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.