Language learning

Oh the joys of learning a foreign language. Some days are great and you feel like you are really understanding and doing well while other times you realize that three year olds and the local dogs understand more then you do. Now add learning Polish to the challenge of leaning another language. People have told me that the hardest language to learn is the one that you are currently learning. Well, I don’t believe they have every tried to learn Polish. Don’t miss understand... I love learning Polish! Daily its a challenge and after language class my head hurts but I find the whole process extremely exciting and fulfilling. Even with its great difficultly it’s just one more thing that will always be dear to my heart.

Extended family

My wonderful American-Polish family! AKA...Team NE Poland.

Texas bound

July 28th-September 28th I'll be in Texas with family and friends. I'll be returning to Poland September 29th. Look forward to more blog post about what is happening in Poland once I return.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Boża Ciało

What is it?

Corpus Christi is a Catholic observance that honors the Holy Eucharist. It is also known as the Feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ, as well as the Day of Wreaths.

What do people do?
In commemoration of the Last Supper on the day before Jesus’ crucifixion, many around the world receive Communion on this day. In Poland the consecrated bread is paraded throughout the streets.

Background:
Corpus Christi is a festival that has been celebrated by many in the Catholic Church, in honor of the Eucharist since 1246. The name “Corpus Christi” is a Latin phrase that refers to the body of Christ.

The wonderful world of tea!

One thing I love about living in Europe is the wide range of teas you can pick from. When at the grocery store it's my favorite aisle to go down. I could spend hours there! When I finally make it back to the States hot tea is one thing about Europe that I will miss for sure.

Eyjafjallajokull..thats a mouth full!

When you think of a natural disaster you often think of hurricanes, tornados, flash floods and such. However, I bet many of you, including myself never thought of volcanos as a part of that category. Well with the Iceland Eyjafjallajokull volcano Europe is currently at a standstill when it comes to air traffic. Due to the volcanic ash the EU has shut down airspace over much of Europe leaving people stranded and halting others plans. Like my roommate Ashley and I. We are currently scheduled to leave out of Warsaw on Sunday morning and heading to London, and then head to Cork to run our half marathon. We are praying that by Sunday the volcanic ash will dissipate and we will be able to continue our vacation as planned. To ease the stress caused by the volcano my roommate and I have been thinking up other ways to get to London incase the airspace doesn’t open up.

The following are our possible plans; some are more realistic than others…
1. Take a train from Olsztyn Poland to London (21 hour trip)
2. Backpack through Europe till we reach London
3. Run there
4. Wait out the volcanic ash and reverse our trip...Ireland first, London second

What is all comes down to is…we hope this natural disaster leave as quick as it came. Please pray along with us that our trip will not be hindered by Eyjafjallajokull as well pray for all those stuck in airports.

Mourning for the lost

With yesterdays tragic events the country of Poland stands in shock. Many may know but yesterday a plane carrying the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski and his wife along with 96 other polish dignitaries on their way to the Katyn Massacre memorial crashed one mile from the airport in Russia due to thick fog and killed everyone onboard. Praise the Lord the transfer of political power has been smooth and without any problems. The speaker from the lower chamber of Parliament will take over for now. Due to the Polish constitution they have 60 days to elect a new President. Regular elections were scheduled for this fall but due to the tragedy they are moving up the elections and start in about two weeks time. The Polish prime ministry has issued a week of mourning for the lost as well as at 12:00 (Sunday) Poland observed 2 minutes of silence. All Buses stopped, all church bells tolled and all emergency vehicles sirens blared. It was a sight to witness as the Polish people joined together to honor those who were lost.

Walking along the streets in any Polish city right now you will find the Polish flags draped with black ribbon along with candles and flowers surrounding government buildings. In Warsaw at the Presidential palace there has been a steady stream of people paying their respects for the late President and his wife.

Please join in praying for the country of Poland, the families affected, and the polish people as they grieve this lose.