Summer of my Senior Year

2008-12-03T13:31:00.001-06:00

The Finale (sadly.)

2008-08-29T21:07:00.002-05:00

I didn't want to end this entire experience with a bad note... so I shall write one more journal entry.

There have definitely been some really sad things that happened along the journey of the last three months, but the absolutely amazing experiences that I have been fortunate enough to undertake far outweigh the missteps. Yes, I lost a good friendship that I had with my professor, which I deeply regret, and I miss being able to talk to. I saw him in the hallway today and he walked past me like I had never existed... and since it was the first time that I had seen him in four months... it was kind of hard. But as we learn through development and growth, sometimes things happen that you have absolutely no control over and you simply cannot blame yourself. All you can do is move forward and work towards a brighter future.... and with my friends and family by my side... it promises to be incredibly bright.

It's been difficult adjusting to being home. I miss so many things that I didn't even realize I had. It always lights a smile on my face to see an email from Poland or a Skype IM from Spain. I now have friends all over the globe, which is not something that many 21-year-olds can boast. I have been blessed beyond belief, not only with the experience of this summer - learning how to cook broccoli to perfection, or that they really DO check your tram tickets for a time stamp, or that traveling to an extremely foreign culture is equal parts nerve wracking and exciting, and then you get there and have an indescribable high. Home is lonely though. I never knew I could be with someone 23 hours a day for 86 days straight and not get tired of them, but it's possible. Write me down in the Guinness Book of World Records. Now I don't even know how to be alone. Ash will leave the living room and in my head I'll be screaming "Don't leave me!! I need human contact!" Hahah I'm silly. But I make Courtney spend the night and I go over there a lot, too. It seems I've found a new fixture in my life... the L-squared I've grown to know and love. Friends really are the family we choose.

You don't realize how much you impact other peoples' lives.. even in the tiniest ways. I cannot even begin to count the sheer volume of my friends and acquaintances and PARENTS who have come up to me and said "I religiously read your blog" or "It was great seeing all of your adventures unfold through Facebook photographs." I know, now, that I have a incredible network of people rooting for me to succeed. It's invigorating and stimulating and it feels... quite frankly... wonderful. Life can be such a scary thing and everyone needs a solid foundation on which to build. I'm lucky to have found that in Birmingham and Florida... I'm just plain lucky.

Most days I'll be doing something random and insignificant and suddenly flash back to a memory of this summer. I haven't taken the time to read my personal journal or my blog yet, but I still have so many memories that are fresh in my mind and snap me back across the Atlantic. I went to lunch with a friend, Paul Sparkman, and a stray mushroom in my soup made me launch into a random European story about shopping at Andre and a crazy old Polish lady yelling mercilessly at Courtney over spilled redbull in a glass soda jar. A boy at a frat party two weekends ago asked me what the craziest thing I had done this summer was.... and I took about four minutes flipping through snapshots in my mind, trying to figure out what crazy thing really deserved the number one spot. A fallen photograph in my room from last year reminded me of the night Courtney and I desperately jumped on the metro in Paris to go see the lit-up Eiffel tower and ended up only catching a glimpse from the coach on a bridge over the Seine, but not before we purchased the world's most delicious chocolate ice cream from the McDonalds on the Champs Elysees. The metros cut off and all of these people (tourists) were waiting for the next train, which wasn't going to come until 5:45 a.m., but nobody could read the signs in french, except for me, and nobody believed me when I told them there were not any more trains coming... so Courtney and I just forsoke all those dumb people (haha joke) and ran off to try to make a different connection. That didn't work, of course, and we ended up at the Arc d'Triumph; me, desperately trying to tell a cab driver, in french, that I had no idea where our hotel was but that it was near a certain metro stop and we needed to be taken there.... and befriended a nice young American guy in a Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt (and aren't they the best?) who lent us his map so I could affirm my crazy directions to the Jamaican driver with avid pointing at the spot on the grid. We gathered about 100 Euro for the ride, and I was worried it wouldn't be enough... and then it ended up being six dollars. Oh the joys and the tribulations.... and the smiles. How could one photograph evoke so much? Where will I store all these anecdotes to assure they never disappear? How can I guarantee that I never lose a single detail?

This summer has merely reconfirmed my beliefs that I want to go overseas and save the world - practice medicine in north African and do what I can to help who I can. There is nothing that gives me more pleasure in the world than connecting with people... and this summer is a testament to that. I can't wait to start chasing after my dreams... really start.

But then again, there is no time like the present.

Thank you all for being such a wonderful audience this summer. It's been lovely to express myself through the written word and just get my thoughts out there. Even if they aren't always the most well formulated... if I use commas far too often and say "incredible" about fifteen million times an entry... thanks for putting up with me. Sharing everything I've been through somehow makes the last three months even more real.... and I'd like to believe it's something that all of us will never forget.

Our final destination...

2008-08-05T17:01:00.005-05:00

Well.... we made it to Warsaw (barely) safely.

This day started at 6 a.m., after three hours of sleep due to last minute packing. All of our luggage had been dragged outside and we had paid for the four days in August that we stayed in our dorm, when the maid said she wanted to do an inspection... and then proceeded to make us get down on our hands in knees with Mr. Proper to scrub everything to a sparkling sheen. I'm not exactly sure WHY they have maids if we're the ones doing the cleaning.... but we had to furiously clean at top speed to get out the door on time to catch our train to Warsaw. She even thought we stole half a lamp. Half a lamp that wouldn't even work in America because of the current and European plugs. Yes, I find it likely.

The drive there turned into an ordeal in itself. There was construction everywhere, and traffic moved more than half the trip at a snail's pace. And considering that our babysitter, Zibi, got a speeding ticket last time he drove us around, he refused to go a kilometer over the limit... although I don't blame him.

To purchase train tickets, we had to wait 20 minutes behind an old lady yelling at the ticket attendant in the one window where they actually sold regional tickets, only to see her walk away without purchasing a thing. We were late already and had to rush our massive amounts of luggage onto the tiny door opening of our second class coach. Thank GOODNESS Zibi was there to be the brawn behind our efforts.

Ten hours on the train, which I slept through, thankfully, deposited us in Warsaw. The four girls had to come up with a plan to move all of our luggage from the train to the platform in a minimal amount of time because the train only stops for about two minutes in each station. Two stations before I knew we were slated to get off, we started a "baggage relay" line down the corrider and into the little compartment between coaches. Only we had a little bit too much luggage, and so it spilled over into the area by the disembarking platform, along with our four bodies. And of course, as fate always seems to love to taunt Courtney and I, every ornery, old lady who lives in the country of Poland decided to try to exit in our one doorway, and thought either that it would be helpful to yell at us relentlessly in Polish, or just found it satisfying. Either way, I was about to just open my mouth and retort back when Kristen pointed a strong finger at the other, very available, exit at the other end of the coach and shooed the old ladies on their way.

So we disembarked in Warzsawa Centralna and started the search for our hotel. It was 800 meters from the train station, which I quickly discovered is almost half a mile. We left the two girls sitting in the terminal, which a cell phone, to watch half the luggage while I tried to find our hotel. I had directions but I wasn't sure exactly how far it would be. And as I peered down a side street, a man in a car pulled up alongside me and said "Hey Beautiful, get in the car." I declined, quickly, but he kept talking to me in english and trying to convince me to get in the car with him.

After the harder 800 meters of my life (I must have been carrying at least 80 pounds), we spotted the wonderful green glow of the Hotel Camponile. We quickly checked in, because I was really worried about the safety of the two other girls, and found our room. There was literally a haphazard pile of our stuff strewn across the room as we each threw off our bags and grabbed a jacket to go find Sonda and Kristin.

Oh! I forgot to mention that we didn't realize there would be a food trolley on the train, so nobody ate ANYTHING from 7:45 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. this evening. When we finally made it back to Sonda and Kristin, Sonda stood up and almost passed out from a lack of nourishment and too much excitement. Thank goodness for McDonalds. I have never seen four girls eat hamburgers and french fries so quickly in my life.

But the fun didn't stop there. Sonda has a knife that she carries with her at all times just in case. And this evening, while they were alone waiting for us, a man grabbed Kristin's hand.... the hand which thank goodness had a knife in it... and it scared him off. And there was apparently a huge fight in front of them which ended in a man chasing a girl away while swinging a hammer at her.

I wasn't about to risk anything else happening to us, so we grabbed a taxi for the remaining luggage and finally arrived, all four, at the hotel. But check in for Kristin wasn't as smooth as for us... and they lost her reservation. It's not the first time the Polish have lost our reservations, including for a rented car, a hostel, and various hotels... but it doesn't make it any less stressful or downright annoying. That, and the fact that they never take credit cards and always ask for smaller bills or exact change. I'm just not used to carrying around 15 pounds of change in my butt pocket. But, after fighting with the hotel clerk and showing her the conformation number for the hotel booking, Kristin and Sonda finally got into their rooms too, and we are now all safely settled in. Let's hope there isn't a bombing tonight or a plane crash tomorrow.

There were more than a couple of times tonight that I felt uncomfortable. Thank goodness I'm a very well experienced traveler and Courtney has been to more than her fair share of exotic places because if we had been four novice travelers in this foreign environment, especially with the language barrier, it would have been insane. I can almost guarantee that something bad would have happened somewhere along the way.

But we come home tomorrow. All of us are in good moods and excited about the clean beds and plush towels. And to be all together, and in one piece.

It has been an insane day.

Goodnight darlings.

Return is near

2008-08-04T23:29:00.002-05:00

This morning marks the beginning of the end.

We move out of the Czech Republic today (at 7:30 a.m.), spend all day on a train to Warsaw, and then take plane from Poland to American tomorrow at noon.

Yay yay yay!!!

That means I can use my cell phone in a little more than a day... and that I'm finally returning to American soil.

I've missed you guys!

2008-07-29T13:44:00.003-05:00

I'm supposed to be writing a six page review, but instead I'm updating my blog. Just add it to another list of ever-expanding ways to distract myself from my actual, pertinent duties.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!!

If you have nothing better to do, check out her photography website - she takes stunning pictures of children. And she turned 21 today!!

We (Sonda, Kristin, Court, and myself) returned from Dresden yesterday. I studied for MCAT almost the entire time on the train (except for that small break I took when our coach was detached from the rest of the train and we almost got stranded in Zittau)! Germany was fun... every city is starting to look the same... lots of old buildings, similar cobblestone patterns in the streets, and a winding metro system that I almost get on going in the wrong direction once a journey... so instead of seeing more grand buildings whose troubled history escaped us and whose names we would surely forget in the next 24 hours (German is quite complicated, after all), we decided to spend some time in the glorious green park in front of the Zwinger palace.

Lots of laughs and silliness ensued.

The dappled pathway...

Ta da!

You Tarzan, Courtney Jane.

Tree climbing is the best way to stay young at heart.

We are quite the pair... and we love old buildings and cute, old people very much.

It was more fun upside down!! Plus, we needed the laughter.

Tumble break to catch our breath and nurse our handstand wounds.. :)

After kindergarden recess in front of the palace, we walked down a winding path that brought us to an exquisite fountain... which immediately and simultaneously invoked the thought (in both Courtney's and my mind) to CLIMB IN!

Pretty water, cold water.

The one shower she took all week long.

The fountain was formed entirely out of tiny mosaic tiles.

... and the colors were gorgeous in the sunshine.

After the park and eating

Why am I always running late?

2008-07-27T03:03:00.002-05:00

Check out the amazing car factory we are going to tomorrow.... it's in Dresden, Germany.

The four girls just needed to escape so we are going to Dresden (for the second time this week) to shop for dresses (fun!) and check out the fully automated Volkswagen factory.

It looks incredible...

Look!

Ahhhh must pack.

I want that Camel.

2008-07-26T08:03:00.003-05:00

ONLY 11 DAYS UNTIL I RETURN HOME!!

I'm getting really exciting about sorority recruitment and having a piano again and being able to fall asleep with my doggy cuddled into my stomach... there are some things that just can't be replaced.

While I wait to return, we've been traveling places after work (since we usually get off around 10 a.m.) since we've maxed out all the places of entertainment in Liberec.

Thus, I present to you our trip to Praha... and the delights and adventures we found there (besides FINALLY being able to see "Wanted" in a cinema in ENGLISH.)

Courtney and I jumped on a bus to Prague sometime in the morning and made the one hour trip to Prague. There's a shuttle bus straight to IKEA from the bus station, and although I was tempting to spend half the day sauntering down the aisles of my favorite store for the greater part of my lifetime (after K.B. Toys in my infancy, of course; and PacSun in that awkward middle school stage), I took Courtney's feelings into account and we caught the subway swiftly into town.

With no Wikipedia research to guide our footsteps, and no maps to help us make our way, we checked a small information booth in the subway terminal and confidently went in the direction of the astronomical clock. (A clock from the medieval times located in Old Town Prague that shows astronomical things such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. - Wikipedia).

We got lost once on the way there, tried to sit down for breakfast only to end up eating a hard pretzel and come Subway cookies, and were entranced by a toy shop filled with marionettes (famous in Prague), wooden toys, 3 person chess sets, and endless baby nursery decorations. I even found the PERFECT gift for a friend's 21st birthday (and no Ash, it isn't you, sorry), and HARRY POTTER PUPPETS! It was pretty cool.

For you, Dad.

The biggest nose I've ever seen on a tiny wooden creature. Also for you, Dad.

Courtney in awe.

But we finally did find the clock, complete with at least 1000 people anxiously looking up at it's ancient faces - an action which left Courtney and I perplexed and led me to actually, for once (gasp), tap on a person's shoulder and ask for help. Everyone knows I hate to do that. But I found this cute old guy in the crowd who looked pretty harmless and asked him what was going on, and although he didn't speak English (he was from France), his lovely wife explained to us that at noon something special was going to happen and that's what everyone was waiting for. So, just liked animate puppets, we followed everyone elses' lead and stared up at the clock, camera zoomed in and ready for whatever wonderful thing was sure to take place.

The astronomical clock tower... and clouds.

I still cannot...

... comprehend the sheer...

... volume of people that were there to see the clock strike noon.

