Palace of Culture Panorama

Today we went to the Palace of Culture in Warsaw's City Center. The soaring skyscraper was built between 1952 and 1955 as a "gift" to Poland from the Soviet Union. The building is one of immense controversy with two parties thought, one being that the building should be torn down because it is a symbol of the communist oppression in Poland and the other being that it is a symbol of Warsaw and should be preserved as a kind of work of art. The building was the first structure created in Warsaw after the city was left in ruins following the Warsaw Uprising. So even though it was a symbol of the Soviet occupation in Poland, the citizens of Warsaw were in many ways glad to have it built because they were able to observe architecture and construction tactics which helped ordinary citizens to begin their reconstruction of the entire city. After the Palace of Culture was complete, entrance to the imposing structure was exclusive, leading the Polish people to see the building as mysterious and create myths about what was happening inside. An interesting side note about the sky scraper is that it became a very popular place to commit suicide; a frenchman is said to have claimed that it is a better place to kill yourself than the Eiffel Tower. From the top of the Palace of Culture it is said that you get the best view of Warsaw because you can see the entirety of the city without being able to see the Palace of Culture itself. While on the 30th floor of the skyscraper I experimented for the first time with panoramic photos. If you click on the pictures it will open a larger version of the images.

"We wanted to be free and we owe this freedom to nobody."

Yesterday we visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum and got a glimpse into some of the devastating yet prideful, all-too-recent history of the Polish people. The Warsaw Uprising was a 63-day period in 1944 when the Polish underground resistance rose against the occupation of Nazi Germany in Poland in an effort to free their country from the oppression of the Third Reich. After the uprising, the German army literally walked through Warsaw destroying the city building by building. In the end, 85% of Warsaw was left in shambles, giving it the name "City of Ruins." The devastation to the city was a combination of damage from the Warsaw Uprising itself, the German's desolation following the Warsaw Uprising, and from the previous Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The interactive exhibitions take you through the days of the uprising from start to finish and allow you to get a glimpse of what life was like for the Polish people during the uprising. From pressing your ear against the wall of a building to hear the shouts and explosions outside, to walking through the sewers to avoid the patrolling German soldiers, to pulling the trigger of a gun that a member of the Polish resistance shot, the museum allows you to see, hear, and feel the Warsaw Uprising. The following images are some photos I took at the museum.

Perpetual Polish Charades

When in a country where you do not speak the native language you have two options 1) operate as if you are a deaf person or 2) live life like a perpetual game of charades. If you choose the latter, what could be a stressful, unsettling experience becomes, well, a game. The issue comes up when the other person doesn't realize you are playing a game and gets angry and frustrated. However, you can just pretend they are that one guesser who gets mad when they don't immediately get what the actor is trying to convey. Try it sometime!

Who in their right mind goes to Poland in February?

"You're going to want to put on something warmer than that...It's cold here." Marta, my Erasmus Student Network (ESN) mentor, grinned as I pulled my coat out of my overstuffed and extremely heavy backpack. With a windchill of -13 degrees celsius (which converts to an outside temperature of what feels like 8.5 degrees fahrenheit) the 10 minute wait for the behind-schedule bus left me wondering why I hadn't packed my hat in a more easily accessible place, why on earth I had cut all my hair off before leaving, and lastly, who in their right mind goes to Poland in February?

Upon entering the bus, the invasion of my personal space in the overcrowded mass transit was surprisingly welcome because the body heat de-thawed me pretty quickly. After some housing paperwork, language barriers, and a search for ethernet cables and hangers (both of which are quite difficult to describe with charades) I am settling into my "flat" and researching whether it is safe to drink tap water in Warsaw if you use a Brita filter the results of which are indeterminate. Some say people drop like flies from drinking the water, others say it is an urban legend created by bottled water corporations, and others say the issue is more with the taste of the water because the Polish have a taste for mineral water and carbonated water. Regardless, I am currently starring at a glass of water recently run through my brand-spanking-new Brita pitcher. Here's to hoping the skeptics are wrong!

What am I forgetting?..

4 days til liftoff. What am I forgetting? The suitcase is packed, weighing exactly 49.7 pounds, in your face British Airways, no overweight fees for this traveller (fingers crossed my scale is accurate, not much wiggle room to the 50 lb weight limit). My pre-travel checklist is well underway with just a few tasks left, you know, the unimportant stuff like filing my taxes and FAFSA, easy shmeasy... on the bright side I can officially cross off "Start Blog" from my list now!