One Last Look

Well today was my last day in Poland, and what an experience it has been. This trip has gone so fast and it's amazing how much I have learned over the past two weeks. I have been immersed in a new culture and I have loved all of the experiences that I have had. It's hard to put into words all that I have experienced here in Poland, but I have tried to do my best to share my feelings and what I have seen. It's been a trip that I will never forget and has given me a lot to think about, I'm so thankful that I was able to have this experience.Today was my last day in Warsaw, and in Poland, and we were given a free day to do what ever we wanted. I decided that as for my last day I wanted to see as much of the city as I could and I found a few others that wanted to join in. We compiled a list of places that we would like to see and we took our map and we were off on an adventure.

We started our journey by taking our favorite tram, the 35, to what we expected to be the Opera House. Unfortunately when we got off the tram we did not see the Opera House but there was a beautiful palace instead. We were satisfied with this site and we decided to continue on. We walked to a park and walked through yet another beautiful snow covered scene. On the other side of the park was the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. This is a memorial to all of the those that lost their lives in all of the struggles in Poland's past. The memorial is made from a piece of the king's castle. The palace was completely destroyed during WWII except for two archways and 8 pillars, this is now the home of an eternal flame that is guarded 24/7 by two guards. Today was the anniversary of the "liberation" of Poland by the Soviets at the end of WWII. Because of this anniversary there were many military personnel there for a ceremony. Many people were also coming bearing flowers to place at the memorial. It was very neat to witness part of the ceremony. We then wandered through the streets and came upon a few random buildings and at this point we were getting very cold so we ducked into a coffee shop to come up with a game plan. After regaining some feeling in our fingers and toes we headed back out. We stopped at the basilica and then at the Nicolas Copernicus statue. We went into the Academy of Science to see what was inside but there wasn't much to see, at this point we weren't sure how to get to the river to see some more sites and a very kind elderly gentleman came over and helped us figure it out. Through some hand gestures and broken English we were able to find out that we needed to take the 102 bus for 2 stops to get to our destination. We followed the directions and found ourselves at the Vistula River.

We walked down towards the river and got and amazing view of the brand new soccer stadium used for the EuroCup 2012. It was neat to see it during the day and it is an amazing structure. We then saw another mermaid statue, but unfortunately some construction was being done around the area so the mermaid had a protective box around her which didn't make for very good pictures. It was time for lunch so we headed back towards the heart of the city. We didn't know exactly how to get back so we decided to just take the first bus that came and see what happened. Luckily it was just the bus we needed and it took us right where we wanted to be. We got lunch and I stopped to get a Starbucks :) Then we continued on to the Palace of Culture and Science which used to be the Communist headquarters during the communist era. Stalin had said it was his gift to the Polish people but it was no gift because the Poles were forced to build the entire palace. Even now when you look at it it is a very ominous building and it is clear that it was built to intimidate. It used to be the only tall building in Warsaw and I found out by doing some research that it is currently the 8th tallest building in the EU. We went in and we were able to go up to the top and see a panoramic view of the city. It was neat to see the city from an aerial view. Finally we went to see the only remaining synagogue in Warsaw and sadly it was locked, but it was neat to see since all of the rest of them were destroyed by Nazis. We were satisfied with what we had seen for the day and decided it was time to head back home, so we ran to catch the 35 and made our way back home.

It was an exciting day filled with adventure and we covered a lot of ground. It was so neat to see how after only being in the city for 4 days we were able to make our way around and we only had to ask for directions once. It was a neat confidence boost and I was really proud of the way that we found our way around in a city where we can't speak or read the language. I was so glad that I got to spend my last day seeing many of the important sites of Warsaw. How do I sum up an entire trip? Everyone always says that studying abroad is the best experience that you'll ever have and although this wasn't exactly the same sort of thing, they are right. I learned so much from this trip that I would've never learned in a classroom and the memories that I have made will stick with me for years to come. I'd like to thank you all for reading my posts and I hope you enjoyed what I had to say, I'm amazed that I had readers from 10 different countries and over 780 pageviews on all of my different entires. I'm excited to get back home and to see what new journeys lie ahead. Dziękuję! Dobranoc!

