april 18th, part 2

my first instinct is to start running towards him assuming it must be some sort of emergency.

when i catch up to him, he is all out of breath and my adrenaline is pumping.

he then begins to say, "i have a proposal for you."

at this point, i realize there is no real emergency. he was just trying to stop me before i got too far. i relax a little as he continues on.

i would like michal (me-how) to take you to old town. he explained he was done with his part and was free to take me around and show me the city, while chad was at work. he said we could meet back up at lunch. i really would have rather enjoyed my slow walk on the work path i just learned, but didn't know the right way to break it to him. i just went along with what he had planned hoping i was too of an inconvenience for michal.

the only worker that stood out to me happened to be michal because he was the only one wearing a cool star wars t-shirt. it reminded me of something chad would own himself and add to his growing collection in our closet. he is young and knows english. i would later meet his fiance, gosha, who traveled with us as well.

after saying goodbye to chad, we head out in his car. one thing i have learned while driving in vehicles here is that they have ac, but they choose not to use it. one minute it is chilly outside, the next minute you are sweating in the car. this happens all day long. your outside then you are inside some building without ac. who ever heard of a building without ac?

on our way, we passed by these signs. the european signage around here is so funny to me. it sometimes seems excessive and even confusing. i have taken several pictures of signs during my stay here. i hope to show them all in a later post.

i'm still not clear on what the line through the name means.

the sign below is common many places around town. this particular sign is my favorite! i smile every time we pass one. it doesn't matter if you are a young girl or boy, you are represented by a little girl holding a very large red lollypop!

we finally arrive at his apartment after maneuvering through some heavy traffic. gosha is waiting inside and then comes out to meet us once the car is parked. she is very friendly and nice and ques me to follow her towards the subway station that's nearby.

this officially begins my tour of warsaw.

they purchase me a one-day ticket for the metro 

(which i later come to realize the value of) 

and off we go towards the turnstiles.

they warn me not to lose my ticket because we will need it all day. i immediately take on the guardianship of this ticket and i refuse to let it our of my grasp. a few seconds later, they show me how to stamp my ticket in order to enter the subway below. as i place my ticket in the slot it immediately takes it and i feel like i have failed my guardianship role after a few measly seconds. but then i see it shoot back out the other side and i am now full of relief and embarrassment. 

we wait for the approaching train and when the doors open, i take my first steps onto a subway train for the very first time. my new friends are shocked that i have never once rode the subway, as i'm sure they have grown up riding it their whole lives. i find myself hanging on for dear life. 40 mph has never felt so fast to me.

this was what the subway looks when it is not crowded.

(this reminded me of the last weekend with our daughters because we took them to see this.)

the door opens and closes many time before i follow them off the train. i was told it took 8 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. the best thing about the subway ride was getting to michal and gosha a little better. they are a very sweet couple looking forward to getting married in a few months.

april 18th, part 1

we wake-up bright and early and get dressed in our layers not knowing what the weather will be like. the previous day was remarkably warm, especially when you are out commuting on foot, but it was also chilly when you weren't sweating.

we met stacy downstairs and sat with her in the restaurant.
chad's company included his breakfast with the stay; however, it was suggested that i buy my own. not wanting to purchase a breakfast every morning, i decided to secretly pick off his plate while breakfast was being served to see if i would even like what was served.

chad didn't have much of an appetite and doesn't normally eat a big breakfast this early in the morning. i, on the other hand, love breakfast and if i don't eat it i will end up feeling terrible. the food here is surprisingly wonderful! it is really fresh and delicious.

 

this was the same morning we found out about the fertilizer plant fire in west, texas. i originally saw information first on facebook, but later saw this footage while we were eating downstairs. it was crazy to see news about texas here in poland. we just couldn't read or understand what they were saying.

