Nearly A week in Poland

I promised to blog every day when I got here for two reasons: 1. to keep family and friends posted 2. to never forget this once in a life time adventure. And though I didn't get it up on the blog, I have been taking notes so that I could get it on here asap! I still don't have pics up and going... but I will add them later.
Day 4: Today was the Ultra adventure... Grocery shopping! We had 2 hours before we had to be as Bieta Guadoon's for dinner. Surely that is enough time to get some provisions to fill our very large European 2ft by 4ft fridge and one small cupboard for dry goods! Except if you don't know the language and the food isn't all the same then you quickly realize that 2 hours isn't enough time to find the picture of what you think you want and hope to high heck that you got the right thing! We know we bought the right yogurt and granola because we tried it in the mission home. we know we bought the right produce because Polish bananas look the same as American bananas! haha... and we know bought spaghetti noodles but we arent so sure about the sauce, the nail polish remover (which looks like a small bottle vodka) or the meat. Was it pork or beef? Don't know. I guess we will figure it out! Oh well... in two days we will be back at the store for more food since the fridge will be empty then! The grocery story was different to say the least! we weigh our own food and then the tag is printed out with a bar code. The candy has alcohol in it. We couldn't find most of the stuff we eat. But that is not a complaint! We actually found it quite comical and can't wait to figure all of this out!
We took Elder Plum and Elder Basha to lunch after Nate went with them to find a baptismal spot at the lake for Lukus. He is being baptized next Saturday. Very exciting! We ate at a milk bar called Chata. It was authentic Polish food and it was AWESOME! I ate something like a dumpling and coleslaw... the kids ate chicken, potatoes and coleslaw. We were soooo full! Next time I am getting what Plum had: buckwheat with gravey sauce. Basha ate a potatoe pancake with red sauce... I wasn't in love with that!
We ate bbq dinner at the Guadoon's. Biata is so very nice! I love her! She doesn't speak English, but you could tell she is genuine and could be a very good friend so long as she doesnt want to talk! haha.... She has been a member for 10 years. She has 2 sons. One is 17 and the other is on a mission. Her son in the first Polish member to serve a mission. At the BBQ were other people too: The missionaries, Lukus, Tim and Elona (from Canada) and the Potters. oh... and Biata who is Biata's friend! Sister Nielson told me there were 10 Polish names and I would learn them quickly. Appearantly Biata is one of them! It really was pretty fun.
Today I learned:
1) the grocery store is going to take a while to get used to for now.
2) 57 degrees in August is nice until you consider that it is a heat wave and begin to wonder what December will be like.
3) I can drive to the grocery store and home without getting lost.
4) dziekuje means thank you... don't try to read it cuz it doesn't sound like it looks: gen coo yeh is more like the sound.
5) One can purchase American candy in Poland, but it doesn't taste the same. Chocolate doesn't have wax in it here.
6) I am sooooo confused on the money exchange. I can't wrap my head around the fact that 500 zlote is not 500 dollars.
7) Mckay has the most amazing sense of humor.
8) You must take your own bags shopping or you get charged for every single bag.

Day 3
today our lost bag was found! In fact, The courier from Warsaw delivered it to our house in Lublin. That is service! And everything was in side just like I left it! We got most of our house put together but still didn't make it to the grocery store. I have major jet lag. It is getting ridiculous! Falling asleep all day is so rude! We ate lunch in downtown Lublin. The architecture is unreal! The cobblestone streets are so fairy tale like. The lamp posts are decorative, black iron with flowers hanging from them. It is so fun! People are out everywhere! The economy her must be booming! We ate kabobs at a little shop downtown. They were delicious and soooo messy! There was a little girl playing her acordian with a money basket sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. It was sweet. We purchased the biggest raspberries I have ever seen from a little girl on the sidewalk. They tasted like candy. I will eat them for breakfast in the morning. It rained like I've never seen it rain. For dinner we ate Pizza from pizza hut. I don't even like Pizza hut but this pizza was delicious! It wasn't even greasy! Go figure that one!
things I learned today:
1) jet lag isn't a funny situation. the kids want to know what is wrong with me!
2) People dress up here to walk outside. They go to the store in dresses and slacks. The women all wear high heal sandals. My jeans don't look very nice. I must invest in some dressy clothing soon.
3) Everyone walks. I can only imagine that is part of the reason that there are no fat people other than myself in this town! YIKES!
4) Kabobs are not meat and veggies on a stick. They are more like pitas full of grilled veggies and meat done to perfection dripping with yummy sauce that I don't know what it is called or how on earth to make.
5) If you tell the kids that the little girl playing the accorian is working for her dinner they seem to love her more and start begging to give her money rather than buy themselves anything else.
6) Bailey will never be happy in Poland.

