One month and going strong...

Things are getting better. They began to improve as soon as we received our air freight and the kids got most of their things in that delivery. Then, it got even better when we got our DSL connection and with it Vonage. It is great to be able to talk to people in English as if I were still at home.

The language is becoming easier to read at least. I can’t pronounce words very well. Like in German, all the “w” sound like “v’s” which doesn’t help since those are favorite letters in Polish words. We live near an area called Wilanow which is pronounced “Vilanov.” Very confusing. I’m happy to report that Thing 1 has actually picked up quite a few Polish words from his Polish culture class. He took me by surprise when he said good morning to his teachers in Polish. It was very cute. I met a Polish nanny at the park last week who taught me a few words while Thing 2 played with the little girl she was caring for.

I must say that, so far, every meal has been a pleasant surprise. The only one that left something to be desired was Chinese take out. You can find every type of cuisine here. The only thing I haven’t had here is American food (but they have that here too in the form of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc). The pierogies are delicious and they make them with every kind of filling imaginable (including chocolate!). We’ve also had some French and Italian food that exceeded our expectations. Portions are just right. Water here is sold in two varieties (until I came here I was unaware of this). With gas (gasowana) and without gas (nie gasowana). What I mean by gas is carbonation (with bubbles if you will). People drink this like we drink bottled water in the US. You have to specify what you want when you order to avoid a shock to your taste buds.

There is also a great service here called “Room Service.” This is take out like I have never seen. This business has a website which is also in English where you can order food from a number of different restaurants. This isn’t just neighborhood fare. They have every time of cuisine imaginable. We decided to try it when we got here and were very pleased. We order in at least once per week. They even have these portable machines (tiny) to process your debit cards. Prices are comparable to the US and sometimes cheaper depending on the cuisine.

I am happy to report that my grocery bill has indeed been cut in half just by moving here. I bought 5 containers of formula the other day (about 61 oz) comparable to 2 large cans and 1 small can in the US. I paid about $15 USD for all five. The same amount would have run me about $62 USD in the states. A big pack of Pampers is about $8 USD. Deli meat, cheese, bread, and produce are much cheaper. You can get a pound of turkey for about $1 USD. Same for most things listed above. Packaged goods are sold in smaller quantities, but interestingly, I don’t find myself buying more to make up for it. Speaking of packaged good….Packaging here leaves much to be desired. For example, in the US ie cream is sold in a carton. Here, it is sold in plastic carton. The Cat in the Hat accidentally dropped a bag two weeks ago and his ice cream carton cracked and spilled everywhere. They don’t sell good quality freezer bags or sandwich bags like Zip Loc. I was informed of this prior to leaving and did not question it. I bought plastic bags, trash bags, etc in bulk. I’m glad I did. I don’t think I’ll have to buy any for the rest of our time here.

Shopping malls around here are rather new when you consider that communism only ended here about 17 years ago. However, they are everywhere and they are just something else. And they are not small. Most malls and grocery stores are gigantic. Some have escalators without steps so you can take your strollers onboard. Most malls also have a grocery store. I found one the other day that was advertised as having 100 registers. Many of the grocery stores are open 24 hours. Here is a website of one of the British chains here, Tesco. For the polish version of any website, add “pl” instead of “com”.

The mall nearest to us is the Sadyba Best Mall. It is about a 15 minute walk away from home. This one is a bit smaller compared to my favorite one thus far, Galeria Mokotow. Every mall that I have seen or been in has an IMAX theater. Movies are shown in English with Polish subtitles except for the children’s movies which are dubbed in Polish. The American School provides screening of children’s movies in English before the dubbed version opens in theaters. Movies show up here about 3-4 months after they are released in the US unless it is a blockbuster and then it tends to open the same weekend. Considering that I am still able to receive Netflix’s while I’m here, I doubt I will be seeing any movies here since they are probably out on DVD before they get here.

So far so good here in Warsaw. The time is going to be changing soon. We will see how we adjust to the long nights.

Adjusting to life in a new country

On a more philosophical note, I have been doing lots of thinking in the past two weeks about how difficult it is for an immigrant to adapt to a new country and a new way of life. Everyone says it’s difficult and you can imagine how difficult it could be, but even with my own Hispanic heritage, the reality doesn’t even come close.

