WideSet World Wide

29.6.09

Laundry Day

I am in the process of doing basically all of the laundry I have with me in Poland. Melanie is doing the same so Nicole and Thibaut's rooms both look like a swap meet exploded in there. It is wicked humid here without much wind to move it along so everything is staying wet. Not cool. Especially since all of my clothes have that gross mildewy smell because they take so long to dry. I have a hiking backpack that Chelsea gave me so I will be taking that with me to Budapest. I am in the process of putting my life into a suitcase again. It's so strange. I'm throwing out so much stuff and it is just bizarre. I know I have another 3 weeks before I go home but it seems so close now that the luggage is filling up.

28.6.09

Johnson’s Baby Wash for Erasmus

Emotional exhaustion has hit me full force. I have had to say goodbye to so many people over the past few days that I have actually become physically tired from emotions. I don't think I've ever had to do this before. Any other time I've had to say goodbye to large amounts of people at one time, there was always the comfort that at least we were still in the same country. Now, goodbye is in all likelihood a true goodbye without the possibility of "see you later." That prospect kills me. I know that I should not cry that the good times are over but smile that they happened at all. I knew it was going to have to come to an end but it still is hitting me much harder than I expected. I had to say goodbye to Thibaut, Nicole, Ilias, Antonis, Srdjan, Linda and Nelli all on the same day. I will see Nelli in Budapest so that is nice. It's especially good because I'm going there by myself so having a friendly face there will be great. Facebook and Skype are of particular comfort right now but it's not the same. I know that I keep saying that I am in love with Krakow, which is true, but I wouldn't have fallen so hard or so fast if it weren't for all of the amazing people that made this experience what it was. I'm trying to focus on the fact that I am less than 4 weeks away from coming home and seeing all of my friends and family. I've been trying to emphasize the positive because I think any one of us would start crying if we think about what we are leaving behind. Yesterday, we had a huge going away dinner at Pod Wawelem and Srdjan and Nelli's families were there. It was really kind of a cool representation of the transition back in to "civilian" life. Then, Tina, Chelsea and I went to Respect and we ended up meeting a group of Swedish people. It's really cool that we are still meeting new people and making new friends even with just a few days left here. I'm sorry that the past few entries have been kind of depressing but I'm just in a sour mood for the aforementioned reasons. It seems like the world just stopped while we were here. That is such an amazing experience. One that I don't have words for. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to do a study abroad semester but then I wish we didn't have the end bit. I know it's better to have loved and lost and all that jazz but it doesn't make it any less painful. In a way, it's a great thing to know the last time that you see someone rather than always assuming that there would be time to say all of the things you wanted to say but never found the right place for. On the other hand, hopelessness is a bitch. I know that I will have CTatch back at GV to reminisce with and that is of great solace at the moment. I just wish I didn't have anything that I needed consoling over. This entry has been terribly emo but I wanted to post something since it has been almost a week since I've written anything. I think it's just because Mom was at Cancer Kid Camp so I didn't have someone badgering me about writing.

22.6.09

"Anybody Got A Jet Ski?"

I'm an idiot and forgot to mention that I saw Lenny Kravitz in concert on Saturday. It was free! He was stoned out of his mind but it was still a good show. The location was great. The stage was on the bend in the Wisla and the audience was packed on the Wawel side. We got there about 4 hours early (in the rain) but we had an awesome spot. We includes Florence, her brother, Vincent and Tina. Since Tina was in Sweden for the past week and Chelsea is currently in Gdansk, I have been hanging out a lot with Flo. Another occurence of this theme, I didn't realize how cool she was until fairly recently. I guess the only thing to do is make the most of the time I have left.