It turns out it was just like a giant Cuckoo clock, with doors that opened and a random moving skeleton on the outside... which quite frankly was lame. But we saw it; we experienced; mark the astronomical clock off of our "To Do Before We Die" lists.

We somehow pushed through that insane crowd and got front row, dead center seats to the show.

There is the funniest story behind this picture. We had to ask four different people to take our picture in front of the clock, and finally... the man who took this one... was an old guy who didn't speak a word of english and clearly did not know how to operate a digital camera. He looked down at the LSD screen/view finder and saw us through it, then tried to hold it half an inch from his face and LOOK THROUGH the screen. It was really quite amusing to watch, although I stifled my laugh and tried to use sign language to show him which button to press. He was... adorable.

After that we spent the rest of the day ambling around... getting lost once on the tram (thanks to my wonderful intuition), checking out a retro/vintage party, and getting well acquainted with every street in Prague that includes the letter "K." Which is nearly every single one.

She said the Lion was doing the Heisman Trophy pose so I made her show me.

Random dancing festival we happened upon.

The most adorable show in Prague. I want that camel.

AND.. even cooler, all of the toys and stuffed animals are safe for our asthmatic and highly allergic to EVERYTHING friends (i.e. Miss Courtney Meghan Styres).

I would have to say the most remarkable thing all day long were the clouds. After the constant rain in Liberec for the past three weeks, it was wonderful to see blue skies and gorgeous puffy white clouds again.

Clouds.

Pretty flowers at a subway stop.

Listen to my french accent...

2008-07-22T20:58:00.002-05:00

In Germany there is a song and it goes like this:

"Ein leben lang, die selbe unterhose an, die selbe unterhose an, die selbe unterhose an"

which means:

"I live my whole life in the same underpants... the same underpants... the same underpants."

Voila. My new favorite song!

What's the Game Plan Stan?

2008-07-19T11:22:00.001-05:00

I'm downloading "Yoga for Dummies" so that Courtney and I can make fools of ourselves to an empty kitchen.

At least the skillet and the wooden mixing spoons will be entertained.

Test Prep and Admissions

2008-07-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

THIS is what happens when you stick me in a foreign country with no work, and forbid me from traveling.

I start nesting.

In other news, I started studying for the MCAT today because I was that bored.

Is it terrible that I now cannot wait to get out of here? I'm not being spoiled, I just have nothing to occupy my time.

Look! It's Mr. Coleslaw!!!

2008-07-18T06:25:00.000-05:00

Oh the things that we do in lab....

A sample in the chamber, with a plasma cloud of methane glowing around it. Cool, eh?

Polishing a sample before depositing it into the chamber. I'm the supervisor... I make Courtney work.

(Kidding, of course. =)

This is what Kristin and Zibi do when I leave my camera laying around.

And sometimes we employ them as a human timer for the etching process.

A regular steel screw that became a pretty purple and blue screw because Courtney is so good at controlling the microwave frequency chemical vapor deposition parameters. That's a mouth full.

The equipment. 200,000 Euro.

A wood-cutting tool in a blue plasma cloud.

Us, initially, trying to understand the equipment, the method, and the science behind the entire apparatus. It took us exactly one day and one clearly defined set of directions.

See? We learn quickly. All we need is someone taking the time to explain it to us once.

Zibi with our freshly coated nanofiber paper. We analyzed it by SEM and the fibers were to small to be clearly defined at 5000x magnification.... which is excellent news!

And just for kicks, a photograph of Courtney and I with an infrared camera.

Dr. Dudek, from Poland, was trying to determine the surface temperature of a screw that he as coating, so he brought in the camera for a demonstration. While waiting for them to set up, we convinced the two (male) technicians to let us play around with the camera and take pictures of ourselves! And I think the professor who owned the camera was also quite impressed when I started spouting off on a tangent about black body radiation and the Wien Distribution.

Thank you PH352 and Dr. Camata for helping me on that one.

"Will You also bother me when you go back to the USA?"

2008-07-17T07:33:00.000-05:00

The Czech is definitely prettier than Lodz, Poland.

The last couple of days have been a flurry of factory tours and deciphering english accents: on Monday we visited a high school in Jablonec, Czech to take SEM (scanning electron microscopy) pictures of the samples we made in Liberec. Although our samples turned out horrible (I believe one lady working the machine even called them "idiotic").. the fact remains that we actually did get to make samples (yay!), and we made friends of the two ladies who worked there.

The microscope in the high school.

Entertainment through cheesy photography?

One was 20, in school for biomedical engineering, and had the wonderful job of escorting our small bladders to the restroom any number of times during the day, and trying to find means of entertaining us on our five hour "sit against the wall and watch someone take pictures of your samples with a 4 million dollar machine that you aren't allowed to touch" extravaganza. She resorted to 360 degree photographs of Prague taken from 100 towers in that far-too-steeple-y city, and pictures of her dog AND her dog's Dad. The other lady was getting married in 11 days, and after many exclaimations from the four of us, we convinced her to show us pictures of her fiancee, dress, and the church where she'll be getting married. We even got pictures of the mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and father-in-law in a silly wig.
I even found the time to use Courtney's arm as a canvas, creating a brilliant tattoo (!) of our experiences together in Europe. The two ladies handed over some colored pencils and computer paper and I ended up making a "Thank You!" sign that all of us added a small message and a signature too.

Checking out a gold plasma inside a coating device. In a sick turn of events, someone had coated a cockroach in gold. I freaked out a little bit when I saw it.

My awesome tattoo. It had nutella, a witch's broom, the pyramids, us running in front of the pyramids, a butterfly, a heart, "Audrey loves you!", us jumping in puddles in the rain, a "Big and Little" pillow, a rainbow, a purple pony, a cannon firing a cannon ball (because I couldn't draw the Sphinx without his nose because I'm simply not that talented.), and... a fried egg.

They were sweet though, and I'm glad to have met them.

From left to right: Courtney, Vladena, Kristin, me, Clara, and Sonda.

Wednesday found us traveling in a car through Czech, Poland, and Germany in a five minute time span. There are open borders because of the European Union (and they've even started calling the countries "states")... so we easily went between countries, ending up in a small town in Germany with a name that escapes me. Dr. Louda (our new professor here) had to mail some stuff via DHL, and the office wasn't open yet, so.. being the teenage girl that I am... wanted to go shopping. We found ourselves in a quaint little market in the center of town, and wasted 15 minutes looking at huge granny panties with lots of lace and silly suspenders. They have fake purses in large quantities and more socks than I'd know what to do with.

The market in Germany, and Courtney's enormous cranium.

Sneaker Socken. I have nothing to add!

I even brought my Euro, but no matter how many tiny shops I asked, nobody sold Coca-Light. It seems the Germans do not drink Diet Coke. =)

Our primary destination was a titanium/aluminum alloy coating factory named Techno-Coat that Courtney and Kristin quickly renamed "Technicolor Dream Coat," that specialized in coating medical tools and Kohler sinks. It's kind of funny, actually, because we recently renovated most of the bathrooms in my Florida house and all of our sinks are Kohler. It makes me wonder if any of our hardware parts came through this tiny factory in an obscure town in Germany.
The man who ran the factory, Burkhard Scholz, was completely sweet. He explained everything to us about his machines and the techniques, and answered all of the questions we fired back at him. He gave us business cards, brochures in english, and most excitingly.. let us play with medical instruments after they had been coated.

Skin retractors.

Mr. Scholz explaining a 1.2 million Euro machine to Kristin and Sonda.

A new part of the factory... it will soon be filled with equipment.

The nice man who showed us how professionals do layer thickness tests. He put in the sample, had a spinning ball rubbing against it, and added some synthetic diamond liquid in a line. Then he let it come into contact with the layer for about a minute and measured the diameter of the scratch on the sample with a computer program and an optical microscope. I was actually completely impressed with the technique.

I picked Tuesday to die, though. We were standing in a small group, listening to Mr. Scholz speak, and I suddenly felt light headed and couldn't hold myself up. Try as I might, I was sure I was going to fall on the floor, or faint, and I the feeling of all of the blood draining from my upper extremities was in full swing when Courtney suddenly rushed over, with Dr. Louda on her heels, and asked if I was okay. I guess that there wasn't even oxygen in the factory, or that I just didn't have enough sugar in my blood that morning, but two more seconds and I would have been sprawled out all over the factory floor.

Again, Mr. Scholz was really sweet... pushing me to get outside and breath some fresh air, grabbing me a chair, and even running to get a cold bottle of water right away. It had gas, which I hate bless his heart, but he was definitely trying really hard. And Courtney and Dr. Louda didn't so bad either. =) I hate being the sick kid. I think I apologized about nine times.

Pre-Audrey episode. The four of us in Germany with medical tools in the background, and a giant PVD device.

Wednesday (today) we woke up early and drove to another town, Turnov, to visit a ceramics factory. It was pretty cool to see all of the assembly lines in production. (Who am I kidding, I sat there in awe and was mesmerized by the constant perfect motion).

From what I understood, the factory took very fine aluminum composite powders (tiny nanospheres with diameters in the range of 12 nanometers) and compressed them into different molds, then sintered them to melt everything together and shrink the product, then coated them if necessary. They made these tiny rings that were used in oil field machines that were ever-lasting. They were super light weight - it was insane - and it was a world wide effort to make them, including different stages of production in Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, and Austria I do believe. And they literally never had to be replaced. It was over 800 Euro per tiny ring, which seems like a crazy amount considering it weighed about 2 ounces, but Dr. Louda explained to us that if a worker had to stop the oil machine to change the ring it could cost 1000 barrels of oil instead of just the 800 Euro to buy the piece that won't ever break. Good point.

Our guide at the factory was very nice too, although he really only spoke German. It still pretty cool to see the entire ordeal, and he let us each have a sink gasket (thing) and tiny random pieces that they made at the factory. I shall tape them in my journal and keep them forever. They can't be broken! Not even with a hammer and all the force I possess...

The Saint-Gobain Ceramics factory.

Court and the factory. It was pretty cool.

Assembly lines amaze me.

One of the various products that they let us keep. These are in almost every person's sink. They control the amount of water that comes out of the faucet. And they cost 10 cents a piece to make, although the mark-up is a couple hundred percent for the consumer.

And just for fun, because it's cute and she's cute...

"Just say it now... I think, it's a good moment =)"

2008-07-15T18:37:00.000-05:00

"Never lie, steal, cheat or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steel, steel away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away." ....

"Aids to Anatomy and Physiology, A Complete Textbook for the Nurse."

2008-07-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

My life lesson for today: When the town or situation you are in presents no apparent entertainment, you must make your own adventures.

After sleeping most of the sunshine away yesterday, Courtney and I were restless this morning, eagerly showering and ready to leave our dorm. Three steps out of our door, we each made a 180 degree turn and fetched a jacket from our closets: it was freezing outside, and raining with a mild but persistent vigor.

But how can water really hurt two young girls, full of spirit and enthusiasm for exploration? So we headed down towards the zoo, gazing at the swans and (what I think but Courtney disagrees was) storks, and caught the tram after much gesturing to the 80-year-old ticket seller for passes. After a quick stop for chocolate, we found ourselves on the main thorough-fare in town - the road that leads between the town square (the location of the info center and the one McDonalds) and the Tesco (the main grocery store in town). Because it is Sunday, every store on the street was closed, save one. That is how we found ourselves, about thirteen minutes after swan gazing, in a bookstore full of books on science, politics, philosophy, childcare, and tarot card reading... all in Czech.

But as we explored the back recesses of the store, we encountered a small, out of the way corner in which were antique books in every language - tiny, dirty, and fascinating. So I settled down promptly, on the dark floor, and started flipping through the pages of the ancient literary tombs.

It's amazing to me, the history held in a single book. The hands that it pasted through, the shelves it sat on, the pages you find that hold the wrinkles of bygone years. I fall in love with every text that has a message scrawled in a foreign tongue, wondering who was giving and who was receiving and how their lives played out. I marvel at the dates. Courtney and I searched every text we opened, first the front pages and then the back, hoping to catch a glimpse of a (seemingly) prehistoric date, and knowing, finally, that the years 1882 did exist... that there was a time before we were alive... holding in our hands solid evidence of the rift between the British and her American colonies... or a time before the function of the pineal gland was understood.

Sometimes, as teenagers in such a modern world, it is hard to grasp the existence of past generations. In the back of my mind, I know that they once did live, struggle, cry, rejoice, experience the same way that I did... but at the same time, it is just so hard to imagine. Holding those books today (some of which I bought) brought me back to that world. Cemented me into my day and age, a day and age that is only existing because of all of those people in the past, and it put me in a state of wonder.

So as I ran to catch the tram in a downpour, bouncing over tracks and laughing as we climbed aboard at the last moment, I couldn't wait to return to my room, my solitude, and read the book I purchased from 1927. A book that was printed with the warning on the front page to not distribute it anywhere in the American colonies. A book that is a time machine to the past.

I know I'm an idealist and a romantic... but today... today being here was fun.

R&R

2008-07-12T08:19:00.000-05:00

Today will be a day of rest and repair.

Pajamas, our favorite television shows, and lots of chocolate.

Oh yes... and I need to plan out a shopping trip to Prague. Does anybody know how much it will cost to ship about 20 pounds of clothing home? =)

"Assumption of Risk and Hold Harmless Agreement"

2008-07-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

The title of my blog this evening really amuses me. I might fill the world in later, but for now, it'll be the four girls' secret.

Tonight has been a night of incredible bonding. It's insane how something bad can join people together. We've been living in close quarters for over two months and it took tonight for us to really know each other... to sit in a half circle on Sonda's bed, passing around a box of CiniMini's (the European equivalent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch), and just laugh hysterically. Tempers have flaired, hours have been wasted on pointless explanations, and now we can do nothing but sit back and enjoy the crazy show. There's a point where all the fight has been beaten out of you and you have to just let go... thank goodness we have arrived.