A Walk Through the Past

Yesterday we took a walking tour of the old Jewish Ghetto. Our tour guide for the morning was a remarkable man that had a wealth of knowledge. He gave us a brief overview and history of the area before we headed outside. He told us that the area that our hotel is in was where the Jewish Ghetto once was. When it was first established it was relatively small but as more Jews were forced to move into the area it tripled in size. We visited the site of  Umschlagplatz, which was the train was loaded to take Jews to the concentration camps. As we walked through the old Ghetto there were small marble monuments called Memory Lane that lined the streets. Next to each of these stones was a tree from Jerusalem as an added symbol of the Jews that spent time in the Ghetto. There were only two buildings that survived from WWII, one was the SS Building and the Hospital. As we walked our tour guide told us that his father had been taken to Auschwitz at the end of the war and was fortunate to survive until the camp was liberated. His mother had also been taken to a concentration camp, but a smaller one, she also survived. It was amazing to hear his stories and I couldn't imagine what that must have been like for him.

We then continued on to the memorial monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. It was a beautiful sculpture and it was placed just outside of the new Jewish History Museum. We headed back towards the Old Town and our tour guide showed us a few more sites. We stopped to see the mermaid statue in the center of the Old Town town square. The mermaid is a symbol of Warsaw given the legend - As the story goes, two mermaid sisters became bored of their aquatic life and decided to come ashore. One sister decided to go up the Danish straits and she now sits at the entrance to the port at Copenhagen. The other swam down the Vistula River (which is Poland's longest river) and came ashore in the Old Town, she loved it so much that she decided to stay. The neighboring fishermen began to notice that someone was letting the fish out of their nets and they became angry and tried to hunt the culprit down. They were surprised when the found that the mermaid was the culprit and when they heard her voice they vowed never to harm her. The mermaid filled the village with her sweet songs and was adored by the villagers. One day a merchant had an idea to capture her and show her off at a fair to make himself a nice profit. So he tricked her and put her in a wooden box, the mermaid cried for help and a fisherman's son heard her cries and released her. After this the mermaid swore that she would stay and protect the city, so therefore to this day the symbol of the city is a mermaid.

After our tour finished we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel to get ready for our next outing. We spent the rest of our afternoon at the Lazarski University. We had another seminar on mobile technology and we got the opportunity to interact with some more Polish students. It was an interesting lecture and it was neat to be able to talk to some more students and find out more about life in Poland. I've really enjoyed getting a chance to see the different universities here in Poland and to see how they differ from the ones in the States.

A Lesson In Social Media

Today was an exciting day as we ventured out to visit and ad agency and to attend a class at the University of Warsaw with students from the university. The adventure began with taking the metro for the first time! I always get excited to take the metro because it's something that I seldom get to do, being from the Midwest. We rode it for a while to get out of the heart of the city and when we reached our destination we can back to the surface to take a bus to the ad agency. We unfortunately took our bus going in the wrong direction but we quickly realized and hopped off to head the other way. After exiting the bus we realized that the ad agency wasn't as close as we had hoped. So being hearty Midwesterners we treked through last night's snowfall and walked a "few" blocks until we finally reached our destination. 

The ad agency was not expecting such a large group and so they had to improvise. We were split into groups and my group headed to the "Creativity Room". I'd have to say we got the best location since the room was furnished with couches, a foosball table, and had chalkboard walls. We were greeted by Bart who works as a copywriter for DraftFCB. Due to the improvising he wasn't prepared to give an elaborate talk but he was entertaining and gave us some great insights. He gave us a brief history lesson on Poland and has interesting commentary to add to what we have already learned. He then proceeded to tell us about the evolution of advertising in Poland and we all laughed as he explained that when he was younger he used to see absurd advertisements. A particular ad that stuck in his memory was one for a forklift, he still cannot understand why that was being advertised on primetime television but it is something to laugh about now. 

He explained a few of the products that they advertised such as Nivea and a few smaller coffee companies. He explained that when developing their advertisements they carefully consider the consumer and they advertise very differently between men and women. They also think about the audience size of where they will be advertising and they change their advertisements based on the cities they will be placed in. When he described their advertisements for Nivea he explained that in the US the advertisements are much more emotional. In the US the ads will show more touching and affection between people, whereas in Poland this is not the case. The ad is much more straight forward about the product and does not play to the consumers emotions. As for coffee, it is seen as a luxury product in Poland even though most people can afford it. The reason it is seen as a luxury is because during the Communist era it was rarely found or purchased since it is an imported good. Due to this fact the ads use images that are focused on coffee at special occasions.

