Even though I've already mentioned the language barrier in the first post, it's probably worth talking about again. Polish is such a difficult language to read, spell, and pronounce. The words in the title of this post, for example, are the only ones I have "mastered" in two weeks. The first means Thank You, second is Excuse Me, and the third is Good Morning/Afternoon. Also, most places and names around here have enough consonants to keep Vanna White happy...did you know she is 53?? Bad jokes aside, it will always be tough to communicate with the people here, but there is one language that I think we all have understood...food.
I have been surprised at how many Italian restaurants there are in Krakow. I guess it makes sense because it is close to Poland, but, anyways, I have absolutely loved the food here! Everything just seems to be "more real" and full of flavor instead of preservatives. The popular foods in Poland seem to be pierogies, soups, and different breads and sausages. We usually eat out around five times a week and have done a good job of going different places and trying new things. For lunch today, we went to a little hut near the architecture building and got 10 pierogies and a coke for around $3.25! Take that, dollar menu.
The currency in Poland is the zloty, and it is worth about 3 times as much as the US Dollar. In addition, just about everything has been much cheaper than back home. A good beer at a restaurant or bar is always 7 or 8 zloty for a 0.5 Liter glass (only about 3 dollars). Also, with all the visits I've made to Real(the grocery store), I have yet to spend more than 50 or 60 zloty. Even though it still looks like Monopoly money, I'm beginning to get used to the little guys...
Funny Story
We were eating at a Polish restaurant one night(which we have now named "Big Mamas") where you go up to order your food and they call your number when it's ready. It was very good, by the way. We had all ordered, and Tyler was the last to sit down. He sits down and has this ceramic dish with a coca cola logo on it or something. When we told him it was the change tray, he took it back, and we all got a good laugh. Perhaps the funniest part was when he said, "I just thought it was for me to take. She saw me grab it and everything!"
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