Closing Weeks

After break is all down hill and everything seems to be quickly coming to a close. The following Thursday was the Yamato Drummers of Japan performance. I ended up going with Kylie one of the other group members. The outstanding performance was made up of a group of ten Japanese drummers. The drummers had precise rhythm but also a never-ending amount of energy; dancing, shouting, singing, and even performing subtle jokes throughout the performance. It was one of the top best live performances I've seen so far. The next day I was invited by Kasper to go an improv comedy performance. The improv was done by a group of Poles and a group of Germans, all in their mid twenties and study theater. It was very amateur and you could tell that many of them had never done anything like it before but nevertheless the quirky awkwardness still made it funny. Afterwards we ended up befriending the German group of performers, who then invited us to eat at their banquet, and come to the after party. Both that Thursday and Friday were comparably the best nights I've had in Krakow. What this means is that I haven't had many amazing times here in Poland. There is nothing in particular to blame for this reason, but I will explain a little bit on why my time in Poland wasn't as desirable as one would wish when going into this sort of program. I will start with what is not the reason, that is, the location. Krakow is an amazing city to be in, it is beautiful, has plenty of shopping, lots of bars and clubs for nightlife activities, loads of museums, and overall there are almost always events going on. So what could go wrong in a place that gives you everything? For me the answer to this lies in three factors. The first being simply the weather, once the weather starts to get cold and the days start to get shorter I pick up the case of the winter blues and unfortunately only the warmth of the sun can fix this. The next reason is the people I meet. In Germany I was lucky to have met a group of people who all connected well and ended up making my time there better than I could have imagined, and of course just meeting and developing a relationship with Elli was something that I never thought would happen. It’s not that I don't like the people here, but I just haven't clicked with them like I did with the people I met back in Marburg. The Krakow group is only made up of seven people, who ended up sort of splitting into two smaller groups due to just social differences. With this program we aren’t mixed into a classroom with international students, but instead we have classes that are just us; some with just three of us. The opportunities to meet new people are rare, unless you are a smoker. Plus the program is so short that if you do meet someone, things end before they even get started. The last reason why I haven't clicked with Krakow is because of the overall energy here. Maybe it’s the combination of what I previously mentioned, but maybe it’s something completely separate. It is a feeling I get from the polish people, workers mainly, along with the elderly, who rarely smiles and seems to be angry or annoyed that I am even there and not being able to communicate concisely makes things even more difficult. I guess this makes me truly understand the importance of customer service- with a smile. Overall there just seems to be this negative feeling that I get from the people and atmosphere here. Maybe it has something to do with the dark past of the country still lurking in the air. All in all, I have had both positive negative experiences here and Europe has been nice to me, but I am ready to go home.  

Breaking Goodbyes

Well as I expected the semester is moving at as swift pace. It is unbelievable that I we've already just completed our weeklong mid-semester break that is placed closer to the end half of our study semester than to the beginning. For this break period I originally planned to visit Prague or Budapest or even Istanbul if it was possible, but those ideas changed to something more, calming. Before Elli came to visit me a few weeks before the break, I had already decided that seeing even more new places wasn't so important to me anymore. Instead I chose to visit my new family and friends back in Hessen. I wasn’t prepared to accept my move to Poland as a final goodbye, not yet. As the rest of the study group did the whole “travel Europe in seven days” bit, I hopped on a RyanAir 737 to Dortmund. With perfect timing, my plane arrived in the middle of Deutchebahn’s largest train strikes in history. The entire workers union of Deutschebahn was going on strike for an originally planned four days (later the striked lifted due to a lawsuit by DB). This strike left me without a train to Frankfurt. Luckily I have the best girlfriend ever and was picked up from the airport by car; Dortmund is located about three hours northwest of Frankfurt. The moment I landed in Germany I was hit by a wave of relief and happiness. Over the past few months in Poland I have built up some sort of negative energy, but all of that was left behind; it really is like Germany's become a new home. Once I arrived and saw Elli, I felt happier than I had I weeks.