 



i decided to walk with chad and stacy to work because i wanted to know where the building was and meet all the people he will be working with. i actually enjoyed the walk because it is brisk in the morning and it feels great after such a filling breakfast.



 i think chad looks great here, but he later told me he felt very nauseous during breakfast and our walk to work. he has a pretty nervous stomach, so i guess he was anxious about his first day training.



the walk is very beautiful. i will post pictures later on so everyone can see the many interesting things we looked at on the way.





but here we are arriving safe and sound at the building.



we rang the doorbell and waited for someone to let us in.

once inside, we met many different men who work for the company and who's names i will never remember, but everyone was very nice. they all introduced themselves to me even though i was merely the wife visiting.

 we were offered tea and coffee and i selected their black current tea which has become my new favorite tea to drink. monkey and dog like it too.

the work kitchen shown behind them reminds me of charlie and lola's kitchen (a cartoon series that used to be on the disney channel). the girls and i loved watching the show and her whole lifestyle reminds me of what it is like here in poland. there is something so comforting to me about that.

after finishing my tea, i decided to take a photographic walk documenting the beautiful and even funny things around. i was actually looking forward to the relaxing task because i never get to do things like this anymore.

 the buildings look old and rustic and the trees are huge and majestic.

this was about as far as i got when i heard in the distance...
"crystaaaall...crystaaaall!"

i realized someone was calling my name and i slowly turned to see the warsaw office manager, jacek (yaw-sick), running towards me....

walking dead

many people are familiar with the series, the walking dead. i hated the show at first and i still have a love-hate relationship with it. i don't care for gruesome anything, but somehow i've gotten reeled in by the sheer determination to cheer the few unbitten humanbeings left in the world on. i have been forced to watch it with my husband because he endured all 3 seasons of downton abbey with me...which for the record, he loved! this doesn't seem like a fair tradeoff, but not everything in marriage is always fair. anyway, our plan was to spend our downtime watching the 3rd season in our hotel room, but instead we have somehow been bitten by a similar disease ourselves. we are now walking zombies resulting from the infamous ailment known as jet lag!

after arriving at our hotel, we had sometime to rest before going to the grocery store to stock up for the week. i didn't know how important that rest would be until later. we were also told not to sleep too long because it could mess up our sleep schedule. apparently, they don't know me very well because after having 2 children 10 years ago, i'm still not caught up on my sleep! it will take years of sleeping to catch me up and, "ain't nobody got time for that!"

it felt like i blacked out, but chad said i slept for maybe 3 hours. meanwhile, he was on his computer preparing work stuff.

we met his co-worker downstairs and headed out to the store. 

now, chad and i were born and raised in texas. this state is huge. i think 4 polands could fit inside. people use their vehicles to get anywhere and everywhere. it doesn't matter if it is super close or if the weather is perfect, we feel it is more convenient to drive there especially if you are going to the store. most people i know get their groceries a few times a month and try to buy in bulk when you can.

this lifestyle seems very strange to people over here. to them it is more convenient to walk to the store everyday in order to have fresh food. a mile or 2 is considered very close no matter the weather.

i have realized that the obesity epidemic that hovers cities like ours in the usa would be cured with this type of lifestyle change. we have come to the conclusion that maybe 1 out 50 here are overweight compared to the 1 our 5 back home and i have yet to see someone extremely obese! 

working for a general surgeon, i see patients with this condition daily! Where are all the fat folks here in Poland? they are getting more exercise during their commute to work than the typical daily recommended amount suggested by most family doctors.

they are also getting the "beloved" universal healthcare that many people back home think will cure all their troubles. but maybe knowing that they will not be able to see a surgeon for 6 months encourages them to take better care of themselves...i don't know. i highly doubt it. i still think it must be all the walking and fresh food that puts them in a healthier category versus my people back home. they can only carry a small amount so they eat less.

