Amsterdam

My last journey was to Amsterdam, Holland, in the Netherlands.  Talk about a nice cold journey up north!  I met up with a few new friends who are studying in Barcelona, Spain with Cameron.

We didn't really have much of an agenda, but we did get a chance to visit Anne Frank's house. Inside, we were able to see the original bookcase, stairs, and rooms (left unfurnished) on where she and her, her family, and friends lived.  If you haven't read The Diary of Anne Frank, I strongly suggest you do so.  What a sensation walking through the same rooms and halls that she lived in for over two years.  I almost got a strange feeling as I was walking through because there were memorable quotes posted. Where she would write a passage, you would be standing and looking exactly at what she was writing about.  You could literally see what she looked at back in 1943.  Believe it or not, the house/annex was much larger than you would imagine.  It was essentially a whole house, but smaller.  A small apartment, really.

Inside of the museum was her actual diaries.  Yes, she had multiple.  Literally hundreds of pages of her thoughts and feelings on boys, family, and what was going on in the world.  Let me tell you, she had some of the most beautiful scripted handwriting that I have ever seen.  She had multiple diaries (or journals) that consisted of movie/book quotes that she thought were memorable, some short-stories, and also some poems that she wrote out.  One part that caught my attention was when she wrote about when Peter received a board game for his birthday being the Stock Market board game.  They had on display the board game that he received.  The passage is, "Yesterday was Peter's birthday.  At eight o'clock I went upstairs and looked at the presents with Peter.  He received a board game, a razor, and a lighter."  That shook me, staring at the board game that she once did.  I'm very glad I got to visit this house.  It fit well with the history that I learned in Poland about Auschwitz.

So, I'm sure you've heard that Amsterdam is full of some good ol' coffee shops and the well-known red-light district.  You've heard well my friends!  But, smoking isn't really as big as you would think...it's more just the college-aged kids running around the city.  Locals aren't really into that kind of stuff, and believe it or not, they think it's gross (which I agree with).  So walking into cafes and restaurants was no problem, as they were all smoke-free :).  But it wasn't uncommon that you would walk past a coffee shop and get a strong smell of the gross smoke.  

Then there's the red-light district.  We won't get into much detail about this particular area, but let's just say that it was...well, interesting.  The picture is actually the Amsterdam Flag, no pun intended*

The Dutch people are extremely nice and can speak English pretty well.  Talking to locals was a no-brainer.  Just think as though you're talking to a normal American, but they have a nice Dutch accent!  Funny.  The food really wasn't all that much different than American food, but a lot of burgers, french fries, soup, and meat-like dishes.  I will say that they LOVE their french-fries.  Why?  Great question.  We couldn't figure that one out.

The canals were beautiful and full of boat homes, row houses, and bridges on every corner!  This is very much a walking city, as there were little-to-no cars driving through the streets.  They actually had a designated bike-lane.  As a matter of fact, we almost caused a couple of accidents in the bike lane because we kept forgetting about it!

I would have to say that this overall experience in Amsterdam was quite memorable.  Would I come back here again?  Probably not for a long time.  Aside from the couple of museums and beautiful outdoor sites, there's not too much to do.  At the same time, this city is expensive, in addition to the USD being so low in price compared to the EUR.  The experience was great, I had a great time and met new friends, at the same time had a wonderful experience visiting a Dutch country.  

Adapting to a New Culture

3 Months.  It has been over 3 months since I've first arrived here in Italy and it seems as though the time has gone by almost to quickly.

As Carl Sandburg once said, "Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent..."  In other words, only you have the power to choose what happens in your life, and only you can determine what happens in it.  Essentially, we are the authors of our own stories and it's up to us to write it out.  We can feature people and events, but we can never erase the past because you'll forever be writing in a sharpie marker.  So, make it a good one!

One major thing that I've learned while studying abroad in Europe is that if you're given an opportunity of a lifetime and you're on the fence about it, you should just go for gold and do it.  You won't regret it.  Life always is throwing curveballs, tests, quests, questions, and adventures that should be explored!  Life shouldn't have to be lived in fear.    Sure, not everything turns out to be the most positive consequence of an event, however, that's the perfect opportunity for your to use it as a learning experience.  They say that when you make a mistake or something negative happens, only you can determine whether it can build you or break you.  (Anyone seeing a theme here?)