Sonda and Kristin made their way to the Tesco this afternoon and came back with the most hilarious surprise. A HUGE cardboard carton of TWO DOZEN EGGS, and chocolate cakes that tasted like Play-dough. They are wonderful grocery shoppers, and I love them very very much.
Kirstin and her boy got into a fight this evening, which isn't that rare of an occurrence, (and I hope she won't hate me for broadcasting her love life on my blog as entertainment). Since we were already having bonding time and feeling quite confrontational, Court, Sonda, and I were the cheering section from our post on the bed... yelling "JUST DO IT! TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL!!" and loudly voicing our opinions on the intensely private matter. I think we just needed to release all of our energy somewhere and he happened to be the closest thing we had. It was fabulous. That and the multiple nicknames that were conceived this evening: Mother Sun, Pink Pony, Purple Pony, Translator Boy, Finger Lick, Valley Girl, Great Unflexible One. Add that to our ever growing collection of well established nicknames... AL, ABS, L-squared, Lucy, Dora the Explorer, Pale One, Smalls, Misquito Pest, and about seven thousand I can't remember that we make up along the course of one day... and we've got a great collection going. I do believe I can ever quote Sonda as saying, at one point, "You two are the weirdest people I have ever met."
And one would think I was opposed to being in that category, but honestly, I'm not. It's kind of a fun position to hold.

I am truly sorry. I cannot stop rambling.
Our new babysitter here is a cool guy. His name is Zibi (how fun is that?) and today he helped me write Polish phrases all over my converse shoes in Sharpie marker... WHILE an experiment was running in his $160,000 machine. He's really sweet. Take, for example, lunch time yesterday: A man walked up to our table in cute blue overalls, holding two glasses of hot sweet tea and sporting a huge smile, and said "You aren't from around here are you?" in a strange accent that I couldn't quite place. It turned out that he was from the Czech, but had lived in American on and off for 16 years in North Carolina as a white water rafting guide. Strange? Yes. Helpful? Yes. Because we proceeded to ask him all the most thrilled rivers to raft down and then terrorize Zibi about taking him there when he visits America for 3 months in the fall. We'll get him out there and he'll love it. I'll at least follow up on that blog entry.

I have to be in the lab at 8 a.m. We are finished with our experiments here tomorrow after an investigation with the optical microscope and some scratch testing.

In the mean time, answer my poll for some interactive fun?

2008-07-09T14:22:00.001-05:00

Drama continues in my world and I'm too upset to actually write a real entry, although I did have plans of sharing a really cool procedure that we performed today.

I'm shaking, crying, upset, furious... confused, upset, abandoned. Too many emotions all at once. I need to just plus in "Hard to Concentrate" and disappear under my bed covers.

Kind of Strange... but...

2008-07-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a dream... I used a hair straightener. It was amazing. =)

I can tell I'm ready for American conveniences again.

"Please notify me immediately if you find a Tesco nearby"

2008-07-08T16:13:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the whole public/private journal debacle. It turns out that someone was using this blog against me and I was trying to defend myself by not broadcasting my actions to the world.

But it's too hard to redirect everyone to a new site, so I'll just face the heat and let you guys continue to enjoy mine and Courtney's adventures. What would life be without a little adversity anyways, right?

For the time being, I would like to mention that we got to do lab work (real lab work?!) today and it was fun. We coated samples in carbon and didn't even blow up a single piece of a machinery. It seems we aren't completely useless after all...

AND.... I wanted to post this picture. Because I already miss my family so much.

It's a little thing I like to call the "Audrey Sandwich," provided by my two sweet brothers.

!!!

Changes.

2008-07-07T14:43:00.001-05:00

I will no longer be writing in this blog.

I'm starting a new, private one.

For the password, please email me at apaulzak@gmail.com

Budapest is for..... thermal baths and meeting old friends?

2008-07-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

Friday was an eventful day.

As it always is with Courtney and I, we got the idea for a crazy adventure and made it happen by the next day. Thus Friday at 10 a.m, we were trudging through the pouring rain to get to work and have our first meeting with Dr. Louda. At 2 p.m, we were packing our bags, and at precisely 6:02 p.m, we had jumped a train to Hungary and were on our way to meet Anthony and Trey, some old friends from back home.

The train was an overnight ordeal (I've never slept on a train!) - and we had a private sleeping coach. It came complete with a butler, two beds, a bathroom with toilet, sink, two soap bars, two towels, and a private SHOWER (that had the most amazing hot water). It was quite fun... except that I kept waking up every two hours in a cold sweat from worry that we had missed Budapest and were now on our way to Romania. Otherwise, it was quite wonder to step out into the city and be cleanly showered, dressed, and ready to face the day.

And it's a good thing we were ready to face the day, because goodness... what a day it turned out to be. We ended up staying awake for a solid 26 hours.

The day started out in search of a pedicure. After two months of walking around in Rainbow sandals in the (possibly) most polluted cities in Europe, our feet were looking (and feeling) kind of rough. But when everywhere was booked and the cost was 50 Euro per person, we decided to go see an exhibit called Budapest Bodies instead. We had seen an advertisement in the Deak Ter metro and were instantly intrigued.

The Budapest Bodies exhibit. If you look closer (and ignore the peepee) you can see his bowels, different layers of skin and muscle, and some bones.

It was a study on the human body that showed the viewer exactly how our bodies are put together. Creepiness aside, a learned a lot about the sizes and proportions of different organs and muscles. For example, I never realized how truly tiny our leg bones are - I had always imagined that they took up about half of the space of the thickness of a leg, but it simply isn't true. The femur is quite thin, and I was very surprised. And the stomach is smaller than I had imagined too.

We also learned that smoking one pack of cigarettes takes an average of 3 months and 40 hours off of a person's life. Next to old, tar ridden lungs there was a clear box where people had thrown away their packages of cigarettes in an honest effort to not shorten their life further. It was insane to see the difference between healthy lungs and smoker's lungs.

The vascular network of a hand.

In one section they had even taken a red polymer and injected it into all of the veins, then washed away all of the body materials, leaving just the vascular system in red plastic. It was insane - you could even see the capillaries.

We also went into a tiny side street shop that had some metal rings from a local woman that were so cool that we each bought two. =)

Site seeing isn't our primary objective when we visit different cities, so getting us to a museum, Parliment, the Chain Bridge, and some random pretty church that we accidently found was a pretty big accomplishment.

Local Hungarian cuisine.

Parliament on the Danube. They modeled it after the one in London and worked 24 hours straight for 20 years to build it.

After all of that, we were tired, sick with an exploded knee and stomach cramps, and ready to sleep. But the entire purpose of my trip (other than to venture off and see the world, of course) was to hang out with Anthony. Thus, we combed our hair, reapplied some foundation, and headed out the door to meet Anthony, Trey, and these two other girls who were a coworker's daughter and cousin.

Chain bridge with a fun marketplace.

Budapest by night.

Our final spot for the evening (after a tram that shut off while we were on it) was an open air place along the Dunabe (the river that splits Budapest into it's two separate cities, Buda and Pest.) There were about 4000 people there, with three different dance floors (depending on how silly of a dancer you were!), and a really fun, young atmosphere.

Trey, Courtney, me, and Anthony.

Courtney, Trey, and I dragged Anthony out onto a dance floor where the highlight songs were "La Bamba" and the "Limbo" and danced until sunrise. We laughed so much all night long, giggling at Trey's Michael Jackson dance moves, wondering at the fools we were making of ourselves when our coolest dance move was the two step, and trying as hard as we could to get Anthony to loosen up and just... follow the music.

Courtney and Trey silly dancing.

I'm in love with their faces here.

It was a great night full of merrymaking that ended with a tram ride to Margeret Island and Courtney and I watching the sunrise over Pest. As we crawled into bed, sun fully up in the sky, we couldn't help but smile at our fortune for having found such great friends in a city so far away.

Sunrise over our island.

Me, Trey, and Courtney... we're now bonded for life.

Thus, Court and I left Budapest, exhausted, branded with new nicknames (I'm Buda because of my Buddha belly, and she's Pest... which is really quick self explanatory), and thrilled by our adventure.

My new favorite song:

Bad day, looking for a way,

home, looking for the great escape.

Gets in his car and drives away,

far from all the things that we are.

Puts on a smile and breathes it in

and breathes it out, he says,

bye bye bye to all of the noise.

Oh, he says, bye bye bye to all of the noise.

Hey child, things are looking down.

That’s okay, you don’t need to win anyways.

Don’t be afraid, just eat up all the gray

and it will fade all away.

Don’t let yourself fall down.

Bad day, looking for the great escape.

He says, bad day, looking for the great escape.

On a bad day, looking for the great escape,

the great escape.

The Bus Ride to the Czech Republic... and Cooking Adventures

2008-07-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

So..... Damian put us on a bus at 7:10 am to go to the Czech Republic on the morning after we got back from Italy. Which means, of course, that Court, Kristin, and I slept about a solid HALF HOUR after playing around on the internet (the first time we really had it for two weeks), cooking dinner, saying goodbye to everyone on our floor, and packing up our three months worth of clothing into two tiny suitcases each.

The rest of the day, eight hours on a bus and then another two in a van (after Zeebee got a speeding ticket), were uneventful. Except when Kristin and I got off of the bus at a long stop to pee, and then the driver wouldn't let us back on when we returned. When we showed him our tickets (purchased for the bus that morning) he said they weren't valid because they were for 7:10 am (DUH.), and the proceeded to climb in the bus and DRIVE AWAY. Courtney was asleep during all of this, bless her tired little heart, so she couldn't save me when the bus was happily chugging out of parking lot.

Which brings me to the subject of my physical salvation: When we first got on the bus, there was a lady with short dyed red hair that wouldn't switch seats to let Courtney and I sit next to each other (so that we could sleep) and we immediately hated her for separating us. If you're alone on an eight hour bus ride and two people want to sit together, generally, in America, out of common courtesy, you'll promptly switch seats. Thus, for about the first fifteen minutes, we were really evil sorority girls and pretty much vented about how much we hated Poland and being awake a 6:30 a.m. and the lady with the really bad dye job who wouldn't move her butt five inches to the left. As fate would have it (and God was definitely reminding me to hold my wagging tongue), as the bus pulled off, it was this lady... the one who'd been staring at me like I had the Ebola virus earlier on in the day... who realized that I wasn't on the bus, that I was standing right outside waving it down, and who yelled at the bus driver to stop the bus and let us back on. I sent a lot of gratitude her way after that. I owed her a lot, considering I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of Nowhere, Poland when I can't talk to anybody and I have no idea exactly WHERE I am. All I knew was that Damian stuck me on a bus, and that I was on my way to the Poland/Czech Republic border to be picked up by a guy, but I didn't know his name, and that my final destination was Liberec. Something tells me I would not have gotten very far. All turned out well though, thanks to the lady with the dyed red hair.

I'm in Liberec now. Our dorm is absolutely fabulous. Spaceous, so new it still SMELLS like new, and definitely in a picturesque location. I hate to say this, but I kind of miss Poland and the familiarity of the people and the city. I'll learn this one, though, and then everything should be fine.

One of my friends, Anthony, is in Germany right now - and Budapest tomorrow - so I think I might hop on a train to go see him and his dear family. It's really fun to be able to meet all these people I know from the United States in a bunch of different foreign countries. Joey in Egypt, my family in the Netherlands, Mom and Dad in France, Kristin in Italy, Anthony in Hungary. I'm one lucky girl.

Today, as a final testament to our creative "genius," and yearning for entertainment. My dear mother was kind enough to lug a box of brownie mix across the Atlantic for us, even during the two weeks that she was there with us, and today we decided to make them. Except that the only tools available to us were a stove and a burner, no oven in site, so we had to improvise. Inspired by our morning breakfast of eggs, I thought it might work if we scrambled the brownies in the pan. You know... that way that would cook on their entire surface, and we could still make them even if we didn't have everything we needed. The process, it turns out, works fabulously. And the journey was probably even more fun that eating them. Thank goodness we laugh together. I couldn't imagine having more amusing memories than scrambling brownies in a pan.

I'll put some more pictures up from our recent travels, especially for Daddy Styres.... and the entire nuclear plant staff (from what I hear.)

Click on this picture to view it in all it's glory. I love that Michael's camera had a panoramic setting.

The four girls in Cinque Terre, right after our cliff diving adventure.

Paris at sunset.

My darling Courtney. How silly. And wonderful. ♥ I'm glad that you're my adopted big sister.

Bike speed racers. It's Markie, Michael, Courtney, and me biking along a random river in Amsterdam to make it to a cheese factory that my mother found. Ahem.

Eiffel.

Us.

Court looking up at the Arc d'Triomphe.

Courtney and Allison right before white water rafting.

I love this picture because Courtney looks scared out of her mind and I'm the freak in the corner who is laughing at the eminent death awaiting us. (Nothing higher than a class 3 rapid. We were losers in Switzerland.)

He let me steer! (Those rapids look dangerous, eh?)

Fabulous.

I'm all about world peace.

From boredom springs creativity. My older brother decorated Markie with Mediterranean rocks.

Ignore how weird I look in this picture. Dinner with all the kids in Cinque Terre.... We had the most amazing view.

Twilight on our last evening.

A merry-go-round ride finished off our evening quite nicely even if the attendant thought we were insane.

(And then again, maybe we are slightly touched.)

"Oh tall one....."

Kristin holding up the tower. (and standing on the illegal grass)

And finally, my brilliant and respectful little brother, farting on the tower to make it fall all the way over.

I think he was particularly proud of this picture. :)

Photographs.

2008-06-30T19:38:00.000-05:00

Fountain Hopping

2008-06-28T10:44:00.000-05:00

I know that I've been seriously slacking on actually putting important information into my journal entries lately and for that I apologize.
BUT.... I do have an interesting tale to update about.

Last night was the six kids first night in Rome. We stayed in the Hostel Yellow near the train station Termini, and it was super hot when we arrived, so everyone showered and rested for the evening the first couple of hours we were hear. But we definitely were dressed and out the door by nine o'clock, ready to eat some authentic Italian food and barter with the multitudes of street vendors that exist in this amazing city.

