Let me first start by saying that I have eaten the BEST PIEROGI I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE in Warsaw. I went to the same place twice during my 3 days in Warsaw. OMG -- delicious! Just like grandma used to make. OK, well, not MY grandma, but SOMEONE'S grandma, I'm sure. Now, I don't have that much experience with traditional Polish food -- especially since I was eating whatever was served to me while I was in Sz...but I know that "traditional" Polish food includes these dumplings, filled with all sorts of yummy stuff. I had the "sampler" [View Full Entry]

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OK, I finally have a few moments to write the answer to the question you may (or may not) have been wondering about -- just what the heck brought me to Poland in the first place? The truth is, I was in Vilnius, Lithuania last year...I was so close to Poland and thought to myself (and out loud, to others when I got back) that Poland was next on my list. Well, I have found that if you tell enough people something, then it kinda makes you want to follow through with your plans. Having volunteered teaching English for three weeks [View Full Entry]

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Although I am in Warsaw, I am using this time to catch up on the things I couldn't blog about b/c of lack of computer access in the village...I am still working on the one that will answer the question "Just what the heck were you doing for the past week?" But, until then, I thought I would share some pictures of some of the trips I took last weekend with the group, when were taking a break from our labors. Not the most uplifting trips, but SO important. I have learned about the Holocaust my entire life, it seems, and [View Full Entry]

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I am actually sitting in an internet cafe in Warsaw...I arrived from Lublin today via sherut. Okay, in Poland it's not called a sherut. But in Israel it is, and if you have been to Israel then you know what I mean. If you haven't been to Israel, it is a shared taxi/minibus thing that's the same price as the regular bus, but faster and more comfortable. Good thing it was faster, because I made the huge mistake of drinking a whole bottle of water just before we departed (it was hot! and I didn't feel well!). About halfway through the [View Full Entry]

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Okay, so I am not really in Szczebrzeszyn at the moment (I say "Shebreshin", even though it is really Sh-che-brizh-eshyn, but the title sounds better than "Shabbat in Zwierzyniec", which I still have no idea how to pronounce). I apologize for the brevity of the entry, and the ommission of many details that I would love to share with you about my experience in Poland so far. But I am at the public library in Zwierzyniec (which I will abbreviate "Z" because it is way too hard to spell) and there is a long line of teenagers waiting to check their [View Full Entry]

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Anyone want to go ballonfahrten? Hee, hee. I laughed when I saw a huge ad for BALLONFAHRTEN! I have to apologize for no pictures -- I am not at a place where I can upload them -- I will try later on in the week. After almost missing my flight to Berlin (seems to be a running theme here -- what should have taken me 1 hour actually took me 2 1/2 hours), I made it here on Saturday. I had been planning to stay at a hostel and do some sightseeing on my own, but the volunteer organization I am [View Full Entry]

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One thing's for sure -- London is cold. Ooops. Guess it was just hard to imagine a chill in the air while I was sweating my butt off just walking to check the mail in Austin. I am hoping I will get by -- the sun is managing to shine a bit. That being said, I am having a lovely time in London (even though I am wearing the same thing every day). My hosts, the newly-wed John and Nicole, live in Notting Hill, right off Portabello Road, home of the famous Portabello Market. Which works out for me b/c every [View Full Entry]

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For my last and final blog of Summer 2005, I would like to offer some observations...most of which I came up with while trying to get back home: Most useless thing I brought: My Nalgene bottle, b/c you can't drink water from the tap unless you want to get sick in the middle of the city and have nowhere to go to the bathroom...not that it happened to me, of course :) Most useful thing I brought: eyeshades and earplugs, digital camera and card reader. Wish I brought: Less stuff. Highest point: Literally, the highest point -- getting to the top [View Full Entry]

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Even though I am writing to you from Riga, the blog is all Vilnius. I had a long bus ride (more on that later) to think about my time in Vilnius, and my time in the Baltics in general. And this is what I came up with (based on an article I read recently about traveling being a lot like dating): If the Baltic capitals were all men in my life, the following would be true: Tallin, I would call up when I wanted a night of class and culture...some theater, maybe a nice coffee on a terrace somewhere. Tallinn and [View Full Entry]

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Everyone's blogging, are you??? I started this last week, but am just finishing it up today (August 1st!) I am sitting in my hostel on a Friday night...I have had a full day of playing tourist and my feet are killing me (although I just gave myself a mini-pedicure in the hostel bathroom...people think I am nuts). I arrived in Riga on Thursday after a half-day of travelling. I left from the city of Tartu, then had a 3 hour "layover" in Parnu while I waited for the bus. Thank God for LEFT LUGGAGE. At 25 kroons, it was the best [View Full Entry]

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