6 September – I’m back. That’s right, after a great summer of travelling, I’m back in my wonderful little town in Poland. I’m glad to be home. I arrived here at 14h today. Getting here was a bit of a chore.

On 4 September, a relative drove me from Philadelphia to the Newark Airport (2 hours), with a stop at a restaurant called Steak & Ale along the way. It was a 7 hour 25 minute overnight flight from Newark to Zurich, then a 1 hour 50 minute flight from Zurich to Warsaw. However, the second flight left 45 minutes late. That put me in Warsaw at 16h15. After waiting for my bags, I took a taxi to Warsaw Centralna, the main train station, to catch a train up to my town. I had looked on the internet before I left Philadelphia and knew that the train left at 17h16. However, with Warsaw rush hour traffic, I got to the train station a minute before the train left.

I really hate the flight going from the USA to Europe. When I go from Europe to the USA, it’s a day flight. I leave around midday and arrive around 19h that evening. Going to Europe, it’s an overnight flight. I usually get up around 7am USA time, am up all day, am awake all night on the flight, and then arrive around 16h in Poland (the next day). From there, I still have a long trip to get to where I live. It’s a very long way.

It’s just as well that I missed the train as at the train station, I went undo the lock on my backpack to get something out of it and the lock wasn’t the one that I’ve been using on it for many years. I then realised that it wasn’t my backpack, but one that was identical to mine! That’s right, I hadn’t looked at the name tag on it and picked up someone else’s bag! I never look at the name label as I’ve only ever seen the same bag as mine once before, on another American when I was in Norway (the brand of my backpack is REI, which I believe is only sold in the USA). Looking at the name tag, this one was owned by a girl from Woodland Hills, California. What to do now?

I went to the information centre at the train station, explained to them what had happened and asked the girl to call out to the airport to let them know about the mistake. She called the information centre in the airport and explained it to the girl there, as well as the fact that I was coming back out to the airport immediately. I went out front of the train station and hopped on bus #175, arriving at the airport 40 minutes later.

I went to the information centre and talked to the attendant that the girl at the train station had called. She directed me to the baggage reclaim area, who then directed me to the lost luggage people. I explained it to the lady there and she remembered the claim that was made by the girl whose bag I had. I asked her how she would get the bag to that girl and she told me that the girl had told her that she was an English teacher and lived in Warsaw. She’d call the girl, tell her the bag was found, and have it delivered to her. She gave me my bag and sent me on my way.

I took bus #175 back to Centralna and caught a tram out to the hostel on Karolkowa, my favourite in Warsaw. I had made a reservation there before I left Poland in case the plane was late and I missed the 17h16 train (it’s the latest train to my town). I checked in, had dinner and went to bed. I was tired. It was 9pm CEDT I had been up since 6am EDT USA, which meant I had been up for 35 hours, taking into consideration the 6-hour time difference.

I woke up at 7h15 today and had breakfast in the café at the hostel. After that, I had the receptionist call a taxi for me and off I went to Warszawa Centralna. I hauled my bags out of the taxi and went to the ticket counter. The train schedule said that there was a train leaving at 8h57 to Olsztyn, however, the ticket agent told me that there wasn’t a train going there until 11h (it was 8h43). This is normal in Poland.

So, I went to the information booth. She informed me that there was a train via Ilawa at 8h52, so I went back to the ticket window, but to a different agent who knew about the train and sold me a ticket. I bought it at 8h50 and ran down to the track. I barely made the train.

It was a nice InterCity train that went directly from Warsaw to Ilawa. I took the opportunity to rest and also turned on my cell phone and send a few SMSes. I also thought about how good it was to be back in Poland. Other than the cold weather, this country totally suits me.

When I arrived at Ilawa I had to wait for 20 minutes for a train to Olsztyn, which was a double decker commuter train. While I was riding to Olsztyn, I turned on my cell phone to check if any SMSes had come in. I had one from Kuba and he said that he was in Olsztyn. I SMSed him back saying that that was interesting as I would be in Olsztyn in 30 minutes. He sent one back offering to pick me up at the train station. I gladly accepted.

