"Julia, ty mowisz SLABO po polsku"

I stupidly forgot my blog password so I have been writing blogs and not posting them for some time now. Here is the most recent one and expect another in the next week or so because I have so much to write about.

“Julia, ty mowisz slabo po polsku.” Dziekuje, tato.

( Julia, you speak bad polish )

And he is right. I speak bad polish. Polish sounds like television fuzz. Not sure how else to describe it to a person who has not been living in this incredible country for two and a half months.

I am angry. I am angry because I have this ugly, disgusting, horrific, terrible, and a hundred other negative adjectives, american accent. I order something in polish at a McDonalds, and the poor souls who have fetch my french fries respond in English.

So, it is true. Ja mowie SLABO po polsku.

I will start saying “Nie rozumiem po angelsku.” I do not understand english. I do not understand english.

Wroclaw has, after two months, become my home. I know how to read all of the tram stops now, I no longer wind up in the middle of nowhere, lamenting in despair and anxiously texting Patrycja for help. I’ve walked every inch of the Rynek, been to all of the major attractions, and sought out all of the best dance clubs. I have grown up in ways I never imagined possible before I hopped on that plane two months ago. I have never felt more like myself, more content, and more inspired. The world is truly a beautiful place.

AND POLAND IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

I did not choose to come to Poland. I was too old for every other country. When I opened my Rotary acceptance letter almost a year ago (scary!), I crossed my fingers and shut my eyes as I tore through the envelope hoping to see a country name like ITALY, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM spelled out in type 14, Times New Roman bold font. I was met with POLAND.

Poland?! I did not know anything about Poland. I had no idea what the people were like, what the land was like, the climate, the food. I was completely in the dark about Poland. I was not that excited about coming here. I envied Mariah (Mexico), Krystal(Germany), Emily(Belgium). At our orientations, no one thought Poland was all that special. “Oh, you’re going to Poland.... right.... and where is Poland again?”

I would not change my placement for any place in the world. I love this country. The language is ridiculous, but I cannot wait to learn it. The food is fattening, but the extra three kilos feel good on my hips. The boys buy the girls flowers even if they are just going out for a coffee. The streets are alive at 5 am. We dance, we sing, we laugh.

Of course, I miss home at times. Little things remind me of sleepy Milford. Right now, beautifully colored leaves scatter the sidewalks and I miss the hills on fire outside of my bedroom window. I really miss little kids, I do not have younger host siblings and rarely interact with anyone younger than myself.

I have made polish friends, finally, and they are so much fun. It is helping a lot with my language skills. My host family is awesome, even though communication is still difficult. I can usually understand my host parents but sometimes I get nervous and miss what they are saying completely. I cannot really communicate my thoughts fully yet, but hopefully I will get there soon.

I leave in two days for EUROTOUR! I cannot believe it is already here- I will spend November in France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. I cannot wait, I love the other exchange students from around Poland and it will be an amazing trip.

What else?

Jestem BARDZO zmencona. I am very tired.

I will write more later, przeprazam.

Love you all!

Julia