Anyway, after our nap we met chad's co-worker, stacy, downstairs and walked to the nearest "wal-mart" or "target" type store. it is called real (re-ale). it feels like a long walk and is a long walk in my opinion. but the locals feel different.

once you are in there, it is very easy to get lost. there are a few restaurants including mcdonald's and a nice cafe. there is a place to change your money over to zloty, polish money. 3 zloty = american $1. there are clothes and shoes stores inside as well. 

we were only shopping for food and water, but we were still confused by all the labels. sparkling water is very popular around here and chad nearly got some by accident. their milk is sold in small bottles and 2% is the thinnest variety you can get. chad purchased chips, but even their flavors are very different. the cheese pringles are not cheddar cheese, but swiss cheese instead and the sour cream and onion flavor is changed to just onion! they are both gross to me, but chad seems to like them! i don't think there is a chip chad won't eat :-)

all their milk and cheeses are very creamy. 

this was the largest single bottle you could buy at the store.

once you choose your items, you must then head towards the check-out. this was very scary because the ladies working at the check-out are no-nonsense kind of ladies. they sit on stools by the cash register and seem military in their position. One made me put my cart up back which is in the opposite direction and then basically took over paying for chad. they do not have free shopping bags, of course, so we had to gather our items and bag them ourselves.

after shopping, we stopped off at the cafe for some coffee with milk and a tasty doughnut that stacy recommended. she was a lot of help to us today. after the short break, we then ventured back carrying our heavy groceries all the way to our hotel room.

without any sleep...we are pretty much walking around like zombies ourselves.

afterwards, we had dinner with stacy at the hotel's restaurant. it is very nice and they serve beautiful dishes! the food was awesome! we enjoy sitting at these low booth-like tables for dinner. monkey and dog enjoyed meeting stacy and dining in this fancy schmancy restaurant.

 

chad ordered the pork tenderloin and i had some delicious red pepper soup.

 as tired as we were, we were still very hungry...they must have been symptoms from the jet-lag bite!

  

after dinner, we went back to our room and stayed up to skype our children back home. by now we had been up for at least 30 hours and we were both exhausted. but as many parents know, kids don't care if parents are tired and i felt we needed to let them see us and i wanted to see them as well.

 

the two of them had just gotten off school and were back home. it was around 4:30-5pm their time and it was approaching midnight again for us.

the call was worth it because we learned that our oldest daughter, camille, got assigned a solo part performing in her very last spring concert. she was hopeful to get a part during tryouts, so this was exciting news! my youngest daughter, carigan, shared about the fun she had during her water balloon fight that her class won during a charity competition.

we did our best to stay awake during the call, but afterwards we crashed and the dead were then walking no more!

emotional baggage

we finally land on poland ground!

as soon as we leave our final airplane, we head straight to the baggage claim. our plane was a little early, so we had to wait a few minutes before the baggage started to roll out onto the belt and circulate on the giant roulette wheel. chad positioned us at the luggage exit point so he could spot our bags right away. he was prepared with cart and was ready to pounce on the first bag he saw. 

as expected, the luggage claim belt began to move and one by one, suitcases and bags began to take a ride around the merry-go-round in front of eager owners waiting to claim what's theirs.

chad leans forward and grabs his prize! our bag was one of the firsts. we felt like a winner! we knew any minute the other bag, with his name on it, would come heading our way. any minute, we kept thinking...but after sometime our eagerness turned into nervousness. where was our bag? why was it acting like a stubborn child not wanting to do as it was told? then, the worst thing happened. the belt stopped moving! the show was over. we were no longer winners, but losers! chad's bag was no where to be found.

now what do we do? there was one other poor loser waiting there with us who didn't get his bag as well. we started wandering around asking people where we need to go to take care of a lost bag. we managed to find the right area eventually, but chad seemed very frustrated dealing with all their requests for certain paperwork. we later found out that the other end of the stickers for our luggage tags were at the bottom of my very stuffed hand bag. apparently, we are very thorough when we don't need to be, but not so much when it matters.

we finally found out that the bag was in amsterdam and they will deliver it to our hotel later in the afternoon. i'm assuming this happens quite frequently because the previous airport was very chaotic. 

as we left the baggage claim area, we were spotted by chad's co-workers who had been waiting for us for awhile not knowing the bag trouble we were dealing with.

