Cultural Smack Down

Ok, so it's been about a week since I last posted...and I really do intend on writing a real post eventually. But, until then, I thought I'd share this little story with you all for a little laugh and insight into Polish culture.
Some of you have asked, or maybe haven't asked but lie awake at night wondering, what we eat here. Well, for the most part, we eat the same kinds of things that we'd eat in the States. Actually, I think I eat better here because we actually cook. Cereal and peanut butter sandwiches (or a trip down the street to my parent's house or to Brandi's house!) were o so convenient back in America. Also, there was always the luxury of jumping in my car and driving down to Subway or picking up some quick and easy pre-prepared meal at Wal-Mart. No such luck here. So, needless to say, we've been learning to cook, which has been great. We've got some great chicken recipes, some good soups, always enjoy Mexican (we can buy tortillas here and there is a World Kitchen store that sells refried beans...unless your other teammates beat you to the store and buy them ALL!), a veggie sandwich that's delish, a pear and feta sandwich, apple pie, homemade pretzels, peanut butter cookies, pastas...the list goes on. I've really enjoyed learning to cook and Amber and I will have quite a collection of recipes when we're through here. HOWEVER, while we eat foods similar to those in the States, the Poles typically eat just what you'd think they eat...meat, cabbage, and lots and lots of potatoes. Keep this fact in mind.
So, the other day we decided to finally make the trek across town to check out the market that's held bi-weekly in Olsztyn. It's a cross between a flea market (you know what they say: one man's trash is another man's treasure!) and a farmer's market. There were people selling antiques, old clothes, shoes, cosmetics, meat, and fruits and vegetables. It was a beautiful day and turned out to be a great opportunity for Amber and I to practice our Polish skills. We bought some fruit, made some new friends, and just enjoyed shopping around. Everything was going wonderfully. We were understanding some of the language and successfully managed to buy some peaches, apples, the head of a sunflower, and some pears. The only thing we were missing was potatoes. So, feeling fairly confident and impressed (if I do say so myself) with ourselves, we sauntered over to a man and a woman at a table selling potatoes. There were several tables selling potatoes, but we chose this particular table because there were no other customers (so maybe we weren't that confident in our language skills!). So, I give her my classic cheezy "I'm an American and I can hardly speak your language...please be merciful" smile and ask for 2 potatoes. Easy enough, right? WRONG! This is exactly where the cultural difference between two American girls and the Poles comes into play. I see the lady pick up a huge white bucket and the 2 kilo weight to put on the scale. At this point the alarm sounded in my head...she intended to give us 2 kilograms of potatoes!!! For all of you non-metric people, that's 4.5 pounds of potatoes for two girls...who are taking public transportation! Now, for the Poles, this is nothing...this is probably one meal. We just wanted two baked potatoes. I quickly spoke up and said "no, not 2 kilos, only 2". She stopped what she was doing, looked at me as though I had lobsters crawling out of my ears, and laughed quite possibly the loudest and hardest I've ever heard a Pole laugh...until her boisterous laughter was drowned out by the man with her.
This would be what Amber has coined a "cultural smack down...WWF Monday Night Raw style".

I'm glad we could provide a good story for the potato sellers to share around their dinner table that night...as they passed the potatoes.