I bring this up because I waited so long to do something so amazing in my life.  My mother would always tell me "go, go, go!" and I would always just put it off and not think about going abroad.  I thought I knew it all.  The perfect opportunity in which my family and friends would support me and back my decision to study abroad.  Thinking of it now, if I didn't take the opportunity and grasp the experience while it was right in front of me, I would probably be kicking myself in the butt right now.

I've learned so much from my experience here in Italy.  One of the major barriers that I've come to accomplish is living in a new environment with not only different cultures, and lifestyles, but also different personalities.  I found myself being very close-minded often around others, not paying much attention to how or why something was to be done.  However, after having to do some reading and talking to some people, something changed.

For example, Italians get very frustrated with all of the tourists that come into the city.  I can see why, because Florence is Europe's version of America's Disney World.  So how would you feel if you had to deal with international vacationer's every day who barely spoke your home language, at the same time making no effort to learn?  So, something that I learned (obviously) was that the Italians really appreciate it when you attempt to speak their own language and fit in.  I found myself talking to the locals more, and the them saying "ciao" every time I walked by their store front.  They would continue the conversation in asking how my classes were, and would even teach me some more Italian language while we spoke...in Italian.  I learned how to adapt.

Think about it, when you're at home and people aren't willing to adapt to a new environment or culture, they get put off and aren't appreciated.  In other words, they're "outsiders."  Yes, there are the "hipsters" that try to not be like everybody else, but we know and they know that they are their own cult and are like everybody else of their culture.  See how this is working out?

Take this picture for a minute.  This is the adapter I had to use while in Italy in order to use my electronics.  Without the converter, my electronics wouldn't have fit, or, they wouldn't have worked.  Well, same concept.  The European outlet wouldn't have accepted my power cable.  Thus, I had to adapt and change some things in order for it to work out in my favor.  Adapting, being open-minded, listening and not just hearing, and accepting other people's opinions are key when not only going abroad, but in any situation where you're new, different, or not familiar with.  It's almost as though people aren't accepting to other people's values, because we're brought up in a world (generally, not everybody) where we get so comfortable with doing something one way, we just think that's the only way.  We won't get into politics, religion, or economics.

Being abroad and living with people from different cultures and lifestyles has really helped me become more able to adapt to new environments.  Rather than seeing somebody doing something strange to me and thinking, "Well that was stupid," I'm starting to think more on the lines of "I'm interested to know why this person did that, and what was their mindset?"  After all, we will never be able to extract a message from somebody's head because it's not ours.  Remember that we can't control other peoples thoughts, feeling, or actions.  We can only control our own.

Vini di Toscana! (Wines of Tuscany!)

If you were unaware, I am currently enrolled in "Wine and Culture of Italy" here at Lorenzo de Medici.  No, it's not a class where we sit, drink, and have a good time.  The class is more on the lines of how wine is consumed, rated, graded, created, produced, and distributed throughout not only Italy, but the entire world.  There are literally thousands upon thousand of different wines created each and every day, but is that $60 bottle of wine that you're buying really worth it?  Let's find out!  This will be a semi-brief introduction to Tuscan wines in Italy.

Luckily, Tuscany is located right in the Chianti region offering many different wines (mainly reds).  In fact, there's only one region in Italy that has more D.O.C.G. zones than Tuscany, being Piedmont.

Tuscany has many famous great wines (in which we'll get into later) but it also has a small, yet great, contribution to the white wine world.  For example, the Galestro uses trebbiano grapes due to the high reproduction and it's disease resistance made up of high acidity.  On the contrary, it offers little aroma and fruit extraction when being pressed.  However, the trebbiano is not the only white grape variety that is offered...there is also the vernaccia, which is one of Tuscany's most historic whites.  In fact, it became Italy's first D.O.C. in 1966, and then later became a D.O.C.G. in 1993.  These grapes are usually more floral and crisp with an almond after-taste, but similar to the trebbiano, there isn't much aroma.  Let me give you an example:

Although I have not had this wine, the Bellini family produces great wine.  This is the Bellini Vernaccia San Gimignano.  And lucky for you Baltimore readers, it's easily accessible at Beltway Fine Wine & Spirits.  Keep in mind that this is a wine that is to be consumed with pasta with light flavor, maybe appetizers, but nothing red.  It's going to have a crisp flavor, fruity, light, and delicate.  If you have an strong-flavored dishes, this is not the wine to consume it with.  Probably good with white meat like chicken.

