So...I think this is my address...if you are sending me something though, let me know so I know to tell the people downstairs I am expecting something...I might ask my program director though if its better to have things sent here or maybe to his office instead...
Hillary Ossip
ul. Piastowska 47
Dom Studencki Piast
Numer Pokoju 427
30-067 Kraków, Poland
Monday, March 9, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Finally a day with warm weather!
Today we had beautiful weather. It was warm enough that I didn't even need a coat and the sun was shining. I had two classes...one, Polish History, meets at 10am Weds and Thurs, meaning I need to leave my room by 9:15ish every morning...ouch...early...but the professor seemed pretty decent (a phrase I've picked up from an English friend), so hopefully that'll go well. I then went to lunch at a place called, I think, The Pink Elephant, that had comic-like paintings all over the wall and awesome elephants as well. Then back to school for Polish literature...the prof apparently spent time down at Indiana University, so he knew a lot about Indiana. Then I went and ate a kabob and had tea with some friends at a friend's flat. Tonight I'm going back to that flat for a birthday party. I need to make sure I get a reasonable amount of sleep. Yesterday I was completely exhausted from sleep deprivation and probably also culture shock (considering in Guatemala I also went a lil crazy and felt tired and incredibly off for a week or two)...anyhow, yesterday was a major disaster with the lack of sleep and I can't let that happen again ever. Never ever. Tomorrow I have the 10am history class again, so yeah...that'll be an adjustment getting up to make it on time. Then I have Jews in Poland, then Polish language. Lotsa stuff. Im not sure what the plan is for the weekend. I took some pictures today because it was so nice out, so I'll post some of them soon. Sorry about not putting up pictures since my first real post from here...I promise I'll get them up soon!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Art class = hiking?!!!
I've had two days of class so far. My Polish art class seems like it'll be good. We meet Mondays in class and Tuesdays we go around Krakow to see, feel, touch, experience, taste and "lick" (as my professor said) the artwork because it's better to actually see it than to just look at pictures of it on a computer screen. My Jew class is ok...seems like a lot of it is going to be review, but the professor also wants to take us around Krakow/Kazimierz to see what he's talking about. So that's cool. Tomorrow I'm sitting in on a Polish history course and then a Polish lit class, and need to figure out when beginning Polish will be...and I still haven't heard back from the Yiddish professor, but hopefully I can work something out with her. So far I have no homework, which is a bizarre and foreign concept to me. Anyhow, I am super duper tired so I'm gonna take a nap perhaps. In art class we walked around a town across the Wisla River where the Jewish ghetto was, and then hiked up a huge hill to a burial mound. Twas cool and super foggy. Hope you are all doing well. Comment if you want. I'll put up pics from last week soon.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sorry for the lag in updating this!
So...last time I wrote, I'd been here for only a few days. I've now been in Krakow for over a week. While I don't know my way around, I'm figuring things out...where bus stops and tram stops are, where landmarks are so I can find my way, where I can get 24 hour pierogies, mcdonalds, or kebabs and zapiekanka. Classes begin tomorrow...I'm not exactly sure what I'm gonna take yet because this week is basically for shopping for classes, so we'll see.
Tuesday we went on a tour of Kazimierz, which is where the majority of Jews lived back in the day. It was hard to see. I knew it would make me sad, but being there and seeing everything that used to be and how there's practically no Jews left was hard. I made the Jewish population of this town go from about 200 to 201. Woo. It's still neat to see the places though, just also really sad. It makes me angry with history and what happened and why there are almost no Jews left and how it's just turned in to a place to see where people once lived and did things and not a place where people can see a culture alive. I might try to get in touch with people at the Jewish Community Center here if I can figure out how to get there and who to talk to and maybe see what is going on in the community here, because while it is extremely tiny, it still exists and I'd like to know the current scene and what has become of Krakow's Jewish community.
On Wednesday I went on a tour of the oldest part of the university I'm at (Jagiellonian...it's old...if you are bored you should look up its history online). It was cold. Nothing too exciting. I didn't bring my camera, so no pictures...sorry!
Thursday I went to Nowa Huta, a communist planned community outside of Krakow. It reminded me a lot of the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria...lots of cement block buildings. There was an incredible church there that was really neat. No pics again, but its worth looking up Nowa Huta online as well if you are curious about its history. I won't be able to do it all justice. Thursday night I went to a big party in a flat, which was fun. Friday I got registered with the city of Krakow and did something to get a visa to Russia so I can go in May.
The weekend has been pretty tame. Friday I hung out with some friends at their flat and watched Saved, yesterday I took a walk because it was sunny, went and got pierogie, which normally I don't like but I tried it with liver and groats, which sounds odd, but was actually very tasty. I also found out they make things very similar to blintzes, which are basically crepes filled with sweet cottage cheese and sour cream on top...very Jew-y food...lots of food here overlaps with Jew food, which is pretty cool. I then went and saw "He's Just Not That Into You" which was cute. Today has been pretty uneventful, so nothing to really tell. I'll update this again when I can and put up pics soon.
Tuesday we went on a tour of Kazimierz, which is where the majority of Jews lived back in the day. It was hard to see. I knew it would make me sad, but being there and seeing everything that used to be and how there's practically no Jews left was hard. I made the Jewish population of this town go from about 200 to 201. Woo. It's still neat to see the places though, just also really sad. It makes me angry with history and what happened and why there are almost no Jews left and how it's just turned in to a place to see where people once lived and did things and not a place where people can see a culture alive. I might try to get in touch with people at the Jewish Community Center here if I can figure out how to get there and who to talk to and maybe see what is going on in the community here, because while it is extremely tiny, it still exists and I'd like to know the current scene and what has become of Krakow's Jewish community.
On Wednesday I went on a tour of the oldest part of the university I'm at (Jagiellonian...it's old...if you are bored you should look up its history online). It was cold. Nothing too exciting. I didn't bring my camera, so no pictures...sorry!
Thursday I went to Nowa Huta, a communist planned community outside of Krakow. It reminded me a lot of the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria...lots of cement block buildings. There was an incredible church there that was really neat. No pics again, but its worth looking up Nowa Huta online as well if you are curious about its history. I won't be able to do it all justice. Thursday night I went to a big party in a flat, which was fun. Friday I got registered with the city of Krakow and did something to get a visa to Russia so I can go in May.
The weekend has been pretty tame. Friday I hung out with some friends at their flat and watched Saved, yesterday I took a walk because it was sunny, went and got pierogie, which normally I don't like but I tried it with liver and groats, which sounds odd, but was actually very tasty. I also found out they make things very similar to blintzes, which are basically crepes filled with sweet cottage cheese and sour cream on top...very Jew-y food...lots of food here overlaps with Jew food, which is pretty cool. I then went and saw "He's Just Not That Into You" which was cute. Today has been pretty uneventful, so nothing to really tell. I'll update this again when I can and put up pics soon.
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