We then got a bit off track because I asked about something that I have been waiting to ask someone. (Dad this is for you) I asked about the surnames of Polish people and if the ending of a name correlates to rank. I asked if a name ending in -ski was a determination of someone that was noble and he gave me an interesting answer. He told me that in most cases the -ski related to where someone was from, for example: Krakowski - someone from Krakow. He said it also was related to someone's occupation and sometimes was the surname of the nobles. He said that given the country's history it is very hard to trace the origins of a name because so many people were displaced and forced to leave or move. It was a very interesting conversation and I was happy that I got to ask about it. 

We then ventured to the University of Warsaw to participated in seminar on Internet & Social Networks in Poland and the United States. This lecture was co-taught by Professor Agnieszka Kacprzak-Choinska (an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Warsaw), Professor Pisarski, and Professor Crowe. We sat in class with Polish students and we were given an opportunity to interact with them and share perspectives. 

Professor Agnieszka began the lecture by sharing interesting statistics about the Internet use in Poland versus the United States and the trends over the last decade of Internet use. She presented a list of the top 7 social networking sites in the two countries and then she split our class into groups, mixing our two classes together. We were then given time to discuss these different social networking sites and explain them to one another. We attempted to describe the concept of “Pinterest” and “WordPress” while the Polish students explained their version of “Linkedin”,”Goldenline”, and “Gadu Gadu” which is a popular chat room. It was interesting to talk about the differences and I only knew what 3/7 of the most popular Polish social networking sites were. I'm now intrigued to go look up what they look like and what they can do.

After the seminar we took a long bus and tram ride back to the hotel and I ran to the grocery store to get some snacks for the rest of the night. I watched "Junior Master Chef - Australia" with Polish voice over, I know random, you never know what you'll get here on Polish television! Then I concluded my night with a lovely Skype call with Lewis. It was a great end to the day and I can't believe there are only two more full days here in Poland. It has gone very quickly and I have really enjoyed my time here and I will miss this country. Going into this trip I thought that this would be a once in a lifetime trip because I never expected to go back to Poland but I have a strong desire to come back, especially to Warsaw. I hope that I do get the chance to come back again because there is still so much that I want to see, but for now I'll make the most of my last two days here!

Falling in Love With Warsaw

Today was our first full day in Warsaw, and I'm already in love with this city! Although Krakow was a beautiful city and I really enjoyed my stay there Warsaw has such a different feel and I love it! We did a 4 and a half hour walking tour through many parts of the city this morning and unfortunately it was very cold, but as brave Midwesterners we stuck it out. We started at a monument that is located just outside of our hotel. It is a memorial commemorating those that were taken to Serbia to work in the labor camps. We then continued to Poland's most famous park - Lazienki Park. It is a huge park that is filled with sculptures and monuments, two theaters, and The Palace on the Water. We took a beautiful walk through the snow covered park and although our tour guide told us it was beautiful in springtime I thought it looked beautiful the way we saw it today. 

We stopped at the Palace on the Water (which is more on the ice this time of the year) and we took a tour. The rooms were gorgeous, they were filled with paintings and sculptures and were ornately decorated. Although the inside was amazing to see I think we were all the most fascinated with the peacocks that were wandering around the front of the palace. There were about 8 peacocks that were just hanging out outside and we all couldn't figure out what they were doing there in the snow, but it was fun to see! We then took the bus back into Old Town and saw many of the sights there. 