Final Wishes

Ok, I have booked my hostel and bus ticket. I will be taking a 6.5 hour bus ride to Budapest on 1 July. I will be staying at Florian Hostel for 11 nights. The hostel is costing me less than 100 Euro so, yay Hungary! I still need to figure out where I can store my suitcases but I'm sure I will figure something out. Tonight is the last Monday at Pod Wawelem. I was there last night too because it was Victoria's last night here. I know I haven't mentioned her on the blog before but that's because I met her less than 2 weeks ago. It's so unfair that I keep meeting all of these really awesome people only to say goodbye so soon. Thibaut's birthday is this week so I think I will write him a poem chronicling all of the dumb Tibo stories into one rollicking work of verse. The brilliance will likely be lost on him but I will post it on here when I write it and all of you native speakers will likely pee your pants a little. I need to figure out what I'm doing for the rest of the time but I know that I will for sure be in Bavaria with Tina for a few days.

19.6.09

Retraction/No Regrets

Alright, well, in Polish the word for 45 is pronounced "fifty." Actually, the little post count thing on my dashboard said that it was number 50 but I guess it counts the things that I have saved as drafts and such so only 45 posts actually appear to the public. Anyway, some of them should count as at least two entries because they were so bloody long. Then again, there have been some photo posts that really don't count as much even if they do give more information than words do sometimes. The fact that Andrea bothered to look at that and comment on the correction makes my heart smile. Anyway, I'm done with exams! I am absolutely certain that I passed all of them but I don't know what mark I got for them...not that it really matters.
Now for the "No Regrets" part of the post. Wednesday night I was at a flat party because it was Alex's last night and I needed to take a break from studying. I had two people recognize me from the "French Stereotypes" video and it got me thinking. For so long, I've wanted to be the person that everybody knew, even if I didn't know everyone else. Actually, having people recognize me or know my name without having the same information is kind of a thrill. I am "that girl" here and I have to say that I love it. However, I'm going to be glad when I can sink back into anonymity at GV. I know the people that I care about. The really important things stay close to my heart and I don't really need the validation from strangers seeing me and having some story that they heard about me or something. It's nice and I'm glad that it happened here but I don't want that to be my constant state of being. Erasmus life is a strange social sandbox because you start out with no social connections but an openness to meeting new people and making friends. Everyone starts on a level playing field and you get to see what you can do with it from there. Also, there is the lack of consequences in the long term. I can make a complete ass of myself and say all the things that are in my head that I normally wouldn't have the courage to say. There's freedom in that which is a really strange sensation. I get to prune my social attachments by keeping in touch with all of the people I want to keep in my life and just leave behind all of the others. I get to take back to the States all of changes that I have made to myself since I have been here without the baggage. Any changes I made that I don't like, I get to hit the reset button. What a difference a few months can make.

18.6.09

Grand Jubilee

It's my fiftieth blog post so...yay me! Also, I would like to give a warm welcome to Hania and Ania. Yes, you guys are allowed to comment on my blog. It's not considered stalking. It just demonstrates that I am cool enough to be on your mind even when I'm not in the immediate vicinity. I have my last exam today. International Political Relations. For some reason, I am stressed which really doesn't make any sense whatsoever because I'm an IR major and a native speaker so failure is not an option. However, I am feeling a lot of pressure to pull off a 5.5 on this one. Everyone talks about how it's not fair that I have so much going for me in that class but that's life. Fair is a place where a pig wins a ribbon. After that, I have no reason not to be amazingly blissfully happy. Other than the ridiculous amount of people that I have to say goodbye to in the coming weeks. Alex left today. That was the first one of the people I have really spent a significant amount of time with. I have a feeling that I will cry when Nicole and Thibaut leave along with Tiki and Phil and all of the kick ass UEK folks I've gotten to know over the past few months. I know I'm lucky to have had this experience but it's just not fair that I get to meet all of these amazing personalities that have so much to offer and then they get yanked away like cookies from a kid before dinner. Thank science for the internet. I couldn't imagine doing something like this and knowing that I would never be able to Skype or even IM with these people. I needs to get my shower on so I can be confident (read: not stinky) for my exam today. I'll probably write again tomorrow because I won't have to study!!!