beginning a blog update, trying to make friends from scratch, learning Polish after studying Spanish, rising from my warm bed early in the morning, living with a new family after a comfortable 18 years in another, finding my way around a city when I could traverse the Twin Cities with my eyes closed.
These are some of the challenges the beginning brings.
But with a beginning are new chances. This week I had several opportunities that I would never had in MN.
This past weekend I went with my family to Święty Krzyż. Sw Krzyż is a monastery atop one of the peaks in the Świętokrzyski Mountains outside of Kielce. It holds relics of the Holy Cross (the cross that Jesus was crucified on) and has been a very popular pilmagrige site since the medieval ages. There are two ways of reaching Sw Krzyż, both include walks/hikes. My host family and I took the easier (ie paved) walk to the top of the mountain and though I would love to go back and hike the other side, the walk to the top was beautiful.
On Sunday the Monastery was hosting a choir festival. The music was beautiful, but unfortunately a lot of the church/tourist stuff was closed. I did, however, see where the relics are kept. After visiting the church we ate bigos (a traditional Polish dish made of stewed sourcrout and kielbasa). I saw the preserved mummy of a Polish prince, pretty cool - you don't have to go to Egypt to see a mummy!
After our hike down we went to Święta Katarzyna, another holy site in the mountains. A well believed to cure eye problems is located there. It is very beautiful, especially with the fall colors, but unfortunately for me the morning after washing my eyes with this water I woke-up with very sore and red eyes. Apparently it was not my turn to recieve a miracle!
On Monday evening I attended my first Rotary meeting here in Kielce. It is a small Rotary club, only about 20 members present, especially compared to my home Rotary club with almost 200 members! However, everyone was very kind. After kolacje (dinner) I gave a presentation about me, my family, MN and my Rotary Club. The presentation went very well and I really enjoyed sharing it with them. Unlike some Rotary clubs I am not expected to go to weekly meetings, so I will visit with them again near Christmas!
Tuesday morning, bright and early, I left for Kraków. This was my 4th time visiting Kraków, but I absolutely love the city and would visit many more times! This trip was with a history class at my school. We visited the Wawel Cathedral, Castle, St. Mary's Church and a new art Polish art museum in the Cloth Hall. It was an incredibly full day of touring, but I really enjoyed it. The tour was in Polish and I understood much more than I thought I would. Luckily, the tourguide also spoke English and though she didn't translate the whole tour, she would give me an explanation on the most important things!
Lastly, in a few hours I will be leaving for my first trip outside of Poland! For the next week I will be touring central Europe - Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Berlin! I am going with 7 other exchangers and I am incredibly excited! I promise to take lots of pictures and will write when I return! Because beginnings may be hard, but the results are incredible!
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