Before we walked down the Main Street we stopped to look at pictures of the destruction of Warsaw. During WWII Warsaw suffered heavy damage and most of the city had to be rebuilt. As we walked down the street we first came upon the building where the President used to work. We then ventured into the main area that we walked through last night but we got a better look today in the daylight, although I'm very glad that we got to see all of the Christmas lights last night because they will be taken down tonight. The lights will be taken down after the Grand Finale of Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy (The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity). I was surprised when we saw many Poles walking down the street wearing a red heart sticker with these words on it, but our tour guide explained what it meant. She explained that today marks the conclusion of the campaign and will end in a big concert. I was curious as to what the whole campaign was about so I looked into it when I returned to the hotel. I found out that this has been a reoccurring event for the last 21 years. The campaign begins in the middle of October and ends on the 2nd Sunday in January. The goal of the campaign is to raise money for children and the elderly and to raise awareness on the quality of health care. The organization in the past has focused their attention on children but they have realized that geriatrics is one of the most neglected branches of health care in the Polish system and it deserves the same amount of attention. There are very few geriatric hospitals in Poland and the elderly are not able to get all of the care that they need. For these reasons the organization decided that half of the proceeds will be donated for uses in children's health care and the other half will go to the elderly. Now that I have a better understanding of what this whole campaign means I think it is amazing how many people were involved. As we walked the streets we saw many different groups of people going around with boxes to collect money and heart stickers to give in return. Some of the volunteers dressed up in costumes to attract donors and to create a fun atmosphere of giving. We saw people of all ages going around with boxes and it was enlightening to see so many people working for a cause. We also saw tons of people wearing the heart stickers indicating that they had participated in the giving. It was neat to see such a cause bringing so many people and it was clear that there was a large amount of participation for the cause. I was one of the participants in the campaign and I received a heart sticker!

Went through Old Town and saw a few note worthy places such as, the house of Marie Curie, the Cathedral, and part of the old city wall. After the tour was over we were anxious to warm up our toes and fingers and ready for some food. I went with a small group to a Pizzeria where we got a few different types of pizza - not very Polish, I know. But the pizza was different than the pizza that I am used to in the US, so that was a fun experience. Tonight we will be meeting up with students from the University of Warsaw to go out to dinner and to get to know some Polish students. I am very excited to get a chance to talk to them and hear their perspectives.

Onto Warsaw

Well we have finished our time in Krakow and I know I will miss the familiar streets and the festivities of the city square but from my first look at Warsaw I am very excited to see what the city has to offer. We took a bus early this morning to make the trip to Warsaw. Along the way we stopped at a museum in Lodz. The museum was called the Muzeum Sztuki and it was a museum of modern art. There were many interesting pieces and although I will never really understand what makes something art it was fun to look at. After our pit stop we got back on the bus and continued our journey toward the capital.

Once again as we entered the city at night so it was hard to see all of the sights but we took a bus tour and were able to see some of the historical sights of the city. We passed by many different monuments and we saw all of the different political buildings. We also saw the brand new stadium that was built for the EuroCup this past year and it was an amazing facility. The bus dropped us of in the part of the city known as Old Town. From there we walked to dinner, where we had soup, pierogis, and cheesecake! It was a delicious authentic Polish meal! After dinner we headed back to our hotel and along the way we had the chance to take a few more pictures of all of the beautiful architecture that is in this city.

Warsaw is very different from Krakow, it is much bigger and it is a lot more spread out. There are also a lot more people here and it is nice that we don't feel like the only tourists anymore. The city is also filled with beautiful Christmas lights and it creates a vibrant atmosphere. This week we will get a chance to see all of the different historical buildings, the palace, and meander through some parks. We will also be going to a university to have a few lectures and meet some Polish students. I am very excited for all of the activities this week and I'll be sure to keep you updated on what I experience here in Warsaw. Dobranoc!

The Polish Approach

Ever since I've arrived I've tried to take in my surroundings and be observant of the environment around me and almost immediately I realized something that was very different from the United States. Walking around the streets I have seen very few people on their cell phones. I have also witnessed the same thing when we have been at cafes, restaurants, on the tram, and at the shopping malls. I rarely see people texting or playing with apps on the phone. Since people seldom use their phone I haven't been able to determine how popular smart phones are. I have seen billboards for both iPhones and the Galaxy III but the prices were very high for both products. 

The limited use of cell phones has been refreshing, as I will admit I am quite addicted to my iPhone. Since my phone only works on wi-fi here I have been using it much less than I would at home and I will leave it back in the room as well since I know that it doesn't have much of a purpose when I am out touring. I know that I feel privileged to have an iPhone and its capabilities are important to staying on top of my schedule and things that I need to do, but I know it is a luxury and I know I spend too much time using my phone. I think that smart phones are a huge distraction and they are our immediate "go to" whenever we feel slightly bored. We tune out our surroundings and we direct all of our focus at the bright screen in front of us, and I think we miss out on things that are going on around us. I love how the people here are content to be present in the moment and remove the distraction of their phone. I think this is especially important in the cafe or restaurant settings where they are not distracted by their phone but they are present in the conversation that they are having with the person they are with. 

