cold that pretty much everyone in the family has here. Please pray for our good health. In the meantime, I continue to observe funny and interesting things about Poland and my family. Here is my list:
1. When you buy things at the market, they always ask you for change. I am trying as hard as I can to unload my coins for them but am not always successful and sometimes have to tell them I do not have change - they are not happy to hear this. They are super thankful when I am able to produce exact change.
2. A lot of songs on the radio are straight from the USA. At the supermarket one day, they were playing Flo-Rida!
3. The amount of tea at the supermarkets rivals the cereal aisle at Meijer.
4. My family is full of stubborn and emotional people who work long hours and are always running from one thing to the next - now I understand why I am who I am. It's the Polish way!
5. Walking around your home in your underwear, or shirtless, or in your stockings, is perfectly ok - it is all family hanging around the place, so it's all right. ;)
6. Carbs are the primary element of a meal, followed by soup, followed by tea/coffee. Sometimes there is a vegetable or fruit. There must always be dessert.
7. On busy streets in the city they pass out flyers for all kinds of stuff - store openings, sales, etc. People grab these and promptly throw them in the nearest garbage bin. I admit I do this now too. I suspect these people passing then out have a quota for how many flyers they need to pass out.
8. Most women wear heels or wedge sandals, even moms pushing strollers (not me!). No sweatpants or hoodies have been sighted yet.
9. I must fit in because people have asked me for directions on more than one occasion. Too bad I usually can't direct them to their destination but at least I know how to tell them that I'm afraid I do not know where that is.
10. Security is high around here. My aunts both have 2 doors that lead in to their home. I have never seen that before. I have a cousin who lives on the 4th floor of her building (no elevator) and she chains her stroller on the ground floor of the building so that it won't get stolen. My aunt has had her purse stolen and her friend had her necklace ripped off her and the thief ran off with it. It's sad that theft has increased since the last time I was here.
11. When you go to someone's home you will be offered a coffee or tea, no matter what time of day. You will insult them if you decline, so don't say no! Side note: I have become a coffee drinker.
12. Older ladies have no problem coming up to me and telling me that my child has a runny nose, a missing shoe, or is not dressed warm enough.
13. In my opinion, the best gifts to buy for females here is amber jewelry. I still wear an amber necklace that my aunt bought for me about 20 years ago on my first trip to Poland. I am getting amber jewelry for both of my daughters on this trip. It's a nice lifetime gift.
14. Spouses have some fired up arguments around here over nothing! I mean things like what shirt their husband is wearing or what drink their wife is serving with dinner. The discussions become quite loud and boisterous over little things like that! As my cousin tells me, you must have these types of arguments in your house or else your home is boring and without life!
15. Pepsi Light and Coca Cola Zero are readily available in grocery stores, which is great for a pop addict like me. People don't drink out of bottles - you must pour your drink into a glass and then drink it. My aunt was horrified when I drank out of a bottle! She promptly poured my pop into a glass and told me that it is much more comfortable to drink out of a glass.
Some of you may wonder whether I have kept up with my fitness regimen. Nope! I ran a total of 4 times and all my runs were when Mike was here during the first 2 weeks. I haven't played any tennis, though I have admired several clay courts that I have walked by. The first 3 weeks here were tough because I wasn't eating enough to properly fuel myself, so the few runs I had were awful anyway. I finally realized that I needed to take care of myself and I snapped back into eating. I know many find it funny and wish they had this problem, but in times of stress I have a hard time eating. The good news is that I have adjusted my schedule and have Katie wait while I eat, or I eat while I push the stroller. Since I walk 2 hours a day with Katie, I think I get enough of a workout - no guilt here over eating lots of bread.
Besides my eating issues that I overcame, I don't even have time to work out since I am always with Katie and nobody has taken her and let me take off somewhere, which is fine since I need to continue our bonding. Everyone is busy - so she is my little sidekick, all day! I can tell she knows I am mom because I had my 2 year old nephew on my lap, and she saw that and came over just screaming and crying, grabbing me and trying to get on my lap! Wow! She has claimed me I guess! Plus she is saying "ma ma ma" when she looks at me - so precious. So as much as I miss my old life of running and playing tennis, I recognize that there are far more important things to focus on right now and soon enough I will be back on the treadmill and the courts - although not necessarily at the frequency and duration that I was training at.
Katie is smiling more and more. It makes me so happy to see her happy. The first couple of weeks here were tough, but I feel like we are starting to get a rhythm going now and each day it gets a little better. I think I am starting to get when she is hungry, tired, etc. She has learned to smile when I point the camera on my phone at her - she just turns on the charm! She is usually in a pretty good mood now unless she is tired or hungry - then, watch out! I have learned that food is "ahm ahm" and ask her if she wants ahm ahm...if she starts panting like a dog when I put her bib on, then I know she is ready to chow down. And even though I was afraid to try, Katie has been chewing on some finger foods! She has tried mashed potatoes, bread, and biscuits. She has also started using a sippy cup! I finally discovered that the Avent brand works well for her. We are making great progress, faster than I expected.
I am so thankful to all my relatives here who have made my stay here so comfortable and provided entertainment and hospitality for both me and Katie. The days have been flying by. My parents each have a sister (my 2 aunts) who have taken me into their homes for dinner multiple times, I have one of my cousins next door with his family who I visit daily, and I am so thankful for all of them and for my cousin who lended me his place here for 2 weeks. I absolutely adore my Polish family and will miss them. I wish we could all be together in the same country.
Attached are more pictures. My favorite foods - mushroom soup with homemade kluski, and pierogi! And pictures of my family with Katie - has she ever had a blast with everyone! I also had to share a picture of her posing for the camera as well as her eating a biscuit.
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