The next day Elli and I took a bus to the city of Saarbrucken, which is situated very close to the border of France. This is where two of my close friends I met in Marburg are now living and doing their Studiumkollege. We spent the weekend having an excellent time and catching up on each other’s lives. That Sunday we bid farewells and I knew that this time was the last time in a long time that I will be able to meet up with them again. It was bitter sweet, but I left knowing that we will indeed see each other again, and I was very glad that I made the trip down. The remainder of the week was spent mostly back in Marburg at Elli's WG. One evening Elli planned to hold a Feuerzangebowle party. A Feuerzangebowle is a traditional hot wine drink done around the holiday season in Germany. It is very sweet and strong, making for quite a night with Elli’s friends from University. Rounding the end of my stay, we made our way back to Elli’s parents house in Frankfurt. Our last two days together was spent slow and simple. One day we went on a date to a science museum and grabbed dinner at a nice African restaurant and the next day was spent just staying at home, laying in bed, and spending time with her parents. It was those last 24 hours that were the hardest for Elli and I. We knew that this goodbye was coming but neither one of us were ready for it. All we could do was hold each other as tight as we could and not wanting to let go. Elli and I are going to continue to have a long distance relationship, and we look forward to this time next year when she comes to the United States.

How to Entertain Yourself

The last two weeks have been rather eventful because, well, I learned how to entertain myself properly. Now that I am settled and less overwhelmed with newness, I found more time to explore Krakow on my own. I promised myself before I came here that I would try to get involved in city events. I did this because I love going to live shows, art galleries, and music performance, also, I wanted to take advantage of being in a real big city; I thought Krakow would be a great place to experience all of that. I began by paying attention to posters and flyers, these show you that there is in fact always something interesting going on, especially in a big city like Krakow. Doing this I noticed a particular set of posters all around Krakow with very eye catching graphic design, underneath wrote “Unsound Festival”. Next step was to do a quick Google search, there I discovered that this was actually an international festival that goes to different cities in Europe. Once the theme of the event is known the next step one should take is to look up the dates, for this event I discover that the duration of the festival lasted over the course of a week, from Sunday to Sunday. The festival is based around experimental techno music. Unsound consisted of multiple music events, as well as presentations, talks with people in the music industry, films, and art. Although I wasn't able to see everything, but I did attend all the events that I could- when there is a long lasting festival it is good to try and go to a ray of programs that are held. I started by going to the opening ceremony, which was held on the Sunday leading the week. In the middle of the week I saw a presentation done by a man from the ancient Sámi tribe based in northern Norway. The man performed traditional Sámi folk songs that are sung in long non-ending loops; each song carried a representation of the nature observed by the Sámi people- he closed his presentation with a bone chilling performance represents the Wolf. I also attended a talk that was with a handful of people from the music industry who discussed the music industry and its' connection with the culture of sex and drugs. Each person played a very different role in the music industry, therefore very different perspectives. I closed the week by attending the big “The Tickets that Explode Part II” event, which held at a venue set up with multiple rooms set for performance, perfect for this multi-act event. There were three rooms, and in each room there was a different performer every hour starting at 9pm and going until 4am. The performers were all semi-famous underground techno artists, who were paired with a psychedelic light show. I am so glad that I put the effort in to looking up the event and attending what I could. It showed me putting effort to see events is a great gift for yourself, and full of surprises. I just bought tickets to see Yakoma: The Drummers of Japan performance in November, it should be a real treat!

Adjusting and Classes

Art History- "Fortifications" 

