International Women's Day

Today, March 8th is International Women's Day.  A holiday widely celebrated around Poland and all of Europe.  It is customary to give flowers to your girlfriend, wife, even female co-workers on this day.  Tom was super cute and surprised me with tulips in the middle of the day.  Don't worry, he also got flowers for all of the women in his office too.

Here is some additional background on Women's Day from Wikipedia:

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day is marked on March 8 every year.  It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.  Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia and the former Soviet bloc.  In many regions, the day lost its political flavour, and became an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and St. Valentine's Day.  In other regions, however, the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

Weekend Fun!

We had a great weekend in Warsaw.  We spent Friday night meeting new friends at an expat event.  Saturday we met with the landlord of our new apartment and solidified the contract...YEAH!  We have the movers coming on Friday.  Sunday we attended an art show of local Polish artists and took Charlie on a long walk through the Old Town area of Warsaw.

The Presidential Palace in Old Town

The Streets of Old Town

Charlie did not like the horses

Old Town Main Square

The new Soccer Stadium being built for the 2012 Euro Cup

The exterior walls of Old Town

Awesome-ness

My friend Julia turned me on to Neil Pasricha and his blog, 1000awesomethings.com.  Neil has been through a number of hardships in life (as we all have here and there) and has dedicated his life to being happy by remembering life's simple "awesome" pleasures in this world.  He has a belief that a great life can be achieved through the 3 A's of Awesomeness:  Attitude, Awareness and Authenticity.  If you've never heard of him before I encourage you to check out his TED video:

3 A's of Awesomeness TED Talk Video

After talking with my friend Katy last week she was commenting on all of the "awesome" little things that Tom and I are experiencing living in Europe.  So, we decided that the blog should feature a weekly "Awesome Thing About Living in Europe" post.  Our goal is to post something at least once a week to share the small, simple pleasures that Tom and I love over here.  And, during those times when we might be missing home a bit more we can go back and reflect on this list.  So, we hope you'll enjoy our "bits of awesome" inspired by Neil Pasricha.

So without further ado.....

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #1:  Strong and Delicious Coffee

This one was Tom's pick since he is a big coffee drinker.  Tom loves that no matter where he gets a cup of coffee...in a cafe, at his office, at the hotel....it is always one that is super dark and strong.  The Europeans brew it strong, and for that, Tom is grateful!

Our New Home....

Just kidding!  : )

Time Flies...

It's hard to believe that we have been here just over two weeks.  In some ways Tom and I are already feeling very comfortable and right at home.  And, we are excited to really get to exploring the city and all that it has to offer.  Our past week has been a packed one.  Here are a couple of highlights:

- Friday night we ordered in pizza to the hotel.  It was really good and was just like the brick oven pizza in Italy.  Tom made sure to save their phone number.

- Over the weekend we met up with some new friends to watch England vs. France in rugby.  Apparently, this was quite a big game.  The sport seems very confusing, but I am sure we will catch on eventually.  I didn't mind watching the attractive and buff rugby players and Tom had fun comparing it to American football.  As part of the game the players pick each other up to get in the air higher to get the ball.  I told Tom it looked just like a cheer leading pose...he did not find it as funny as I did. After watching the game we went out for great Indian food for dinner.  It was a good time!

Rugby Players in Cheer leading Pose

- Unfortunately, Tom got some sort of stomach bug over the weekend so we took it easy on Sunday and watched a couple of bad movies on the European HBO channel.  Luckily, it was only a 48 hour thing and he is feeling much better.

- Tom got his first haircut here in Warsaw and asked me to join him.  Once he sat down he was trying to communicate with the hairdresser who spoke very little English.  At one point, he turned to me and said, "Hun, can you help me explain to her what I want?".  Sure Tom, because my Polish is so advanced and so much better than yours...not quite.  Fortunately, one of the other hairdressers spoke some English so it all worked out in the end.

- We met with our new Polish teacher on Tuesday night and are probably going to start lessons next week.  They recommend taking lessons twice a week and they start off with a program called "Polish Survival"...exactly what we need.  The Polish instructors come to you, which is super convenient.

- Monday I attended a coffee meeting for the Warsaw Women's International Group.  It was great meeting other expats from around the world who are all living in Poland.  I even met a woman from the Cincinnati area whose husband is over here working for P&G....small world.  I am excited to become more active in this group.  And, these women are invaluable for their essential information like...where to get your haircut, who the best doctors are, and which stands at the fruit market sell the best produce.  I am forever grateful for this important information.

- We are still on the apartment hunt but are really close on closing in on the right one.  Good news....our belongings have made it and they have cleared customs!  They came into the Northern port city of Gdansk, Poland last week, went through customs, and came down to Warsaw by truck earlier this week.  They are sitting in storage until we are ready for them.

- And, last, but most certainly not least, my mom and dad are planning their first trip to Warsaw...and we cannot wait!  They will be here in late May/early June.  