Our night ended up better than I could have imagined, though. We ate and we walked around, meeting three girls from Chicago, a guy named Chris from Oklahoma, and two girls from the UK, and saw Kristin buy a glass ring from Murano. We also sampled the local nutella cresent rolls, ate some After Eight ice cream cones that were to die for, and sat on the steps with the local teenagers to just hang out and enjoy the night time air. Random guys in cars called the four of us girls over to their windows, trying to ask where we were from and maybe make friends with an American... to which we all, of course, laughed but strongly declined. And then, sometime around midnight, we got on the tram to go back into town. A tram, I might add, that we had no idea where it ran or what the final destination might be... but we figured that it was headed in the right direction. This was right about the time that Markie tried to baptize Courtney in a drinking fountain. It was all very carefree and fun. But on the tram four older British men asked us where we were from (people always marvel at the southern accent) and told us, jokingly, that we were on the tram to Hell. Which was funny, because soon after, the entire tram shut down in the middle of the street and we had to shuffle off into a random Roman street.

Dave and I have been to Rome before, right around this time last year, and I swear I recognized the spot we were in. There were Roman ruin baths about a level below us on the right, with stray cats milling around everywhere, and a kiosk that looked oddly familiar. We were by the Pantheon... I could smell it in the air!

So I went running off. Michael and David were straining to understand a tiny map of the huge city, and Courtney and I really really wanted to see the monument by night, so we just started running. And we ran until we made it to that Plaza with the fountain that is in Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons. And because we were laughing and carrying on and running around already, and because it was on the list of things that Courtney and I made that we aboslutely, 100%, MUST do in Europe, we climbed over the railing and jumped into the fountain. The freaking famous fountain. And we took pictures and splashed around and Markie even grabbed one of the statue's butts.

AND THEN... soaking wet and still laughing, we climbed out before the police patrol could make their way over, and we went down the alley way to find the Pantheon (since that was our original mission after all).. and we found it! After help from a boy from Nevada and two girls from the UK... and there was another fountain, and these four kids from the states were standing around so of course we introduced ourselves, and then invited them to climb in the second fountain. The one in front of the Pantheon. While there were two cops asleep in a cop car right in front of us. It was all very 'Pink Panther' sleuth oh my goodness we're going to jail if we get caught... but it was two girls, one from Harvard and one from Yale, and two boys from Boston University, who needed to live a little.... and I figured that we could be the ones who helped them on their journey to corruption. And fun.

So second fountain conquered, we headed home... soaking wet but completely satisfied... not ready for the night to end but knowing that tomorrow, inevitably, we'd get into some other kind of amusing adventure that would bring about a whole new set of smiles.

And so we went to bed.

2008-06-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

When in Rome... do as the Romans do. It's kind of amazing to have my entire family and three friends here.

And last night we had an amazing dinner and evening in Cinque Terre on the Italian coast. How was I born into such a lucky family?

Can I Steer the Boat?

2008-06-24T12:22:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness... today I jumped out of an airplane.
AND went white water rafting.... with the guide letting me steer the boat.
Plans tonight with these two incredible friends that we met at the train station.

Life is bliss.

A day in the Canyons and staring at Alps

2008-06-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

This will be a super short post because I have about three minutes to update.
Our trip, so far, has found Courtney, Michael, David, Markie, my mom, my dad, and I in Amsterdam for two days (with plenty of bike riding included), in Paris, and in Switzerland.
I never get over the beauty of the amazing cities in Europe. Seriously, I have seen the Eiffel Tower about 45 times and, when we went there with arms full of cheap wine and Fanta (thank you Diego for enlightening us on the wonders of Poor Mans Sangria), I could not help but just stare up at the monument - once again in speechless wonder. It was fun to just sit in the grass and talk and take silly pictures. Court and I even wanted a picture of the Eiffel Tower above us, so I set the camera on self timer down on the ground (yikes, no scratches!) and she jumped on my back. It turned out to be a completely cute picture - after three tries - and people thought we were crazy when we started hollering and jumping around and slapping high fives. I think it is a goal of ours to make people stare at us in every country, whether it be because Court is throwing up on the side of the road, our skin is so porcelain white (Cairo?), or because we are jumping around like crazy people.

Anyway, after much train riding we are now snuggly situated in a little city high up in the Swiss Alps called Interlaken and have already managed to jump off an ENORMOUS waterfall (without any injury to Courtney's knee) and sorority squat with a man from New Zealand named Nick. Tomorrow is skydiving at an insane 2350823598 feet above sea level and the entire extended Paulzak traveling company is high with anticipation. Believe me...... there will be some amazing pictures in the near future of this silly "blob."

I never want to move back to America!!

Off to Explore the World!

2008-06-19T06:33:00.000-05:00

We'll be gone for a while.... until we meet again!

(stories of Amsterdam, golf carts at Versailles, skydiving in Switzerland, and red wine in Rome to follow)

Giant Bear Hugs and Fond Farewells

2008-06-18T21:14:00.001-05:00

I'm sad to have to leave everybody so soon.... it's 4 a.m. on the morning that I leave to meet my family in Amsterdam, and as excited as I am to see them, I still feel sadness at permanently parting with so many incredible people here in Lodz. Thanks for the memories, guys.

That's me in the middle, in white (making a ridiculous face because I wasn't ready yet) and Courtney is in the back on the left. This picture was stolen from Lazar... and it was taken right after the Italy-France futbol match on Tuesday night... which was completely fun.

Deutschland

2008-06-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

Courtney and I just finished watching our first official futbol match in Europe... and it was twenty kids all crowded into the dorm hallway, eating sandwiches, drinking Fanta out of coffee mugs, and taunting each other about whose country team was the best. We just sat back and enjoyed the show - not only the soccer, which was fun to watch, but also the friendship between all of the foreign people we've met from the first floor. And of course, we had to cheer for Germany because Til is German and he would have shot us if we'd so much as uttered that Austria was doing good.

I think the best part of the night, though, was when everyone started jumping around and cheering when the Germans finally scored... and Diego went off down the hallway, ripping off his shirt and cheering in excitement. It was entertaining to see everyone so excited about a fuzzy soccer match that was being streamed live from a random website in Chinese.

I wish we had more bonding over such things in America.

Giza

2008-06-16T07:12:00.000-05:00

Actually seeing the pyramids was indescribable.

Courtney and I arrived on the Cairo tarmac at 2:10 a.m. on Friday morning after befriending an entire plane full of people from Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa - we even picked up a surrogate father along the way who gave us a two pound bar of genuine Swiss dark chocolate and a tub of cough drops for Courtney's throat.

Our surrogate Egyptian daddy. He even used Mont Blanc pens like my own father!

(And we look rough. We'd been traveling for about 10 hours at this point.)

The three stooges - from Saudi Arabian - and some of our friends from the plane.

We actually almost didn't make it onto the plane to Cairo. We had electronic boarding passes, but the blonde lady behind the counter said we didn't have our "tickets"... although I don't know what the difference between a pass and a ticket are... and I went into Gary-Paulzak-mode and yelled at the lady until she saw that I was serious about getting our butts on the plane, and called security to check. She kept just waving us away, like we didn't matter, and it was extremely frustrating because we had about 10 minutes before the plane was going to take off and no matter how many times we said "How do we get a ticket?" she wouldn't answer us. But no fear... my slew of mean words and our determination got us aboard, to the amusement of a bunch of people who saw the entire ordeal take place... and those were the people who laughed and chatted with us on the plane. It was definitely a good opening act.

BUT... we made it to our hostel by 3 a.m. Courtney even had a man with a sign pick us up from the airport - very classy! And the ride through Cairo in the early morning was eye-opening. The city doesn't sleep (and we had no idea that it didn't), but when we exited our car, the street was teeming with people of all ages: street venders, passersby, taxi drivers, little kids running around... we weren't sure if there was a special festival going on or something. We did learn, though, that nobody in the city ever sleeps, and we quickly fell into that same pattern... getting about 5 hours of sleep the entire weekend that we were there. There are simply too many things to do, see, and experiences to be had to waste time on dreamland!

Thus, we fell asleep around 5 a.m. in our comfy hostel double bed, cuddling and exclaiming at our good fortune to find ourselves in the cradle of life, only to wake up a few hours later and depart for the pyramids with our own private driver. We kept staring at the windows the entire time... gasping at our first view of the Nile, staring at the 1940s cars and donkey-drawn watermelon carts, and anxiously awaiting our first glimpse of the pyramids that were imminent on our horizon.

About ten minutes into our car ride of wonder, Courtney just grabbed my knee and pointed. There they were! Seriously, I cannot even describe how amazing it was to see the pyramids in person. I just stared and stared... watching them slowly come closer.... my mind both focusing on the past and the history of how they came to be, and the future of our adventure through the desert to touch the giant monuments. I had to remind myself several times to hold my mouth closed, and our driver was kind enough to stop on the side of the road and let us girls snap away with our cameras.

The first glimpse that made me fall in love with Egypt.

I do have to say, of this entire experience, that I have never met more kind or friendly people in my entire life. Not only the amazing Hostel Brothers, Mohamed and Mustafa, but EVERYONE was kind and patient. They took pleasure in our marveling at their gorgeous city, and seemed to be delighted that we were enjoying ourselves so much. One of the drivers (because we ended up having several), Salem, put on some Arabian music and danced with us in the car - shouting his trademark phrase "Welcome to ALASKA!" (to which we exclaimed that 'Alaska' was quite warmer than we had expected) and driving like a roller coaster down the freeway.

Salem, our fabulous driver.

Our pyramid tour guide indulged our wishes for silly photographs and helped me gallop across the desert on my horse with the stirrups that were too short. At one point he came over and said "Okay girls, quick, climb the pyramid!" And I turned around and knew, surely, that he was kidding. I think I distinctly remember saying "You're just messing with us, right? Climbing the outside of the pyramids is illegal!" And yet there Courtney went, swiftly up the side, and I wasn't about to hang around in the Sahara while she was scaling an ancient wonder of the world.

We were catered to, fused over, and laughed at - flirted with, teased, and called Moza (which means beautiful). People bought us ice cream, sailboat rides down the Nile, Egyptian eye charms to hang as good luck from the bazaar, and Joey even bought a shot glass for Courtney's big sister in our sorority. There wasn't an ounce of hostility to be found, and once people found out that we were Americans, their faces would light up and they were quickly pronounce "I love America!"

"Nah nah nah nahnahnahnahhhh sheets of Egyptian cotton..."

Carla, the camel. I named it Shamoo at first, but after much discussion, we decided that Carla was a better name.

At one point, Mustafa even decided to abandon his job for the day and come hang out with us instead. We met up with some Americans that we met at our IREE conference in Washington D.C., and together the band of us headed for a sailboat on the Nile. Before we got there, though, we climbed a gigantic lion about 8 feet up in the air on the only pedestrian bridge in Cairo (another monument that, I'm sure, was illegal to climb) and got a bird's eye view of the city. I even shouted "GOOD MORNING CAIRO!!" to all of the cars streaming past, flashing a peace sign and laughing at my own silliness.

The Americans in Cairo: Joey, me, Courtney, Dawn, and Daniel.

Kisses on the Nile for my ABS... we love each other very much.

Our boat ride down the Nile was magnificent. (I feel like I'm running out of synonyms for the word incredible while I write this!) We bartered for a faluka, a small sailboat, to journey up and down the Nile for an hour, and then as soon as the ship set sail, we claimed the bow of the vessel and dangled our toes in the water. When our toes got wrinkly, we laid out on the front deck and sunbathed in the Egyptian sun, soaking up the rays and marveling at our luck. I mean, who really gets to hang out in a sailboat on the Nile and sun bathe? And my camera had run out of battery at this point, so I stole Joey's (thank goodness he was good natured about it) and captured our Nile adventure on his camera... and since he hasn't given me the pictures yet, I will have to add those later. The "captain" even let Courtney and I steer the boat for a little while! And after the sun got too hot, "Audrey - God of Shade" was born. I think we amused even ourselves that afternoon... playing a game of how-many-people-can-we-get-to-flash-the-peace-sign-at-us-while-we're-on-this-boat, and laughing at each other about our lack of actual scientific work going on in our respective countries of study.

The Nile by boat at night.

I will write more stories letter.. of our adventures to get silver rings, making our own papyrus, meeting Mohammed Ali, smoking a hookah in the bazaar, and belly dancing on a Nile cruise. I'll even tell the embarrassing story of how I fell off of a stopped horse, but for now, I must get back to work.

Have a wonderful day, Habibi!

Cairo, Al Qahirah

2008-06-15T15:27:00.001-05:00

This weekend has been nothing short of incredible. This morning I was in Egypt... I saw the Cairo sun rising as I saw in the airport and now I'm in a train taken from Warsaw Central, squished between three sweet old people who keep jabbering to us despite of our lack of understanding, and one lady praying on the rosary under her breath. I now have five different kinds of money in my wallet - Polish, Egyptian pounds, American, Ukranian, and Euro - and each currency holds its own story. One nice man gave me two Ukranian coins when we ended up in the totally wrong terminal at the airport in Keiv, and Mustafa gave us promised, and somewhat rare, Egyptian coins last night - more as a token to remember him by than the value of the coin itself. We've met more people than I can keep up with - some that I'll miss dearly - and we pulled an all nighter at our hostel yesterday evening, along with the entire Hostel Brothers' staff, because all of us were too sad to actually waste time on sleeping. All of the memories are more incredible in my head than I could ever relate on paper, and it makes me scared to write them down and risk not doing the places, and the people, and the adventures justice, but for the sake of not wanting to forget a single detail: I shall try.

But for now, because it's so late and I haven't slept much in almost three days... I'll leave you with a slide show. I PROMISE I will add a variety of stories and explanations about our trips tomorrow! For now... sweet dreams.

I think we're Egyptian at heart.

Finnish Idol and the Superhero

2008-06-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

My neighbor across the hall, Elodie, is leaving Thursday to go back to her native land of France.

Court and I with Elodie.

Last night as Courtney and I were cooking dinner (shrimp scampi and grilled red peppers with loads of garlic and onion, I don't know how we managed that!) she stopped in the doorway and said "American girls! It's my farewell party... you must come down and say hello. And there are Americans outside who want to meet you."

She was attacked with kisses because we'll all miss her so much!

