European Snow Blowing....

No snowblowers here...but an effective snow removal method!

Europe Learning #2

Somehow, Tom and I brought the Chicago winter weather with us.  The week prior to arrival in Warsaw the weather was in the 40's and this week it has been in the Teens and snowing.  But, supposedly the warm weather is coming soon.  While out and about I have been wearing my ear muffs to keep my ears nice and toasty.  And, I have noticed a lot of Polish people giving me a second look.  At first, I assumed it was simply because I am an American.  But, then I started looking for other ear muff wearers....and in my almost week here I have not found a single one!  And, the Poles really bundle up here in the weather...hats, scarfs, gloves, mittens, but...NO earmuffs!  Maybe I'll start importing them and start my own earmuff business, although by the looks I am getting I am not sure how popular it will be.  My earmuffs are keeping my ears warm and my hair looking good, so I have no plans to change my plans.  : )

As a side note, Tom and I had a low key anniversary celebration last night.  We went and picked up kebabs (or k-bobs as the Polish pronounce it) for dinner.  Kebabs are pretty much the Polish version of a gyro sandwich.  Chicken or lamb meat inside of an extra thin pita bread filled with lots of shredded cabbage (surprise surprise!).  They are really delicious and made for a nice quick dinner after a long day at work for Tom.

Europe Learning #2:  The Polsih don't wear earmuffs....or at least I haven't found the ones that do!

Step By Step...

Well, it's offically been 3 days and we are feeling more and more comfortable over here.  I feel like with each passing day we learn something new that helps us feel like we might know a little bit what about what we are doing.  It is truly an odd feeling being in a new country.  I was telling Tom that I feel like I am a little kid again that needs to learn everything...the language, the location, cultural differences (who knew you kiss someone 3 times when greeting them but only if you know them well), and more.  But, we are taking it one step at a time and each day feels like a big accomplishment with as we learn something new or venture into a new area of town. 

Today Tom and I are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary!  Who would have thought 4 years ago that we would be living in Warsaw.  : )  To celebrate the occassion I decided I wanted to get Tom a card.  After passing a lot of various stores on walks with Charlie none of them seemed like they sold cards.  In the states, I would have turned to Walgreens or CVS, but here a drug store is literally a drug store...not much more.  So, I asked the concierge at the hotel (who thought I was looking for playing cards for a good 3 minutes).  After we got our communication straight he suggested that I walk to the mall, about 10 minutes away, and go to the stationary store.  I didn't have a chance to go there today because I was out looking at apartments with a real estate agent and it is snowing here and quite cold.  But, I wonder where else in Poland you can buy a greeting card besides a stationary store?  Who knows...we'll figure it out.  This year I'll simply tell Tom how much he means to me.  ; )

Tom has been working hard trying to get settled into the office. He definitely has his hands full trying to understand the personalities in the office, deal with the cultural differences, and clean up a bunch of administration messes.  He got his new laptop for work today and had to call the IT department in France for help...needless to say he was on the phone with them for over an hour and its still not working.  I do have to say that I am really proud of him for taking all of this in stride.  He is chipping away at it a little bit at a time and doing his best to stay calm.  Charlie and I have been walking over to his office every day at lunch time to take a quick walk together.  It is great getting to see him in the middle of the day!

Last night we met up with an International group that we found through facebook.  They hold events every week or so.  We met them for drinks at a trendy bar downtown.  We were both tired, but glad that we went.  We met a nice group of people - some International expats and some Poles who have moved to Warsaw for work.  It was a welcome relief to get some basic help on things like bank accounts with different currency and the cheapest ways to talk to family at home.  It makes it easier talking with people who have gone through the same experiences.

Tom and I are planning a low key night of celebrating our anniversary! 

We Made It!

Wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely and soundly to Warsaw!  We took the overnight flight on Sunday night and arrived on Monday afternoon.  The flight was uneventful, except for Tom and I worrying quite a bit about Charlie in the cargo area for pets under the plane.  When we picked Charlie up in the airport he was thrilled to see us and seemed to be just fine...which was a welcome relief.  We then took our 7 bags and Charlie and headed to our short term home- the Westin Warsaw.

The Westin is a great hotel and is located right downtown, only a few blocks from Tom's office (which is really convenient)!  We also were able to get an executive level room which gives us free internet, free breakfast and free cocktails from 5-7pm.  After showering and trying to unpack all of our bags in our room we took Charlie for a nice long walk around the city.  He thoroughly enjoyed all of the new sights, smells and sounds.  He was quite inquisitive.  We went against the Polsih norms and picked up his feces...although it is quite apparent that what we heard is true...the Poles don't pick up after their dogs.  : )

The Westin - Our Interim Home

Charlie checking out his Food

Charlie's New Dog Bed

Then we headed to the 19th floor for our free cocktails.  I enjoyed a glass of champagne and Tom had a glass of red wine to celebrate our arrival.  I could defintiely get use to champagne every day!  We then went out to grab dinner but had trouble finding a spot to eat since it was Valentine's Day and we did not have reservations.  Apparently, the Poles adopted Valentine's Day about 5 years ago and it has been super popular ever since.  At this point we were totally exhausted and hungry, so we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a quick bite at the hotel bar.

