Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Poland

So maybe you are wondering what i have learned since i have been here, i was wondering that too and i have come up with my "Top Six".  So here we go!

6.When someone says "My English is terrible", don't take their word for it.  I've carried on longer--more intelligent-- conversations with some "terrible English" speakers than i have with some of my peers in college.

5. Watch for dog-poop....cuz it's everywhere. I have learned to watch where i step; yes, there have been a couple close encounters....of the "number two" kind. 

4.  There is no "space bubble" here.  I wondered why people kept "cutting" me in line.  Turns out they weren't blind, i was just not in line as communicated through my proximity to the register.

3.  "Milk Soup"= cereal.  Yeah, i am bringing that back to the States, it will be in the urban dictionary within 5 months.

2.  The door with the circle--not the triangle--is the women's bathroom.  "Give me a sign, Lord!" I begged in my mind as I stood, legs crossed at the knees, waiting for someone to come out of either one.  A crack in the door and the mystery was revealed!  A woman emerged, from the door bearing a circle.  It was a miracle...of the simplest kind.

1.  Just because they have small bathrooms, does not mean they have midget toilets.  This may sound strange at first, but soon you will understand.  Imagine you have come to a country where it seems that things are designed to take up less space, and therefore tend to be smaller: refrigerators, showers, washers, etc.  Now imagine your first time using the toilet at the home you are staying with this in mind. Since everything else seems to be so small, would it surprise you that the toilet also seems a bit....small?  Of course not, it only seems to make sense.  But then imagine your surprise, when in conversation with your host, you mention your observation of this difference and you are met with laughter followed by the remark, "You didn't flip up the kiddie seat?"  Yeah....i thought the kiddie seat was some kind of "cultural difference" in the making of toilets in Poland.  

I hope you enjoyed my vast store of Polish wisdom.  I will be sure to shed more light in the future as i learn even more.

Today was a great day.  Went to Holy Start (soup kitchen) for the first time today.  Got to scrub and scour the burnt pots of soup, use my waitressing skills, and clean toilets!  Met three new wonderful ladies who i will work with there over the next four months:  Gosha, Theresa and Asha.  All sweet ladies who know very little English, so i hope i will pick some Polish up from them, and they can learn some English from me! 
Then it was off to home to work on Bible studies.  It was snowing today!  An there was a beautiful sunrise, so it was a special day.  Now it is just really windy and wet, which makes for not such nice walking conditions tomorrow.  :(
Tonight was a first experience night since we ran out of gas!  I was going to heat my soup up on the stove and Ula comes in, trying to communicate to me that the gas is out!  Sadness, since i was really hungry and looking forward to my soup!  But!  Instead i got to share a meal with Diana, my other roomie who speaks English--as well as 4 other languages!  She informed me that i have strange tastes....i was eating celery, carrots, and apple cut up with peanut butter.  I asked her if she would like to try it and she did try a celery stick with peanut butter.....apparently celery is not very popular because it is considered only a food you eat when you are "on a diet".  And peanut butter is just not very popular.  What was she eating?  Well, "Milk Soup" actually!  Learning that tonight is what inspired me to write my "Top Five" tonight!  Along with a roll topped with butter and honey.  :)