Exciting! So we threw on some clothes (our typical kitchen attire are pajamas and big t-shirts) and headed downstairs to make new friends.
Our night ended up being a ton of fun...! I met a guy named Heikki from Finland who wore a Polish flag around all evening as his cape and claimed he was a super hero. At one point he even tried to convince me that he was a finalist on "Finnish Idol" and we got a digital video of him and a friend singing "Turn Around." It was hilarious.

That's a super hero there on the left. I was doing the Superman pose too, but the people taking the picture cut my arm off. =(

Thus, last night we met someone from Finland, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Scotland, France, Serbia, Columbia, and America. It's amazing the diversity we run into here, and how much everyone gets along. It's kind of disheartening that they all have such a bad view of America, but we are slowly changing that view - one person at a time - with our aggressive friendliness and good wit and charm.

Oh yeah, and I got a pretty cool Spanish flag from a latino boy who put pistaccios on my head and made me take out my hair in the middle of Piotrkowska Street. And at one point someone spilled blood. It was quite the evening.

Boy on the right, Diego, lent me his Spanish flag for the evening. Boy on the left, Kevin, started bleeding in his attempt to get on the night bus. We should have been renamed the Motley Crew.

A real life super hero and finalist on Finnish Idol, Heikki.

Even though Courtney and I had met him thirty minutes earlier, it was Hiekki's last night and he wanted us to sign his Polish flag. Except that everyone kept saying goodbye to him while I was trying to write, and I had to pause because he received six million hugs during my four sentence farewell address.

"Ouch Charlie... that really hurt!!"

A small part of the group we hung out with last night in front of Dorm 9.

And the girl on my right, Esmerelda, was an American! It was very exciting...

In other news, Damian came back from Egypt today! It was exciting to see him walking down the hall, even if he is about seven shades more tan and severely distracted this afternoon. He's the only one around here who actually takes care of us... and it's lovely to have our friend back.

I am starting to miss home, though. I miss my Jozey and my Ashlie... and my Lump. Messaging online and talking occasionally on Skype just isn't cutting it anymore - I need to laugh with my girls and hug my dog to sleep at night! Thank goodness Courtney is here to keep me sane. Yesterday we were both in a sort of depressed mood, so we rallied each other to shower (it was quite the chore) and walked down Piotrkowska until we found a nice little outdoor cafe. We promptly sat down - Court ordered a chocolate milk shake and I ordered cafe au lait - and we people watched and talked about our future careers and dwindling love lives. I think we sat in the Polish afternoon sun until it set... observing people and discovering stuff about ourselves.

And it's silly how skinny some of the girls are here.

But I must stop rambling and pack up my stuff. I have clothes to iron and a backpack to set in order for our journey to Warsaw tomorrow morning.

Until then -

Manufaktura

2008-06-09T16:31:00.000-05:00

There is a grand shopping realm in Lodz, Poland called the Manufaktura. The largest textile factory in the city was recently (2 years ago) converted into a giant shopping, eating, hanging out, rock climbing, beach volleyball, summer night concert in the park kind of place that is THE destination a la mode in our dear city. And since my professor left for the Czech Republic about three minutes after I got to work this morning, Courtney and I decided to take a "spa" day and investigate all of the pleasures this little city in itself had to offer. Not only did we shop (I bought a really cute dress, two shirts, and some aviators for our weekend travels), but we also ate Subway (gasp..... their chocolate chip cookies taste EXACTLY the same here Ashlie.... and I bought one to eat, just because I knew it was the right thing to do)... and visited an interactive museum that was SUPPOSED to have the largest soap bubble in the world. In true Polish fashion, the soap bubble was out of commission, as well as about 1/3 of the other exhibits that the tiny museum had to offer, but Court and I still had fun. We drove around remote control tanks that had cameras and firepower attached, watched a robotic dog sit, do pushups, and pee (robotically), and we saw this really amazing hologram that I still am marveling at. I know it's completely nerdy, but the hologram was really a trick of mirrors and light that was based entirely in physics - a physics that I understand because of my schooling - and it was fun to understand the angles and light waves and inversion that went into designing the exhibit. Leave it to us to find school 5000 miles away from the actual institution.

And I cleaned my room this evening! Don't dismiss that.. it's a really big achievement for Miss Audrey Paulzak and I'm glad that I did it. Soon I will be traveling all over Europe so much that I'll be living out of a rucksack, and I need to start being organized and put together (as Ash would say) to mentally prepare myself. Wearing the same four shirts and two bottoms isn't going to be easy, but I'm tough. I can do this!

All jokes aside, I'm excited and ecstatic about our upcoming travels.

Never again will my life compare to this summer.

Alpha Charlie and Charlie Echo

2008-06-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

Photographs from our journey.

The PKP train... we were on it for a lovely seven hours with no air conditioning and no entertainment.

Polish countryside. I, sadly, was not quick enough to catch a picture of the cows tied to trees.

Gdansk by twilight.

The Baltic Sea at midnight!! We were totally stoked to be running around in the water - and getting soaking wet.

I do believe we were all crowded in the Sea when we took this picture. No one wanted to leave...

Our ferry boat to Hell, the island.

Paradise? Who knew Poland could be so pretty.

Nothing beats the feeling of warm sand between your toes...

I shall remain a child forever.

Kristin and Courtney...

Ecstasy.

There and Back

2008-06-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

My day today was fantastic. There isn't a better word to describe it.

It started off last night, when Courtney and I rallied the girls to go to the Baltic Sea at midnight. We took a guy with us that we met on the couch at the hostel, bought our tickets with directions and help from only two Polish locals (and also learned the word for "sea"), and found ourselves at the pier in Sopot.
I don't know what it is, but during the last hour of the train ride yesterday afternoon, the presence of the ocean was tangible. I've missed it so much, living in Alabama, and my excitement was evident to everyone I was around... and kept growing until last night when I found myself standing in front of the crashing waves of the Baltic. The four girls rolled up our pant legs and pulled up our skirts and ran straight into the Sea. At midnight. And the sand was incredibly soft and the water was warmer than the surrounding air..... and we frollicked.
Just like the children we are.

So today, we woke up late after our adventure, ate some bread and (in Courtney and Kristin's case) pizza for breakfast, and headed out. One of our roommates at the hostel told us about an island in the Baltic named Hel (pronounced "Hell") that was supposed to be awesome, and you have to take a ferry to get there, so we jumped at the chance and bought tickets to go.
I have not had a more relaxing day since I've arrived in Europe. We bought big beach towels at an outdoor market by the sea, staked out a little section of beach to call our own, and laid in the sun all day long. It's incredible, because back home I get overheated and sweaty after thirty minutes, but here the sun is warm and friendly, and doesn't burn even with hours of exposure. We people watched, laughed at kids building joint project sand castles, and soaked up the rays to help our bodies make Vitamin D - the only vitamin we've gotten in abundance since we've been in this malnurished country!
Sundresses and seawater aside, our day ended at a fabulous little cafe that saw four tiny girls eat two ENTIRE loaves of bread with butter, and we filled our water bottles with sand to bring to all of our loved ones back home. Courtney even ate TWO ice cream cones somewhere along the day's journey. AND we took the stereotypical jumping-in-the-air-with-the-sun-at-our-backs picture, which turned out adorable.

The ferry ride home lasted an hour, and saw the four American girls sitting on the deck of a ship called the Opal, watching the sun set over a foreign landscape that somehow endeared itself to us. It was astounded to realize that that same sun was shining a 1 p.m. sun to our parents and friends, and that looking at it was also looking towards the direction of home. It's something the four of us shared... and no one else will ever actually know what it was like or how we felt. It's sad to think that tonight was probably the last night of my life that I will see the sun set over the Baltic Sea.

So now I'm camped in the common room of our hostel... the three other girls and two friends we've made here are debating politics as we pass a giant water bottle and a tub of nutella around. Everyone is in pajamas and we're in for the evening. It's our tribute to the amazing time we had in Gdansk...... I'm sad that we have to leave so soon.

Ahhh... adventure.

2008-06-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

I'm off to the Baltic Sea!!!

I need a cartographer.

2008-06-04T05:11:00.000-05:00

Yikes I hate being lost in the middle of nowhere.

Breast Cancer Bottle

2008-06-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

A shout out to my momma.

I use this bottle every single day, thinking of you when I do, and saving the earth one less plastic water bottle at a time... which means a lot in a country where you can't drink water from any of the faucets.

Thank you for the wonderful gift! I love you!

(And even though it may be hard to believe, this picture is not posed.)

Standing in Line for Politics.

2008-06-03T19:16:00.001-05:00

Ummmm Ashlie did you hear?

This meant something because Obama is going to win the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

I miss you Bopsey!!! Thanks for waking up after 3 hours of sleep to drag me to this!

Our friend, the blonde girl.

2008-06-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Nights around here generally progress in this order:

1. Get home from work and all disappear into our rooms for an hour - check our mail, empty our kidneys, wash our faces, and lay down to relax for a little bit

2. Skype each other and all agree that we should go out

3. Traverse the 3 km Piotroswka Street and discover all of it's nooks and crannies. Cafes, discotheques, clothes stores with fabulous sales, the English book section of various book stores, Tourist information, just about every taxi stand, just about every ice cream stand (for Courtney), and Lodz Kaliska

Along the way, at Kaliska, we met a very nice girl named Kasha who became an instant friend. Her initial attractive characteristic, to us, was her AMAZING ability to speak English - and well. But now we just love her because she's completely sweet to us every time she sees us. And she got us amazing shirts from Lodz!

Thank goodness for the people who make me feel connected to this place.

We now have our own favorite restaurants, places to hang out, and waitresses who will let us be silly.

And when we aren't making everyone hyper aware of the fact that we speak English, or are from America, we kind of blend in. IN FACT it was very exciting, because the other day someone stopped us on the street to ask for directions. A lady caught Courtney by the arm and started spouting off in Polish.. pointing and asking some kind of question that we couldn't answer.. but we thrilled that she asked anyways... just because it meant we looked kind of normal around here.

But then again, they use "witch's brooms" to clean the streets every day...

... so maybe my sense of normal is a bit skewed.

I found a United States Marine Corps hat in a random store underground and HAD to have a picture with it.

And we did find the land of many bras....

But probably the best part of my day yesterday was making a new friend. Courtney and I were sitting on the stone steps in the lobby of our dorm, waiting for the two other girls to get ready and come downstairs for a "family trip" to the Real - the huge supermarket - when we noticed a guy having trouble with the vending machine. I was just kind of watching him with bored amusement when Kristin showed up, and we started randomly singing the Beatles "Let It Be." Maybe that was some kind of European code that we don't know about that states "We promise, we're not threatening." but he came over to talk to us and ask for some change for a $10 zloty bill. He ended up being named Alex and he was from Lichtenstein,... a tiny little country that I once visited for a day... and got a really cool stamp from in my old passport.

ANYWAY... we made quick acquaintances. As Kristin likes to say (and I won't stop teasing her about) "We're aggressively friendly," and we invited him to come to the supermarket with us since it was his second day in town. Thus started the bus adventure with the seven mile loop to nowhere. I, in an act that would have made my mother very ashamed of my sense of direction, herded everyone onto the right bus.. but going the wrong way. Tada! Which means we had a lovely adventure filled with an abundance of B.O., a bridge (gasp), and lots of time to get to know Alex, our new friend.

Which, obviously, didn't discourage us too much.

The anti-climatic end to our bus route was a parking lot on the outskirt of the gray city... where we had to wait for ten minutes and everyone yelled at me. Okay maybe not yelled, but I really did feel bad... we did make it to the Real eventually that day, and came back loaded with food to make a chicken and tortellini dinner prepared Miss Ellis herself. The common room was much to hot to eat in, so we all (including Alex) piled into the hallway right next to the main office and ate our food in the way of everyone. Lyon even joined us toward the end. It was ... the perfect ending to the day.

And Ashlie, darling... I made Courtney take this picture just for you. I'm sure you understand why. MWAH!

Potassium

2008-06-03T01:02:00.001-05:00

The Apteka (pharmacy) turned out to be a pretty incredible find. We had to sign language "Visine," which turned into a hilarious game of charades, but we did manage to get what we wanted in the end. Including pictures that pay homage to the first week here, when Courtney took three trips to the hospital.

Hahah I love it!

And just because I wanted to add my favorite quote of the trip so far.... when the blood work came back for Courtney, who had a fever, a deep cough, was throwing up, and couldn't breathe because of a combination of asthma and a chest infection, the Polish doctors kept telling us that it was all caused because she didn't have enough potassium in her blood... to which Courtney aggressively whispered in my ear "ALL OF THIS cannot be caused by BANANAS!!"

Saturday with the Girls

2008-06-02T05:07:00.000-05:00

It's the little things along the way that make me feel connected the this country. I may hate the city blocks lined with houses that could be magnificent, if not for the three inch layer of caked on pollution from all the textile factories 50 years earlier, but seeing someone smile so broadly when I spout the little bit of garbled Polish in my vocabulary. Saturday morning the sun woke me up bright and early... so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to visit the local market we have if you turn right down Piotrowska. Sonda and I had a really good time, shifting through little booths for the diamonds in the rough, and making friends along the way.

One old woman was selling objects made out of fur that she had hand stitched herself. She was adorable - old and craggy, but with a smile that lit up her eyes and an eagerness to understand what I was asking. I bought quite a lot from her, exclaiming in a universal language at how excited I was to find such good quality gloves, shoes, and hats at such low prices. She knew I was marveling at her craftsmanship, and she was pleased. And then... as if to prolong our meeting, she asked if I was from America and started telling me in lightening-fast Polish about her three children that lived in Chicago. I didn't understand much of what she was telling me, besides the three kids living in Chicago part, but it touched me to know that mothers and grandmas are the same across the world - proud of their children and happy to share their stories - and it made me miss my own mommy.

I also met a precious puppy. The man who had her in a box at his booth didn't speak any english at all, so I don't know if it was for sale or just to attract customers, but he definitely understood that I wanted to cuddle with the dog and graciously it to me.

Being away from my Lumpy so long has made me long to nurture anything... so much so that I bought a plant to put on my window sill and keep alive for the duration of the summer.