Fat Thursday

Today is Fat Thursday in Poland, a traditional day of gorging on paczki donuts prior to lent.  Paczki aren't a completely unfamiliar site to Tom and I.  Living in Chicago we would hear of this tradition over the years, especially with the large number of Poles living there.

While out walking Charlie this morning it seemed like everyone I passed was caring a bundle of fresh donuts.  Tom was warmed by his colleague in Southern Poland that it was assumed that being the manager, he would be the one bringing the warm donuts into the office.  And, that it was crucial that he order the donuts in advance.  So, he did just that with the help of a very kind co-worker.  : )

Wikipedia defines "Fat Thursday" (Tłusty czwartek) as a traditional Polish, Greek and German feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the next opportunity to feast would not be until Easter. It is similar to, but should not be confused with, the French festival of Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"). Traditionally it is a day dedicated to eating, when people meet in their homes or cafés with their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of sweets, cakes and other meals forbidden during Lent. Among the most popular all-national dishes served on that day are pączki , fist-sized donuts filled with rose marmalade, and plum jam, topped with lots of powdered sugar.

It's fun learning about the Polish traditions and partaking in them.  Although, we won't be taking part in this one 100% since neither Tom nor I like jelly donuts.  I hear that next week is Women's Day in Poland...a day devoted to celebrating how great women are....I think this one is a must to celebrate.  ; )

Life Updates...

A quick recap on what's going on in our world:

• I am still not used to telling time military style everywhere....luckily Tom gave me a great trip to subtract two from the first number.
• Apartment shopping is going well.  We are looking at a lot of options to make sure we pick the right place for us since we have no plans to move more than once in Warsaw.  Although, bringing a king size bed with us has been a bit of a challenge.  Half of the bedrooms I have seen wouldn't even fit a king size bed.  But, we have found some apartment options that will work.
• Apartment prices are negotiable and it is expected that you will negotiate...Tom thinks that if I knew a bit more Polish I would really haggle them down, especially after the way I negotiated his car.     : )
• We are really enjoying the local fruits and veggies here.  People eat pretty seasonal around here and everything is local....and we don't have to pay Whole Foods prices.
• I have a Polish cell phone but was not able to get a contract since I don't have residential paperwork yet. So, instead I have a pay-to-go plan.  Apparently these are super popular over here...and the phone works.....which is pretty much all that matters.
• The treadmill at the hotel gym is in kilometers per hour...so I have no idea how fast I am going but I am working hard..and that's what counts anyways, right?
• The Polish elderly LOVE Charlie.  I get stopped multiple times a day where they give Charlie lots of love and excitedly start speaking a bunch of Polish that I of course don't understand.  I find it really cute to see them so excited.
• Poland is a country of rule followers.  People wait for the light to change before walking into a crosswalk.  You must provide original documents for customs and they cannot deviate one bit.  And, even the cell phone company wouldn't give me a calling plan since I didn't have my residence card yet even though I offered to pay all 2 years of the contract up front.  Of course, I don't blame the Poles for this habit considering their rough history.
• I have become a master of washing clothes in the hotel bathtub (thank you Tide To Go packets!) although we are sending some of the bigger stuff to the hotel laundry.  But, we are trying to avoid that since the average charge is $6 USD per item.  : (
• No one in Poland goes out dressed casually.  I am quite the anomaly when I walk Charlie in yoga pants and Ugg boots...but since I don't know what people are saying about me and I am really cofortable I don't really care.
• Tom discovered Slingbox...a way to essentially get US Cable television through our computer in Poland...he is one very happy man knowing he will not be without Pawn Stars or Storage Wars.
• We have been heading to various expat social events to get to know people around the city.  It has been wonderful meeting people and getting great "tips" on how to navigate the city and the people.
• Our stuff has arrived!  Now, we only need to have the real estate company get it through customs (tax free please!) and truck it down to Warsaw...it came into a port on the Northern coast.  If we do not have an apartment when it gets here it will briefly go into storage for a week or two.
• Tom is working hard to understand the Polish culture at work.  No one will talk badly or negatively about anyone else in the office no matter what...even if it's their worst enemy.   Therefore, its been a bit hard for Tom to get an accurate depiction of the current problems in the office.  And, let's just say the Poles are not exactly prompt...the buses run inconsistently therefore the Poles do as well.  For a husband who used to have a policy called A.I.S. (ass in seat at a certain time) for his team this has been tough to swallow.

Here is a WONDERFUL article on Warsaw and its recent growth (thank Anglim Family for passing it along).  Definitely read it if you have a few minutes:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Warsaw-on-the-Rise.html

We are trying to negotiate our favorite apartment right now that is a bit more than we were hoping to spend.  And, our condo in Chicago officially goes on the market today.  So, Please send positive energy our way for our housing situations to work themselves out!

Love you all, T&S