Bitter cold and how to see the New World

So it's been a month since I've posted anything here. I've been bad at keeping up; between the new baby, school, and going to Belgium and Luxembourg I've gotten a little behind. I'm not going to attempt to catch up all at once; that would just delay my posting further. This post is intended to cover up to February 29th, when I left for Belgium. I will write about my experiences visiting EU and NATO institutions in Belgium and Luxembourg over the next few weeks.

First, some talk of the weather. February was the coldest month so far in Poland since my arrival. Overall it had been a very mild winter thus far, and I had been whining about not getting enough snow, etc. Then it got really cold. Cold enough that quite a few people died across Eastern Europe. I was very glad I had a warm place to sleep.


And here is an example of political speech opportunities only available in winter:


It says: Tylko idiota na prezydenta (Only an idiot for president).

This was my first time experiencing any real severe cold weather. I made a late run to Tesco to pick up a few things during the worst of it. I was under the mistaken impression that the metro ran later than it did, so to get home I had to take one of the night buses, which meant a longer walk. Having the mucus in your nose freeze and your tears forming icicles on your eyelashes is quite a strange experience for a man who grew up in sunny Southern California and served a mission in the tropics.

We recently had an activity for the youth of our church. We got to enjoy a nice selection of indoor climbing walls. Here's me at the top:


Something I love about my faith is our emphasis on service. Last month I went out with some of the other men from my church to help insulate a home from the cold just outside of Warsaw proper.


We fixed a broken window and sealed the others so it would hold heat better. It's a very satisfying feeling to be able to help someone in need. Oddly enough, our group included an economist, a composer, an international relations student and a contractor. I guess at least one of us knew what we were doing. The neighborhood was an amazing contrast- we were only half an hour out of the city center by train but the area looked and felt like a totally different place. I need to make time to see more outside the capital.

Paul always likes to have his picture taken, so here's a random shot of him:


I got to go to the orientation for the new Fulbrighters arriving this semester. It was nice to welcome the newcomers. After the meeting we had a very nice lunch at La Bodega on Nowy Świat near the Fulbright Commission.


The really funny thing is, this restaurant is in the bottom floor of what used to be the headquarters of the Communist Party of Poland:


Which brings me to a classic Polish joke. The Party headquarters were on ulica Nowy Świat (New World Street). So the Poles would say, "If you turn your back on the Party, you can see the New World!"

My study of Polish is moving right along. I was recently invited to skip ahead to the next level at Polonicum from second semester A1 to second semester A2. It's made the classes a lot more challenging but I'm learning a lot more.

I got a nasty cold the weekend right before I left for Belgium, but I was very lucky in that it had mostly passed by the time I actually left. If I had been still sick it would have been a lot more difficult to enjoy that marvelous week. More on that to come!

Martin comes to the world

Well its been quite an eventful two weeks. Finals are over, finally... I haven't gotten all my final grades yet but I think I did well. I wrote three papers in about 9 days over a two week period. If any of you are interested in reading any of those papers, here they are:

1. Answering the Call to Arms: A Study of Conscription

2. The Costs of Agricultural Trade Barriers

3. Regime Analysis of Poland

In the eternal scheme of things, something else is much more important: My son Martin was born Tuesday, January 24th, weighing in at 3.8 kg and measuring 59 cm in length. We used a midwife at the Medicover hospital. Medicover has a lot of English-speaking staff so that made things easier. I was a lot more comfortable with doing a midwife assisted birth because we knew if something went wrong all the doctors were just down the hall. We had no complications and mother and child are both doing very well. Annika did great with an all natural birth. Martin was able to schedule his entry to the world in between two of my exams so I didn't have to miss anything ;).

Here are some pictures:


"Why are you doing this to me?"


"I was in a nice, warm, dark and quiet place and you made me come out!"


Martin is camera shy since birth.


Here Martin is with his mom, one day old.


Visiting Mommy in the hospital can get boring after a while, because Mommy and Daddy just yak and yak and yak. Good thing Portal 2 runs on the laptop.


Paul meets Martin for the first time.


I saw this on the way to to hospital to take Annika home. It means "Jesus loves you." I have a feeling that the man upstairs would prefer this message to be delivered in a way that doesn't involve graffiti...


Naturally, Martin has to be initiated to one of Paul's favorite games. Here is Martin's first attempt at UNO.


Martin has begun his life of crime, and now he pays his debt to society behind bars.