But flowers don't really compare to this cute one. Or the puppy I have waiting for me back in the States.

The fashion show was quite the event! There was a red carpet out front which was quite intimidating, but we had heard that you could get student tickets so I made Courtney be brave for the rest of us and go check inside. I'm so glad that she did because it was really awesome... the entire place had been set up with chairs, carefully executed lightening, and a glowing runway.

We were more than welcome to sit downstairs, but the best pictures were taken from the second story... where there were a lack of both people and obstacles to obstruct our view.

I even had Courtney snatch this super cool lanyard that (I think) was for the designers and people running the event only... but I really wanted one! I wore it around for the evening just so I could seem super fly. Hahah I kid.
There were both haute contour and normal fashion designers, including some that had really pretty dresses.

Ahhhh and I even had a latte machiato while I was there. It was wonderful to have REAL COFFEE again.

Our night ended in a late-night restaurant run on Piotrowska. On weekends, the entire street is light up with tiny Christmas lights and the younger generation is out in droves - people watching, going to the discotheque, and dining in open-air cafes along the sidewalks. It's quite the atmosphere...

And my dad would love this place because the taxis are super cheap. We stayed out until 11p.m, and it's not always safe to walk through our dark and scary ally way to get back to our dorm, so we took a taxi.... which, I might add... is the perfect time to catch Kristin being Kristin. The poor taxi driver probably thought we were nuts.

Golden Thread Competition

2008-05-31T19:44:00.001-05:00

My first fashion show was fabulous.

Does that say McFlurry? Really?? They have McFlurries!

2008-05-31T19:30:00.001-05:00

On our jaunt to the Galleria a couple of days ago, Courtney mentioned the little-known certainty that no overseas trip is an actual overseas trip unless you visit a foreign McDonalds.

Persons of the world be proud: mission accomplished.

The above picture is a shot of the food court at the "Galleria." It's a huge store that resembles a mall, except it has the Polish equivalent to CVS, a supermarket the size of Publix, and no Gap. Oh yes, and in addition to escalators, it also has moving sidewalks.

The munchkin who always craves cow. Seriously, she's asked Damian "Do you even have COWS in this country?" No matter how many butchers we see (and take my word for it, we see a lot)... there has still never been a single string of ground beef amongst all the pork. Which is silly, really, because about half the population is Lodz are Jews.

Hello Vanna White.

Everyone else was excited about the french fries... I was excited about a soda that was larger than 0.2 L, came with a straw, tasted like actual Diet Coke.... and was accompanied by the wonderful symphony of clinking ice.

Journey to America (Almost)

2008-05-31T18:54:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be adding a lot of pictures in the next couple of posts to my blog.
I forgot my camera in Kristin and Sonda's room one day last week, and was too lazy to retrieve before this evening, so I've effectively been image-less for the better part of five or six days. But I'm fixing that situation this evening! I'll try my best to put these in chronological order and give an explanation underneath... but if I don't do the photographs justice, then just use your imagination to dream up the wonderful adventures I surely had in each. Knowing how Courtney and I get when we are together, anything wacky you imagine probably won't be too far from the truth.

Otherwise, enjoy.

We finally got somebody at the University to explain to us where we could buy cookware and utensils - something about Polish food just makes my stomach upset, so our mission over the past week was to find chicken and vegetables and actually cook them OURSELVES. Me, in a kitchen, is not normally a good thing. I tend to catch dish towels on fire or cement glue an egg to the pan... but cooking is a must, as was a skillet... so Courtney and I walked the two miles to the "Real." It was glorious; almost like being right back in America with bright, shiny, organized aisles that offered every item from ten different brands, and cashiers who actually accepted credit cards.

We tried chocolate cake again, but still no luck. AND I titled this post "almost" in America because some of the stores were just a little bit... ahem... odd.

Because I don't know about you, but buying shoes from a store that is named after a fungal infection kind of sounds ominous. =)

.... and this is completely out of order but I wanted to upload this picture to torture Courtney. We frequent the second-hand stores because they're enormous.....

... and because it allows me to see one of my best friends in 1980's finest fashions.

Nothing says "elegant" more than a dress that helps you blend into the fake wood wall!

I must go avert a crisis but I will post and write more later. Good evening to all! (and tonight was fabulous, but I will tell about it soonnnnn...)

♥

I need a boy named Julien to parle le francais

2008-05-30T15:16:00.001-05:00

There is gorgeous piano music floating in my open window from a music festival that is going on five stories below, and I am on my way out to enjoy this city on the one night a week that it comes alive.

Ahhhh and I found out today that my grandma can read and send email. How exciting is that!? Now if only my french were better...

Amaryl

2008-05-30T04:34:00.001-05:00

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!

Scary Return

2008-05-28T03:56:00.000-05:00

Creepy old roommate showed up this morning at 7 a.m. The loud knocking on my door woke me up from my sleep to be confronted about a spoon that I had unknowingly stolen from his kitchen drawer. I guess I do feel bad for swiping a utensil that wasn't actually mine, but seriously, after all of our troubles with him... why did the people at the front desk give him my room number?

"Sweet dreams american girl..."

2008-05-27T15:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday and today have been days of discovery. We were walking to school yesterday morning and saw an obscure hole in an apartment building wall that said "Pizzeria." It looked fairly clean, so Courtney and I made a pact to try it for lunch, instead of the normal chemistry building canteen that we regularly visit. Maybe too regularly, since there are a man and a woman working there, the former speaks english and the latter does not, and whenever the woman sees us she abruptly spins on her heels and beckons the guy. He knows us now and has started smiling when we ask, once again, if they are serving anything without pork. And he knows that we always order one Coke regular and one Coka Light. But YESTERDAY we made a new friend at the pizzeria... which has an awesome atmosphere with paintings and sailboats everywhere, wooden log walls, and a comforting smoky wood-burning stove smell. He kind of a squirrely guy who spikes his hair into a faux hawk and doesn't speak enough english to know the word 'pork,' but he put ICE in my drink yesterday when I asked for it, so all other faults (fashion, language, and otherwise) are forgiven. Plus, the cheese pizza with peppers is amazing. And as Damian would say, the white sauce isn't so bad either.

But yesterday I also discovered that "wettability" is indeed a real, english word, and that I should be published by the end of this summer ordeal! I had to translate Polish/English into understandable english... a feat which took almost three hours for a 10 page article... but the end result was gratifying. I realize that I'm being used for my skills in my native tongue, but actually finishing something (a paper, no less) felt accomplished. Task #1, completed. Oh yeah, and just in case you were wondering, wettability is the ability of an object to be wet, usually with a polar solvent, like water. Why is has two "t"s".. I have no idea.

And finally, yesterday my mother lead me to discover skyscanner.net, the world's most amazing European trip planner website. They help you get from point A to B as quickly or cheaply as possible, even if you have to book with two different airlines to get there. Which means that Courtney and I, plus Michael, David, and Markie as traveling buddies, will be in Amsterdam on June 19th, Paris on the 21st, Milan on the 23rd, Switzerland skydiving sometime around the 24th, and Rome somewhere in there. And we don't have a return ticket yet so we may just have to drive back through Austria and the Czech Republic, but who cares because the adventure is worth it. I'm expecting to have a blast.

Which leads us to today. I definitely used my dear friend skyscanner.net (I'm started to sound like a commerical for this place) to book tickets to Barcelona. Or rather, Courtney found and booked these tickets - and a hostel in this cute little town - to go to the RUNNING OF THE BULLS!! I'm really, really excited. First because I've never been to Spain, but secondly... because it's supposed to be an amazing ordeal where you stay up all night, sleep on a park bench if you get tired, wash your hair in a public sick if you feel that it's more important to get clean than to keep yourself from contracting tetanus, and generally meet a bunch of really interesting people... oh yes, and see six bulls chase down a crazy mob of even crazier men. Courtney and I would run, of course, if she hadn't just had knee surgery in December.

But today was also about sad discoveries. Both Damian and Dr. Stanishevsky are gone; Stan for the duration of our trip, and Damian for two entire weeks. It was incredibly quiet at the office today. Usually we're all jumping around, hyped up on the incredible amount of coffee that Polish people drink, and playing fake karate combat every chance we get. But Kristin was sick today, Sonda was diligently researching, and both V-Tech and Silent Bob where out of the office for most of the day. Court and I knocked on Dr. Mitura's door just go get some human contact (and maybe to discuss our projects just a little bit.) Seriously, today we discovered loneliness.

The silence became so tangible at one point that I opened iTunes, cranked my MacBook speakers up to maximum, and started blaring ABBA's "Mamma Mia" in honor of my dear friend Jozey Kovach... the music was infectious... and Courtney and I both sprang out of our chairs and started jump-dancing around the room in quite a ridiculous manner, using our pens as microphones. We just needed a little bit of crazy.

We did learn something really cool today when we were talking to Mitura, that we would have usually been otherwise too distracted to have listened to: finals are over this week and the Polytechnika (our University) spends a million dollars to have a giant open air discotheque in the arena. Every year, about 10,000 people show up to listen to Poland's greatest bands, drink a lot of beer, and dance the night away under the stars. Mitura urged us to go, with a least one boy who will make sure we are safe, and to skip the beer but go big on the dancing. I'm not a fan of beer anyway, it's disgusting, but I do think it would be really amazing to be part of a crowd of 10,000 under the night sky. Where else would I have the chance to do that... on a night that cost Poland one million dollars? The energy alone will be palpable.

I think I'll be lame and go to bed now. It's only 9:30 p.m., and in the words of the Sound of Music, "the sun has gone to bed and so must I." I meet with my research professor tomorrow to finalized plans about the hospital and I want to be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when she arrives. A smile always tips the scale in your favor.

Oh... and just for fun. Could you leave a comment if you read my blog? I'd like to see how many people keep up with this thing.

My quote to live this summer by:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed

by the things you didn't do than by the ones you

did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain

(I quoted Mr. Twain because my adorable father called me his Mark Twain in an email to me this evening.)

Polish Bible Bookstores

2008-05-25T03:27:00.000-05:00

First let me apologize for taking so long to actually update on my life. I didn't mean to make everyone wait so long for news...

These past couple of days have been really busy, which believe me, is a good thing.

We went to a bar just to see what all the rage was about here, since all the tourist information sites said "You have to go." It was really fun! We each only had one cocktail, but in the process we met some really nice people who either live or work here. My favorite of the evening was a guy from Australia who was born in Poland and lived in Florida. Strange combination, adorable accent.

The four of us girls had a sleep over party in my little bedroom on Friday night. I think we get lonely, all being separated all the time - especially me and Courtney - so everyone grabbed their comforters and we camped out on the floor eating cheetos and watching Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. It was definitely a throwback to my Jessica Crawford days in middle school, and to this day... nothing makes me quite as happy as hearing the black knight say "It's nothing but a flesh wound!"

Damian also blessed us with the gift of physical labor. Courtney and I go to take apart (ahem) and clean a car engine. Damian's project centers around coating automotive parts with thick carbon layers to reduce friction, increase hardness, and prolong the lifetime of the valves and such in the belly of the engine. He has the chemical and vapor deposition techniques down, but no body is sure if they'll actually hold up in reality, so he went to a junkyard the other day to buy a super old car and disassemble it in our lab.

It was actually kind of fun... getting completely dirty and having these balls of dirt and oil I lovingly named "dirt boogers" everywhere. My appointed task was to clean the transmission with a flat screwdriver, so I was in dirt booger heaven. (Isn't it comforting, the confidence they have in me? Hahah Audrey, please rid this hunk of metal of all of its dirt boogers.)

No I really did have an awesome time... at one point I put on a doctor's mask and pretended I was in surgery, Damian decided it would be hilarious to rub oil and grease all over my face (... maybe I kind of begged him to, just for the hardcore effect it would lend to my outfit), and Court and I ended up doing Jazzercise in the office to some random Polish band named Vadar.

We were definitely hyper by the end of the engine extravaganza.

Courtney scrubbing the grease off.

I think I have a new favorite quote for the trip.

Stanishevksy, Courtney, and I cooked lunch (pasta and vegetables) about two days ago. As we were patiently waiting for the pasta to boil in our makeshift cooking pans (I swear, we really need to buy actual pots sometime soon!)... Stan started talking to us about mushrooms. I'm not sure how many people know this, but I have a strong aversion to mushrooms. I call them basidiomycota and I loathe them. My fond description of their texture is "squeeky" and it doesn't matter how finely they are chopped up into my food, I can still taste them. Me and mushroom - we just don't have a good relationship. When Stan found this out... he tried to sway my opinion on the whole matter. He was going on about how we don't really have 'real' mushrooms in the United States because they're all grown in 3 days (have you seen that How It's Made episode?); I wasn't really paying attention until suddenly I heard "I'm a really good mushroom-hunter." They phrase humored so I turned around to catch more of the dialogue, and discovered that mushroom-hunting is a real thing, he once found a knife while mushroom-hunting that he keeps with him at all times now, and that "the best mushrooms must be picked before 5 a.m. because if you wait longer than that, all the other mushroom-hunters will pick them." It was all very ridiculous, very amusing, and very adorable.

Yesterday was our thrift shop adventure. There hasn't been sun in almost a week so the general mood in our troops is somber and somewhat depressed. It's not that we hate our living situation or our work, we just really miss the sunshine. SOooo.. I decided that a shopping trip might be the best thing to cure our blues... and since we're poor and it's always a little bit more intriguing, second-hand stores became our objective.

It's fun to be lost in piles of old, musty clothes, and we found the Polish person who spoke the best english in one of our random stores. Not that I don't enjoy performing an entire purchase transaction in silence and then seeing the salesperson light up when I say "Thank you" in Polish, because that IS quite gratifying, but it's lovely to hear actual english coming out of a stranger for the first time in two weeks. And we came away happy. I bought this really fun brown coat with fur on it for the chilly weather that has been pervading our lives, and Courtney bought an amazing blanket that looks like someone took all of your grandpa's cardigans, cut them into substantial sized squares, and sewed everything randomly together. It's heavy and smells old... and is wonderful. She'll have that blanket hanging off the side of her couch for the rest of her life... and every time someone asks about it, she'll have the added perk of being able to relate the story of the summer we went to Poland... I'm really jealous, actually.

