matching tracksuits

fun in threes, sometimes fours

general

Homecoming

Tuesday 01 July 2008 | 1 Comment

W Polsce

Tears of joy, fresh chicken broth with homemade noodles, potatoes with dill, unexpectedly meeting friends while out on a walk -- it was a good homecoming.

The trip here was fairly painless. L made new friends, starting in Charlotte.

We got on the plane and discovered why Lufthansa is the airline of choice for so many:

L's own private little bed, attached to the bulkhead wall. She loved climbing into it, then out of it, then into it, then out of it...

Eventually she enjoyed sleeping in it, but not for three hours.

Layover in Munich

The trip back from Krakow to Jablonka -- which should have taken 90 minutes by car -- lasted almost three hours (including a short stop). Poland is hosting the Euro 2012 football championship, and they're in a building rush. Still, it allowed us to slow down for the views.

Someone else apparently was spending too much time looking at the views.

We got home, ate dinner, then headed out for a walk. Kajtek is definitely out of practice, as it only took a few moments to wear him out completely. "You've got hard couple of weeks of training ahead of you," I told him.

During the walk, we literally saw the cows going home.

And some staying out in the fields.

Lastly, I discovered that Poland's "fast" option internet connection is only 4-5 kbs (seriously) and I suspect there will be fewer pictures posted during the trip than I'd hoped. Which is a shame.

Travel

Monday 30 June 2008 | 1 Comment

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Packing is never fun. It can hold the promise of coming adventure, but generally it’s tedious.

That being said, it requires a ritual. I always had one: listen to Michael Hedges’ Taproot (AMG) while packing. I packed for almost all my trips for ten years that way.

We didn’t listen to anything packing for this trip. And K did most of the packing. And ironing.

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I offered to help. “No — I’m afraid that you might forget something important.”

“Like the Girl?” I think, but then think again.

But all that’s behind us now. This is scheduled to be posted when — theoretically — we’re lifting off the ground on a Lufthansa Airbus, beginning the first (and longest) leg of our journey.

Family

Sunday 29 June 2008 | 1 Comment

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It almost goes without saying, but it is obviously the main reason we’re going back to Poland.

A death in the family brought about the realization that time spent with family is time best spent.

Only a few hours to go until the reunion.

Swing

Saturday 28 June 2008 | 0 Comments

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There is a swing in K’s folks’ backyard that is more of a pendulum than a swing. The seat hangs by iron rebar rather than chains, and as such, it has an arch a little different than what swing enthusiasts are probably used to — if there is a Swing Enthusiast Association of America.

L likes to swing. She also, it turns out, likes to slide.

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Yesterday afternoon, we took her to a new park — new for us, at any rate — and she could not get enough of the sliding boards. Nor could she get enough of the small climbing wall leading up to one of the slides:

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And of course slides and climbing walls weren’t the only attractions:

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In two days, I tell her, we’ll be swinging “u Babci i dziadka.”

Cats and Dogs

Friday 27 June 2008 | 0 Comments

A few weeks ago we kept some friends’ dogs for the week. I realized anew why I prefer cats.

If pets were animals, Bogart would play cats while dogs would be played by Jim Carey.

Music

Friday 27 June 2008 | 0 Comments

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In Polska, L will be exposed to a whole new world of music, hopefully. Granted, we do try to expose her to traditional Polish music here in the house, but to hear it live…

Right now, she’s fond of “Gloria in excelsis Deo” from Vivaldi’s Gloria. I play it in the car and she just swings her head back in forth in time with the music. Once the exciting beginning is over, she makes the sign for “More” and says her own special version of the word: ma.

She’s excited during the first part, but the second — “Et in terra pax” calms her down significantly. We played it in the car last night and a minute into the piece, she was looking calmly out the window.

 

Polish “Strong” Beer

Thursday 26 June 2008 | 1 Comment

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In America, if a beer has "more than three and two-tenths percent of alcohol by weight," it's called "malt liquor." And "malt liquor" has certain connotations.

The alcohol-by-weight for taxation purposes versus alcohol-by-volume for all other purposes is yet another example of America's love affair with mixed measure standards. At L's last check-up, for instance, I noticed that weight was calculated in the English system while head circumference was measured metrically. And surveying, because of software limitations, uses not inches but tenths of feet -- the American metric system.

Wikipedia -- that bastion of objectivity -- writes, "Malt liquor is distinguished from other beers of high alcohol content in that the brewing process is seen by many as targeting high alcohol content and economy rather than quality." Translation: it's a seen in American culture today as something of a party and/or ghetto drink. It's for people who don't know better, can't afford better, or just don't care.

In Poland, there's just beer. Some beer is called "Mocne" ("powerful" or "strong") but it's just called "beer".

Generally speaking, I don't like Polish "strong" beers. To get their strength, they add a lot of malt (hence, "malt" liquor) and it produces a sweeter beer than I generally like.

There are some exceptions. Okocim Mocne is drinkable, but still too sweet. Debowe Mocne is less sweet, but there's just something I don't care for. My favorite is Tatra Mocne. A review is available here.

I've never seen any of these in the States except the Okocim, though I really haven't looked -- just happened to find it at a Russian food store in Asheville.

In four days, though, I won't have to look far.

Not forcing myself to post daily

Wednesday 25 June 2008 | 0 Comments

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I missed a day yesterday. I’m cheating: I’m back-dating this one just so I’ll have a number “5” in the list.

Once this trip is over, though, no more daily posting for me.

I’m just glad I’m not a columnist…

Apostasy

Wednesday 25 June 2008 | 0 Comments

The church I grew up in — the Worldwide Church of God — taught what we were told is a unique view of church history. The true gospel had been perverted soon after Jesus’ death and all the Christianity we see around us is false Christianity. They explained it similarly to this:

Following the death of Jesus Christ, wicked people persecuted and killed many Church members, and other Church members drifted from the principles taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles?. The Apostles were killed and the priesthood authority-including the keys to direct and receive revelation? for the Church-was taken from the earth ( 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Because the Church was no longer led by priesthood authority and revelation, error crept into Church teachings. Good people and much truth remained, but the gospel? as established by Jesus Christ was lost, resulting in a period called the Great Apostasy.

Trouble is, this is also how the Church of Latter Day Saints explain church history (full document here).

How can there be two “only true churches”?

If only there were only two groups claiming to be the only true Christians…

Friends

Tuesday 24 June 2008 | 0 Comments

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More than almost anything about our trip to Poland, the prospect of seeing friends thrills us most. ("Family?" you ask. I did say "almost anything.") If we were to take the time to see all our friends, where they live, we'd do nothing else during those two weeks -- and we certainly wouldn't get to see everyone.

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Warsaw Friends

But the nature of twenty-first century Poland makes it impossible to see everyone, because many -- most, when it comes to K's university friends -- have left the country. It's part of the impressive drop in unemployment.

Many of our friends we're planning on meeting in Krakow, making those final two days all the more special.