Charlie relaxing under the beautiful flowers that Tom brought me home from the market for Valentine's Day!

After an okay night sleep (we both woke up in the middle of the night wide awake)  Tom got ready and headed off to work.  Charlie and I slept in and then went for a walk.  When we woke up we had a quick skype session with my parents, which was great!  We later met Tom at lunch time for a quick walk which was nice. 

It feels great to finally be here and in some ways we still feel like we are in limbo until we are in a real new home (e.g. our apartment).  But, that will come soon enough.  I also feel a bit lost....as if I am in the middle of this city with no idea what is going on and where I am. I know that this will change over time as we get more and more adjusted.  Charlie and I have plans for different walks each day to start getting our bearings.

Thank you all for your emails, messages and notes of support!  It means the world to us as we undergo this transition.  Please note that my cell phone number does not work over here...so if you text me or call me on it I will not get it.  We are working on getting me a local cell phone this weekend...so stay tuned.  And, I will provide updates on the cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch.  In the interim, log on to skype so we can try and reach one another.  And, if you are a verizon customer or own an iphone you can download skype mobile/skype to your cell phone and we can talk for free! 

Counting Down

After a couple of cancelled flights and close to 24 hours of straight travel, Tom finally made it back to Chicago.  We are now officially counting down before our departure.  We will be leaving in 7-9 days...depending on how quickly our visa's get finalized.  We are super excited to finally be off on our adventure!  For a few weeks now, it seems like it has been a bit of a waiting game so we are anxious to get over there. 

But, as excited as we are, we are equally if not more sad to be leaving our favorite people.  We were so fortunate to spend Saturday night with Tom's family having a nice family dinner and get together.  We decided to spend the night over there to get some extra precious time in with our nieces, Estella and Ana Lucia, and sleep in a real bed instead of on an air mattress.  Thanks for a great dinner Katie!  It's funny how once you are aware of the finite time you have before you will be leaving how you really become aware of each and every moment and feel so blessed to have it!  Fortunately, with all of the great technology we will only be a quick skype call away!

Our niece, Ana Lucia

Baby Tom, Mrs. Sullivan, Olivia, Ana Lucia and Estella (our 3 nieces and nephew and Tom's Mom)



Eastlake Terrace Snow

After a great day with the Gray Family, Charlie and I needed to head home.  We called 3 different cab companies without any luck.  We waited for one for two hours but no one ever showed up.  So, we turned to plan B, public transportation.  Charlie and I packed our bag and hiked out of Lauren's to Clark Street.  We ran to catch the bus and the bus driver (who definitely saw us) quickly sped away.  Ugh...so frustrating.  Luckily, a second bus pulled up shortly afterward excpet they would not let Charlie on the bus without a dog crate.  I pleaded with the driver that he is a well-behaved dog that had "done his business" but no luck.  The bus kept going without Charlie and me.  Our last option was to wait for a cab and pray that an empty one would pass us on the street.  While waiting I saw a Chicago Police Department SUV coming down the street.  I flagged it down and in my sweetest voice pleaded my case, "A stranded girl and her dog needed a ride half a mile north".  Fortunately, they said yes and Charlie and I hitched a ride north.  Let's hope that is the first and last time that we are in the back of a CPD vehicle. 

The cops were only able to get us to the Sheridan/Howard intersection near our house because our street has not been plowed.  In fact, our street has some of the largest snow drifts in the city (since we live right on the water).  I have NEVER seen anything in my life quite like this.  Almost every car on the street is covered to the very top of the roof with snow.  There are drifts as high as 10 feet in the middle of the street.  The pictures don't do it justice but will give you a general idea.  I have no idea how the city is going to even start to get rid of this snow.  I think they are going to have to use a dump truck to get it out before they think about plowing.   Let's hope the city starts to get rid of some of this snow tomorrow....we have errands to run before the move.

Looking Down our Street

People on top of the Snow Drifts on our Street

The Frozen Lake outside of our Building

The left of the fence is our Street

Pathway to our Building Entrance

Car on our Street - completely buried

Snowmageddon 2011

Well, Charlie and I have survived the great Chicago Blizzard of 2011.  We left the condo last night to take cover at my friend Lauren's house.  With 15-25 foot waves predicted off of the lake we were pretty concerned about waves/ice potentially breaking through our windows.  Thankfully, the waves never got quite that large.  We had a wonderful time spending some unexpected quality time with great friends.  We ordered in pizza and hung out and relaxed.  Today we spent the day watching people try and shovel out their cars and went out to play in the snow.  Charlie totally loved it, but could barely walk in it it was so high.  Many thanks to the Gray Family for letting us crash at their place!

Lauren and Ayden playing in the Snow

Lauren's Street right ourside her Condo

Ayden and Charlie having a blast!

Ayden couldn't get enough of the snow