And here he is just chillin.

The new semester starts on Monday, so the craziness begins anew. At least I have two little warm fuzzy dispensers now to help me get through it. As it is, I can at least remember that I am 25% of the way through graduate school. I've just got to keep on truckin...

Pyromania, an Anniversary and Finals

We've gotten enough snow that I don't feel gipped anymore.


Unfortunately after a week of nice snow it started warming up just enough to turn it all to a slushy mess.

It's been a busy three weeks since I last posted. I chartered the first Varsity Scout team in Poland back in December so our branch's young men could still advance in Scouting while abroad. We had our first official campout January 6th.

We must have been seriously jinxed. We were leaving fairly early in the morning so we wouldn't have to set up camp in the dark (the sun was setting at like 330 pm or so). We had gotten just enough snow that morning to make the Armstrong's stairs quite slippery, something I discovered when said stairs brutally ambushed my back. It provided some entertainment for Jake, who was right behind me when I fell. Concrete stairs don't have very good lumbar support.

We drove out to our campsite, which was a wooded fenced lot about an hour from the city owned by Dominik's family. Upon arrival, Dominik's key broke in the lock, so instead of driving in, we had to hop the fence with all our gear.

Eventually we got there.


It was a very nice area to camp. Unfortunately it took me absolutely forever to get the fire started. Maybe I'm just a little rusty since my days of winter camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Once we got it going, though, we were in business. You can't find marshmallows easily here in Poland, so s'mores aren't really an option.


However, kielbasa is something that is very easy to find. We roasted four different kinds and ate pretty well.

Every Scout knows that the real reason we go on campouts is so we have a good excuse to play with fire, right?


The bigger the better. There was a lot of brush laying around that gave us some nice big flames.

After the sun went down we had a great time playing some wilderness games until it really got cold. About an hour after we went to bed, Dominik got really sick and we ended up having to break camp in the dark, get everything back over the fence and get everyone home.

Hopefully our next campout will go a little smoother. We still had a great time, all things considered.

On the 13th Annika and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. I guess she hasn't gotten tired of me yet ;). It's hard to believe I've been married for five years. We went to the Magiel Cafe in Mokotów to celebrate. We got to try some rabbit and carp. It turns out that Little Bunny Foo Foo is very tasty in a good mustard sauce!

Later that evening some of the ladies from church set up a baby shower for us.


Paul got to help open stuff so he was a happy camper. We are very grateful for their generosity. We're a lot better equipped for the baby now that may come any day.


On a slightly more random note, Paul has decided that the crust is the best part of the pizza, and has started eating his crust first. I guess there's no wrong way to eat a pizza ;).

As for me, I'm halfway through finals and trying very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Almost done with the first semester of grad school; it has certainly flown by. Hopefully the baby will be accommodating and wait until my exams are done before he comes into the world.

Wesołych Swiąt!

A few days before Christmas we got a tiny bit of snow:


It wasn't quite enough to cover the grass completely, and it melted very quickly. I had expected the winters here to be far colder, because Poland is on the same latitude as Canada. It's been a pretty mild winter so far.

I was at a supermarket getting some last minute things before Christmas. I saw several different kinds of piernik in huge quantities sitting by the bakery. This was something that wasn't normally there, so I rightly guessed that it must be a Polish christmas tradition. I picked one up and brought it home.


I then got out a dictionary and figured out that piernik means gingerbread. I was so disappointed; I've never liked American gingerbread, and now I had a brick of gingerbread. I tried it with very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was delicious! It was a much moister gingerbread than I am used to, and the ginger was strong enough to be a nice accent without overpowering it. At least in my view the Poles make far better gingerbread than Americans.

We had a young men's activity at the Armstrong's during the week before Christmas. The highlight of the event was Dominik Lyzwinski receiving his mission call.


Dominik will be serving as a missionary for our church for two years in the Tacoma Washington Mission in the Northwestern United States. Lucky for him he is already fluent in English. It was exciting to find out where he is going. He leaves in May.

Christmas Eve we hosted a brunch for the Fulbrighters that were still here in Warsaw during the Christmas season. We got to meet Dara Weinberg's brother and his girlfriend while they were in town visiting her, and our friend Nathan Wood and his family were also able to join us.


It was great to get together. Paul certainly had a ball playing with Nathan's kids. He doesn't get to play with other children that frequently so this was quite exciting for him.


