From Krakow
So much!
It has been a while...Thanksgiving was awesome - on the Mediterranean! I even was able to have some turkey...not like my Momma's but it was fairly tasty and appreciated!
Some funnies...
Well my first day in Poland, Bob and I were going to have dinner at my 'new' apartment. So be it - and since I'm not a fantastic chef or anything I thought pasta with some sauce mixed with kielbasa would be excellent! Throw a bit of a salad in there and viola...not bad right? Well...we went to the store to get some items for the apartment and I picked up some pasta etc. I forgot the pasta sauce so I went to the little store around the corner. It's called 'Fresh Market' and it is pretty much your little convenience store; has a whole bunch of stuff in a small space but very convenient. I found the pasta and some sauces next to it so I picked out one that looked good...not being able to read any labels. Came home - started fixing it all and got ready to put the kielbaza in with the sauce...and there were some big old 'lumps' in the sauce! Apparently, I had actually bought some soup with potatoes and veggies in it! Ha:). Just so you know - pasta with Polish soup and kielbasa is pretty tasty! Don't take my word for it - check with Bob...he ate it and was happy too!
Actually - now that I think about it - maybe Bob wasn't real happy with the dinner - he took me out to a very cool restaurant the next night! Ahhh well....so it goes. Best of both worlds I guess.
My apartment is furnished and one of the furnishings is a washing machine - which is awesome right? Yes!....so...come to find out it is a washing machine AND dryer all in the same unit. Not a stackable or anything...you just put your clothes in and a couple hours later they are clean AND dry. Amazing don't you think? I don't know how that technology works but it does.
Now...having said that - again, the washer has all the instructions in Polish and the writing/options on the actual machine are all in Polish. So...I needed to do some wash and I do beleive I washed the clothes about 3 times before the dryer part was set right so the clothes would dry as well. What a crack up....so today I am attempting another load of washing/drying. We shall see how this goes! I'm praying my hot water bill will stay as low as possible but washing the same clothes 3 times before they dry may not be the most economical way to do that.
My Momma...I talked of her turkey earlier but now I must ask for prayers for her. She was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 days after I left the country...it looks like she will have surgery once they have the results of the MRI back (Friday or Monday) and then she and Dad are scheduled to fly to Hungary on the 16th. The doctors say she will be able to travel etc - treatment will come after she returns. They were having a houseful of family for Thanksgiving so that put a little different outlook on the whole deal. My dear sister Susan went over early and 'ran the house' (as I'm sure only Sue could do) and from all reports it went very well. I think it is awesome Mom and Dad were surrounded by kids and grandkids at such a time...!! Mom and Dad certainly have a peace about it all so I'm trusting it will go well. I do hope they can come over to Europe for the holidays but worried that Mom will over-do it.
Today I started getting acquainted with people in the coffee shop. Since they have a full kitchen and serve soups, salads, etc - I have to get certified by the Polish sanitary board which will take a few more days so I am doing what I can but it's pretty limited. I can't even make coffee yet! Tomorrow night is a conversational English 'class' at the coffee shop hosted by YWAM so I think I'll go check that out and see what happens there.
Oh one last story --- when I went to go get my SIM card for my phone the PLAY (one of the options for cell phone service here that was recommended to me) representative did not speak English. So I walked across to the PLUS store (another service) and the lady in there said she would come with me and help. She knew English. Well....that was awesome! She had just started at PLUS but before that she was a tour guide around Krakow. So guess what Bob and I got to do the next day?...go for a tour! A great start to get acquainted with the city AND to connect with a Polish person from the start! She is awesome, young, engaged to be married in May and it was great to start to get to know her. I plan on keeping that connection for sure! My parents will enjoy a tour like that once they are here for a couple days...you drive around in this over-sized golf cart. It has heat and they provide cozy blankets and everything...very nice. So....if you ever want to call me in Poland...my number is +48 739 206 964 and I can get a tour for us as well! (dialing from a cell phone in the US...most phones - hold the 'zero' down until the + appears) or from a landline...use 011 then add the 48 739...etc etc.
Okay - this has gone on long enough...too long probably...hope you are all well and enjoying the holidays. Such a great time of year. Life is good...God is much, much better and I am glad to have you along for this experience of my life!