after a rubber-necking ride to our hotel, we finally were in our room. i was ready to shower off the last 24 hours. i arranged my beloved suitcase in the corner of the room and was so grateful to get to change my clothes, but also feeling bad for my husband. i was ready for some yummy smelling bath soap and unzipped my bag ready to dig in! to my surprise, everything in my suitcase belonged to a man...the same man i married 13 years ago! my name tag had somehow been tied to his bag! 

i awarded the suitcase unselfishly to my husband congratulating him on the win! he immediately felt bad and i'm sure relieved at the same time.

my luggage finally arrived late that evening, and i finally had the pleasure of degreasing my hair and changing my very worn clothes!

travel days, part 3

at this point,we have transitioned into a new day, a new country, and a very new time zone.

this was around 3am in the morning for us, but around 10am in real time here.

we managed to get our legs in working order and walked off the plane saying goodbye to the annoyingly strange smelling lady forever! as soon as we got off, we asked a worker where our gate was because this was the only flight that didn't have the gate on the ticket. she told us which gate and we started heading towards what we thought was the right direction. 

this airport was very crowed and very busy. there are many connecting flights that come through amsterdam. we also had to go through customs at this point which is similar to the security check except more confusing and pressuring. people started to avoid our line entirely while we were unloading every wire, electronic device, and liquid we owned. i felt like lucy during the i love lucy episode where she attempted to work the assembly line at a chocolate factory and failed miserably. i couldn't figure out what was coming or going; however, i look over and see my husband is getting the pat down. like i mention previously, he always takes longer during these situations. 

after we reassembled all our belongings back into our bags, chad was explaining to me how he felt violated by the security men. 

we sat down for a moment at our crowed gate area near a man that smelt like mothballs. if you know me, then you know how much i hate that smell. i am pretty sensitive to smells in general, but this smell got to me, so i decided to walk over to the gift shop nearby.

i discovered the yummiest cookies ever made. we also saw many cute souvenirs and purchased a few for our kiddos. 

monkey and dog even checked things out.

 this is my grandmother's full name, minus the perpermunt :-) I never see this name anywhere else!

monkey and dog enjoyed looking out the window.

it wasn't long after that, we boarded our final plane for the day. it was small, but very roomy. there were many open seats and the man originally sitting next to chad moved up a row. 

we have never heard of klm before.

 they served us lunch and it was very good. the bread here is wonderful. 

we thought the packaging was cute along with the designs on the plastic cups. 

these were our sandwiches. 

at last, we could see the the land of poland beneath us!

this meant only one more airport to deal with and we could finally get some rest...or so we hoped!

travel days, part 2

after a long and ear popping flight, we landed at the detroit airport.  

they had a very neat art display shown below. it was called art glass and different colors danced and glowed throughout this walkway. we seemed to be the only ones fascinated by it, but we didn't care. 

chad took a short video of what it looked like. the video is not that great because it was done from his iphone while trying to make it in time to our gate.

 

we were also intrigued by the indoor tram. we never knew when it would zoom pass. little did we know then how many different trains we would soon see during our trip.

we had just enough time to purchase our kids a little something from this airport before loading up on the "big daddy" plane that would take us across the north atlantic ocean all the way to europe landing in amsterdam. this was our longest flight lasting 6 hours and 59 minutes, according to the pilot, but it was also our favorite ride.

we had never been on a plane this large or on a plane with an interactive screen in front of us.
we love movies and completely took advantage of watching the free selection of newly released movies that were available. we also played a few games as well.

the meals were also great! we stayed up the whole time eating and watching movies while the rest of the plane snored...and i do mean snore!!!

this was my dinner. we also received snacks, hot towels (which chad had know idea how to use), and even breakfast.



we watched les miserables and silver linings playbook during this flight.

my only real complaint happened midway through this flight when a stewardess seated a person next to me after her screen stopped working. there were plenty of other seats available, however, i think they chose us because we were not asleep. she was very fidgety and kept elbowing me and putting her gross flight blanket on me. (i bought my own blanket to avoid the cooties from the ones they provide you on the plane). she also smelt funny and i didn't like her sitting next to me. i felt like i was a young child again sitting next to my brother in the backseat begging him to stop touching me, but it would only egg him on more. anyway, it was annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the screaming baby and old lady from our previous trip. i tried to think positive thoughts until the wheels came rolling down on the much desired runway.