Now, moving on to the red wines of Tuscany (my favorite)!  Probably the most famous red grape variety is the sangiovese.  Although there are many different names for this grape variety, there are only two basic categories being: Sangiovese Gross and Sangiovito.  Usually this grape gives off almost a black-cherry like flavor and can be seen in Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Classio.  The Chianti region is located mainly between Florence and Siena taking up more than 42,000 acres of land, of which 17,000 acres of that is the original Classico region (Yellow section on map).

Now, I listed a good Chianti Classico in which I had here over in Florence, being Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico.  I'll be describing what I had (being a 2009)Let me give you a little run-down on my tasting and analysis of this wine (if you don't like reds, at least try this):

• Color:  A red-garnet that is deep are rich around the nail (outside when bent)
• Viscocity:  Very thick with wonderful drops of glycerol down the side of the glass.
• Olfactics:  Secondary aromas: Not so woody or grapey, more cooked fruits and a little flowery.
• Taste:  Nice and fresh with a woody linger and aftertaste
• Notes:  This is wine that's good for the whole meal.  It would be better with red meat, but not fish.  However, keep in mind that this is good for middle aging (being 4-7 years).

To get a truely authentic Chianti Classico, you need to look for the Black Rooster symbol that looks a little something like this:

When you purchase a Chianti Classico, you should be getting a darker, more fuller and dense wine compared to your standard red wines.  

I guess I can talk about Italian (or at least Tuscan) dessert wines (vini dolci).  For those of you who have a little bit of a sweet tooth, you might want to do a little bit of searching for Vin Santo.  This wine is usually between 16% - 18%!  This golden dessert wine is made with caramel to give it a nice reflection with almost a honey-like taste with almonds, vanilla, and honey.  Very, VERY, sweet.  Keep in mind that this is a drink that must be consumed slowly with small sips and biscotti.  Tuscans (or Italians) dip biscotti into this drink to let it absorb, in which they consume.  Think of it as a grown-up version of dipping your oreo cookies into a nice tall glass of milk...

Oh yeah, I come home in 15 days!  I'll soon be posting a few final blog posts that are reflections on my experience studying abroad here in Florence, Italy.  Thank you for reading!

Life-Changing Visit to Auschwitz

**Disclaimer:  Some information and material may be very graphic.**

"Work Brings Freedom"

 Now this is the part that I was looking forward to the most during our time in Poland.  Visiting Auschwitz and Auschwitz Birkenau have been my top priority for the past 8 years or so when I was first exposed to WWII and the Holocaust.  Granted, this was not the easiest trip to take, but it was well worth it, and with a wonderful companion to experience this with made coping with the feeling much easier.

Let's do some history first before we get into some serious business.  As you may already know Auschwitz was the largest concentration/labor camp during WWII.  There are essentially two parts to the entire camp as a whole.  Located about a little over an hour West of Krakow, the German's did a good job from hiding it from the German people and the Poles living not far from the camp.  The camp was initially designed for Polish prisoners.  The first prisoners arrived in about 1940.  The prisoners were given a little less than 400 calories a day (The U.S. daily requirement is 2,000 calories) and very little water, however, dirty.  Most of the work given to the prisoners and Jews was building war materials, constructing new cells and buildings, except for Sundays which was usually a short wash day.  

We visited a variety of blocks (buildings) in which certain events took place.  From where men and women slept, and where experiments would be conducted on people.  We did, in fact, visit block 11.  Let me tell you a little bit about Block 11.  Block 11 was considered to be the "prison inside a prison."  This is where high-violators were taken and punished severely.   For example, prisoners were put into standing cells (such as the one shown) in where they were put for days.  The cell may look large in the picture, but they were just large enough that it was virtually impossible to sit down.  And there one would stay.  In the dark.  

If you didn't get the opportunity to be put inside one of these standing cells, you were sent to another dark cell with (maybe) a small hole for light where you were just left to die without food or water.  Other cells were suffocation cells.  There would be a small hole (like the one shown) where a person was left in the dark and would literally suck up all the air.  Sometimes the Germans would put a candlelight inside of the cell to help suck up the oxygen faster.  Cruel.  It was impossible to believe and imagine that such things actually happened.  Thinking of it now, it's still almost impossible to believe that people would do such things.

