Post pierwszy

Well, hello. And welcome to my little world that exists mainly in my mind, but also in Poland, so if you really want to find me, you can. :)
I'm stealing this idea from my good Oxfordian buddy Mr. Trevor, mainly because I'm rather lazy.
To start at the beginning--a very good place to start--I arrived here in beautiful Krakow on Friday of last week. It's been an interesting thing so far. I'm staying in this student dorm that rents out rooms in the summer. It's nice. Quiet. Remote. Actually, it's in the Miasteczko Studenckie (Student Village), which by definition should be loud and full of beer, but since classes have yet to start, it's still pretty mellow. The first few days have been kind of tough. I came over here with a very empty pocketbook, which has stressed me out quite a bit. To the point where I couldn't afford to buy food, and therefore spent the last four days eating nothing but bread and water and possibly a yogurt. I've been living in this city since February, and it's nice to be somewhere familiar...however, most of the things that made it familiar are gone--scattered back to their home countries across the world.
Yesterday as I walked around, I was passing all these places I knew so well: the busy Teatr Bagatela, the tourist-infested Rynek (the main square), Empik bookstore, the Ratusz tower, the Planty that encircles the Old Town. It felt so different. Last year I could literally press a button and talk to Jess or Paul or Maria or any of the other people I knew so well, but now they're all gone, and I'm here. It's amazing how the people make a place. I was probably a rather pitiful sight yesterday. Hungry. Kind of lost and frightened. No money and no house really.
At some point, though, something changed. I was sitting in this very internet cafe, typing a depressing email to my mommy, and I heard some people behind me talking about the Erasmus program in German (Randomly, I do on occasion inexplicably understand German. Don't ask why.), so I asked them if they were Erasmus students. They weren't, but one of their friends was, so we all started talking. There were a couple people from Germany, a Scottish girl from the lovely city of St. Andrews, and an Austrian guy, who was the Erasmus friend of theirs. It was nice. I remembered that everyone was just showing up. Not just me. Austrian guy--his name is Severin--will be here until next summer, just like me. So it's really not a factor that I don't know anyone yet. I will. Later yesterday, I met up with my friend Justyna, who helps me with Polish. It was quite nice to see a familiar face. We're also going to bump up our language studies this year in terms of conversation and writing skills, so I will actually have weekly Polish homework. Yay? :)
Anyway. My parents decided to bail me out monetarily with a loan to get me into a flat, so there went that burden. I actually had a real meal today. This morning I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7 and came to town. Picked up my money from Western Union, and happily spoke Polish with the guy, who instead of automatically switching to English when I got stuck on a word, translated it and then kept on with the Polish.
I had a meeting with the housing people at 10, so I ended up walking down Starowislna street toward Berka Joselewicza, which is where I lived last spring. Everything about that was familiar. Every curve in the street and shop on the corners. In fact, when I passed the friendly neighborhood Kefirek (a little store), I even saw a familiar face in their security guard. After the meeting, I went to a little cafe, bagelmama, where they sell bagels and tex-mex. To the amused surprise of the workers, I had a burrito for breakfast and had a nice long chat with the people who work there.
So in a nutshell, I've learned a lot today. Here it is.

~The world keeps on turning, even when you're not paying attention.
~When someone says, "Ex-squeeze me," it doesn't necessarily mean they are American--in the case of the bagelmama guy, he just lived Stateside for ten years and learned how to speak Wayne.
~Polish people inevitably get this look on their faces when they find out that A: I'm American and speak Polish and B: Do not have any Polish roots--a look that rather resembles what I think they would look like if they walked in on someone picking their nose. They never quite know what to do with me. Someday, I WILL catch that look on camera.
~It is possible to find good Tex-Mex in Poland. I just proved it. Bagelmama is brilliant, and I think I will make a habit out of eating there.
~The Fransiscan Cathedral is still stunning and one of the most peaceful places in this city.
~There is a very lovely tree on the Planty that I really like the look of.
~If my feet had an odometer, they would be clocking up miles today.
~While I don't speak apartment-seeking Polish, I apparently speak Polish well enough when I concentrate to fool the average Polish person at least for a minute.
~There are still pigeons everywhere in this city.
~By tomorrow, I might have a home. That calls for a resounding huzzah.

So, gentle readers, here is my first post in my Poland journal. Until next time, trzymaj sie, i wszystko dobrego.