Much love,
Carol
It has been a while...Thanksgiving was awesome - on the Mediterranean! I even was able to have some turkey...not like my Momma's but it was fairly tasty and appreciated!
Some funnies...
Well my first day in Poland, Bob and I were going to have dinner at my 'new' apartment. So be it - and since I'm not a fantastic chef or anything I thought pasta with some sauce mixed with kielbasa would be excellent! Throw a bit of a salad in there and viola...not bad right? Well...we went to the store to get some items for the apartment and I picked up some pasta etc. I forgot the pasta sauce so I went to the little store around the corner. It's called 'Fresh Market' and it is pretty much your little convenience store; has a whole bunch of stuff in a small space but very convenient. I found the pasta and some sauces next to it so I picked out one that looked good...not being able to read any labels. Came home - started fixing it all and got ready to put the kielbaza in with the sauce...and there were some big old 'lumps' in the sauce! Apparently, I had actually bought some soup with potatoes and veggies in it! Ha:). Just so you know - pasta with Polish soup and kielbasa is pretty tasty! Don't take my word for it - check with Bob...he ate it and was happy too!
Actually - now that I think about it - maybe Bob wasn't real happy with the dinner - he took me out to a very cool restaurant the next night! Ahhh well....so it goes. Best of both worlds I guess.
My apartment is furnished and one of the furnishings is a washing machine - which is awesome right? Yes!....so...come to find out it is a washing machine AND dryer all in the same unit. Not a stackable or anything...you just put your clothes in and a couple hours later they are clean AND dry. Amazing don't you think? I don't know how that technology works but it does.
Now...having said that - again, the washer has all the instructions in Polish and the writing/options on the actual machine are all in Polish. So...I needed to do some wash and I do beleive I washed the clothes about 3 times before the dryer part was set right so the clothes would dry as well. What a crack up....so today I am attempting another load of washing/drying. We shall see how this goes! I'm praying my hot water bill will stay as low as possible but washing the same clothes 3 times before they dry may not be the most economical way to do that.
My Momma...I talked of her turkey earlier but now I must ask for prayers for her. She was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 days after I left the country...it looks like she will have surgery once they have the results of the MRI back (Friday or Monday) and then she and Dad are scheduled to fly to Hungary on the 16th. The doctors say she will be able to travel etc - treatment will come after she returns. They were having a houseful of family for Thanksgiving so that put a little different outlook on the whole deal. My dear sister Susan went over early and 'ran the house' (as I'm sure only Sue could do) and from all reports it went very well. I think it is awesome Mom and Dad were surrounded by kids and grandkids at such a time...!! Mom and Dad certainly have a peace about it all so I'm trusting it will go well. I do hope they can come over to Europe for the holidays but worried that Mom will over-do it.
Today I started getting acquainted with people in the coffee shop. Since they have a full kitchen and serve soups, salads, etc - I have to get certified by the Polish sanitary board which will take a few more days so I am doing what I can but it's pretty limited. I can't even make coffee yet! Tomorrow night is a conversational English 'class' at the coffee shop hosted by YWAM so I think I'll go check that out and see what happens there.
Oh one last story --- when I went to go get my SIM card for my phone the PLAY (one of the options for cell phone service here that was recommended to me) representative did not speak English. So I walked across to the PLUS store (another service) and the lady in there said she would come with me and help. She knew English. Well....that was awesome! She had just started at PLUS but before that she was a tour guide around Krakow. So guess what Bob and I got to do the next day?...go for a tour! A great start to get acquainted with the city AND to connect with a Polish person from the start! She is awesome, young, engaged to be married in May and it was great to start to get to know her. I plan on keeping that connection for sure! My parents will enjoy a tour like that once they are here for a couple days...you drive around in this over-sized golf cart. It has heat and they provide cozy blankets and everything...very nice. So....if you ever want to call me in Poland...my number is +48 739 206 964 and I can get a tour for us as well! (dialing from a cell phone in the US...most phones - hold the 'zero' down until the + appears) or from a landline...use 011 then add the 48 739...etc etc.
Okay - this has gone on long enough...too long probably...hope you are all well and enjoying the holidays. Such a great time of year. Life is good...God is much, much better and I am glad to have you along for this experience of my life!
Much love,
Carol
What great stories - I think you're going to be able to write a book eventually! So sorry to hear about your Mom though, wishing her the absolute best and I really hope she can make it there for the Holidays.
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