Monday, November 05, 2007

Immigration Office

Drying rack

We were picked up today by our friend Zybysek who took us to the immigration office. As it turns out, he has a sister-in-law who works there and we were able to get right into the place we needed to go. There were dozens of people waiting. As in the U.S., it's all about who you know. We were given some forms to fill out and told to come back Friday, with the form signed by our landlady. I called her when we got home and she will come over Wednesday to sign the forms. Her name is Agnieszka, I like her. She is full or energy and always amazed at how much we like living in Poland. She prefers Paris but continues to live here in Poznań.

Once we return on Friday with the forms, they will be sent to Warsaw and 3 weeks later we will get the Pesel number so we won't be buying a car until then. That's OK, I really wanted to have a car before Christmas because I plan to visit all the relatives I can during that holiday. I hoped to be in Golina for All Saints Day but that didn't work out and the other time I wanted to travel was Christmas. Christmas Eve, Wigilia, we promised Luka, some years ago, to spend with her. Christmas day will be spent visiting relatives in Golina and Konin.

Christmas........I still remember it from youth when my family was all together. Going to the parish office to get opłatek and Christmas Eve was so special with the 12 different dishes served, the presents, cousins everywhere I looked, the music of christmas playing, my aunts and uncles talking at one table while I and my numerous cousins sat at another.....these things still stay in mind after so many years without them. Why is it so many thoughts remain in my mind and yet things from a month ago are forgotten? I can remember the laugh of my Uncle Chester, some 50 years ago, and yet forget the name of someone I met a month ago! The world keeps getting bigger when you get out on your own but some things you can't forget.

Now a question to any reader of this blog............why is it that we can buy milk from a store that is not refridgerated and it will last for months. In our supermarket, milk is on the shelf, just like a can of peas or a bag of cereal. In America, milk is always in the refridgerator and must remain there when you bring it home but not in Poland. This puzzles me!

I had a call from cousin Krzysztof Wiśniewski. He will come to visit us on Wednesday at 1PM. I was happy to recieve his call and look forward to the visit.

I also thought today about this drying rack we use. When we first arrived and discovered that few people had clothes dryers we thought it was a great inconvienence. Now, after three months of using it, I can't understand why it is not used in America. It would save so much energy. Yes, it takes longer to dry the clothes but it dries them. We put our rack in the bathroom, because it has the most heat and in a few hours are clothes are dry and ready to put away.


Byliśmy podniesieni dzisiaj przez naszego przyjaciela Zybyseka, który wziął nas do biuraimigracji. Jak to okazuje się, on ma szwagierkę, która pracuje tam i mogliśmy dostać się w prawo do miejsca potrzebny by pójść. Tuziny ludzi czekały. Jak w Stanach Zjednoczonych, to jest, wszystko o którym znasz. Nam byli dany kilka form by wypełnić się i opowiedziałyśmy wrócić piątek, z formą podpisaną przez naszą ziemiankę. Zawołałem ją kiedy dostaliśmy się do domu i ona przejdzie nad środą by podpisać formy. Jej imię jest Agnieszka, lubię ona. Ona jest pełnią albo energią i zawsze zdumiona przy ilu lubimy mieszkanie w Polsce. Ona woli Paryż ale nadal zamieszka tutaj w Poznań.

Raz wracamy w piątek z formami, oni będą wysłani do Warszawy i 3 tygodni później dostaniemy liczbę Pesel tak nie będziemy kupowanie samochód aż wtedy. To jest w porządku, naprawdę chciałem mieć samochód przed Bożym Narodzeniem ponieważ zaplanuję odwiedzić wszystkich krewnych mogę podczas tamtego urlopu. Spodziewałem się być w Golina dla Wszystkich Świętych Dzień ale, który nie zakończył się i inny czas chciałem do podróży byłem Bożym Narodzeniem. Wigilia, Wigilia, my obiecaliśmy Luka, kilka lat temu, by wydać z nią. Dzień Boże Narodzenie będzie wyczerpany odwiedzanie krewnych w Golina i Konin.

Christmas........I jeszcze pamiętają to od młodzieży kiedy moja rodzina była wszystko razem. Chodzenie do biura parafii by dostać opłatek i wigilia była tak specjalna z 12 różnymi naczyniami posłużonymi, prezenty, kuzyni wszędzie popatrzałem, muzyka Bożego Narodzenia bawiącego się, moje ciotki i wujkowie mówiący na jeden stół podczas gdy ja i moi liczni kuzyni usiedli przy another.....these rzeczach cichych pozostają w umyśle potem tak dużo lat bez nich. Dlaczego jest to tak dużo myśli pozostają w moim umyśle i jeszcze rzeczy od miesiąca temu są zapomniane? Mogę zapamiętać śmiech mojego Wujka Chester, kilka 50 lat temu, i jeszcze zapomnieć imię kogoś spotkałem miesiąc temu! Świat kontynuuje dostawanie się większego kiedy wychodzisz na twoim własnym ale kilka rzeczy nie możesz zapomnieć.