When I worked with Hispanic clients in DC and FL I thought I understood or empathized with what they were going through. While I may have been empathic to what they were going through, I really had no clue how hard it was or is for them. In social work, we tend to be concerned about our clients who isolate themselves and have no social support. But when you struggle with language barriers and cultural differences, I can understand how you could isolate yourself and be perfectly happy and comfortable with that choice. I have traveled to many countries and traveling does expose you to these differences, but on a very small time limited scale. Once your vacation is over you get to go back to the US and to everything you know.

For some of these people, this is not an option because as difficult as it is in the US, conditions are far worse in their country of origin. It is very eye opening. Another thought is that many of the immigrants that come to the US have little or no education. I rely on my education (especially language) a lot to figure things out here and I can’t imagine being in their position. I certainly don’t take it for granted anymore.

We certainly do live in a great country (the US) despite what we think of politically, economically, etc. No matter how hard you think life in the US is, you can guarantee that it is always harder for people somewhere else in the world.

Dzien Dobry!

Dzien Dobry or “Jane Dobre” ! This means good day or good morning in Polish. As you can see, this is one of the many challenges with trying to speak Polish. Nothing sounds the way it is spelled and vice versa. Some other examples:

Please or Prosze is pronounced “Proh-sheh”
Thank you or Dziekuje is pronounced “Jane Koo Yeh”

Yes is “tak” and no is “nie.” At least that sounds the same as the written word.

We have been here now for 2 weeks and this is pretty challenging. I think that my brain has made so many new connections that it has gained some new brain cells. People ask me if I’ve explored the city. I have been out around my neighborhood, to the grocery store, some restaurants, the park and mall, but touristy areas I have yet to check out. Why not? Because moving to a new country is very different from vacationing in one as you will see below.

In addition to looking up words in my Polish-English dictionary, I have spent the last week relearning metric conversions for distance, weight, volume, and temperatures. Time is on the 24 hour clock more commonly known in the US as “military time.”

Despite making a grocery list to include Polish translations for what I needed, grocery shopping still took us about 3 hours this past weekend which felt more like an 8 hour work day. On Saturday, which is when we went, it was a madhouse. This is also complicated by the fact that for the Polish the concept of personal space is lost. I have been told that due to the years of Communism here, they are used to waiting in line and getting very close to the people in front of them to avoid people cutting in. I don’t know how accurate this is. It is definitely cultural, but very annoying to my American need for personal space. People will get right in front of you while you browse and don’t even excuse themselves.

Everything seems to take longer. When you pick out produce, you have to take it to a counter where it is weighed and a sticker is placed on the bag that states the price instead of the scanner weighing it at checkout. When you checkout, there is no one to bag groceries for you either. We are so spoiled in the US. Once we are done with checkout, we have to go to guest services to get a VAT receipt. VAT or Value Added Tax is added to practically everything you buy in Europe and can be as much as 22%. Luckily, the Embassy reimburses us for VAT, but we must secure the receipt first. In a way, it is like a monthly savings account since you get lots of cash back every 6 months. By the time we finished shopping on Saturday, we all needed naps and some aspirin.

In regards to the language, the first week, I had no clue what Thing 2 was eating except for the picture on the food jar. They have Gerber here and a German brand called HIPP. Nestle is big here and their NAN formula is widely available. I tried to transition Thing 2 to this formula on Friday but failed to think about one big problem – how much formula to how many ounces of water. Everything is in milliliters and in Polish. The scoop is also much smaller. I was thinking how much different can it be. She takes about 8 ounces 3 times per day and in the US it is 1 scoop per 2 ounces. So I was giving her 4 scoops. Well, I took the can with me to Thing 1's school for a translation and it turns out that with this formula it is 1 scoop per ounce. I was giving her 4 scoops and it should have been 8. Well, she was very hydrated, but not getting much nutrition. I guess it’s better than if I had given her too much and strained her kidneys.