That evening we were invited to a shepherd's dinner with the Armstrongs and the Picketts.


The shepherd's dinner is a family tradition for the Armstrongs (who are attached to the embassy here). It means lots of finger food by candle light, reading the Christmas story and then having the kids do a nativity. It was a very enjoyable evening and made it a lot easier to be so far from home during Christmas. We are so glad to have such good people as friends here in Poland. I think we will adopt this tradition for our own family.

Here are some of the Armstrongs:


And here are the Picketts:


Brother Pickett is here helping develop Poland's shale gas resources.

Paul had a blast playing with the Armstrong kids:


He was very sad when it was time to go home.

Christmas morning finally came.


Paul was very excited to find Santa had put an apple in his stocking.


Paul has always loved his matchbox cars, which are always scattered around the apartment. Now he has a place to park some of them.


I think Paul enjoyed his Christmas.

We spent New Year's Eve with some of our D&D friends. It was a very pleasant evening, with great food and great company. I met a man from South Africa. All we are missing is someone from Asia and we have the whole globe covered!

I've been spending the short Christmas break trying to catch up a little on school and get some chill time before school starts back up again tomorrow. At my university the semester doesn't end until the end of January, so there's still a lot left to do. I miss having the semester over before the holidays. Finals will be coming right around the same time my second son is supposed to be born, so things are going to be a little hectic for a while. Hopefully Annika won't go into labor during an exam!

Helping old ladies and an invitation to Brussels

Last Sunday we were invited to enjoy some stampot, a traditional Dutch food, with our Dutch friends. It turned into a very multinational potluck that was a lot of fun. Our Italian friend was kind enough to make a variation of tiramisu without coffee or alcohol so we could enjoy that too. I brought a peach cobbler to bring a taste of America. Paul quickly made friends with the young daughter of our friend from Finland.



When she first arrived, I told Paul to go say hello to her. He went over, didn't say a word and instead just gave her a kiss. Already starting to pick up chicks at age 3.

Wednesday I was on a bus with a driver who was hitting his brakes a lot harder than normal. I was sitting down reading a textbook when he hit the brakes hard. An older woman was walking down the aisle and wasn't holding on to anything at that particularly inopportune moment. I saw her falling in my peripheral vision and reacted quickly enough to catch her before she fell. I figured that move is worth helping three old women across the street in karma. It seemed like it was going to be a good day.


Sure enough later that evening I got some very good news. It turns out that the Polish Fulbright Commission has selected me to travel to Brussels to attend a Seminar on the European Union. It will be hosted by the Belgium Fulbright Commission at the end of February. I had applied back in October. During the course of the seminar, I will get to see the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, visit the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament in Brussels, and see SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, AKA NATO headquarters) in Mons. There will also be many discussions on issues facing the EU and NATO. I am looking forward to getting to travel to Western Europe and meet more incredible people. What an exciting opportunity this will be.

Friday we had our mid-year Fulbright meeting in Warsaw. Many of our group had to travel a long way. For me it was quite convenient since we live here in the city.



We had a very nice lunch at a nearby restaurant afterward. Annika and Paul were able to go with me. However, Paul fell asleep right after his pumpkin creme soup, slept through the main course, and woke up in time for apple strudel.



On Saturday I was at the main University of Warsaw library and I noticed this large plaque for the first time:



I thought it was pretty cool that there was a marker for Senator Fulbright, whose program has made it possible for me to experience Poland.

It was a very busy and enjoyable week. I am learning a lot and gaining a wider perspective every day.

Learning Polish and three-year-old (in)sanity

Sometimes I get so involved in my routine that I forget I'm in a European capital.

Then I look at a street sign and see three embassies nearby.

I've been spending a lot of time learning Polish, and the grammar is beginning to make sense to me. If I can take my time, I can usually figure out what case to use, for example. If I have a chance to rehearse in my mind what I'm going to say, it usually comes out properly. The other day I was at an office supply store. There were a number of things I had not been able to find elsewhere so I had to ask the clerk some questions. I was able to clearly communicate with good pronunciation (at least to my ear). The clerk was impressed, and said, "You speak Polish very well." Then I had to go off my rehearsed script to try to answer her follow-up questions, and suddenly I couldn't communicate anymore. I thought it was ironic that right after someone complimented my Polish I lost the ability to speak it ;).

