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.