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Picking up from the 7th. I saw the Polska game which puts most sporting events to shame. The crowd was amazingly enthusiatic for the game with phrases which all the people knew. The sight next to the mall, which we were at with 32 LCD screens. The ending result was 2-0, Germany won. Regardless of the outcome, it was a great environment to be around for the 1st half, but the 2nd half was much better somewhere more tame.
7/08: Saw an Opera tonight called Rigoletto. It was amazing, and I had front row seats. The voice of Gilida or something close to that was so amazing, I thought glass would literally shatter. I have never witnessed such a voice! I would highly recommend this Opera if anyone doesn’t really like Opera, generally, like me. Saw the Netherlands destroy the Italian soccer team 3-0 after the game with Konrad too.
7/09: Marta, came down to Krakow today. She’s a friend from Krosno to and I went out with some friends from Texas A/M to see the river and the legendary Krakovian Dragon. We had a fun time going to a club called Prozak and dancing as well, ironically it’s the name of an anti-depressant in America… Weird, huh?
7/10: Vladik had a lecture and we got to see another University where Copernicus attended as a member of the University. The museum was amazing here too, and our tour guide was halarious!
7/11: went out for a Banquet tonight and had a blast at the Jewish Quarter and thanked our professors for all the work, and the Professors thanked us and the Supervisor of the University for all their work. They also played some
7/12: heading out to see the Croatia vs. Germany then the Poland vs. Austria game. Got to grab some pizza and watch the game! Sorry for the quick entry, more to come later, probably tomorrow.
Love you all,
my thoughts and prayers to all of you with the flooding going on in CF. I plan to help out with the relief effort once I return.
POLSKA, POLSKA, POLSKA!
We all were able to see an orchestra last night and get delighted with Bethoven’s 5th, as well as Tschakovski’s music. The pianist was amazing and played EVERYTHING with complete memorization. It was mind-blowing considering he could play for over an hour without having a sheet of music. These musicians were professionals and I couldn’t even point out one flaw in their performances. Before the intermission, loud claps encored the performance of an additional song from the pianist. He played with such passion, that words can’t even elaborate the precision of every chord he struck on the elegant piano. Mom, I know you would have absolutely loved this. It was all so perfectly played, that at times I felt myself dozing off.
One thing I’ve learned more than ever about European life that derails all complaints in the states is their views on oil. Although we complain about our prices of oil being so astronomically high, people pay 4.50 for a liter here. That is about 8 dollars per gallon I was told. 80% of the price is due to the tax, or so I heard. They have tried to deter people from using gas, and it has worked! People are using bikes, motorcycles, and cars in much smaller than what you would see in the states. It’ll be hard to come back and listen to people with an open mind about how bad oil is knowing how crazy it is here. Already, I feel better just having to walk everywhere I go. Walking to and back from the square is about a mile and half. Tours, and additional walking around only further componds this walking. It’s no wonder why all these people are so much skinnier than we are at the states. It actually puts us to shame in every sense of the word. Their preconceived notion of us driving everyone, unfortunately, is true. One counter argument to this would be we have a much more vast landscape than Europe.
The Salt Mines today were mines used for a long time by Poland. UNI and Texas A&M students were lead by our helpful Polish aid Alicia. We were able to see salt tablets built from pure stone by amateur workers that included a sculpture of Copernicus, John Paul II, a military leader very prominent from WWI in Poland, and the person who helped establish the university we are currently in. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures, and so I can only show you a fraction. In fact, I dont want you to see it all, otherwise it would really suck the fun out of showing you everything when I return.
I have been going through a period of minor culture shock and adjustment, but I feel I’m finally starting to adjust myself to the setting. Today, we have a pretty free day post-salt mines and I’m just lounging with Chris in the internet cafe trying to get some pictures uploaded. It takes forever to upload to facebook, and I’ll have to get a memory stick, so I can just worry about all that later. It’ll cost me too many Z’s or zeuletas (the equivilancy of dollars, about times 2) here in Poland. I want to post more, but I believe you need some pictures. Here they are.
main square
Everyone at the orchestra.
Orchestra Hall
Main room in salt mine
Last Supper entirely in Salt.
