Hit the ground running

Earlier today I went to Coffee Heaven and bought a sad lemon meringue tart so that I could have internet and write a quick update to you. When I was about 5 minutes away from posting, I was disconnected, my password having expired. Tiger Latte still tastes amazing, but the meringue was like a marshmallow. Speaking of marshmallows, I was describing the ingredients of Goo Goo Clusters to Joanna, my flatmate. (I brought her some as a thank-you gift.) I tried to describe them, and she said, "Ah, yes, it is like that film, Ghostbusters -" "Yes!" I exclaimed, and we both laughed a lot. One of the cutest Polish moments so far.




Clearly, I am here safe and sound. Krzysiek, Dorota, and Przemek met me at the airport. Words can't describe how happy I was to see them. I got three good hugs. They took me to Dorota's old flat, where I am staying. (Dorota is with her mother until she gets married on Saturday.) They had stocked the fridge, bought me fresh bread, and left me with plenty of tea to choose from. There is so much food, and the apartment is gorgeous, with two balconies and a great view of a picturesque canal (complete with lily pads), and the city in the near distance. I feel so very blessed by their thoughtful kindness.

Here are three things that happened on the flights over: IAD->LHR, my ink roller pen burst in my hands, staining three of my fingers completely black. I washed my hands about 40 times and took two showers before it began to disappear. LHR->WAW, I set next to an American and loaned him my [ballpoint] pen so he could play Sudoku. In return, he gave me the Prince Polo bar (my favorite Polish candy bar) from his airline snack. Now I have TWO. Too bad I am still too sick to eat them. ???->???, TSA completely disrespected my luggage, unzipping all the compartments, leaving toiletries out of the travel bags, and leaving my very expensive organic vitamins free to wander the suitcase and end up in the hair dryer, spilling on the floor, etc. I had never had a bad experience with TSA until that. Oh also, they cut the lock off my TSA-approved luggage lock, and broke the zipper pull in the process. That's four things, or at least three and a half.

After we four ate lunch together, Krzysiek took me to Otwock (about an hour out of town) to see his and Dorota's flat. It is comfortable and open. It was good to catch up with him, and he played some guitar for me. I left my ukulele at the flat, so I played him a recording of mine from my iPod. I never got his opinion on it, because we soon noticed an acrid smell, like something electrical burning. Never found what it was, but from that I take this:

"It stinks!"

I stayed in Otwock til 9pm, at which time K & D put me on a train back to Warsaw. They gave me directions for how to get back, but I still managed to get lost near the apartment. Here were the strikes against me: Everything looked much different at 11pm than it had at 3pm; I hadn't been paying attention that afternoon anyway; the bus stopped at a different bus stop in the evening; and I'd had about 5 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours. So I wandered a bit, feeling sorry for myself, ready to find a sympathetic face who would let me use their phone. I sat down on some stairs and asked HS to show me the way, at which point I was reminded that I had taken some photos from the balcony that afternoon. In them, you could just see the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN), an unmissable landmark. Orienting myself to that, I was able to find the right apartment complex with no further trouble. I don't think I'd ever been that happy to see a particular sidewalk before.

A while after I got back, flatmate Joanna came home. It was the first time I'd met her. She is a biologist and she sings. She was very welcoming; we sat up for a while and had a good chat. She was gone when I woke up, but left me instructions on how to use her computer so I could check my e-mail. Complete with drawings!

Today, Przemek and I went to Old Town and the BUW Gardens (library at University of Warsaw), which are beautiful. I haven't had lody yet but it needs to happen soon. I basically think about it all year long. We really just walked around and talked nonsense, as is our custom. I realized I already have photos of most things I'll be doing here, so I didn't take many, and the ones I took I did not like. Perhaps I'll intersperse older, gooder photos I've taken amongst the contemporary ones. I saw Susan briefly, but she and Prz had a meeting, so that's when I wandered to Centrum for coffee, kantor (exchange), and credits (for my mobile phone). The temperature got up to 79 today, but Saturday's high is an expected 52...

Tomorrow I'll met with Kasia at a park, and with Magda to see some bands play. Magda also invited me to stay the night at her apartment. I can't wait to see both of them. Saturday is the wedding, and Sunday is Przemek's baptism (!!!). Tuesday I get to meet with Susan, and then it's English club, which will be fun to attend again. I hope I see a lot of familiar faces. If I don't post another entry tomorrow, then it will be Monday or Tuesday, but I will have loads of photos then if that's the case.

Now I have to retype all of this on Joanna's computer [update: accomplished], but I really thought you were due for an update, especially you non-Facebook people.

Lots of love,

Chelsea