Stanishevsky leaves for good tomorrow, and the part of our journey where we are completely alone shall commence. Yikes! But no need to be depressed right now... after all I'm off to go mushroom-hunting.

2008-05-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

The group.

The Surprise

2008-05-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

I know that it's been a while since I've updated with any substantial information, but you'll have to wait one more post to here about what is going on lately. Instead, enjoy my creation below!

The Morning Alarm

2008-05-22T04:01:00.000-05:00

It's a national holiday (Catholic, I do believe) and the singing of the monks is finding its way into my room through a cracked window.

It's very pretty.

Harrison Ford is my Heartthrob

2008-05-21T19:29:00.000-05:00

Indiana Jones comes out, here, today.. in english with Polish subtitles. But it's raining and freezing outside, and my stomach has been killing me all day long. I think maybe the constant diet of bread and potatoes has eaten away at my gastric lining...

We kind of haven't had a lot to do around the lab lately because all of the professors are off adventuring around Europe and making contacts until tomorrow. Except Damian, of course, who was left here to babysit us.

And I didn't take any pictures today, because it's gross outside, so I'll post one of my favorites from yesterday.

My dad and mom called me this evening on Skype. I'm so proud of my daddy for figuring out this internet thing, and he was full of enthusiasm about his recent Ebay purchases and his attempt at building a car online. He even told me a joke... "How do you tell which one is the polish woman at the wedding? She's the one with the braided armpits!"

And then I spoke with my momma. She sounded happy to talk to us (me and Court)... and when we told her we had moved rooms and that they had to separate us in the process, she said "Well how far apart are you? 10 doors?" To which we replied "Noooo TWELVE! And there are two elevators and a stairwell in between. AND the kitchen. It's lonely!" She just laughed. I'm glad she understands me so well at times.

My parents are so cute.

Anyone and everyone who has a computer needs to embark on an adventure with me. Go to www.skype.com and download the free software. Then make up a username and sign on. Go to contacts and "search for skype users." Type in Audrey Paulzak, and add me! You can talk to anyone all over the world for free, as long as your computer is equipped with a microphone. It's pretty amazing actually.

This is a picture of my new favorite candy bar. I discovered it one day at the vending machine at school (gasp, they actually have one very old one here)... and Courtney and I have been buying them at the Central and ANDRE and the canteen, and everywhere else we can find them. I'm bringing everyone I know (and like) from back home the present of a 3Bit when I return.

Dr Stanishevsky returned to the dorm this evening. I didn't think I would, but as soon as I heard his voice from outside the door, I realized how much I'd missed my surrogate family. He really came through for us and got very protective when creepy roommate was causing problems, and I jumped up to give him a hug when he walked into my room. AND we're all having lunch tomorrow before he leaves us indefinitely.

Speaking of the creepy roommate, I now have my own room. It's AMAZING! They did separate Courtney and I, as I mentioned earlier, and it's lonely to fall asleep at night without her across the 8x10 foot space, but I can't complain about my living quarters at all. I have my own fridge, shower, AND built-in closet, which is rare.. and Marius got my internet working today, so I'm in heaven. I even have a window sill to sit and journal on, and ponder deep, profound things. Hahaha...

So I leave you again. Sorry about the super choppy "blob" update, as my adorable daddy calls it. I'm talking to my best friend, Ash, on Skype and we're planning a European journey together. And when I say "we" I mean her. I'm too lazy to read train schedules and figure out the best way from Amsterdam to Berlin right now... it's 3:15 in the morning and I can't read Dutch anyway. Good night all... and just think, all the legal drugs I want await me in three weeks time... kidding, smoking weed would be a sure fire way to kill Courtney through a massive asthma attack.

To leave you with some of the fun we got to experience in lab this afternoon:

Courtney goes "Do you think I should save the "Tribological properties of duplex big MAO/DLC coatings on Magnesium alloy using combined microarc oxidation and filtered cathodic arc deposition" article?"

Come again? You know I don't speak Polish. =)

It's a Giant Tim Horton's Tidbit.

2008-05-20T06:46:00.000-05:00

Novelties that Poland has to offer....

I've been having a bad couple of days. We have a creepy roommate who is 50 years old, so I woke up really early to shower and be gone before his alarm clock went off. The sun hadn't been up long on my walk to school, and I used to brisk and cold morning walk to clear my head, and the photography as catharsis.

Courtney and I in the car yesterday - the first morning that our creepy, old-guy roommate showed up. We were miserable, it was early, Damian took us on a wild goose chase, and it was freeze raining outside. That's why we look so weird... and pale.

The evidence of a guy. Shaving cream brush and after shave.

And now to the more exciting part of my morning... we talked to Damian last night - our first actual phone call from our POLISH CELLPHONE - and he didn't sound convinced that we were freaked out. But we wrote an email to Stanishevksy telling him everything that went awry, and he called Damian, who spoke to our landlord and took care of things today. Apparently there is no room for us to move, but Damian saved us and told the lady she had four hours to figure it out. Thank goodness.

So I like Poland again, after crying my frustrations out in a hallway today. And I'm ready to get out of this lab and experience the streets. Yesterday Courtney and I went on a mission for towels, but ended up walking into a random thrift store. I was sifting through the piles of horrendously outdated clothes when I found a man's cardigan with a cool Harry Potter-esque crest on the pocket... and "Fort Lauderdale, Florida" written in old script beneath it. There was no way I was going to pass that gem up, so I bought it for four dollars... I think some more thrift store shopping, and an immersion into weird European fashion sense from ten years ago might lift my spirits to a comfortable contentness. Ha that is my therapy for everything - when in emotional turmoil, spend money.

Anyway, I must get back to reading about TNT additives, but before I do.... Lodz in all its splendor.

My walk to school.

Cool writing... but what does it mean? I still can't figure anything out.

Although I do now know that the word for chicken is "Kurczak."

Shadow. And that's an IKEA reusable canvas bag on my shoulder. =)

I do believe I have this exact house in an early post, but this is the President's house.

And this picture is cooler than the first one because I took this one myself. Dr. Mitura used to actually live there!

"Look guys, a climbing tree."

Every road looks like this... and car rides give an incredibly accurate roller coaster impersonation.

Or you could be cool like Courtney and me and try to navigate these pavers in heels.

Graffiti happens.

These have to be my favorite traffic signs in this country, or any country.

Our university map... the Politechnika Lodzka.

Busking.... to Elton John

2008-05-19T06:58:00.001-05:00

This picture is from a couple of months ago, but I just managed to snag it off of Courtney's camera and I couldn't resist posting it. We were walking down Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina during our Habitat for Humanity adventure when I heard one of my favorite songs in the whole world being warbled through a tiny speaker. It turns out this nice black man was playing "Your Song" for gas money, so I gave him two bucks to listen to him play, and to give him cash to get home.

I love the unexpected surprises. And this song, not only because of the love and the lyrics, but also because it reminds me of that time I met Ewan McGregor. Hahah so much happiness wrapped up in three minutes of melody.

I know it's not much but it's the best I can do

My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss

Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross

But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song

It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do

You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue

Anyway the thing is what I really mean

Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen...

City Stages, Lodz Poland 2008

2008-05-19T05:18:00.001-05:00

On Saturday afternoon, Courtney, Kristin, and I decided that it was time we bought Q-tips and towels and conditioner and razors, so we went wandering down the main street in Lodz, named Pitrowska Street. It's a main avenue that runs for about 3 miles straight through the heart of the city, and at one point it even closes off into a pedestrian zone. We were headed downtown toward a "Central"... a store analogous to a WalMart before the Super was involved. They have everything you'd need, but not 12 choices of each product. Sadly for us, it turns out that the Central closes at 3pm on Saturdays... so we didn't get anything that we needed. BUT we did notice a large crowd gathering across the intersection and decided it would be worthwhile to go check it out.

What we discovered what aptly named by Miss Styres as City Stages Poland 2008. They were doing some sort of open-air festival, and I'm not sure whether they do it every Saturday or we happened to come at the just the right weekend, but there were people everywhere milling about, and a giant stage with different bands playing. The music was in Polish, the cotten candy tasted a little bit wanky, and there was a booth that sold only socks, but we still had a marvelous time people watching and being astounded by the sheer volume of beer that each individual consumes in this country.

We also, quite unexpectedly, discovered Lodz's defining characteristic. About two days ago, Courtney and I were discussing the fact that Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Rome has the coliseum, and Dublin has it's Irish pubs, but that Poland does not have any ONE THING special that we could think of, besides sausage (which is lame if you ask me)... and that Lodz certainly does not possess one defining characteristic. If you'll study the picture below, you'll notice that the lady is carrying bread on a string.... and THIS is what mental image now comes to mind when I think of Lodz. The bagel necklace. It's genius.

Just a view of the street with all of the people. There was even a stage where Polish dancers were performing to Grease Lightening. Oh la la...

A man selling the bagel necklace in not one, but TWO, sizes. =)

Of all the silly things that we encountered during the day, I think the Native American indians playing Simon and Garfunkel on gigantic reed flutes was the most surprising. This picture begs way too many questions. Why are there Native Americans in Poland? And since when have reed flutes been a part of the Native American culture? And why Simon and Garfunkel?

We ended the day with a showing of Ironman IN ENGLISH, complete with popcorn and fountain drinks. The bathrooms were super clean, and shiny, and the theater was brand new. It was amazing... and Robert Downey Jr is not terrible to gaze at either.

We had to walk home super fast because the sun had set and dusk was turning to night, and with all the money being poured into Poland by the European Union, there has been a huge influx of construction workers, so we've been told to stay off of the streets at night. It may all by in my head, but I do get rather jumpy at night here. It's like when you convince yourself that there is a man lurking in your bushes to kidnap you and sell your organs to rich Americans... you can freak ourself out if you think about it too much, even if no danger is actually present.

We made friends with our next door neighbor, Raul, a man from Mexico who is here to paint and give Spanish lessons. His trademark is the flying cow and I've begged him to make me a painting within the next two months so I'll never forget our stay here in Lodz. Flying cow = research on diamond powders. Hahah I can see how they correlate.

It's Monday now and I'm happy to be hanging out in the lab. I have a desk set up with a fast internet connection, my iPod plugged in, and a stack of scientific articles to read. Courtney is somewhere outside blowing up a car engine, and Sonda is in another office learning about meteorites. Damian made Kristin stay at home because she had a runny nose - he said if she came she'd infect everybody, but quite frankly, I'm happy to be here and have human contact again. I missed everyone over the weekend. I need a new surrogate family!

OH! And the most exciting part of last night's evening, Courtney set up Skype and I got to talk to my parents on a telephone for the better part of an hour. It was lovely to hear their voices again... it's been almost a week since I had. And both my mother and father sounded so excited to talk to me... it definitely made me feel loved. ♥

I hope that everything is going well for all of you in America. Hahah I just keep saying to myself... "I'm in freaking Poland." Seriously, how did I get here?

Heartache

2008-05-18T14:15:00.000-05:00

I miss my Thing 1 and Thing 2. =(

Manufactura.

2008-05-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

It is far too late to string together an intelligent jumble of words, so I'm going to relate my day through photographs.

We started the day at 10:47 am in lab. Stanishevsky wanted us to take lots of pictures, but of course I chose to be artsy and make carbon coatings look good. The picture below is a result of my attempt at breaking up the monotony of the lab equipment photo shoot.

I saw a skeleton in the corner and decided that Courtney needed to pose with it.

Damian's lab equipment. I believe that he designed and build it himself. He's trying to prolong the lifetime of automobile engine parts by coating them in frictionless carbon layers.

Our babysitter, Damian. And the "beast."

The beast in all it's glory. Today was its first day out on the streets of Lodz.

Josh. Mitura's grandson. He taught me the Polish word for belly button. =)

Nathalie. Mitura's granddaughter. We bonded over coloring at his daughter's house.

Polish beer. Yum.... lol we're supposed to drink it with every meal, but since beer isn't on my list of favorite drinks, Dr. Mitura taught me to mix it with regular Coke. It's actually quite good that way. I wanted the mug just for the effect.

Cute spit bubbles, little one.

Our adventure to the Polish symphony/orchestra. White wine was on the menu, along with a 45 minute, memorized violin solo. They were actually quite good... I enjoyed it.

The research crew, Sonda, me, and Kristin. Courtney was actually not allowed to come because we have the entire Polish university thinking that she's about to die from a lack of bananas. I kid. But she was sick in bed.

My personal research professor is the lady on the far left, Dr Mitura's wife. She set it up with the Chief of the hospital so that I'm going to be able to venture to the hospital every Wednesday to run actual clinical trials on patients. I get an outfit and everything! Wonderful lady. Also in this photograph are Mitura's daughter, Ana, granddaughter, Nathalie, son-in-law, Ana herself, and Sonda, Erin, and I.

It was a really long day in heels, but I ended it well. AB and I went downstairs to meet a lot of the foreign boys who are living in the dorm with us, and I got to practice my french!

We're cute. =)

The End.

Do you like Flockie?

2008-05-15T19:16:00.000-05:00

It is now story time in the life of Audrey Paulzak.

We're on Day 3 of our summer in Poland, and already we're getting into trouble. Not the bad, scary kind... but the kind where people roll their eyes at you and consider that you're possibly the dumbest person alive. Courtney broke glass Red Bull bottles all over the tiny grocery store near the dorm, I got ambushed by nurses at the hospital when I tried to find a trash can for an unwanted cough drop, and both of us keep getting muttered at repeatedly in Polish - though I guess I shouldn't be offended because I don't understand a word.

The language continues to be frustrating. Kind of analogous to a cultural Berlin Wall, and so far I only know two phrases and a single, lone word.

(And Mom, I'm not writing this to be offensive, but simply to relate the truth.)

They are as follows: (written phonetically, of course)

"Gen-coo-ya" - meaning "thank you." (we use this a lot).

"Wissy cool-va" - meaning "bald bitch" (there is a hilarious story here)

and the single word is the name of the city where we are living, Lodz, pronounced "Wouldj" as in "Wouldj you get me a drink."

