And the Top 10 Best Things about Living in Poland are... (drum roll please, Paul)

So, since my last post kind of dealt with some of what's hard about living overseas, I've decided to post a list of my 10 favorite things about Poland.



10) The peanut butter!!! If you know me at all, you know that I am a peanut butter fiend...crunchy PB, smooth PB, PB ice cream, PB cake, PB fudge, PB topping on ice cream, PB mikshakes, basically, if it's made with PB, I'm all over it like white on bread...the PB here is really good, it's kind of natural tasting. It makes me happy.
9) Fresh Bread--there is a bread bakery (called a piekarnia)on almost every corner here. You can buy the most delicious rolls made with sunflower seeds for the equivalent of about 30 cents. AND the piekarnia ladies are really sweet and patient with us.
8) Tortilla chips---yes, that's right, tortilla chips here in Poland. The brand is called "Casa Fiesta" and for whatever reason, they taste different here and are my favorite. We have a standing order on Patsy's grocery list to pick us up a bag, since they're only sold at the grocery store near her flat. She's our supplier.
7) Walking--obviously, we don't have a car here and rely on public transportation, however, to get to the stops for the public transportation, we do lots of walking. I have actually enjoyed it during the winter, so I really can't wait for spring! It slows the pace of life down a bit, which I really like.
6) Being an aunt--as I posted earlier, it's great to be an aunt to Abby, Cara, and Becca
5) The history--I love history, and the history here is amazing. I've only really seen Olsztyn and a small part of Warsaw, but I'm planning to get out and see more as the weather gets better.
4) Seeing babies in snowsuits--I think babies and little kids are SO stinking cute all bundled up in snowsuits and you see them all over here. At first, it kind of took me by surprise to see babies out in any weather (when it rains or snows, they literally put this plastic zippered covering over the baby stroller and keep on walking!), but it's just what you do here and, amazingly enough, the babies survive and don't "catch their death of cold"! However, if a child so much as steps across the thresh hold of their home without a hat on their head in cold weather, every grandmother in a five mile radius will quickly come by and chide the mother. They're serious about covering children's heads here!
3) Cooking--there are few frozen meals here, and what few there are are nothing to be excited about SO we've had to get creative with cooking. So far, it's been great. We've made some great meals and have only ruined one pot, and that was making popcorn! I have really enjoyed learning to cook more and am even planning to attempt bagels tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes.
2) Outerwear fashions--I suppose it comes from the fact that you have to be covered pretty much from head to toe for at least 5 months of the year, but there is a huge array of outerwear fashions here that I love! There are hundreds of styles of hats and scarves and coats and boots you never know what you might see next!
1) Of course, the people-I've met some great people here and have been so blessed by so many helpful, kind, and patient people. It sounds corny or obvious, but people are people. They may speak a different language and have different customs and traditions, but people deal with the same issues and same concerns here as anywhere else in the world.