travel days, part 1

april 16, 2013 (tuesday)

tuesday morning, we woke up and finished the last of our packing. i had pretty much passed out on the bed around midnight completely giving up and not having any more energy to do one more thing, but by 7am i was up and moving around hoping not to forget anything. 

we are having a house-sitter come and stay to watch things and take care of our cat, so we were changing sheets and straightening up around the house before walking out the door. we lingered a bit around the cat petting him and talking baby-talk to him before saying goodbye.

we headed to our favorite fast-food restaurant, chick-fil-a, to grab some breakfast. we also did a few last minute errands before heading to the airport. 

we live in kyle, tx. this is a city that is a few miles south of austin. kyle has grown so much that many people call it south austin in some areas. i mentioned that because we are headed to the austin airport about 40 minutes from our home.

we are big fans of the bobby bones show on the radio in the morning and were listening to it on the way while talking about all the unknowns of our trip, before reaching the airport.

we were hoping to park in the parking garage, but we saw a sign that said it was all full. we then randomly picked a parking lot that was close by. as we were pulling in, we were curious why the sign said no shuttle. we assumed there had to be a mistake and drove forward into the parking area after swiping our credit card.

we took a picture of our parking area so we would remember it once we arrived back in austin. we slowly gathered our trash from breakfast and searched a great deal to find a trash can. we never found one, unfortunately, and i refused to leave the trash in our car to bake in the sun the whole time we were gone. it was impossible to hold the trash and all our luggage at the same time, but we attempted to give it a try for awhile anyway.

we walked to an area that resembled a pickup spot only to quickly realize that no one was coming to get us. we watched people walk from their cars with their bag towards the parking garage and decided that this was our fate as well. 

we then ditched the chick-fil-a bag with our drinks (sorry) on top of a cement ashtray and took off in the direction everyone else was going. only they had one bag with them. we were rolling the circus into town with all our luggage.

the night before, chad checked us in on-line and printed our tickets. once we finally made it into the airport, dripping in sweat from the enormous task we had just performed with all our bags, we unknowingly check in at the kiosk...again. i guess the only thing we really did was waste time. being thorough might be our biggest crime, aside from littering of course.

we made our way to the front where they weighed each of our bags. they check to make sure they don't exceed 50lbs. i don't remember the exact number; however, i do remember mine weighting less that chad's and i bragged about it :) they were both in the 40's range i'm sure. (but we'll revisit this later).

we then zigzagged in a long line leading up to security. at this point we had a little less to carry. as we were making our way around i noticed a familiar voice. i looked over and noticed it was amy and bobby from the bobby bones show that we were just listening to. they were in town for the weekend and must had done their show here in austin. they were discussing the recent bombings at the boston marathon.

we first saw them a few months back at a movie theater in austin. we were all seeing zero dark thirty. afterwards, we saw them all talking in the hall, but we were too shy to go up and say, "hi." shortly after that, they announced that they were moving to nashville and we regretted not going up and speaking with them, so this was our second chance. 

i awkwardly approached them and we introduced ourselves. we spoke for a little bit and then said goodbye. we regretted not getting a picture with them, but my husband said we were taking baby steps by just approaching them this time. we saw them again later too, but didn't have the nerve to bother them again.

we then made our way to security. this is always nerve wrecking for us. we always do something wrong and hold up the line while unpacking all our stuff. i never know when to take off my shoes, i can never seem to find my bag of liquids in time, and people are trying to shove their tray in a hurry towards my direction pressuring me to move along. be that as it may, somehow chad always takes longer than i do! :-)

while waiting for our first of many plane rides, we took our first monkey and dog picture at the austin airport. they are sitting on our carry on bag.

 shortly, we loaded the smallest, crowded airplane we had ever been on. across the aisle next to the window was a young mother with a screaming baby boy in her lap. next to her and closest to me was an old indian lady staring at me and wiping her bare feet with a napkin from time to time.

