Vast improvement

I see my family is linking to my blog on facebook so I just wanted to give a quick update and say that 24 hours later I have my lost bag, I have a phone, I am much better at getting around, I know some essential polish phrases (przepraszam and dzienkuje in particular, "sorry/excuse me" and "thank you"), and it's looking pretty good for me to stay in the apartment I'm currently in. And generally I'm feeling much better about the city and class, etc. I still need to find some food I'll be happy with eating every day, Polish cuisine is a bit heavy, but that will come. Anyway I'm still recovering from my sickness last week and jet lag so I think that contributed to my stress the past few days. I also met with some fellow Atlantis program students so it was good to share all our inside info, concerns, etc. Anyway I'm pretty tired, I went bowling today. I'd mention how funny it was to watch Europeans bowl but I can't really talk because I got quite a few gutter balls. At least I had something resembling form :-P! Even though I don't particularly like bowling it was a good social event and now I know a few international students at CC (there aren't very many). I'm more than happy to hang out with my Atlantis groupies, however! Hopefully I'll be inspired to update more often, we'll see how things go.

First Day in Warsaw

Hello, my small group of followers, did you miss me? I am currently writing this from my temporary apartment in Warsaw, Poland. I don't have a key, a phone, all my luggage, much knowledge of Polish, or any idea how to get around. I also don't know much about what's going on with classes or my fellow atlantis students. Right now I'm also feeling tired and jet lagged and not too hot in general. All things considered, though, I have felt worse and I no longer fear it's the end of the world (once my adapter started working and I regained the internet I have felt more connected, which has helped). I don't want anyone back home to worry about me, it's unproductive. I will probably be ok. I just need a better transition to city life in Poland.

I'm staying with a Polish PhD student who is nice enough, but he doesn't speak English very well and mostly keeps to himself. That's ok by me but until I get a key I can't really leave the apartment without him. That should be coming today or tomorrow.

The luggage situation is pretty uncertain, I reported it missing and gave them both my permanent address back home and my temporary address here, as well as my email since I don't have a phone yet. I have no earthly idea when that will be taken care of or how, but I'm hoping something develops soon.

I'm hoping I can convince someone to help me figure out some things tomorrow, but we'll see about that. As of now I just want to lay down and forget about all these problems, so I may do that. Here's to a more optimistic and positive post in the near future!

Moscow! Days 2-3

So we arrived in Moscow at 6:30 in the morning on the night train, and arriving there was like arriving in New York City for the first time. So much activity, so many people, huge buildings and activity, even early in the morning. (don't forget you can click on the pictures for a larger version!)

We met our guide, pictured above, who was really one of the nicest, sweetest ladies I've ever met. And she knew everything about the city and you could tell she loved it, so her enthusiasm was infectious. I really enjoyed my time in Moscow, and she's probably responsible for a lot of that. Taking the bus, one of the first things I noticed is the utter insanity of Moscow driving.