Day 2
Warsaw is a beautiful place! We left President and Sister Nielson's huge mission home after enjoying a quick breakfast of yogurt, granola, cereal and blueberry muffin cake, a quick picture, and some good advice to get us on our way and we went to Stalin's tower. It was a gift to the Polish people from Russia. (FYI: The Polish people aren't loving the Russians after many years of supression and comunisim. They don't find it even cool that I took 3 years of Russian in school and can say things like "slowly but surely" and count to 5 still) We purchased tickets so we could go to the top and found out that we actually bought tickets to go into an exhibit with lizards... the kind we are used to seeing on our curb in AZ. It wasn't too impressive... but our elevator ride did go to the top any way! And we could see all over Warsaw. We ate lunch at McDonalds. We ordered by pointing out pictures off the menue. McDonald's here isnt a playplace and a cheap lunch where all the white trash people spend their afternoons. It is a restaraunt. Go figure! I have no less than 68 misquito bites from my ankles to my knees and they itch something fierce. Our house in Lublin is beautiful in an nice neighborhood. It is very European with iron and arch ways. Everytime I come home I think of Lindsay and Spencer Jones and their European home in Mesa! The yard is green and the topiary trees on the stairs leading to the front door make me happy. Inside we have no carpet. Just wood and marble floors. The stairs are marble. They make me very nervice. The kitchen is the small. EVerything is miniture: the fridge, the dishwasher, the sink. The furniture is ikea like and the walls are very bare! We have a nice deck looking into the fur trees that thickly line our yard with the neighbors about 20 feet from the deck! Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms with no closets, one bathroom with a lovely tub and one big closet in the hall way. It is different. Main floor is the kitchen, living room, bathroom with big shower and dining room where we put the desk. Downstairs is a bathroom, laundry room/ family room, and bedroom and the garage. So the house is pretty spacious and very nice. We can live here for a while! :) The landlords have a black lab named Negra. Cole calls her Nigra. It's pretty cute. She is a friendly dog and the boys have been entertained for hours by her. For dinner Nate took us to his favorite Italian food, Dulce Vita. It was pretty authentic and most delicious. I was told everyone here speaks English. I have not found that to be the case. In most cases, everyone here understands English and speaks enough to say that they don't speak English.
Today I learned:
1) Pres. and Sister Nielson have mesa ties. Pres grew up on 3rd st. in our beloved Lazona ward. He has many friends from that area. Later he lived behind one of my best friends in Friendly Cove. They know all of my high school buddies families and even vacationed with some of them.
2) Sister Nielson is so hospitable that she reminded me of Suzy Everton... and I began to wonder if that is a requirement for Friendly Cove/ Dynasty Estates residents. She has made the mission home in Warsaw an amazing place and I actually thought I would love to be the wife of a mission president after hanging with her for a day.
3) The mission home in Warsaw is owned by the church. It has a sauna in the downstairs bathroom. LUCIOUS!
4) It is obvious that Americans pay more than the Polish people for everything. And when we turn our backs they laugh... and though we suck at speaking Polish, we still understand what is going on... and sometimes it is lame to know that you are being taken advantage of and still can't do anything about it.
5)rich people eat at McDonalds here. And yes, they dress up to go.
6) Polish misquitos are the same as American misquitos... and they itch just as bad
7) swollen ankles from travel don't go away after 24 hours. I am wondering if they ever will go down if the misquitos keep biting me.
8)We have been given much in America. I am beginning to see the abundance of the Promised land.
9) Strictly from appearance sake, I have seen more people that I look like here than I do walking down the street in AZ. In fact, I would dare say I fit in more here than I do there!
10) The weather, the vegitation, the food is wonderful.

Day 1
We arrived in Warsaw. The flight was better than I thought... Once we got through the airport with our bags the rest was gravey! Going through security in the international terminal was a treat. It was the first time I have ever been patted down/felt up in an airport. Only one bag was lost. Unfortunately it was the boys clothing. Fortunatley they don't care. The airport said they would locate it and send it on to Lublin. Nate and Lacey Potter picked us up and it was fun to see them! I debated on hugging Nate or kicking him in the crotch! We settled on hugs. We went to the Mission home where we were warmly welcomed by President Stan and Sister Judi Nielson. Sis Nielson gave us a tour of the mission home mansion and I found myself thinking I could live there forever. I was blitzed from zero sleep in over 24 hours and thought that anything that resembled a home with pictures of family and beds in it with running water and toilets/showers and kitches sounded about perfect! I laid down on the most comfy bed of my life and fell asleep until the welcoming crew showed up! The boys took off running under Nate's watchful care and Bailey joined me for slumber. Sister Nielson invited over a few other American families for a bbq: The Wood family and The Staples. They both live in Warsaw. They had kids the same ages as ours and they became instant friends. So sad they live 3 hours from our house. Dinner was fabulous. The misquitos enjoyed me.
Things I learned today:
1) European Architecture is awesome!
2) Sister Nielson is one of my all time fav people.
3) I like meeting up with Americans in Poland. We have language in common.
4) when you've been on an airplane for as long as we had, it doesn't even matter that your luggage is lost.
5) reporting lost luggage in a foreign language is done best by drawing pictures with colored crayons.
6) I think I'm going to love this adventure.