this flight was arriving at detroit. it took nearly

3 1/2 hours to get there. during the fits of screaming, our headphones became our saving grace. i'm also grateful for the snacks and refreshments because that ended up being our lunch for the day.

monkey and dog

before leaving, our kids asked if we would take one of their special stuffed animals with us on our trip. they have about a million stuffed animals and they pile them all up on the bed and sleep with them at different times. they love collecting them and i am always trying to put as many of them as i can in garage sales, but they love them too much!

 they each picked one out. my oldest daughter picked the the sock monkey and our youngest daughter picked a spotted dog. they told us that the animals would help remind us of them, so we won't miss them too much :) i then realized it would be fun to take pictures of them having all kinds of fun adventures during our trip and it would help them as much as it would help us. despite the embarrassment at times, we have pulled them out and taken pictures of them doing all sorts of crazy things. when they arrive back home, they will have traveled to many different places and have done almost everything we have.

packing and saying goodbye

we only wanted each of us to take one checked bag along with one carry on and one personal item. a few weeks before leaving it was snowing in warsaw, poland. their winter was unusually long this year, which made packing very difficult for us. we focused on bringing layers, but the first few times attempting to pack, i could not successfully get the suitcase closed. i kept having to take more things out until it would zip and i could pick it up. 

meet cheeto.

we refer to him as our "practice baby" because we rescued him the first year we were married and gave him all our attention. he is a maine coon by breed which makes him a cat-dog, a cat that enjoys human company. i'm not making this up, he loves playing catch! he is very large, very furry and very shy. he loves getting on our lap and in our suitcases, as you can see above. he runs whenever the doorbell rings or when someone knocks. he only comes out for a very select few. as much as i hate pulling cat hair out from my eyelashes and rolling my clothes constantly, i will miss cuddling up with him because he is our baby and we love him dearly!

as i mentioned before, we have two children, both girls. we are very close as most families are. we decided to make matching anklets before leaving on our trip and we will not take them off until we see each other again. my oldest was very emotional during our goodbyes and my youngest was very clingy and hyper. it was not easy letting them go, but i know they are in good hands. i have only been away from them for a week, so this seems like forever to me. thank goodness for technology that helps people to stay connected even if they are several time zones away.

i spent my last few weeks preparing calenders, medical releases, lunch monies, schedules and anything else i could possibly think of to leave behind for those taking care of our children. school at the end of the year is extremely busy and this year is no exception. it took everything i had in me to stay organized and think proactive as possible to prepare them for the weeks ahead.

the weekend we get back is the same weekend my oldest daughter will be competing in a state competition that happens to be several hours from our house. this means we will immediately take a road-trip with the kids after returning. it also means, i will not be there to help coach her. i will have to rely on the people around her to help her practice. she, of course, is a rock star and i doubt she will have many issues with it, but the timing sorta stinks. i am just grateful we won't miss it and we will do our best to fight the jet lag that might be creeping up on us by then.

overview

a few months ago, my husband, chad, was asked to take a business trip to china. we planned and prepared for a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity that would be taking us to the other side of the world. after a month of planning our trip, we were told we were no longer going to china, but we were now heading to poland instead. we were excited because we had never been to europe...or anywhere really for that matter.

we were born and raised in the usa (cue the music). we have only visited a few states and only left the country twice... both times in mexico.

we have been married for over 13 years now and have two children, 7 and 10. when chad was told he would be traveling, he asked if he could bring me along and his boss thought that would be a great idea. this only meant we would be leaving our children behind for nearly 3 weeks during the end of april and beginning of may which is a very busy time in school. chad's parents offered to take care of them along with close family friends. the hardest part was saying goodbye.

i love taking pictures and documenting our life's memories because we love looking back and remembering our adventures. not just our traveling experiences, but also our childhood, dating, wedding, and parenting adventures. we love capturing even the little things in life because they somehow make the biggest impact. this blog is dedicated to our adventures in poland for the first time.