I try to just go with the flow when I can't understand something. Today I was doing some grocery shopping. As I was entering the building, I saw an older man approaching. He wasn't right behind me, but I waited for him anyway and held the door. I didn't really think about it. Anyway after he got inside he put his arm around me and then said something I didn't understand at all. I caught rodzice (parents) in there somewhere, but that was all. So, from the context, I can guess what he might be saying, but I don't really know. He was obviously pleased. I think at this point what I need mostly is just lots more practice and a wider vocabulary.

Thanksgiving came and went. I wasn't feeling well on the actual day. We ended up celebrating it on Sunday with our friend Doug. Since our fridge is so tiny I figured a turkey would be a little much for us so I roasted a duck instead. It was nice to carry on an American tradition on this side of the pond.

Speaking of traditions, my family always sets up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Often for us that was a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving itself. We kept that up here. Paul was very excited to set up the Christmas tree and had a very hard time waiting for me to get home from my service project that morning (I was continuing the work on the roof I spoke about last time).



As you can see, we got a very small tree, but it's big enough to give us some holiday spirit and get Paul excited.

It's been cold enough that Paul hasn't gotten out as much as he would like. A three-year-old that gets cooped up for too long starts to go a little crazy, but we do what we can to restore his sanity.



Amazon UK brought us a gift for Paul. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I couldn't bring myself to make him wait. It's a great way for me to spend time with him; there's nothing quite like attacking a castle with alien spaceships with Daddy. Building stuff with blocks like this was one of my very favorite things to do as a child, and I still remember all the best designs for spaceships from my childhood.



And when Paul goes really crazy, we just make him a killer robot and turn him loose to wreak havoc on our humble abode.

Conferences and Rooftop Service

Another very busy week.


We live on the first floor of our building (effectively three stories up over a business) so our view isn't that great. This week I went up to the top of our building to take some pictures so you can see the area in which we live.


You can see a little greenspace in both these pictures. Right in the middle of the city, there is an area set aside for small private garden plots. This is a common practice here. This next shot is from the top of my building looking down at the plot next to us:


On Monday the Fulbright Commission sponsored an Education USA event:


I got to meet some interesting professors, and then I was on a panel with other Fulbrighters to answer questions about American universities from Polish students considering study abroad. An enjoyable time with some great catered Polish food.

On Wednesday, Dr. Benjamin Barber, an American political theorist and Harvard PhD, came to give a lecture hosted by the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism at the University of Warsaw. The lecture was called "The Power of Money and the Crisis in Democracy: From Greece to the Occupy Wall." It was a very interesting lecture, and at the end he took time for questions. He had talked a lot about the economic crisis of the United States, and so I asked him if he thought we should have let the banks that had made irresponsible decisions fail so that the banks that had been more conservative in their lending practices could take a greater market share and the bad banks be forced out of the business.

His response was very interesting. He commented on how some of the banks were so big that if they were to fail, there would be systemic consequences (an argument I've heard many times before). But then he said something I did not expect. "You've heard of the expression, 'too big to fail.' Well if a business is too big to fail, it is too big to exist." His point was that regulators should be more aggressive in preventing such businesses from getting so big in the first place, so that the competitive market can do its job to ensure efficiency without the systemic issues we had discussed.


After the lecture, I got to ask him some additional questions. It was great to get to meet him. Some of his writings have been required reading in a lot of my courses and he is a gifted speaker.

Lately it's been a little too cold for me to feel very much like taking Paul out to the playground, and when he goes too long without getting out he gets a little stir crazy in our small apartment.


Lucky for us the Galeria Mokotów is heated. I took Paul with me and let him wander, staring at the animals at the pet store and the fountain. That seemed to give him some sanity back.


My Polish professor recently told me that the building that we've been meeting in is a former nobleman's palace. This photo above is a shot of the entrance. Lots of detailed carvings are in the woodwork inside as well.

Saturday morning I went with some members of my church to help on a service project. The home of an older man in our congregation had been severely damaged by fire. The building was originally a small factory for airplane parts that had been built in the 1920s. Our job was to remove what was left of the previous roof and get the new roof frame into place.


This picture is of Brother Leitner, the man we were helping, hanging from one of the very heavy frames:


It was very hard work and my muscles have yet to forgive me for putting them through it. Still, it was a great opportunity for Christlike service to our fellow man. I believe we are all created in the image of God, and when we seek opportunities to serve other people, we are forming our character in the image of God as well. We got all the frames up to the top of the building and we are hoping to finish the rest of the roof this coming week.