Journalling Life Abroad
(I’m writing this on Monday morning, as on Tuesday we’ll be driving from Krakow to Prague!)
Did you all have a nice Mother’s Day? I was afraid we wouldn’t get a chance to say hello to our mothers, but thankfully we wrangled a quick bit of wi-fi on the iPhone, and with the help of Skype, managed to say a quick hello to our mothers…from Poland!
But, I’m getting ahead of myself. A bit of a recap: After I last posted, we got to see Toby’s cousins, a couple of whom I’d never met before, and they showed us Berlin’s youth culture. We went bar hopping and indulged in thick, tasty beers and great cocktails – including an accidental stop in what we soon realized was a lesbian bar, as evidenced by the signs that read: Ich liebe meine vagina, and You are leaving the hetero-normative sektor, and the cocktail special “pussylove”: gin, lemon juice, and blackberry liqueur. What can I say? It was yummy.
We have since moved on, however, and now we are in the former capitol of Poland.
Krakow is a gorgeous city. We drove here from Berlin on Saturday, admiring the wide spring countryside dotted with flowers, while cursing the torn up roads, most of the whole way. But we’ve been nothing but enchanted since we got to Krakow. There are still horse-drawn carriages…and the odd bottle of beer (costumed person) strolling down the street. And there is a large market square, much like the piazzas in Italy, where we go in the evenings to drink some beer and indulge in pierogis, or a fresh-grilled sausage, or pork cutlets in a honey-wine sauce as we listen to live music. So far, we’ve been most drawn to the live jazz and the lone trumpet player, but I’ve seen some advertisements for Chopin in the evenings. I couldn’t think of a better place to listen to a Nocturne or Polonaise, so that’s our plan for tonight.
It is pretty freaking cold though, here. For transplants from Thailand, the 50*F (or less) weather and rain in May is a bit of a shock. We go out in layers, tucked up in our thickest coats and caps.
But we still haven’t had much chance to wander the city in the daytime. We spent all day Sunday at an altogether different place. We drove an hour and a half out of the city, to Oświęcim – otherwise known as Auschwitz-Birkenau.
(If you want to skip over this portion of the coffee chat, I wouldn’t blame you.)
We went to two sites. First, Auschwitz I, which was originally a prison before the Nazis took it over. It’s smaller and houses most of the museum information, pictures, and memorabilia. Then we went to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, which is vast and immense. It’s the concentration camp the Nazis created. It’s the one in all the pictures you see, and it’s the one that truly gives you the sense of scale of what happened there.
I thought I would be sad to go there, that it would be depressing and make me tearful. But truthfully, the primary emotion I felt when I was there was: revolted. It was sickening to hear again and anew what people can do to each other, the evil ways the Nazis tricked and lied to people, and the sick ways they took from people and redistributed to others.
There was one point we walked into a large room, and a glass case lined one side of the room, wall to wall, from floor to ceiling. Inside the glass case was the lopped off bunches of women’s hair. I couldn’t look. I spent that portion staring at my sneakers because I couldn’t handle the sight as I listened to how the Nazis took these women’s hair and sent it to Germany to use a stuffing in mattresses, or to weave into fabric for blankets and soldiers’ uniforms, and redistribute to the (unknowing, I’m sure) German public.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Germany, and the sense I’ve gotten there is the remaining weight of guilt of the nation, from it’s history, even among those who were not alive at the time and could not bear responsibility for it.
On the Polish side, it’s easy to sense the weight of blame: for invading, for doing what they did to so many people. The blame is directed at the Nazis, but there is an undercurrent towards the Germans who profited (however, unknowingly) from the loss of others.
The history there is complicated. It’s more than war, it reaches to the depths of humanity and evil alike. You still feel it, and it’s nothing that movies and history books can ever really convey.
Anyway, we spent a day there, and as awful as it was to see, I think it was important that we made the effort. And thankfully, we’ll move on to more pleasurable aspects of our trip. We’re certainly lucky to have that choice.
Today, we both need to get some work done, but then we’ll grab some food and wander around the city some more, and catch our evening concert before we leave for Prague.
Thanks for the coffee and the chat! Tell me, what’s going on in your pocket of the world?
also linking up with:
Now, I say it’s the Hindu Kush mountain range as if I know what I’m talking about, but I totally had to wikipedia that. My knowledge of world geography is shameful and humiliating. There were two whole countries (Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) between Afghanistan and Russia that I could not recall the names of – other than to say they were a couple of “Stans.” And as we flew over Khazakstan, I thought it was Mongolia.