Driving here is scary. The roads here are awful and I hear that in Warsaw it is better than driving in other more rural areas. Some roads are still dirt roads. Cars squeeze tightly next to each other. They tailgate and cut in front of cars kind of like they do in the USA only the driving resembles that of a NYC cab driver. If driving is scary, walking is even more daunting. You have to be very careful when you turn a corner because cars turn very fast and may not notice you are standing at the curb or walking up the street. Other than this, it is pretty safe to walk around the city.

Thing 1 started his new preschool this week. The International Preschool of Warsaw (IPW) http://www.preschool.pl is located in a 4 level town house. He has done better than I could have hoped for. His teacher was very welcoming and apparently had talked to the kids about Thing 1 arrival. They were very friendly to him and by the end of the first day he was already talking about his “friends.” He already has a few girls flirting with him in the mornings. He is oblivious to this although he likes to play with them. He is definitely enjoying himself.

The children are multiethnic. There are some American kids, Polish kids, German kids, Austrian Kids, Danish kids, and Korean kids. Some of them are not fluent in English, but I think their parents enrolled them in this school in hopes that they would pick up English. The classes are small and there are 2 teachers per class. Each floor of the school houses a different class. Their curriculum includes science, math, Polish culture class, music, art and drama class catered to their level of understanding. For example, last week for science, they talked about the weather and seasonal changes since autumn is in full swing here. For drama, they pretended to be autumn leaves. In Polish culture class, they learned some colors in Polish and some Polish words. Music and art are similar to what you would find in the US. They were learning to write letters and numbers as well just as Thing 1 has been this past year.

Not having a car yet, we rely on taxis and bus transportation. I mostly take the taxi to take Thing 1's to school and walk everywhere else. The Cat in a Hat takes the bus to work. Some of the Cat in a Hat's colleagues pick us up to take us to the stores or to social gatherings. I still miss my car. I don’t like depending on other people to take me places even if I pay them to do so.

I registered with the local “Mums and Tots” group http://www.mumsandtots.com. They have about 160 members from all over the world and have activities everyday of the week mostly for children under 3, but they are starting a preschool playgroup in November. I’m waiting for Thing 2 to get over her cold before I take her. We thought she was getting better, but I think Thing 1 brought something home from school last week because he was also coughing and had a runny nose. Now, they both have the same cold. The weather may have something to do with it as it has gotten much cooler in the past week. The high was in the 60’s with a low in the 40’s this week and very windy which made it much cooler. By next week, the highs will be in the 50’s and the lows in the 30’s. The kids have already started wearing their coats and Thing 2 looks like an Eskimo in hers.

We got our Armed Forced Network (AFN) box connected. This provides us with programming from the US a day after it airs there. They have a family channel that has all the shows Thing 1 enjoyed back home. This is great because I was getting really tired of watching the same taped shows over and over. They connected the box on Friday and after it loaded we had the channels but no sound. The Cat in a Hat bought some video cables to reconnect the box and now we have sound, but a black and white picture. We have to try to figure this out. Our DSL connection may take weeks because one of Josh’s colleagues arrive in late August and he still doesn’t have his. Polish TV is interesting. They seem to have Polish versions of shows that we are familiar with. For example, they have “Deal or No Deal” and Super Niania (Supernanny).

While people and establishments are kid friendly, many places are not equipped for their needs. For example, I couldn’t even find a high chair in the mall food court to feed Thing 2. The baby changing areas were locked and I have no idea where to get the key. There was a sign above the door which I took a picture of so that I could translate it later. I think it will tell me where to get a key. It’s like a scavenger hunt.

Not as easy as it looks kids! I'm sure we will adapt soon though!

The Expatriate Community in Warsaw

My impression is that the expatriate community here is quite large and tight knit. It not only includes the usual government personnel, but also employees of American companies based here. We went to the Embassy on Friday and spent sometime there grabbing some items at the commissary and checking in with the Cat in a Hat's office. They showed us around and scheduled us both (I didn’t know I had to do all this) for briefings with different offices including a meeting with the Ambassador. Things appear to be very organized.

