Thanksgiving in Warsaw

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Although I had been thinking about it for weeks, Thursday, November 27 was a tough day. Thursday was Thanksgiving Day in the US but it was just a regular work day here in Warsaw. Easel and I planned to have some people over and that was good. It made me plan something and not focus on what I didn’t have. I just had difficulty because this was the first Thanksgiving for me without any of my kids with me since before Jared was born! That means that for the last 29 years, I’ve always had at least one of the kids with me and for a good portion of that time, I’ve had all three of them. For the last several years, we’ve even had extended family with us. So, even though we had friends coming, I was missing my family.

There were many “firsts” this Thanksgiving. This was our first “empty nest” Thanksgiving. It was the first time I waited until Thanksgiving Day to buy the centerpiece of my Thanksgiving meal. Thursday was my first attempt to order something from the man behind the counter with the fresh poultry. (I was successful and got a fresh turkey!) I hadn’t roasted a fresh turkey before this Thanksgiving, so that was another “first”. It was my first attempt to cook a large meal in our galley kitchen—the turkey barely fit in the oven. It was also the first Thanksgiving dinner two of our guests had ever been invited to join. With all of those “firsts” happening, I’m glad to say that our dinner was a success.

Our guests included a Polish couple—he works with Easel—a young man from Indonesia who is a university student, and a young lady who recently moved to Poland from Ecuador. It was an interesting combination but it worked well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Easel and I shared our family traditions for Thanksgiving and then, at the urging of one of our guests, we all spoke about the things for which we are thankful. It was a lovely end to the meal.

Easel took both Thursday and Friday off, so we spent time working together to create our Thanksgiving feast on Thursday and we spent Friday shopping. Just like home! The major difference being that the shopping on Friday was relaxed and no more stressful than a normal day of shopping in Warsaw. We didn’t have to get up before dawn and we didn’t have to fight crazed bargain hunters! In fact, we had a very pleasant visit to a little shop that sells folk art. The proprietor gave us tea and cookies and told us a lot about how the various works of art were created. We walked away with some beautiful things and no stress. That, I could get used to!

So, while I missed my family, there was a lot that was positive about this Thanksgiving. I think it will go down as a good holiday. Now, to prepare for Christmas.

The Wheels on the Bus

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Today, I got on a bus I ride regularly, found a seat and prepared for the twenty minute ride. At the first stop after I got on, a class of children boarded the bus with two teachers. There were, perhaps, twenty children in the group and they appeared to be about kindergarten age, possibly younger. They climbed on the bus happily chattering to each other and sat in the seats available or stood in the area reserved for standing passengers or baby carriages. Yes, that is correct my American friends! These young children, some of whom would be required by law to ride in car seats in the US, got on the bus, sat two to a seat with no seatbelts or stood by the window or in the aisle. Their two teachers stood in the aisle watching them and then herded them off when they reached their stop. I saw the teachers counting and confirming that everyone was off as the bus pulled away from the stop. One little girl waved to me as she was getting off and said, “Do widzenia!” (Good bye!)

I worked for about seven years for the Liberty school district. I worked as the secretary for the preschool in the district and spent hours on the phone with the transportation department to make sure that each child who needed to be in a car seat was in a car seat. I sent lists of birthdays and weights to my co-workers in transportation to make sure each child was as safe as they could be on every school bus. It was a priority and we were confident that each child who needed a car seat had one and each child had a seatbelt.

During my time working at the preschool, there were a few field trips. Classes usually consisted of twelve or fewer students, some with special needs. I don’t remember a single field trip where there were fewer than three adults and often four adults per class. I can’t imagine two teachers taking twenty young children on a city bus.

Now, this was an observation about how things are different here in Warsaw. I suspect that part of the reason, possibly the only reason, those children were on that bus today was to teach them how to ride the bus. Most of them probably do it with their parents on a daily basis. But this was not the first school group I’ve seen on a bus—just the youngest group. By the time those children become teenagers, riding the bus (or the tram, or the Metro) will be second nature to them. I have seen young people standing as they ride the bus or the tram and, like long-time seafarers, they never hold on. They just position themselves and ride. I’ve even seen them stand and read books as they sway along with the vehicle. They probably have no trouble with skateboards, either! I had marveled at the ease of the bus and tram riders but now I think I understand. They’ve been doing it all their lives! For me this is all very new—I got excited the first time I rode a tram, and the first time I managed the bus alone, and the first time I figured out the Metro. For the children I saw today, it is just the way things are and it will always be, “no big deal.”