Something that I have noticed about Poland is that it is also has a very casual atmosphere. I haven't felt the sense of urgency in anything that we have done and I haven't seen anyone on the street that looks like they are in a hurray. At one of the cafes that I like to frequent, Castor Coffee Club, the setting is very casual. There are couches and cozy chairs and the whole place has a very welcoming atmosphere. The waitresses aren't particularly quick at coming to take orders but it is a nice feeling that they aren't being overbearing which can sometimes be felt in the US. After we receive our drinks or food that is the last that we see of the waitress as she leaves us alone to our conversation. It is different than what we are used to, but I like it. I feel like I can stay as long as I would like and I can just be comfortable. Another interesting piece of the cafe is that we paid as we left, they just trusted that we would tell them what we had to eat and that we would pay for it. 

I have also found this casual atmosphere in the stores and shops. The owners or employees of the stores are not pushy and do not immediately "attack" their customers. This has made me feel a lot more at ease when I have been browsing through shops and looking at different goods. I like the feeling of not being pressured into looking at things and it doesn't scare me away from looking at items more closely. Seeing this difference to American shows me how abrasive the sales clerks can be and how uncomfortable it can make shopping. 

Just from my observances it seems that the Poles are not bothered by as much as Americans are and they are easily satisfied. I think the lack of attachment to their cell phones plays a big role in this and has them more engaged in what is right in front of them. I admire this about the Polish people and it makes me wish that I would remember to stop more often and forget my phone and all of the distractions in my mind and just be a part of the moment that I am in.

Shopping Excursions

We have spent the last two days at malls observing consumer behavior and conducting ethnographical research. It has been very interesting seeing what their malls look like and to find difference between the shopping experiences here and back home. The first mall that we went to was the Galeria Krakowska, which is right in the city and is seen as the luxury mall. This mall had three levels and was filled with all different types of shops, immediately we noticed that the stores were much much smaller than those that we have back home. Also the amount of shoe stores that were in the mall was crazy! They all primarily had sturdy fashion boots because people walk so much here and I was envious of the selection and prices! Although there were a ton of stores that we could shop in that was not the purpose of our visit. We went into a variety of stores and watched as the customers inspected the products, we didn't find anything especially unusual but the way that the stores were set up was different. The stores advertised sales with % signs but it didn't tell you the percentage off, and since the stores were so small everything was very cramped together. The mall also had a grocery store inside of it, and this was one of the most crowed locations. There was a store similar to Best Buy but the selection was unbelievable there were about 35 different irons, hair dryers, and other products similar to this. We had fun browsing around and getting a sense of what the consumers are like here in Poland.

Today we went to a mall in the suburban area called Bonarka. Again we observed the consumer behavior and continued our research. This mall was huge and had much larger stores than the Galeria. As we entered we saw a very luxurious and fancy site. There was a water fountain, plants, and fancy table settings for the cafe that was in the middle. There were also very expensive stores as we walked in and the mall had a different feel to it. As we browsed around we saw very similar things to our first day at the mall but something interesting was that people were pushing shopping carts around the mall. We later found that this mall also had a grocery store, but this one was about three times the size of the one in the last mall. The cereal and pasta was displayed in open boxes where you could scoop the amount that you wanted which we found very interesting. The shelves were very very tall and you couldn't reach the top two shelves. After wandering through the mall for a while we headed back to our hotel.

Tonight I went out for dinner with one of the girls that I have gotten to know on the trip and we got paninis at a cafe that were delicious! We also stopped at a chocolate shop and she tried a few different pieces of chocolate. She tried one that was recommended by the woman working there and it was chocolate with chili in it, she said it was SUPER spicy, but she liked it! It's been fun to get to know this city and it's amazing how well I know my way around after only 5 days here. Having the freedom to explore has really helped me learn my way around and I enjoy just meandering the streets and finding the fun shops and cafes.