The train arrived at 12h42 and I went to the ticket window area, where he was waiting. We exchanged cordialities and then went to his car. It was good to see him again. We made a stop in Biskupiec on the way back and arrived at Lucja’s house at 14h. We had to wait a few minutes for Dawid to come home so I could get my key, then he drove me to my flat.

I’m in a different flat this year. The other teacher didn’t return, so I’m in the flat that she was in. I love it. It’s double the size of my old one and has a balcony, albeit a small one. It’s also 20 minutes closer to school.

After dropping off my luggage and saying goodbye to Kuba, I walked down to a small eatery and had lunch. From there, I went to the grocery store near my flat and then returned home. I am much farther from my old supermarket so will probably use this one mostly. However, it’s only a grocery store, not a supermarket. At my old one I could get almost anything I needed. At this one, I can only buy food.

My plan for the rest of the day was to do as little as possible. I took photos of my flat (digital and film) and then unpacked my groceries. After that, I found only the necessities in the boxes that I had left while I went travelling, and then turned on the telly. I have a colour TV this year and it even has a remote control! I get 52 channels also! Ahhh..the luxuries of life.

18h30 – Lucja just called me to welcome me back to Poland and invite me over to their house at 17h on Saturday.

7 September – 3h30 – It’s very early, but I went to bed quite early last night (around 18h45), so I’m up already. I was exhausted last night, which might partially be due to jet lag. It usually only takes a day or two for my body to adjust back to European time.

When I came back to Poland last year, I went through a few weeks of "lack of internet depression" for a couple of weeks. I don’t think that will happen this year as I’ve become used to not having it. It would be nice, but I know it’s not possible.

It’s a bit chilly out this morning. I don’t know what the temperature is because this flat doesn’t have a thermometer. I’ll have to buy one as I like to know. I do know that it’s chilly enough for a cup of tea. I brought back cinnamon apple tea (my favourite) from the USA as they don’t sell it in Poland. The only problem with it is that I love the smell of it so much that I usually make a cup and let it sit while I enjoy the aroma, and it gets cold. I plan on only having one cup of that kind of tea per day to make it last as long as possible. I’ll buy the usual Polish tea that I drink so I can have the rest of my usual 100 cups per day.

6h18 – I’m back to having my regular breakfast..tea and toast. I ate cereal in the USA for breakfast (Apple Jacks & Special K).

So, what’s my plan for today? I don’t really have one. I’m going to the above-mentioned supermarket and I’ll take an afternoon nap, as I’m meeting friends this evening at 20h. That’s about it.

6h30 – Dan Rather & The CBS Evening News is on (via Sky News).

7h05 – Strange…the Travel Channel hasn’t come on yet. I thought that it came on at 7h.

16h22 – So much for an afternoon nap! I went back to bed at 7h30 and woke up at 13h30!

Since then, I’ve been to the supermarket and grocery store, and then made another trip out to buy a newspaper because I forgot it on the first trip. While I was walking to the supermarket, I met one of my students, Ewa K. She’s been my students for two years now and was in the FCE group last year (and passed the exam). She worked in Greece for 3 months this summer. She said that as far as she knew, most of the FCE class was coming back for preparation for the CAE exam. That was great news.

Sun report – according to the national newspaper, sunrise 5h57 is and sunset 19h10 today.

I SMSed one of my students, Maciej, to wish him a happy 18^th birthday. After thanking me, he reminded me that his birthday was the 6^th! Oops! He also invited me to his birthday party tonight. I’ll stop by for a bit before meeting my friends.

8 September – Last night turned out to be a lot of fun. I stopped by Maciej’s party for 15 minutes and then went to meet my friends.

The only thing I have planned for today is going to the bosses’ house for 17h. Other than that, I’ll probably just unpack some more and start on my laundry. Before I do the latter I have to figure out where to hang a clothesline in my new flat. The bathroom is a lot smaller than my old flat as it’s two rooms here (one with a tub & washer, one with a toilet), so I can’t hang it in there like I used to. People with balconies usually hang clothes out on it, however it’s cold and cloudy so that’s not a feasible option if I want them to dry.