There is a “Mums and Tots” group made of the expatriate community in general that I will be joining with Thing 2 as soon as I get Thing 1 to school. They plan daily activities for mothers and children (meetings at coffee houses, parks, malls, play parks (like Chuck E Cheese) etc.). An American Community Association (ACA) assists us with everything from setting up our mobile phones and satellite TV to taking our car for servicing when needed. They will even go with you to by a car and will serve as a translator in other situations. The ACA also arranges trips within Poland and to neighboring countries. There is a medical office that consists of several pediatricians on the local economy. They speak English and make house calls. If you are sick, you call the Embassy and they will put you in touch with one of the doctors. The Embassy also offers tours of the local hospitals in case we ever need to go there (hopefully not!).

They offer Polish classes a few times per week. This will be great because all I know how to say is “good morning.” One thing I did notice is that some words resemble other languages. So, if it contains a word similar to the one in English, Spanish, Italian or French, I can pretty much understand the topic that is being discussed, but not specifics.

Yesterday, we went to a BBQ hosted by another couple who works at the Embassy. We were able to meet lots of people, all very friendly, including Thing 1's preschool director who will be picking us up sometime this week to take us to the school and orient Thing 1 before he starts. Thing 1 was very outgoing and friendly. He was chasing some girls shortly after we got there. He seems to have a thing for older women since this is not the first time he has done this

So far, we feel quite at home here in Warsaw!

Shopping in Poland.

Shopping was an adventure. They do have many American brands here in the local stores. It’s amazing how the human mind looks for the familiar when you are in a different environment. It’s like you gravitate towards what you know, your comfort zone.

Our sponsor took us shopping at a local grocery store that is connected to our local mall, the Sadyba mall. The Cat in the Hat's colleague, took us to the larger markets. These types of stores are called hypermarkets and they have everything you could possibly need to buy. They resemble Target/Walmart Supercenters that have grocery stores within. All these stores accept credit/debit cards. Smaller local stores accept cash only. Aside from American goods which may be a bit pricier, other items are really cheap. My grocery bill was cut in half.

It took us about 3 hours to complete our shopping, doing our best to figure out what different products were. Pictures helped! We were exhausted after that outing.

Our Polish House

The many pictures of our home that were sent to us did not express how large our house would be. We have a townhouse. Most townhouses in the US can be on the small side. On the outside, it does not this house does not look like much. But, once we opened the fortress that was our door (a steel door with large (really large) old keys that led to a regular door with regular keys)…it was something else. For those of you who have read or seen Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire, it is similar to when they arrived at the campsite for the Quidditch World Cup and entered what looked like a regular tent only to find a huge suite awaiting them. That was what it was like!

The bottom level consists of a furnished basement complete with a sunken fireplace, living room furniture and an area that can be used for another bedroom or a playroom. It has a half bath. This is Thing 1's favorite room because the sunken fireplace has a bench that surrounds it and he thinks it is a “campfire.” He would like to roast marshmallows and sit around the fire to sing songs. We have to find marshmallows soon….On the bottom level is a door that leads to the garage, another door to a laundry room/furnace area, and yet another door for storage. There is even an extra freezer in the basement.

As you go up the stairs, past the entrance, you come to the 1st level which is the main living area consisting of the kitchen, dining room, living room, den and a full bath with a shower. The pictures of the kitchen made it look small at first, but it is actually quite large and has more cabinet space than I originally thought. The dining room is furnished with a dining room table, server table, china cabinet, and a wine cabinet.

The living room has your usual living room furniture, a TV with VCR and DVD player. There is a door that leads to a large deck that then leads to some stairs into a fenced in backyard. They even have wood under the deck for the fireplace. The dogs love the yard. We have never had a fenced in yard so this is great to let them run around in without them wandering off. The den is equipped with office furniture, computer, and bookcase.

As you go up the stairs to the 2nd level, you proceed to the bedrooms, and master bath The rooms are quite large. There is a walk in closet separate from the bedrooms. Each room has a wardrobe. Thing 1 thinks this is cool and also a bit scary since he saw the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe and seems to think that Narnia is in his closet too. Thing 1's room has a twin bed, dresser, armoire and desk with bookcases. Thing 2's has a twin bed, night table temporary crib, dresser, armoire and a nice comfy chair that is great for bedtime bottles. Our room has 2 wardrobes, a dresser, armoire, and two nightstands. All the bedrooms have ceiling fans and the master bedroom has air conditioning. The rest of the house does not, but it really doesn’t need it since it stays quite nice inside with the fans alone and open windows when necessary. Each room has a balcony.

