An Extremely Delayed Entry

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Hello all.

I should have started this blog months ago. On September 18th I arrived in Krakow, Poland to begin my adventures (and research) for the next 9 months. I am here because out of the goodness of their hearts, the Fulbright folks decided to provide me with financial support which allows me to study here. Thank you, thank you, thank you. In order to see as much of Poland as possible and to study with my advisor, I asked to spend the first half of the year (about til the end of January) in Krakow. Starting in February, I will move to Warsaw. I am in love with both cities...although I must admit I prefer Warsaw for various reasons. One is my personal preference for space. Krakow is charming but difficult to handle sometimes. You would think that a larger city would be more difficult to live in. However, the streets in Krakow are really narrow and therefore people often walk into each other. It takes some getting used to. One of these days I'll return to this entry and fill in the details and post some pix of Krakow (once I take some). It is really cold here now and I am afraid of stopping to take pictures in fear of freezing in place. I admit that I do not take full advantage of the city---like sightseeing and going to the theatre or even going to the movies. I am very happy to have started taking dance lessons. I'm learning both ballroom and latin. I love it!!! I have met more people this way than any other.

The most memorable part of being here so far has been taking a trip to Tunisia. Although it may not be the pretties of all Arab countries that does not take away from the amazing experience I had there. Although I was there only for a week, I think that I saw more within that short period of time than I have in my 2.5 months in Krakow. I took a 2 day trip to the Sahara, rode a camel, and a desert horse. I have pix to prove it... really I'll post them as soon as I figure out why my comp isn't d/ling them from my camera. I also went on a bumpy ride in some jeeps to the site where one of the Star Wars movies was shot. I also visited one of the locations where the English Patient was shot. (It's sort of sad that I have not seen either of these movies) In addition, I took a day trip to Tunis, the Tunisian capital, and Carthage. The view of the Roman ruins was amazing.

Ahh there is so much more to mention. Will try to fill in the gaps and add my impressions soon.

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