          I am about three solid weeks into my semester and things are starting to settle down into a comfortable routine. I've figured out how to get to the hidden washers of the dorm, I have a few regular places to eat, and am kind of getting the hang of how the money exchange works. So far my classes are moving at a swift pace. Each one of my classes is very different from the other, which keeps things exciting. So far my most difficult class is Polish 101. None of the worksheets have any English translations, I can't figure out the grammar patterns (nothing like German or English) and the pronunciations seem impossible, so hard in fact that I can't differentiate the words when they are spoken to me.  What I do like about the class is my teacher, he is exciting and full of energy, he also has a good sense of humor and is patient with us making this traitorous language a little more bearable. My political science class is very small, small enough that three of us, plus our very knowledgeable professor, spend most of our classes at a café called Mossolite. This makes class seem less like class and more like a discussion over coffee. This is similar with my Art History class, there has been only one day spent in the classroom, the rest of the classes have been spent walking the streets and entering museums. The professor has us see what he wants us to know first hand, and even has us touch the walls and explore the ruins. I love this method of teaching because it keeps me alert and interested in the world around me. Last but not least is my Culture and Civilization class, although this class is taught more traditionally, every few classes we have a different professor who has a focus in the subject that is being taught.  I like this for two reasons; the first is that I know I am getting information from a knowledgeable source and the second is because the change of professors keeps and subjects keeps things from being tiresome. So far I am happy with the overall set up of the academics. The only thing that I don't like is the large number of weekend and Friday required trips, this doesn't give me much time to just explore on my own, do chores, and prepare for classes. Hopefully I don't get overwhelmed with work by the end of this semester.

Entry Tour Complete- First Reflection 22-09-2014

            I have made it through two cities, dragging a 50 lb suitcase and a 15 lb backpack on and off different modes of transportation. Now residing in our final dentition, Krakow, I can only kind of reflect on the day’s prior. The whole trip feels like a blur of information and environment evaluation. While we are in a race to learn about the new cities, we were also in a race to learn about each other, and simply adjust to being separated from what we once knew. It is hard to say how exactly I felt about the cities of Gdansk and Warsaw. The stays in each city were too short to truly see the cities for what they are, because that takes time. Instead we mostly learned about what the cities once were; both cities carry a rich history and were greatly shaped by the war. Like I said, it is hard to reflect on everything that happened in that week, but there is one moment during that trip that will hopefully stay with me for the rest of my life.

On our last night in Gdansk Olivia M. and I did not go out to the bars like most of the group, instead we set sail on the old Gdansk ports. Earlier that day we were invited by our Malbork Castle tour guide Lukase Darski to go night kayaking. When he offered, I and Olivia knew right away that this was an opportunity that shouldn't be passed up on. We met at 8:00pm at Zabi Kruk (Frog River), which was a small dead end in the ports of Gdansk. We waited at a small boathouse where we shared snacks and chatted with a few older local women.

Behind us is an old man powered crane, it was operated by men walking in
giant hamster wheels- pulling large containers off the ships.

At around 8:30pm Olivia and I hopped in a red double kayak and set paddle up the river. We were in a group of about 20 other people, all of which were polish, and many of which were strangers. Not much speaking was needed during this trip because when we weren’t listening Lukase tell us the history of the city we were gazing at our surreal surroundings. First we passed under the bridges on the way to the Old Town part of the city. Many people watched us from the edge, waving and taking photos of our group as we glided by. The water glittered with lights of the bars and restaurants above. The water was very calm, with no wind and clear skies; the night was perfect for such a venture. As we headed down the main river we got to paddle up next to the large shipping vessels. Then we came across two ships that were parked bumper to bumper along the right side of the river. The way these ships were designed, while looking head on is, one would see an “n” shape in the base rather than a usual “v” or “u” shape. Because of this unique shape in the boats, we were able to actually paddle underneath the ship. The center got so low that we had to lean back in our seats and push ourselves along the bottom. The second I exited on the other side of the ships it was like the world around me changed. Everything seemed a bit more magical.

As the night started to settle in I was able to see the city for more than just the pretty buildings gathered at the city center. The true form of Gdansk was revealed more and more as we made our way farther towards the shipyards. The lights grew dimmer, but faintly lit up amongst the night fog were the large cranes and industrial working ships in the distance, everything glowed in shades of dark blue with splashes of yellow light.

At about 10:30pm Lukase turns around and tells the group that we'll have to be extra quiet and turn off our lights- “going into this area may or may not upset the guards.” We were led under a small bridge and around and massive welding-vessel. The vessel was alive with flickering lights, groaning and screeching, still hard at work building something inside. As we rounded the vessel we approached a large ship staff with a light on it. Apparently, years back there was once a Lantern ship that was docked along the side of the port, it was supposed to be turned into a restaurant but instead flipped over and sunk into the river. It would be too expensive to try to retrieve so just the mast of the ship sticks above. 