…and, desperate for drinks, we grabbed some sodas and a beer at…TGI Friday’s.
The world is strange. But thankfully they took credit because we didn’t pack any rubles.
There was one day though, where Toby and his younger sister wanted to go to the computer game history museum. I took the opportunity to go shopping instead.
(I discovered a new photo filter, so please pardon my excitement as I overuse it.)
I’ve been very glad for the long walks, though, because it gives me a chance to work off the prosciutto and gruyere (and marzipan). And yesterday, we went to one castle garden modeled after English gardens, so I spend the afternoon pretending quite convincingly that I was in a Jane Austen novel.
But Toby can always be counted upon to bring things closer to home.
All right, I’m sure I’ve long abused my visit by now. Thanks for stopping by for coffee and a chat. There’s a cappuccino with my name on it. What are you drinking? Tell me what’s going on in your part of the world!
Also linking up with:
Happy Tuesday everyone! This week, I’m posting from Chiang Rai, the area in northern Thailand where my NGO work is located. It’s hot here. Freaking hot. I miss A/C. I really do. Occasionally we catch a breeze, or cool off in a cold shower, but mostly we’re just languishing in heat.
Happy Tuesday everyone! Would you like a macaron with your coffee? I have some raspberry ones, passion fruit, caramel…I’m pretty sure chocolate is involved there too. Take your pick! These are from the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi’s bakery. When I saw they were 18 baht a piece (about 55 cents) I snatched them up like a fiend because the last time I saw macarons was in Hong Kong and they were more like US$5 a piece.
The streets basically turn into a parking lot, with music pumping from loud speakers, vendors selling hot grilled snacks and water guns, pedestrians aiming water pistols at people passing by in trucks, and pickups full of people dumping buckets at everyone else. It took us approximately 5 hours to drive 3 kilometers.
I think it effectively captures the pure glee you see on everyone’s face. The water fight lasts 3 days and still it never ceases to amuse.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! How has your week been? Did you have a nice Easter weekend? Out here, the big excitement coming up is Songkran, the Thai New Year, where as some of you might recall from my posts last year, Thailand erupts in a three-day long water fight. That’s coming up starting Friday, though water guns and buckets are already being sold everywhere alongside gift baskets of incense and candles, monk’s cloths, and soap which people buy to bring to temple to make merit. With all that excitement going on here, I almost forgot it was Easter until just a couple days before.
I make mine with a dose of cumin and Burmese curry powder. It adds a nice zing. How do you make yours?
Awesome.
By the way, if any well-meaning (but uptight) person warns you not to eat the street food in Thailand…IGNORE THEM. The food is cheap and varied and good – an experience not to miss. Sure, there isn’t the FDA or OSHA coming to check on them, but if you see a bunch of Thai people eating the food there, it’s a pretty safe bet it’s good. Also, most of the street vendors buy and prepare their food each day, so in many cases it’s fresher than what you would find in a restaurant where the food has been housed in a huge refrigerator for several days.
I kind of want to take them home with me, except for the whole part where baby tigers become big, actual tigers. With fangs and claws. And diseases. And we wouldn’t need a litter box so much as a litter vault. Keeping them fed might be a challenge too.
We also got a chance to check out this reservoir nearby we keep hearing about but never managed to go to. They have these fantastic little huts floating on bamboo poles right on the edge of the lake. You can sit inside and they bring your food right out to you, and you can eat and cool off in the lake all you want.
You can also teach your dog that she can swim. Whimpers, claw marks, and scratches included, free of charge.
She may act like she’ll never forgive you, but it’s pretty cool seeing the look of pride on her little face when she makes it to safety and everyone is cheering her and giving her snacks.
Oh, and the food they serve includes goong dthen, literally, dancing shrimp. Because they are still alive, in their shells with antennae, served in a chili and lime sauce, when you eat them. Remember how last week I said I was a pretty adventurous eater? Um, yeah, I didn’t eat the shrimp. My husband did, and his comment was you have to chew quickly.
I don’t really want to pray for rain because the heavy rains we had last year is part of what caused those horrible floods in Ayutthaya and Bangkok. (But I’m kind of praying for rain – just not as much rain as we got last year.)
On Saturday, I did a special Dental Health class for the kids at SOLD, and they were so surprised when I told them that you have to floss all the way up into your gums when you floss; not just the sides of your teeth. They were like, “Doesn’t it hurt?” Umm, no. And if it does…get thee to a dentist.
