First Day of School?....Maybe not...

February 25 2013

First, I’d like to start this post with the unique finds you might see in Krakow. Here, we have some very friendly gentlemen dressed up to help advertise something related to plant growth…?

So it’s Monday, and the first class I have this week is supposed to be at 1:15pm (or as they use military time in Poland, 13:15). My roommate has class at the same time so we begin our day with a much needed morning run, shower and breakfast/lunch.

Remember what I said about registration? You don’t register for classes the way we do back home – you show up to the first lecture and sign your name on the attendance sheet and I suppose that indicates that you’ve registered. We leave early thinking our classroom might be filled with students all trying to get into our class. I find my building easily and sit outside the classroom 30 minutes before it starts. At least I’m not late!

20 minutes go by and I don’t understand what’s going on. The classroom door is locked and nobody has come to open it, nor have any other students come by even though there are many passing through the hall to get to their other classes. 5 minutes slowly pass and two girls come over and we confirm that we all did in fact come to the right place at the right time, but have no idea what the deal is. Alex, a Canadian girl my age who studied here last semester makes the decision to go to the secretary office to see what’s going on.

Long story short, apparently we were supposed to register online (neither of us knew this) and only one student registered so the class was canceled because 6 students is the minimum. Awesome. I was starting to actually look forward to this class – Spirituality & Development: Psychological Theories.

HUGE disappointment. Plus I’m starting to panic about my credits because I have to take six classes, that’s right, SIX – two additional instead of the normal four to receive enough credits for any of them to transfer back to my school. How freaking fantastic.
Positively, I did make two friends! The three of us left to go get something to eat and talk, making the entire event well worth it.

restless legs syndrome

February 23, 2013

Woke up mid-morning feeling anxious. Definitely needed a run. My roommates were still in bed so I made myself some instant coffee and cereal and got ready for the day. 

          NOTE: instant coffee sucks. They don’t have coffee makers for the home (at least that I know of) 

          and I can’t afford to buy a latte every day (they don’t sell regular drip coffee in the café’s). I don’t 

          know if I just can’t figure out how instant coffee works, but it’s either super water or I feel like 

          I’m literally drinking coffee grounds. This is something I have to force myself to get used to… 

Desperately needing a run, I went out to search something to use as a running route without running through the town and all of the busy people. There’s a scenic path that circles around the outside of Old Town called Planty so that’s were I sought out to find, which wasn’t that difficult to do. Although I have to run the path at least twice since it is only about 4 kilometers, I was excited to run it later. 

We had one final meeting with Piotrek regarding the apartments and everything that goes from living with a roommate to using the appliances and saving energy and all that. Julianna and I nestled ourselves in a little café to enjoy hot coffee and take advantage of their Wifi.
         NOTE: We have not had Wifi or hot water at our apartment since we’ve gotten here. I     

         understand how spoiled I sound by complaining, but it is very frustrating because these 

         things have already been paid for since before we arrived and there really is no rhyme or 

         reason why we don’t have them yet… I can live without the hot water, and also the Wifi – 

         but it’s been very difficult to not be able to reach my family because I am starting to get 

         very homesick (I never thought I’d ever say that…)
It was nice to be in touch with the rest of the world again, even if it was for just a short while but it was time to go. My battery was dying and Julianna and I wanted to run before it got dark out. I forgot to mention how great it is to find a running partner – my roommate!
The run was wonderful, mainly because it felt good to get my muscles moving again. A quick supper, shower and nap took up the rest of my evening before our group went out for the third night in a row. I can honestly say, this is a record for me. 

We took it easy tonight (meaning just one beer each) and settled in a pub with a welcoming appearance and a good, clean atmosphere. The great prices were a sweet surprise and the all day and night open kitchen was very appealing – I’ll have to come back again to try some of that mesmerizing soup that filled my nostrils the entire time. The way the interior was decorated was also pretty unique and fun!