9h39 – I’ve just put a CD in my CD drive to listen to music while I do other things and Windows Media Player came up to play it instead of the CD player in my computer. I downloaded MP 7.01 before I left the USA, but this is the first time I’ve played CD since then. MP has come a long way since I first used it 3 years ago. This new one is terrific. If you’re wondering, I’m listening to Guns N Roses.

10:36 – The day started off a little sunny, but it’s cloudy now and looks as if it’ll rain.

11h – I’m back to my tea addiction. I’ve been up since 8h and have had about a zillion cups of tea. I didn’t drink a lot of tea in the USA as it was hot. Here it’s not, so I am.

12h05 – Heavy rain.

13h40 – It’s still raining heavily. I don’t want to go out, but I’ve already told Lucja I’ll be over today, so I have to. Maybe it’ll stop raining within the next 3 hours.

14h – The Travel Channel has a program about Miami Beach on right now. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been there. I have to get down there next summer!

14h33 – The rain has stopped.

14h58 – It’s raining heavily again.

22h – I’m back from visiting the bosses. It was a good visit. We talked about the holidays, etc. We also discussed a bit of business.

Their son, Dawid, who is one of my students, spent three weeks in England this summer. He said that at first he wondered if he would be understood, but it turned not to be a problem. I knew he’d do well as his English is very good (he passed the FCE exam with a B). I’m glad that he is more confident in his English abilities. As a teacher, I can tell my students that their English is good, but it’s necessary for them to believe it themselves and going to an English speaking country is the best way to do that. I wish that they could all visit one!

As far as classes go, I’ll have my E (CAE level) & F (FCE level) groups again as well as a group that the other teacher had last year who will be FCE level this year. Three exam classes! That’ll be great. I’ll have three other groups as well. I told them that I want to keep my M & G groups (both Intermediate level) and they agreed. They’re going to merge B group (Intermediate level) into G group. I’m against that, but there’s no other option. Oh well. I don’t know which my 6^th group will be. We’ll get together next Saturday at 17h to finalize everything and get class lists.

I stopped by the supermarket on my way home from Lucja’s house (it’s on the way) and picked up a few things..I needed a toothbrush as I left mine back in the USA by accident. Most of the them cost 9 – 10zl!! That’s outrageous. After looking through all of them, I found one that was only 2.69zl and bought it. The only problem is that the only colour it came in was pink! Oh well, at least I saved 7zl. I also bought two candles as I noticed a 3-candle candle holder in the flat. I would have bought three, but they didn’t have three different colours.

9 September – 8h28 – It’s a cold, windy and gray day. My old flat was terribly insulated and when it was windy, the wind blew right threw it. This one seems to be much better, except the balcony door doesn’t latch properly and it was open this morning. It opens inward, so I now have a box of books in front of it to hold it shut when the wind blows (it stays shut by itself when there’s no wind). A minor inconvenience.

The religious show was good today. It was talking about how to lead your life (2 Timothy 4 6- 8):

1. Fight a good fight – meaning: Lead your life in a wholesome and fair way. 2 Timothy 2: 5, 1 Thessalonians 2 : 4 – 6
2. Finish the race – meaning: Did you finish all that you have begun? Acts 20: 22 – 24, Roman 13: 6

9h – I still can’t figure out where to rig up a clothesline in my flat, so I’ve resorted to what my neighbours have done. My balcony is now a laundry balcony. Oh well, it’s not like I’m going to use it to sit out on for the next 8 months. However, I do need to figure something else out. I won’t be able to hang laundry out when it’s –15C in January.

12h30 – One of my adult students from two years ago (Greg – 24 years old) lives in the flat directly below me. He just knocked on the door, but when I answered, he saw that he had woken me up (I was taking a nap), so he said he’d come back some other time. He’s a very nice guy, so it’ll be good having him nearby.

13h47 – I need to start working on my website again. I’ve almost about gotten over the fact that I lost 3 months of updates when my computer crashed in June.