The other thing that happened was Toby and I went out to dinner and just as we started to eat, one of the lenses popped right out of Toby’s glasses – the frame had totally snapped. He’s been thinking about getting LASIK done for awhile now, especially since it’s so cheap here in Thailand compared to the States, the doctors are excellent and they often have newer equipment. He vowed never to have to buy another pair of glasses. So now he’s making do with contacts (which he hates because they really irritate his eyes), until he can get down to Bangkok to get LASIK done. Have any of you had it done? How did it go for you?
And the biggest excitement going on here is that Toby’s cousin, Susi, is coming out to visit from Berlin! We haven’t seen her since about 2009, so we’re very excited. She gets here on Saturday and I just can’t wait to show her around.
I think I should have titled this post “Desperate for Coffee” because that’s what I am today. Except I did just finish a cup and I’m still thinking longingly of bed. I’m not quite sure why I’m so exhausted. I have been busier than usual lately but I feel more tired than I think I should. I guess that just happens sometimes, doesn’t it?
Everybody seemed so excited about the pictures of flowers I posted last week – spring fever must be in the air! – so I’ll share some more with you this week. These are all taken in my neighborhood, along the path I tread for my daily run.
Well, okay, those aren’t flowers. That just seems to be a funny place where all the coconuts go to die.
This weekend, I had such a blast teaching the kids at SOLD how to bake chocolate chip cookies. Most of them had never baked, and many had never even eaten a chocolate chip cookie before. But they had so much fun digging their hands into the dough and forming little cookies to place on the baking sheets. One little boy – I swear he’ll be the next Jamie Oliver – got so into it that when I put the cookies into the oven, he sat down in front of the oven to watch them bake. Then, when I took them out to cool, the kids gathered around the cooling racks, waiting for me to give the signal the cookies were cool enough to eat. We made over 36 cookies, and they were gone in less than 5 minutes.
Speaking of SOLD, I’m doing a special series this week talking about some of the things I’ve learned and experienced while working to prevent child trafficking here. If you’re interested to know more about it, the series began 
On to lighter topics! Is anyone else bummed that Picnik is closing? I’m so sad! I love Picnik! It was such an easy way to edit photos. I mean, yeah, I can use Photoshop, but Picnik did many of the same things with so much less fuss. Boo. Sad face.
In other news, I’m totally looking forward to this weekend to catch the 
Ok, y’all. I think this fatigue is finally winning, so I’m going to sign off for now. But I’ll be around to say hi again real soon!
What’s in your cup today? I’m curled up on the couch with my snoring dog, and I’ve got me some Earl Grey to soothe the itch in my throat. I’m not sick (anymore, thank goodness!), but it’s burning season here. They’re burning all the crops and the air is filled with nasty smoke. Healthy. Our friends left town to go down south to Hua Hin (smart), but we can’t because my husband has Thai language classes in the afternoons and I have to be up here for work.
I think I’m a little bit in shock that February is almost over. March is going to go by just as fast, as I’ll be going out of town every weekend for work, except for one weekend: the one my husband’s cousin arrives from Germany for a visit! I’m super excited for her visit and the things we have planned for work, but there won’t be any lazy weekends for the next little while!
But they are perfectly comfortable and relaxing, soothing and quiet. Unless the Thai women are chatting…and then it’s just damn funny. I don’t think I laughed so hard through a massage session as I did last night.
All right, it’s time for me to grab some breakfast (LUNCH!). Tell me, what’s going on in your corner of the world today?
You guys. I’m a Sickly McSickerton again. I was starting to feel better on Friday, but then I had to go to Chiang Rai for my work with SOLD and by Sunday morning, I was sick again. (Did I ever tell you it’s a three-hour drive away? We do our work in remote villages, but I live here and make the commute because we need city life and stable internet. I tell myself that driving time I spend each weekend I go adds up to the same amount of time I spent each week 
But I had a good weekend with the kids. They were blowing these bubble things that were almost like balloons. I loved them! So fun to touch the bubbles and not have them pop! I’m sure I took about eleventy-million photos of it. (Clearly, I am mature.)
Isn’t he the cutest? He’s terrified of white people, but we’re winning him over.
We also went to see 
Anyway, it’s getting to be about lunch time now. The laundry is calling, and I need to sweep and take out the trash. There’s a huge pile of writing waiting for me too, but I think first I need to find me some Tylenol.
If we were really meeting for coffee, I would take one last minute to show you the milk frother I bought yesterday. I’ve been coveting it for a few weeks now, and yesterday, I finally broke down and got it. So now I can make frothy milk coffee at home! (I’m very excited.)
