31 December, 2000

This is the last journal of the year 2000. I can’t believe how fast the year has gone by.

This evening I will meet up with my friend Tom at 20h and we will begin our New Year’s celebration. We don’t know what we will do yet, but we will find something. This will be the first New Year’s Eve I’ve ever spent in a small town.

After I returned home from Germany, I threw in a load of laundry and went to bed for a couple hours, the time it takes the washer to complete it’s cycle. After that, I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things that I need so I won’t have to go out tomorrow. I met one of my students, Michal, there. I told him that I was there to make sure he didn’t go near the alcohol aisle, as he’s only 16.

CNN has been showing different New Year’s celebrations around the world on the top of each hour. 16h was South Korea, 17h was Beijing, etc. Beijing’s was very fancy and classy, with dancers, puppets etc.

It’s been snowing all day and I love it. It’s very pretty, especially how it looks on the trees. However, it is also very cold (-4C) and quite windy.

I've found out that I need to buy better shoes. I thought that the ones I bought in the USA last summer would be good in snow, as they appear to have a lot of traction, but they aren’t. I slipped and fell on my butt on my way to the market today. I’ll buy some decent boots in Olsztyn soon.

There’s been more snow on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. According to CNN World, NYC has received more than a foot of snow. They are bulldozing it away to make way for tonight’s celebration. Parts of New York State and New Jersey are now measuring their snowfall totals in feet, not inches.

17h30 – CNN World had a look back at last year’s New Year’s celebrations. It was nice to see, as I wasn’t anywhere near a tellie last year at this time. However, for the most part, they only showed the big name places. Here is a list of places they showed:

Auckland
Sydney – They sang Auld Lang Sine while fireworks went off over the Harbour Bridge.
Tokyo – They put wishes in balloons, inflated them and let them go at midnight.
Seoul
Beijing
Bangkok
Jakarta – Indonesia is a Muslim country, so there were only small celebrations.
Moscow
Giza, Egypt - Midnight at the pyramids
Bethlehem
Rome
Lagos, Nigeria – There was a dance party in the main square, using traditional music. That’s expected from Nigeria and any sub Saharan African countries, in my opinion.
Berlin
London
Rio
NYC
DC – I like how they did it. They had some of the ponds that lead up to the Washington Monument lit on fire, leading to the monument and it lit up in different sections, ending at new year’s with the lighting go that tip
Mexico City
Acapulco
Calgary
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Honolulu

I remember how much fun I had in Warsaw last New Year’s eve, even though, before deciding on Warsaw, I had wanted to spend it in NYC, Berlin or London. I’m glad I spent it in Poland as, for me, it signified the beginning of my life in my new country.

18h CNN World just announced that it will carry the NYC celebration beginning at 10 minutes to midnight, which will be 5h50 tomorrow morning. I will try to get up to watch it. Maybe I’ll just sleep in the couch and set my alarm to make sure I get up.

Fireworks are legal in Poland, at least at this time of the year. I don’t like fireworks, at least the kind that people can buy at the supermarket (ours has a special section set up)

It’s now 19h. The temperature is now - 5C, the snow is still flying and the wind is howling; a typical winter night. I should stay home, where it’s warm and pleasant. Will I? Hell no! It’s New Year’s Eve! I’m off to take a shower then meet Tom.

It’s now 3h26 (1 January 2001) and I have just arrived home from partying. The snow continues to fall and the wind continues to blow. To tell you how hard the wind is blowing, the outside sill of my windows is totally covered, and there is a buildup of 4 inches up the outside of the window itself. Time for bed. Goodnight.