Between Blocks 10 and 11 stands the execution wall.  When experiments didn't work, or when a prisoner was being punished, the easiest way to discard a person was to, well, shoot them.  It was here at this memorial where quite a large number of people were shot right on the spot.  Inside Block 11, there were separate rooms for men and women to get undressed, and wait in line to get shot.  The wash rooms even had sinks inside of them to "clean up" before the execution.  That's it.  When you stand at this wall, and look out, it was a weird feeling inside of you knowing that you were looking out at exactly what a few thousand people saw for the last time of their life.  Looking outside of the courtyard is where (most likely) a boy my age saw a gun pointed to his head.  I don't want to think about it anymore...

Entrance to "showers"

Imagine.  You wake up in the morning to hearing rumors that you'll finally be getting showers!  How exciting and incredibly nice of those people to allow for us to get clean!  The feeling rushes through your body as you are transferred with your friends and family to a building that is located underground.  You're told to immediately strip off your clothes, as you won't be needing them anymore because you'll be getting new ones after the shower.  You're pushed inside of a dark room and people are talking and shouting about something.  It's crowded, and you're a bit claustrophobic.  Suddenly, a light opens up in the ceiling and two men look down at you wearing masks and smoke starts pouring from the ceilings.  People start screaming and panicking, pushing, shoving, screeching.   10 minutes go by: The screaming dies down.  20 minutes go by: It's quiet and not a sound is heard.  The bodies are taken into another room next door, burned, and then used as a fertilizer for the farms and land just outside of the camp.  Keep in mind, this isn't even the extermination camp.

Inside the gas chamber

This picture right here is inside one of the gas chambers of Auschwitz.  There is a memorial in the middle of the floor.  Looking inside, in fact, just walking inside of the gas chamber, you felt a rush of ice run through your veins and into your mind.  Your jaw was most likely dropped, and you don't want to continue walking forward, because you're walking on a deathbed.  Nobody knew what they were getting themselves into, nor did they have a choice.  It was so cold inside the gas chamber, even though it was about 60 degrees outside with the sun shining in.  What an experience.  What a sensation.  Who would have the nerve to do such a thing to others because they were "different?"

After a short break, we drove about 5 minutes to the other camp, being Auschwitz-Birkenau.  This was the actual extermination camp.  People were taken here for one reason, to well, be exterminated.  It's not the easiest thing to think about, nor should it settle well in anyone's stomach.  To be completely honest, I thought Auschwitz was just one camp.  However, that's not true.  Let's take our final step forward with this post, shall we?

This is the entrance to the main camp (mind the gentleman).  There was a single rail track that led in and out of the camp.  The camp was surrounded by electrified barbed-wire running with (I think) 10k volts 24-hours a day.  Believe it or not, the day was beautiful (around 60 degrees Fahrenheit) and the sky was as blue as the ocean.  But after I took the time to realize where I actually was, that all changed in a matter of minutes.

In this picture (of a picture) you can see a line of jews waiting to be told where to go.  As soon as they were dropped off by the train, they formed two separate lines between men and women with children.  One single man had the power to decide if you were strong enough to work, or were to be exterminated immediately just by the movement of his thumb.  If you look closely at the picture, you can see in his shadow that he is indeed saying that this person was not good and was to be sent to be exterminated.  Can you believe that just one man determined your life in one second?

As a matter of fact, here is a picture of exactly where he stood.  Right here, at this spot, literally millions of Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Hungarians, POW's, and more had their life decided by a man's thumb.  And you know what?  I quickly ran (roughly) to the spot where he stood, and I just couldn't even imagine that something like this happened.  Why in the world would somebody do something like this?  How could this even happen?  Where would the world be right now if the Holocaust never happened?  How could one person not be affected whatsoever by this in the past and just think nothing of it, but think of people who were different as "pigs," "liars," "frauds," or "cheaters."  They were just as innocent as anybody else in this world.