15h – Greg came back at 14h. He welcomed me to the neighbourhood and we talked for a bit. It was good to see him again.

The main story was the possible halt to the land invasions of white owned farms in Zimbabwe and the affects that that has had on the Zimbabwean economy. The currency is plummeting in value and they’re facing 75% inflation.

There was also a story about the protestors at UN Racism Conference in Durban and whether they made a difference or not.

It also had a segment on great vacation spots in Africa. Listed were Cape Town; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (but not at this time due to the problems going on there); Mauritius (an island in the Indian ocean) and Egypt.

The last segment was that of fashion in South Africa and how the designers are starting to get their clothes exported and the world is starting to take notice of South African fashions.

The part about the protestors was something that I have been thinking about for quite a while. Not these protestors in particular, but protestors in general. There have been a lot of protests going on in 2000 & 2001. Do the protests and protestors make a difference? Is it worth protesting? I had hope that they were doing some good when President Clinton told the people in the conference in Seattle in 2000 that they should be listening to the protestors outside. I thought that the little people, like myself, might actually have a voice in how the world is run. I had hope that we would be listened to and our opinions would be considered. However, that turned out to be only a dream. Clinton wanted people to listen to us, but when faced with a similar situation, W wanted protesters to know that they weren’t going to stop the conference. Quite a difference in ideologies.

17h55 – CNN World is featuring Krakow in one of its HOT SPOTS segments (they’re 5 minute travel segments before the top of an hour). HOORAY!

18h05 – It’s raining heavily now with a little bit of thunder and lightning.

BBC World has reported that starting tomorrow, compulsive gamblers can have themselves banned from casinos in Atlantic City. However, it’s all based on them putting their names on a banned list and sticking to it. The casino people would have to recognize the banned people and throw them out of the casino. If the banned people are caught, they forfeit their winnings.

18h30 – BBC World’s travel program "Holiday" is on now. Even though it’s not a show for a budget traveller like me, I still enjoy watching it. They changed hosts and theme songs while I was gone for the summer.

I’m watching the MTV Music Video Awards. They just had a tribute to Aaliyah, the singer who died a few weeks ago in a plane crash. They had her family members making speeches about what a great person she was, how she touched many peoples’ lives, etc. I wonder if they told her that before she died? It must be the USA version of the awards as the show is in English (my MTV is in German).

They had Dale Earnhart Jr. introduce the band Lincoln Park (which rocked!). I wonder if he would have even been asked to be on the show if his father hadn’t passed away earlier this year. Most likely not. Why didn’t they have non-famous people whose fathers died this year introduce bands? Oh, I forgot, since they’re not famous, they’re nobodies. Join the club.

19h30 – The rain has stopped.

19h55- I’ve just lit the candles I bought last night. It’s getting dark early, so we’re back to candle burning season.

They just had Will Smith, a Philadelphian, present the award for Best Female Video.

I don’t really care for N-SYNC, but they just performed and did a great job. At the end of their presentation, Michael Jackson came out, danced for about 10 seconds and got a standing ovation (and, no doubt, a bundle of money). I’ve never really liked him. I don’t hate him, but I don’t care for his music.

20h28 – It’s raining again.

I’ve just decided that I’m going to get a Christmas tree this year. It’ll go up the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I’ll invite some friends over for Thanksgiving dinner that day. That’s the great thing about having two countries…I can celebrate holidays from both! I need to start planning the menu! I can’t get turkey here, so I’ll use chicken. Mashed potatoes are easy, I’ve done them many times…gravy, no problem. I don’t think I can get cranberry sauce…I’ll need to learn how to make stuffing. I’ll have someone bring a pie and everyone bring a decoration. We’ll eat, decorate the tree and listen to Christmas carols!!! It’ll be great! Hopefully I can make this happen.

What a load of crap the MTV Music Video Awards are. Most of the presenters are there to plug their new CDs coming out.

22h – There’s a movie called Martial Law on. It’s a movie about cops that use martial arts while fighting crime. It’s stupid but I’m watching it anyway. I wonder if it was the pilot for the TV series by the same name but with a different cast.