Teraz pytanie do jakiegokolwiek czytelnika tego blog............why jest to, że możemy kupić mleko od sklepu, który nie jest refridgerated i to będzie trwać na miesiące. W naszym supermarkecie, mleko jest na półce, właśnie jak puszka groszku albo torby zboża. W Ameryce, mleko jest zawsze w refridgerator i musi pozostać tam kiedy przynosisz do domu to ale nie w Polsce. To intryguje mnie!

Miałem rozmowę z kuzyna Krzysztof Wiśniewski. On przyjdzie odwiedzić nas w środę przy 1PM. Byłem szczęśliwy do recieve jego rozmową i oczekuję tothe wizytę.

7 comments:

  1. Well, I'm not an expert in the milk industry, but I'll try to answer :).

    Polish milk (and European) is treated by the UHT process which may be described as heating to very high temperature (well above boiling point) for few seconds. This is quite effective, as it kills almost all kinds of bacteria and allows milk to stay fresh for several months. No refrigeration is needed, as the milk is hermetically sealed and no bacteria will get in. Of course, if you open it, it has to be put in the fridge, but when left unopened, it can last for a few months.
    Personally speaking, as a child I preferred normal milk, as the UHT milk seemed to have a strange taste, but now I'm accustomed to both kinds and I don't see any difference.

    By the way, you're doing a great job on your blog. I enjoy reading about your daily life in Poland. Keep writing :)

    Cheers,

    Maciej

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  2. Maciej,
    I do not know you. How did you find our blog?

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  3. Forgot to introduce myself, sorry. :)

    I found your blog by an accident a few months ago and I've been enjoying it ever since. You do provide interesting insights about life in Poland as seen by newcomers :)

    About me... I'm 19, currently a student at Wroclaw University, doing English Studies and enjoying it. :)

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  4. Thank you Maciej,

    When you say you found my blog by accident, what does that mean?

    Also, if you want to write in English and Polish that would be good for my cousins who do not know English :-)

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  5. Well, I was (and am) interested in cross-cultural issues. Once, when I was surfing in the Internet, I decided to google something about Polish-English relations and I found your blog in that way. Guess the Google showed me the way :) And I'm glad it did :)

    Maciej

    Tak więc, byłem (i jestem zainteresowany relacjami międzykulturowymi. Kiedyś, gdy surfowałem po internecie, zdecydowałem się poszukac czegoś na Google o relacjach polsko-angielskich i w ten sposób odnalazłem Wasz blog. Myślę, że Google wskazało mi drogę :) I cieszę się, że to zrobiło :)

    Maciej

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  6. Anonymous10:06 PM

    Well, seems like our circle of readers of David's blog is growing. For sure it is very interesting to learn how someone feels about ones country when seen thru the eyes of person born into different culture but whose ancestors are from places that you heard of or visited at one point or another.

    Wyglada z tego, kolko czytelnikow blogu Dawida sie powieksza. To jest bardzo interesujace, aby poznac poglady kogos kto nie byl urodzony w Twoim kraju a kogo przodkowie pochodza z miejsc ktore kiedys odwidzales .

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  7. Anonymous10:15 PM

    Hi David!

    Maciej gave a very nice explanation to your milk question.

    In the store here (Oregon) I can buy rice milk, soy milk, etc., as well as soups packaged in boxes with a long shelf life and no need for refrigeration. Perhaps the UHT process is used for these products in the U.S. as well.

    This type of packaging system in Poland means that shopkeepers don't have to buy expensive refrigeration equipment for milk. Also, the Polish agricultural system is made up of such small pieces of land that it would be difficult to have large dairy herds. That may be another reason why they use that type of milk preservation system.

    That reminds me -- there is a commercial on TV here in the U.S. for an agricultural feed company. They show a small truck driving to the small individual farms in Poland and delivering bags of feed for various animals. The farmer says he needs two bags of feed for his pigs, but then the horse and dog nudge him and he orders a bag of feed for each of them. It's a real cute commercial that illustrates how this American company is trying to adapt to the needs of smaller Polish farms.

    --Carol

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