Destroyed Burning Facility 

Slowly moving forward with our tour, we went directly to where the two main gas chambers were.  These chambers were HUGE.  Much, much larger than I have ever expected.  But you know what?  There was two of these.  Same concept as the showers in Auschwitz, but rather this was larger and more advanced.  You know what the incredible part is?  The Nazi-Germans were only able to burn 5,000 people a day.  So with these facilities working 7-days a week, that about 35,000 people being killed a week, not including the additional people who were shot, beat to death, or died from disease or starvation.  Keep in mind that his was only one of the extermination camps.  The Nazis destroyed the burning facilities just before the Allies arrived to attempt to destroy the evidence of their war crimes.  

Just between the two burning chambers was a memorial with this saying in every language in the world.  "Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe."  Each of the memorials had a series of memoirs from people of that country or origin of language.

You know, describing what this trip was like is actually impossible.  When someone asks, "How was it?"  I can't quite describe how unreal it seems.  Believe it or not, it's absolutely impossible to imagine something like this happened just 70 years ago.  I mean, I (and others) were actually walking the same steps and stones that millions of other people walked when this camp was running.  People were working with under 400 calories a day.  No clothing, shoes, or socks were provided.  People were given a number that was to be tattooed on their arms.  If it was a baby, the tattoo would be on their leg because it was the meatiest and largest part of their body at the time that could hold a large number.  It all comes down to just one question:  Why?

I honestly cannot describe my feelings for this trip because it's impossible describe.  When thinking about walking on the stones and dirt, you just have a wave of sadness hit you.  I honestly don't know how else to put it...The rest of this post will just be some pictures that I took.  

The end of the train tracks 

Inside the barracks:  Sleeping Cell (~8 to a bunk)

Women's barracks 

Bathroom house

Wash Room

The Jewish District

**Disclaimer** The videos posted may be very graphic.  Please be aware that this is a serious (but very informative) post.

Now, where were we?  Oh!  Day number two in Krakow, Poland!  Of the two tours we took (we booked with escape2poland) involved a tour of the rather large Jewish district of the city.  Located in the heart of the city is a variety of synagogues, restaurants, shops, and other buildings that were once (or still are) run by Polish Jews. Although I am not from Polish descent, I do have a strong, Jewish background.  Cameron, as well, is Jewish, so we found this tour to be very informative.  Neither one of us knew much about Poland and how involved it was during WWII.

Our tour started off of where one of many important scenes of Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" took place.  It was the scene where a Jewish boy helping the German Nazi's helped hide a woman from being caught.  I posted a clip from YouTube so you can see exactly what scene I am talking about if you start from 6:40 in the video below.  I would highly recommend watching not only the whole clip, but the whole movie if you not have done so.  The Polish Jews were liquidated from their homes and evacuated to work camps (such as Auschwitz) and put into forced labor, or into Schindler's factory (which we'll get into later).

Standing right here at this spot sent shivers down my spine.  Although the scene depicted in the film may not be 100% accurate of happened, it was about as close as you could get to understanding exactly what happened during the liquidation process.

After walking for about 10 minutes or so, we eventually crossed the bridge that led us to the old Jewish ghetto.  In the picture to the left, you can see steel chairs spread out through a plaza.  The chairs are a memorial of the 65,000 Polish Jews who were victim to the Nazi's.  The chairs are open to be sat in, and even intrude in the tram stop to show that anyone can be victim.

Jewish Memorial

The Krakow Ghetto was established by the Nazi's for the Polish Jews in early 1941, in which around 15,000 - 20,000 Jews were forced inside of the Ghetto surrounded by barbed wire and a cement stone disconnecting them from the rest of the world.  They were then forced to work for the Germans in factories (like Schindler's Factory) and work in non-Jewish facilities outside of the Ghetto.  In 1943, the Germans liquidated the Ghetto (as so like in the clip), and were sent off to work camps.  There is a memorial Polish Jews that were killed by the Nazi's as it reads: "Place of meditation upon the martydom of 65 thousand Polish citizens of Jewish nationality from Cracow and its environs killed by the Nazi's during World War II."  



 

Reproduced Ghetto Walls

This was definitely something that did not settle well in out stomachs because we were so unaware of the events that actually happened here.  To be able to comprehend everything that happened was almost impossible because it just seemed as though the events were so unreal and that something like that would never happen.  Just thinking about it now really makes me think back to learning this just five days ago.