Being a port city, we had the opportunity to see Gdansk from the perspective of what made the city so prosperous. We ended the tour at about 12:00am, Lukase kindly gave Olivia and I a ride back to the hotel. During this short ride we got a more personal insight on Lukase’s values. We could both tell that Lukase is a man of knowledge, adventure, and passion for just living life. He shares some similar perspectives that Olivia and I have on how to view time and how to view the world around us. He says that there are two ways of looking at history, you can hear a story about something and then find the facts and learn the true and less exciting meaning of the story, or you can chose to simply believe the story; he used the movie “Life of Pi” as his basis for this perspective.

Am Anfang, Polen Vorbereitung 16-09-2014

For the nine months prior to entering Poland territory I was residing in multiple homes and cities throughout Germany. I started in Marburg, Germany where I studied the German language with another UWSP Study Abroad group. In Marburg I met a great mix of friends that became my new family. My German language skills improved a lot during my stay, although I still have a long way to go. In addition to Marburg, I spent a long period of time in Tübingen, where I lived with the father of a close German friend of mine (One who I met years back). And also I lived in Frankfurt at the family home of a girlfriend I met in Marburg. During my time in Germany I had the chance to speak with various people I met about Poland. I received a number of different responses. One person I spoke too, who is a Political Science major in Marburg and has a great knowledge of history, gave me an hour-long history lesson about the way early Poland developed and broke apart. Many of both polish and german people I spoke with quickly warned me to take care of my things while I am here; they claimed that Poland is well known to be full of thieves. One of the most extreme statements I heard in Germany about Poland is that I could be kidnapped and then sold into sex slavery! So maybe I won't get kidnapped, but overall I was advised not to walk anywhere alone at night. In mid summer I spoke (in German) with Beata, a woman who grew up in Poland. She taught me a number of small tips, like the grocery stores and mannerisms of sorts. From her I also learned that about 95% of the Polish are catholic. This was a little concerning to me because I don't have a religious background and also felt that I would not fit in with the strong religious beliefs. I was nervous that the conservative values would possibly be still strongly instilled in many of the Polish today. In all, I did not receive the most positive reviews on Poland as a country. After having a tearful goodbye to the loved ones I met in Germany, all I could hope on the plane was that Poland would paint out to become a more colorful and positive place than the fearful images that had instilled itself into my imagination.

Opener Pre-Poland Post 13-09-2014

Hello, so, so far I've just spent a consecutive nine months running around Germany. In that time I've completed two intensive german language courses, traveled to four different countries, climbed a mountain, and created a new family. The adventure isn't over yet, it is one day before I take-off to Poland where I will be joining the UWSP-Krakow Program.  I am soaking in my last days in Frankfurt with Elli and her family not at all ready to say goodbye. I decided to double program for multiple reasons, to sum those reasons up I'd say I simply just wanted to learn they way I feel a person learns the most. That is, I wanted to learn through forming questions, experiences, adventure, and making mistakes. The hardest task about doing this year-long ordeal was the Bureaucracy of it all. I learned the hard way that acquiring a Visa mostly on your own is not an easy task, and to be honest, I almost did not succeed. It was by luck, and by the heart of the guy working at the Berlin Polish Embassy that made it possible for me to walk out of the office with a Polish Visa in hand. Thinking that I was prepared for such a task was a little foolish, but also an experience that now allows me to truly have that first hand knowledge of how these sort of things work. So this summer I may not have been doing an internship, or working a waitressing job, and many people may think that I am just "bumming around" in Europe, but that is not the case. To me, what I have learned here in Europe these last nine months, is something far more than any classroom or paycheck can give me.
So here I am, about to head to Poland and do this whole "study abroad group thing" a second go-around. I am going to be honest right now and say I am dreading leaving Germany. When I think about getting back on the plane with my belongings, my heart jumps, flips, and sinks. Of course the main reason that is making leaving so difficult is having to say goodbye to the german girl who stole my heart, and all the wonderful friends in which I built a new life around. I am also tired, too tired to want to re-pack up my life into a suitcase and a backpack, too tired to want to make new friends, and too tired for the bit a chaos in front of me. But I need to wake up and take it, I know I'll get through it all just the same.