The master bath is huge. It has a shower, tub, his and her sinks, and lots of cabinets for linens and other personal items. The floors are heated so when you step out of the shower you don’t encounter a cold floor in the winter. In fact, there are hardwood floors throughout the house that are heated. There is area carpeting under the furniture. All the rooms have curtains. While I am not a fan of curtains because of Thing 1 and my asthma/allergies, and the color and style of the curtains is not what I would prefer, they do have a bright side. The kids can’t tell when the sun is up (they usually wake up with the sunrise) and because of this they have both been sleeping in. It has been great.

The 2nd level has a spiral staircase that leads to the 3rd level which consists of a small attic and another full bath. This small attic is a loft that overlooks Thing 1's room. He loves it because it is a decent size play area where he can finally leave out his many playsets that did not fit in our home before. There is a large park with a huge playground around the block from our house.

Most Polish housing have bars because while crimes against people are virtually non existent, there is crime against property and burglaries do happen. When I tell you that the house is a fortress, I mean that. There is an alarm system, steel doors to all main entryways in addition to your usual door and bars on the windows. If someone really wanted to break in, they are going to really have to work at it. You should have seen the keys that came to the door - the big old keys like the ones used to jail prisoners in the old days. I actually have keyholes I peek through.

Some interesting differences we noted right away had to do with the light switches and doors. The light switch is on the outside of the bathroom and other common areas, rather than inside, yet they are located inside for the bedrooms. When you think about it, that makes more sense than having them inside a room. Further, some doors open out while others open in. That was not as bad as the light switches. I have spent the last few days confused reaching for a light switch inside the bathroom.

Toilets are also different. For one, they have flush control so that you don't use up as much water. They also seem to not have much water in them as a rule. Only when you flush does the bowl fill up.

Overall, we are happy with our house. The only thing I would change is the drab couches we were given. We shipped our bedroom furniture (not pictured here), but did not ship our living room/dining room furniture. Now I wish we had!

The Warsaw Airport

The Warsaw airport is not as modern as most European airports. However, all the signs were in Polish and English. Airport personnel spoke English. It was very easy to navigate through the airport. The airport only has one Terminal so it is very busy. After we collected our many bags and our dogs (who survived their ride in cargo), we were greeted at the airport by not only our social sponsor, but also the Ambassador’s wife. That was a bit unexpected and surprising. I don’t know if that is protocol or not, but she brought us some flowers which was very nice. We were picked up by an Embassy van and whisked to our new home for the next three years.

Moving to Warsaw, Poland

After months of planning, preparation, and a three day pack out, we left the United States and made it to Poland on Thursday afternoon/Thursday morning . It was difficult saying good-bye especially for my mother. Thing 1 was very sad to say goodbye to his grandmother, aunt and uncle and his cousin. We had lots of talks about feeling happy and sad at the same time and how missing people we love is normal. He became anxious and developed a rash for which he was given some Atarax both to treat the rash and calm him down. I only needed to use it that first day because once we got going he seemed to be fine.

It was a long, but uneventful trip although it took us nearly 2 ½ hours to check in and get through security in the United States. We literally went through security and went straight to the gate to board our flight.  It was great since the overnight flight allowed both kids to sleep. Thing 1 slept from the beginning of the flight to the end. Thing 2 woke up sporadically throughout the night. She was very excited throughout the trip and traveled better than she did back in August.

The worst that happened was that we left Thing 1’s DVD player with all his favorite movies on board our first flight. Luckily, United Airlines tracked it down and are mailing it to my mother as I write so she can ship it back to us. Thing 1 has no idea that this occurred because he has been keeping very busy playing all over his new home and watching his favorite TV shows that I taped over the last two months while he was at school. Don’t ask, don’t tell policy if you ask me. Hopefully, I will get it back before he even asks.