Cameron and I were able to finish our tour of the Jewish District at Schindler's Factory.  Now for those of you who need a crash couse of Schindler's list, let me put it to you this way in a nutshell:
Oscar Schindler (1908-1974) employed Jews at a steal factory during the Holocaust to create jobs for them.  He used them to make money for himself because he knew that using Jews was such a low cost for good labor.  However, German Nazi's S.S. were a part of the factory, as he had an agreement with the German army at the time, so often times there were Jews that were treated poorly.  Although he was profit-driven, he made a silent decision to save Jewish lives even though it required massive payment to the German Nazis.  This video is a short depiction of how the Nazis treated the Jews inside of the factory behind Schindler's back.  **This video may contain graphic material**

As we walked through the museum (which is relatively new), we were exposed to so many things (that I could not take pictures of) on how Jewish Poles were treated.  Both Cameron and I were so unaware of everything that actually happened in Krakow during those years, and we felt extreme sorrow in a matter of minutes within walking into the museum.  However, we both felt that this is something that everybody should learn and someday visit to really appreciate where we are today.  I would deeply advise you to visit Krakow, Poland, if you're up for some history and adventure.  

Thanks for keeping up with my blog!  Keep a look out for my final post in Poland of Auschwitz.

A wall of actual materials created in the factory

Also, on a lighter note, Cameron and I ate at a real, authentic-Jewish restaurant right in the heart of the Jewish District.  It was a candle-light dinner with live Klezmer music (Jewish Music).  I have a feeling my family will enjoy this...

Would you visit Poland?

General picture of Jewish Quarter

Let's think for a second: Western Europe is full of beautiful art, cities, romantic languages, restaurants, cafe's, and espresso.  But what about Eastern Europe?  Come to think of it, we don't often think about Eastern Europe as much, nor are we taught much about it in grade school (at least that I can remember).  We're taught some things about the history of WWII and how they were involved, but not to the extent that we learn about the Pacific, American history, and the general history of the wars there.  Well, that all changed within 4 days.

Cameron and I made the quick decision to visit the incredibly unique country of Poland.  We stayed in Krakow, to be exact.  Krakow is close to the center of Poland, not far from Warsaw (if that helps a bit).  What was interesting when we first arrived was the Polish Zloty.  The Zloty (zł) was of major difference.  One USD ($) = roughly 3.30 of their Zloty, so Cameron and I had to adjust to having a bit more money than expected.  Let's put it to you this way, we each put in 50€ for the weekend (combined €100), and wound up with over 400 zł for the whole weekend.  That was MORE than enough.

Awesome Cosplay guy (no significance)

Let's start with some basics, Poland itself is a country (to me at least) that I haven't actually thought of visiting ever before.  We were able to talk to some local Poles (Polish people) and get some insight of their country and how they view other parts, briefly.  They were very nice people, but very straight forward and did not hesitate at all to show you that they did (or did not) like you.  The people in Poland definitely kept to themselves, and don't make much of an effort to really associate themselves with you unless they knew you personally, otherwise, they wanted nothing much to do with you.

Poland is a very quiet city, but very active once you get to some of the main roads.  CAUTION*  If you are not an experienced Polish driver, do not (I repeat) DO NOT attempt to drive in these streets.  Cameron and I made multiple efforts to learn their driving ways, but it just seems so....out of order.  However, they made it seem like it was nothing using minimal streets signs and lights.  

Polish Flag

From what we have learned in Poland, Poles are very patriotic to being, well, Polish, however, they're not very proud of their country and their past.  If you were unaware, the Germans during WWII occupied most of Poland and used the country for their own well-being and purposes (including concentration camps which will be in another blog).  They are proud for who they are, but not for where they live.  **Keep in mind that this is what we read from research and some witnessing, this may not be the actual case.**

It's not very often that they get to travel to other parts of the world except for maybe more Eastern countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Czech, etc. because they can't afford staying in these places.  However, of the Poles that do get to move out of the country, they form their own section and pretty much mark their territory.  Chicago, for example, has a large Polish population they said.  But most of the older generations haven't been out of the country much, and it wasn't until just recently that the younger generations are able to get out of the country to study and work abroad because it's not becoming more popular.