Do widzenia!

Winter and Independence Day

Monday, November 17, 2008

Winter is coming! I know that’s a big surprise to everyone but the onset of colder weather has been rather gradual here. Today, Easel and I had a brisk walk through the park because the wind was blowing rather strongly—the temperature was 4 C (that’s about 40-41 F for my American friends) but felt colder because of the wind.

On November 11, we went downtown for the Polish Independence Day celebration. Unlike in the US, all the stores were closed for the day. It was a beautiful day and we went to the park where the celebration was taking place. We found a spot close to one of the barriers where we could see the main reviewing stand and we stood and listened to bands and watched the different groups march onto the plaza. As we stood there, more people joined us until we were watching the proceedings with around 200,000 of our closest Polish friends. As we tried to leave our viewing area, before the end of the program, we had to fight our way through a crowd that was five to seven people deep behind us. It was great to be able to see the celebration. One man that Easel works with made the comment that, “Under the Communists we had to go, now, we get to go.” Everyone, from the smallest dziecko (child) to the oldest babcia (grandmother) seemed to be having a wonderful time. We considered following the crowd to a museum display until we saw the size of the crowd! We decided to catch a tram and head back home. It was something to see the Polish flag flying on nearly every building we passed.

We are planning a small Thanksgiving dinner here and we’ve invited two young people we met at church, a young man, Jeffery, from Indonesia and a young woman, Laura, who has just come here from Ecuador. Easel will also invite a man from work along with his wife and small daughter. So, we will have an “international” Thanksgiving! It makes me feel good because I miss my family and I miss cooking for them. I will be able to fix all the things I would make for Thanksgiving dinner at home, except for sweet potatoes. I can’t find them anywhere! But I don’t think anyone will miss them.

It really is a good thing that we are entering the season of Christmas. With the days getting shorter, it is nice to have something to look toward. Easel was looking online and by the winter solstice, around December 22, the daylight hours will be less than eight per day. Depending on the weather it could be barely more than seven! Of course, those gray days make the beautiful sunny ones that much more glorious.

All Saints Day

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Today is All Saints Day in Poland. Everybody has the day off—except transportation and emergency workers. Since this year it falls on a Saturday, many people already have the day off so they will get their “official” day off later this month. The big thing about this day is remembering. It seems that the Polish people travel “en masse” to visit the graves of their parents, grandparents, and other family members. They will also honor the memories of others who are famous for their achievements in art, science, political service or military service.
We had been told that we didn’t want to drive anywhere today. We followed instructions and just went for a walk this morning. Then, after lunch, we walked to the tram and took it to a large cemetery. We had been told this cemetery would be a great example of the way this day is celebrated.

We arrived at the appropriate tram stop and got off the tram (It was close to a McDonald’s, of course! Sorry, it’s just that so many bus and tram stops I have been directed to use seem to have a McDonald’s nearby. It really seems that McDonald’s has figured out the best locations in Warsaw based on the bus and tram system.)

When we left the tram, we joined a river of people flowing down the sidewalks toward the entrance to the cemetery. Vendors on both sides of the street had beautiful flowers for sale. You could buy a pot of chrysanthemums or an arrangement of chrysanthemums and other flowers or even a wreath of chrysanthemums. There were also candle vendors and again you could buy anything from a small votive to a large candle lantern with a protective metal top. We worked our way through the crowd and actually entered the cemetery.

Easel and I have wandered in old cemeteries from time to time. I’ve done some genealogy work and we’ve gone to cemeteries where my ancestors are buried but we’ve also just wandered around in old cemeteries because it’s interesting to read the headstones. This was nothing like any cemetery I’ve wandered in the past. The graves were very close together and it seemed that no two were even similar, forget about being alike. This cemetery was huge and we only saw a small part of it. We saw people gently sweeping leaves and debris from the graves. We saw graves that were not covered in stone that had been worked to accept plantings of various types. They were nearly all beautiful. Almost every single one had at least one candle, some had enough to warm the air around the grave. We saw one grave that had a wonderful sculpture rather than a traditional headstone.

It was an amazing experience to see a place so filled with people and yet so quiet. It wasn’t necessarily solemn—people were talking quietly and seemed to be enjoying themselves. This really seemed to me to be an important family occasion. I saw families with young children as well as family groups with parents and adult children. I truly enjoyed observing this great Polish tradition.