Amaryl

I woke up and got dressed this morning and walked out the door with the intention of going to the lab, and then felt the combined breeze and sunshine on my face and decided that I wasn't quite ready yet. I'm finally to the point where I feel comfortable in this city - it's not wonderful and there isn't a lot to do in the way of entertainment, but it's beginning to feel like my overseas home. I know where to buy cookware, the cheapest Diet Pepsi, and apricot face scrub. We ask a lot of questions, usually which don't get answered, but we did finally discover where the supermarket called the "Real" is, and it has become our Walmart away from home. I'm at ease with the surprising fact that nobody who works in the stores speaks english. At the meat counter two days ago, Courtney wanted chicken and so she clucked and flapped her arms in a... quite accurate... impersonation of a hen. I, as the mommy, was so very proud.

ANYWAY... back to this morning. I ventured up Piotrowska Street and discovered a cute little second-hand store. I read somewhere, though I don't recall quite where exactly, that if you want to find cute and non-expensive clothes in Poland, you have to frequent the thrift stores. You can find all sorts of brands that aren't actually available in stores, but that travels have brought here over the seasons: Gap, American Eagle, Polo, Citizen Jeans, and even designers like Armani. Not that I particularly want to buy American brands across the Atlantic, but considering that I packed about four hours before I caught my flight here, I did forget to bring enough white shirts and cute tops. Plus, the stuff is awfully cheap... and I won't feel bad about leaving it here if I happen to run out of room when repacking to come home (and considering the number of pots/pans/towels/blankets/sweaters/jackets I've had to purchase). Soooo... I'm sorry I'm really distracted today, but the point of all of this is that I bought two really cute skirts, a fun dress, and about seven tops for $80 bucks this morning, and then smiled the entire way to work. I expected everyone to be here, working away, but since Damian is gone it seems like nobody shows up for work anymore, so there wasn't a single person here to witness my transgression or have suspicions about my large and bulky shopping bag. Score!

I have a lot of work to do today but I've recently become very addicted to an online game that I found one night when Courtney and I were bored. Our nights tend to have long periods of free time, and when we aren't making friends in the kitchen (so far we've met Elodie from France, Lyon from Nigeria, Cedric from France, and Robert from Poland) we hang out on my twin bed. It's what all the cool kids are doing. =) After exhausting every internet site I could think of, I remembered playing a strange game called "The Impossible Quiz" one time in Birmingham with my darling Ashlie Leirer. Thinking it might be kind of entertaining, I googled it... and came back with the treasure I lovingly nicknamed "Burger Joint." It's really called Burger Restaurant, and I don't think that anyone else on planet earth has ever played it, but it's a really simple game based on making hamburgers and filling customers' orders in a timely manner. AND IT'S WONDERFUL. Hahah I'm including the link, just in case you are super bored one day and want to usurp my high score on the playing board.

http://www.notdoppler.com/burgerrestaurant.php

Okay I really MUST go. I'm really behind on my presentation and everyone is here now and wants to talk about our activities for Monday. Oh yes... and we're going to a Polish fashion show this evening!