A real meat soup in a real bread bowl

 Now wait a minute, how could I have a blog post without talking about the food!?  Have you ever had authentic Polish perogis?  How about some real, hearty, heavy potato pancakes with pork and stuffed cabbage?  If you haven't you should probably go hop on that and try to find a Polish restaurant by your house.  The Poles eat very well, and nice meaty meals and make sure you are full to the fullest!  The Poles are very big on their vegetables as well, however, the vegetables are incorporated with their meals, rather than eating them whole like we're used to.  They like *ahem* LOVE beets.  You heard me, beets.  As Jim Halpert from The Office would say, "Bears eat beets...bears beets Battlestar Galactica..."  Beets are good for the heart and helps you stay nice and strong!  However, Cameron insisted that we stayed away from it because neither one of us like this rich, red root.

Mokka

In addition the Polish foods, they're very patriotic towards their drinks!  And my oh my, what a different experience that was!  Mulled hot wine is a very popular (usually a holiday drink) here in Poland.  For those who are unaware of what that is, it's essentially hot wine (usually red) with spices and fruit like cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  It was very delicious, and would make a great drink for any holiday party!  Also, Poles LOVE their chocolate and sweet beverages.  I was able to drink a true, authentic Mokka.  Now, keep in mind that a real mokka is just hot chocolate.  However, this is THE hot chocolate to get.  When you order a mokka, you're given a spoon.  A SPOON.  Do you know why?  Because their hot chocolate is so thick, that you really cannot drink it, rather than spoon it out of the glass.  Yes, you can drink it, but it's made of heavy cream and thick (rich) chocolate that it takes a while to drink.  Instant hot chocolate powder and syrup are jokes here.  Poles melt their chocolate with cream because hot chocolate is no joke here.

Keep a look out for my next blog later this week about the Jewish Center of Krakow, Poland!  Then later, Auschwitz.  Thanks for reading!

The Power of Kindness

Taking a break from all of the college textbooks and getting back into the scheme of essays, exams, and projects, one of my professors recommended that we all read this book.  The funny part?  He said that it was not necessary, but extremely recommended for anyone studying in his class and as a communications major.

Although I have not quite finished the book (I'm only about a quarter of the way through), one section really stood out to me and I thought I could share the experience.

Remember the storm that occurred about 3-4 days ago?  Well, how much communication was used before then, and how much communication was used during and after?  Take THIS ARTICLE for example.  People pointed out that we're so lost everyday in our own world and phones, that there's no real "connection" anymore, but silence.  When it comes down to coming home or going out with friends, we still have our electronics on, or we are not able to give them our full 100% attention because there's something else on our mind.  What a sense of warmth and connection it must have been.  Now, I cannot relate to this because I am a few thousand miles away (from Baltimore, Maryland), but I can look at this from a Communications standpoint.

In the book The Power of Kindness, Piero Ferrucci discusses "Warmth: The Temperature of Happiness."  As a general rule of thumb, we know that warmth brings us comfort and happiness, right?  For example, physical warmth is "not a luxury but a necessary condition for life."  He uses the example of babies; If babies do not get warmth, comfort, or a sense of touch, they can die, or if they do not receive enough of it, they will not be able to "thrive" later in life.  They may (or may not) be able to understand what it is like to be comforted or to give comfort.  So, we're like babies: "sometimes we need to be touched...we need someone to talk to, someone who knows and appreciate us."

What happened to hearing somebody pick up the other end of the phone when calling a company, when now it's just a robot that is "used for better service?"  Ferrucci writes in his book, "We often take warmth for granted and only notice it when it is gone.  Then we understand its importance." 

On the contrary, Ferrucci writes that there are obstacles to accomplishing "warmth" because we're "afriad that if we come too close, or if we are too open, we will be invaded, controlled, or hurt."  He uses the example as when the wind blows cold air against us: When a gust comes, a traveler will not undress, but rather bring his coat more tightly around himself in order to keep himself warm.  He knows that, that coat brings a sense of comfort and protection.

To wrap up, let's go back to what I was originally saying about "warmth."  When we are comfortable, or warm, we're generally more happy.  And what's more exciting than sharing a moment of happiness when you're with somebody?  Nothing, really.  Remember that time when you were in elementary school and you made an amazing shot....but, nobody was there to see it?  Kind of the same thing; You got a sense of joy from the shot and skill, but nobody was there to share the excitement with you.
 Happiness is key!  And with happiness, as studies have shown, being happy can help reduce having pain or illness, and the best part?  It's addicting and contagious.