Sunday, April 27, 2008

Freiberg, here we come!

I'm going to be honest and say that I've never been more excited to go to the temple. We're going with the members in Poland on a 5-day trip to the Freiberg, Germany temple tomorrow, and I can't wait. It has been SO long since we've gone. I'm also really excited to "rough" it and make a week of it. We're all taking a bus to Freiberg where we'll stay at the temple "hotel," and then we'll start doing sessions on Tuesday. It's going to be such an adventure, especially with Anna in tow. But again, I'm super excited. I'm excited to go to the temple, I'm excited that it's going to be a mega-condensed temple week, and I'm uberexcited to hang out in Germany for a few days. I'm excited to have the experience others have when they don't live 15 minutes from a temple. What a blessing that was.

Anyway, to make sure you're fully updated with every detail of our lives, we'll be back in Poland on Friday, and then we pick up Mom and Dad Scoresby* in Warsaw on Saturday! Wahoo! We can't wait.

*The only picture of my parents that I could find, in a hurry, was one I stole off my sister's blog. Here they are, shown below in a strange photo where my dad is getting interviewed by Good Morning America when they were in New York a couple years ago. My mom is the woman in the green jacket, not the the one with the microphone. Ha.

Friday, April 25, 2008

My Neutrogena Epiphany

Being a foreigner in Poland these past few months has given me pause to reflect on how other cultures seem to subtly weave their way into others. Now there are French clothing stores here, Italian shoe stores, and British grocery stores, but since I'm an American, I have been especially surprised by the amount of American culture found in everyday Poland. This country has seen its share of American music, fashion (Wrangler jeans are big here), literature, cinema, and I even saw a Claire's Boutique jewelry store in Warsaw. What in the world?

Even the plain old English language has made its mark. English is EVERYWHERE. The Polish language has adopted many English words, like “telefon,” “komputer,” “okay,” and “parking” (the Polish word for parking lot). English is on hundreds of products in the stores because so many are imported. It's on billboards, and I even saw the English words “hot” and “cold” written on our friends' bathroom faucet. I am baffled every time I encounter something like this. I like to turn the tables and imagine it the other way around. What if my faucet at home in the U.S. had “hot” and “cold” written in Chinese, or something? What would that be like for us? Would that have any effect on our national identity? If the words were in Spanish, that would be one thing because there is a huge population of Spanish speakers in the States and Mexico is just across the border, but English isn't spoken in a country that's even close to bordering Poland — and there are so many other countries, languages, and cultures in between.

The many imported products vary from kitchen cleanser to toothpaste to Avon products. Some have Polish text on them, others have English on the front with a Polish sticker on the back, but still others surprisingly sport only English, without any other language on them at all. All of this is not to say that I don't love my country or that I'm not proud of its culture or the quality of the products it produces. But it's just strange to see so much of my foreign culture —and more so than any other, it seems — showing up in another country. It's hard not to feel a little bit like a bully.

I continued thinking about this as I was searching for some Neutrogena face wash a while ago, which turned out to be no problem at all. Again I was baffled that no Polish was on the container at all. Surprisingly, it is assumed that Polish people will purchase this product that is described in only a foreign language. And I guess they do. Could you imagine walking into Wal-Mart and buying a product that has only Spanish on it? Because there's a somewhat superior air I've noticed about all things American or English, it's weird feeling like the cool one while still being the odd one out. And it's even weirder feeling embarrassed or even guilty that, because I'm an American, I was partly responsible for the infiltration of another nation's culture. Because there is just so much Americanness around here, I can't help but feel that the Polish culture, whatever that might be, may be suffering, or at least getting overshadowed, somewhat because of it.

Later I scrutinized my container of Neutrogena and was aghast when I saw the words “Norwegian Formula” written at the top. Maybe Neutrogena was really a Norwegian product, and all this time I thought it was American only because it has been around for so long and it has become a part of our culture? Was this the case for the Poles? Did they think this foreign product was essentially Polish? And then I turned the container around and saw that Neutrogena was a division of Johnson & Johnson and my paradigm shifted back into place. It was still from the good ol' US of A like I thought.

I also noticed that there was some Russian text on the back of the facewash, interestingly, and that there were Johnson & Johnson divisions located in Dublin and Paris and this particular face wash was made in France. So there's more going on with world commerce than I'm talking about here or that I even understand in the slightest. And what I'm not saying is that Americans are evil or that all importing is bad. It's kind of a nice idea to see the act of importing as one country sharing the best products it has to offer with other countries, in the hopes that it will increase the business of the former and benefit the lives of the latter — and thereby create a sense of world culture, in addition to individual cultures. But I imagine that this is a rosier picture than things are in reality. And since American culture is so ever-present, it can be unpleasant to see one culture I want to learn about being changed bit by bit into the culture I already know.

So basically, I don't have it all figured out. But it is interesting to see how far you can go with a bottle of Neutrogena facewash.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Christmas in April

Remember when I posted about how I learned that mistletoe is actually a parasite that grows in huge bundles in the trees around here? Well, here are a couple pictures so you can see what I was blathering on about.



Friday, April 18, 2008

When's the last time you thought about American Gladiators?

Trevor and I somehow ended up on this topic the other day and we had a delightful time trying to remember the names of the gladiators we remember from the classic TV show. Tower, Lace, Gemini, Nitro, Blade, Laser, Diamond, Ice, Thunder, Turbo, Storm, Viper, just to name a few. (Okay, so I admit that I had to look them up. I think we only came up with like two of those on our own. But we made up a few that were pretty close.) Doesn't this just take you back to the good old days, when reality TV may have been at its peak? Ah, television just doesn't get much better than this.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

A little whining never hurt anyone...