On to my story:

We had to go to a traditional Polish lunch with Dr. Mitura today and it was definitely an experience. He asked the University to make a small restaurant where students could eat well for cheap, and this is where we dined. Apparently it was such a successful venture that they even named as soup after him!

Speaking of soup.

Courtney and I entered the restaurant in a disoriented state. We had just left the hospital, and ridden our rollercoaster Passat through town, when I spotted Mitura, Stanishevsky, and company walking along the sidewalk. We promptly parked the car (half on the curb) and jumped out of the car, shepherded into this tiny restaurant that was too cramped for the 11 of us to all stand in the vestibule. So we were pointed in the direction of a tiny table in the corner, where I set down my medicine and cough drop ladened bag, and looked up to see Courtney dropping a chair onto her foot. She was jumping around in pain (the welt was enormous almost immediately) as we were audibly accosted from every Polish/English speaking person there - "Do you like Flockie? Do you like Flockie? Do you know Flockie?" - or maybe it's spelled "flocky."

Either way, I'm trying to kiss Court's foot while she's howling in pain, everyone is hyper aware that we are not from around here, and all I can hear is Flockie, Flockie, Flockie. It was quite overwhelming.

And damn these people (sorry again, Mom). NO ONE EVER TRANSLATES FOR US!

It turns out that Flockie is a soup. It's actually a traditional Polish dish that Mitura especially mentioned that he wanted me to try because of my heritage... and that it is soup made out of cow stomach.

As I was handed a bowl of this prized, yet vile, repast, I noticed that the meat was settled calmly at the bottom of the dish, cut into thin strips that, as far as I can guess, were the most aesthetic way to show off the tough meant with tiny (what looked like) feelers on one side. Imagine squid tentacles and you'll have a pretty perfect mental image. One sip of broth was all that they got me to eat, in the spirit of not offending the former president of the University.

And just so that everyone is clear... No, I do not, in fact, like Flockie.

Pictures, to aid the mind.

2008-05-15T18:43:00.000-05:00

I finally brought my camera with me today to the grocery store, and these images resulted.

This is the church behind our dorms. I hear it's very lovely but have yet to set foot inside. Everyone here is strongly Cathlic, and mass has just never really been my thing - especially when said mass is in a language I can't understand. There is a English service at 10 am on Sundays, though, and I might attend if I get really homesick one weekend.

The street where we buy our groceries and shampoo. There seems to be a general lack of conditioner in this country, so I might be desperate for a kind soul to ship me some Dove about two weeks from now. If you look up and to the right, you can see the name of the store, "ANDRE." The old lady inside already loathes Courtney, so I'm trying to avoid speaking while inside to prolong the moment until she realizes that I don't speak Polish either. The lady definitely had a "Kreature" moment today, muttering to herself and yelling at us for being Americans. And breaking Red Bull.

The view from our hall balcony. We discovered it today. It looks very European, n'est-ce pas?

Again, the view. We enjoyed it while eating chocolate ice cream this evening.

And FINALLY, us in the airport. I think, by this point, that we had renamed ourselves "Stinky and Greasy." It'll happen after multiple hours in planes and walking around Chicago. And Court is sick in this photo, of course.

It's an Asthma Infection

2008-05-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

We finally made it! (The picture above is taken 33 no-sleep hours straight out of the Warsaw airport.)

It's been a crazy trip. 6 am flight out of Birmingham to Chicago, completely with Courtney throwing up twice and a day trek around the city. Then an evening flight from Chicago to Warsaw on the oldest plane I've ever been on. The stewardesses did not speak English, the caulking was peeling in the bathrooms, and the food was terrible. They did give us miniature utensils though, and a Kitkat, so meal time was still sort of fun. Sadly, there were about three (tiny) TVs on the entire plane of 38 rows, and only one movie for the entire nine and a half hour flight.

The worst part is that Stanishevsky actually BOOKED it that way, to fully immerse us into Polish culture. He chose to tell us this once we were safely over the Atlantic Ocean and incapable of changing a thing. Smart man. =)

I'm not actually upset though, despite the second world country I'm currently residing in and the cramped quarters. It's fun to be here, experience new things, and improve my sign language. Try explaining that you want butter with only ten fingers - it's almost laughably amusing.

If Audrey wishes to consider part time work she should consult the Part Time Work Guide.

2008-05-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

For my last evening in my home state, I went out to eat dinner with my family and headed to the beach to walk with my Mom, Keith, and our two adorable dogs. It took us about two minutes to realize that the ocean was scary to the dogs, the sand got in their eyes, and... given a chance... Lump would immediately run for the lights of the highway, thinking it was an escape route. Other than the aforementioned mishaps though, the beach was lovely. There was a creepy fog everywhere that made me feel like I was isolated from the busy world, and the crashing waves made a roar in the background that made conversation impossible without an awkward amount of yelling added in. It was perfect.

I snapped this photograph while rolling around in the backyard with Lump and Yoda today. Minus the crazy allergy I had because of the grass, I had fun wrestling around and being near the water. I decided to bring a book of photographs with me to Poland - it'll have my friends, and my home... my family. Everyone I hold dear. I have a tendency to get very homesick about two weeks into any transatlantic journey, so this time I'm taking preventive measures. I may still miss them, but at least I'll have a hard copy of every face that makes me smile...

I caught up with so many people these past four days and it was wonderful. Thank goodness for all of the amazing friends I've accumulated along the way. Who else would eat banana cake and drink nonfat, no whip, sugar free caramel macchiatos with me at 10pm... despite the bouts of caffeine-induced hyperness that are sure to follow?

My day has ended well... all errands done, travel iron in my suitcase... funds from mom and dad deposited into my bank account for Monday morning. I got some extra Euro from my mother's secret stash, and I even picked up a signed baseball card present from an old, long-lost but always dear, friend. I was in every way successful... and the last thing on my (hypothetical) list is to finish my book and shut off my light to the busy world.

New Moon awaits.

And as a sweet ending note, just because I'm feeling happy tonight... I leave with this quote.

"Give her two red roses, each with a note.

The first note says "For the woman I love" and the second, "For my best friend."

To me, this is what love should be.

Peggy Guggenheim

2008-05-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

I'm in Florida for the latter part of the week, and I had art time with Keith in the kitchen to entertain myself. Turns out you can create some pretty amazing things with blue and white paint, and your fingers.

I already gave this piece away to someone who will hopefully hang it in his house, but that doesn't mean I have to forget our gorgeous ocean when I'm away for all those months.

Officer Nate McMurrer, reporting to protect the President

2008-05-05T07:50:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend in DC at a conference about the Poland thing. We had a pretty amazing time... making friends virtually everywhere - including the police officer in front of the White House, a man from India named Shankar who was 43 and full of really good jokes, and an information officer at the Charlotte airport who helped me choose between a blueberry and a banana muffin (banana was the final purchased flavor, and definitely the best). If this weekend was a preview of the next three months, I'm elated.

Dave took the train down from Baltimore to see me! And somehow our bus got lost coming back from DC, so it ended up taking two hours to get to our hotel (we didn't really care, me Dave and Court slept the ENTIRE way home) so he stayed the night and took the 10 am back.

I didn't really sleep the entire weekend though. Blame it on hanging out in the lobby with Jaime and staying up late meeting new people in the area... so I soon as I got home yesterday, I crashed into my bed. But today is a new day and I've got lots of stuff to do! I leave for Florida tomorrow with Keith, and I must do laundry, buy a Eurail pass (YAY!), and get the rest of my stuff in order before then. And decide which luggage I'm taking. And what outfits... gah. I have to pack for each type of weather.. AND get a backpack for when we go off across Europe in the train. I think we may even make it down to Greece and (gasp) Istanbul. Which would be thrilling. I'm rambling. ANYWAY lots to do.

Oh and I MUST download Flight of the Conchords before I depart.

Peppermints and the ACS Study Guide

2008-05-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

I woke up at 6am to finish studying for my organic chemistry final - but I wasn't having much luck studying at my apartment so I drove the 15 minutes into town to hang out on the third floor of Sterne. I was sitting there, anxiously waiting for 4:15 to roll around, cuddling up sideways in a comfy chair and reading when Raymond showed up. I had the perfect atmosphere to concentrate ... peppermint in my mouth, sun on my neck, hydroboration and oxymercuration in my head, and with Rambo playing the air drums to Cartel... when I realized something sad. When this is all over... this thing they call college that holds a handful of incredible people and hilarious memories... my life with be lonely.

Going away to Europe for the summer already has me missing my dear Birmingham and all the joys it inherently possesses. What am I ever going to do when I move away in December?

My future Gap buddy and the lab partner love of my life. He makes sure I keep my eye on the prize, always. Except for when we're in class (see below), and I'm hyper... and then I ask him if I can put my feet up on the desk... and if he's in a really good mood... he says yes. !

The lovely Mr. Finn Perkins.... and the frantic hustle before our last chemistry exam in our educational careers. It was an amazing feeling to finally be done with lecture hall CHEM101.

Birmingham on display from my chair in the 3rd floor alcove. It was gorgeous outside today.

But I'm in a rush. I still must pack for Washington DC and get to Basecamp to say goodbye to all of my sisters and the Delta Sigs... and make it to Courtney's house before she kills me for keeping her awake so late. Goodnight, my loves.

Jordan's Lemma

2008-04-28T00:02:00.000-05:00

My physics teacher thinks this is fun...

I like to refer to it in more affectionate terms: torture, pain, frustration, confusion, absolute stress? Those all work quite nicely, really.

Hahaha on a separate note, I had pineapple and ice cream for dinner. More pineapple than ice cream, but I'm not sure that cancels out the extra calories. And I played the piano for about an hour today.... it's a lovely way to de-stress after all this studying and finals.

My parents were in town this weekend and we went condo searching. I think that our real estate agent fell in love with us too. He said that we were amusing, and crazy funny, and he liked how we all tag teamed each other. I, of course, relayed this amusing tidbit to my father, who proceeded to mention it at dinner during his prayer. But it's true.. what he said... God has blessed us with a family that loves each other enough that other people notice how well we get along and are vocal about it.

I miss my doggie already. I'm sad that she had to go back to Florida with my parents.

Bon soir et bonne nuit, mes amis.

Fais de beaux reves.

The Blue Monkey awaits.

2008-04-26T21:54:00.000-05:00

The exciting new addition to my ever-expanding camera family!

It's blue, if you can tell from the picture. And it should serve me well in Poland.

Ethanol showers

2008-04-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

I know this may not look like much, but I spent many hours slaving away in the lab to produce these results... and begged a random physics professor in the hall to first let me borrow his USB memory stick, and then trust me to locate him and bring in back within five minutes. It was quite the impossible task considering how large these picture files were and how many of them I had to transfer onto my laptop. Oh yes, and I spilled a large beaker of ethanol all over myself right before Stanishevsky walked in the room. Very classy, if I do say so myself.

Ahem. The results:

Basically it's two pictures of silver/carbon colloidal nanoparticles, deposited onto a titanium substrate. We're trying to find the set of conditions that helps the particles deposit best, testing specifically the concentration in solution, voltage across the cathodes, and deposition time. It all sounds very fancy, but the job is not glamourous. The cool part is analyzing the samples and using the microscope to take pictures... which is what we have above. If you'll look closely, the picture on bottom is composed of tiny little circles. Each of those is a sphere about 10-15 nanometers across, which is a meter to the -9th power.

The first picture is the same procedure, but the conditions allowed the particles to deposit too quickly... and when the system dried, it cracked to relieve the stress. It's incredible to think about because the stress is in microjoules... the amount a pressure a fly exerts on a counter top when it lands... but it's still too much for the arrangement to handle and fault lines appear.

Anyway, enough babbling in a foreign language.

I have to go back to writing this paper. :(

Heritage Hall, Lecture Room 102

2008-04-24T09:35:00.000-05:00

I'm currently at the "Study Away @ UAB" pre-departure orientation lecture and the most exciting thing we've talked about so far is what kind of insurance you should buy in case you die. And they need to bring your body back. Hahahah thrilling.

I somehow have to write 8 pages of a research paper today and turn it in by five. Seems like another assignment that will be late...

BUT I do have an amusing anecdote:

I went to the hospital last night because Courtney's grandpa had two stints put in his heart. We had to find out where his room was and Court asked a lady in the lobby how to get to the fourth floor... to which she quickly replied, dead serious... "You get in the elevator and press the button with the 4." Honestly?

Bonjour tout le monde

2008-04-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

I wanted to start a blog about my journey - somewhere that I can update on my adventures and research - and keep everyone informed about my life for the next THREE long months.

For those of you who don't know, a group of three other girls and I are going to Poland and the Czech Republic for three months this summer to do research with the Technical University of Lodz in Lodz, and also TUL in the Czech Republic. I'm not exactly sure what kind of research we'll be doing, except that it's in the general area of chemistry and physics - probably with an emphasis on nanoparticles and synthetic bone. I hope that we get Friday's off, along with weekends, because Courtney and I plan on seeing the rest of Europe in our time off.

Hahah I think our list includes

1. Greece!

2. Rome, Italy

3. Ireland

4. The French countryside

5. Paris

5. Amsterdam and the surrounding Netherlands

6. Switzerland to go sky-diving

7. Prague (although it certainly doesn't belong at the bottom of our "priority" list.)

8. .... and Germany, to get some normal food when we can't stand bagettes and ham any longer.

On a side note, I need to stop dreaming about my travels right now because I have a lot of stuff left to do in the two remaining weeks. Big/Little reveal is tomorrow and I MUST go make a bear for my little.. which means a trip to the mall. I have to fill out a leave of absence for work. Return some clothes at Target and buy "NEW MOON"... the most amazing book ever (that I'm going to try my hardest to not read until we board the plan for Chicago). Review session for Math methods today. GREY'S ANATOMY tomorrow. And then finals all next week that desperately need to be studying for. Trip to Washington, DC on May 2-4th, with a visit from my little brother, hopefully.

Sorry... my english skills suddenly deteriorated in that last paragraph. I get stressed out when I think about all of the stuff I have to do. But.. only two more weeks!