So I realized not too long ago that we're past the halfway mark of our stay in Poland. Our grant officially ends at the end of August, but, depending on our plans come September, who knows when/if we'll come home. That's kind of a crazy thought. But anyway, on to my point. I somehow figured that since I've had a good six months to contemplate and acclimate to life in Poland, it would be okay to complain (just a little) and share with you a list of things I miss. I also do this in part to give you a little taste as to what everyday life is like here, so this is really more of a philanthropic effort than a bellyache, don't you think? Yes, that's it. I'll follow up with some Polish things that I love so that you don't think Poland is a terrible place and so I don't come off sounding like a complete curmudgeon. (I think that may be the very first time I've ever used that word, and I think I really like it...)

Things I Miss
  • Right now, the #1 thing I miss — far and away — is a microwave. Who likes to warm up food on the stove or in the oven? We do have an electric kettle (for all the tea we're supposed to drink), and I will say that I've come up with some pretty creative ways to use boiling water to warm stuff up. But I really miss a microwave like you wouldn't believe. Spoiled, I know.
  • Drinking water from the tap. It seems like our main task here is just keeping ourselves stocked with water. I always seem to be hauling two five-liter jugs home from the store or sending Trevor out to get some. We have ended up with quite a few empty water bottles, and I think our apartment could become the neighborhood recycling bin. Trevor wants to keep all of the empty bottles until we do something cool with them, so if anyone has any ideas...send them our way.
  • Grandma Sycamore's 100% whole wheat bread. This is just a personal favorite and there's really nothing like it here. Basically no Polish food has preservatives in it, which I guess is a good thing, but that means we have to eat everything super fast and buy bread several times a week. With that said, Polish bread is delicious and I'll go into more detail in a minute. But I do miss soft wheat bread.
  • Seedless grapes. I've already complained enough about this one.
  • A big fridge. We have a mini fridge and a freezer that's about eight inches high and a foot-and-a-half deep. I guess it's a good thing, in a way, since we can't carry home that many groceries anyway, but I still miss a normal-sized fridge. Again, spoiled.
  • Ziploc bags.
  • Brown sugar. I have learned how to make my own from white sugar and molasses, but it still adds another step to the baking process and it's one more hurdle I have to jump over before I get to my chocolate chip cookies. :D
  • Cooking spray. I feel like I cook with so much oil here and it's starting to gross me out.
  • A toaster. We've tried making toast in a skillet and in the oven, and sometimes I feel like it's just more work than its worth. (Note: They do have toasters here, but we're just too cheap to buy one.)
  • Our families and friends. Awwww...
  • My bed. This one is huge. Trevor and I sleep on a couch that lays down into a bed and it's stiff and somewhat of a tight fit. We're finally getting used to each other's knees and elbows, after six months of this, but I miss my soft big bed.
Polish Things That I Love
  • Spreadable cheese. It's so delicious. There are some kinds with herbs, but I love the plain kind smothered on some good Polish bread.
  • Polish bread. Trevor often says that Marjorie Hinckley was quoted as saying that Poland has the best bread she has ever tasted. I believe it. France has some good stuff too, so they may nearly be tied, but I'm currently loving Poland's. There's this kind of braided bread that's a tiny bit sweet that I absolutely love. I could eat a whole loaf in one sitting.
  • Public transportation. While I sometimes miss not having a car, the buses, trams, and trains here are amazing. I realize a lot of it is due to population size and cultural difference, but I'm a little embarrassed for home when I compare them to the UTA and the carpool lane.
  • The bakery across the street. The bread there is especially delicious and I love being able to buy a pastry or two whenever I feel the need for a more enriching Polish experience.
  • I also love that the desserts here aren't overly sweet.
  • Milk on the shelf. This one is also two-sided, because I miss milk that lasts a long time, but I like that I can store milk on the shelf and not crowd my shoebox-sized fridge with a big gallon of it.
  • Fruits stands everywhere the eye can see. Love it. The strawberries are coming and my mouth is already watering.
  • Polish juices. Many are carrot based, which make me feel extra healthy, but some favorites are apple mint, black and red currant, and apple raspberry.
  • A chocolate banana pudding cake (which we found out is actually German) and this Polish apple cake/tart that is to die for. (Do you like how most of these are just good foods that I've tried? I guess I need to branch out a little.)
  • Cheap movies. I think this may be Trevor's favorite part about Poland, but I also love that you can buy them here for like $2 and sometimes cheaper.
So there you go. Was I a complete curmudgeon? I hope not. I will say that while I miss those things and think of them often, it's also refreshing to make do with what we have and we're completely satisfied. It's been nice to live a simpler life.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

A day at the park

I love spring! I love being able to go outside without putting Anna in an entire spacesuit of a snowsuit (does that even make sense?). I love that I don't have to wear a coat that I have to step into because the zipper's broken and that also has a giant hole in one of the pockets and a tear down one of the seams. I love the warmer weather and seeing the leaves starting to grow on the trees. It's a beautiful thing.

Here are a few pictures from our outing to the park yesterday.

Sadly, this is one of the things that Anna refers to as "playing." She LOVES to sit on the steps outside our apartment door and just sit. She'll sit down suddenly, as we're on our way down, and then she'll pat the space next to her so I know to come sit down too.

This is a picture of a smaller park on our way to a bigger park. The taller building on the left is our apartment building.

I love this picture because this is what Anna spends most of her time doing when we go outside. She greets everyone with a loud "Czesc! [Hi!]" and waves "Pa pa! [Bye bye!]" to them when we go. She yells it loudly so that EVERYONE hears. And she starts saying it the minute we walk out the door. I think it's amazingly smart of her that she knows to say her Polish words outside, where the people actually speak Polish.


My favorite of the day.