You Might be a Loser If...

So, the other night Amber and I were sitting around munching on some M&Ms. We were discussing the new colors that they came out with several years ago and how silly it was that there used to be dark brown and tan. Why two browns? I then commented that I knew someone--I couldn't remember who--who only liked the brown M&Ms because they seemed more like real chocolate. This mystery person didn't think chocolate should be other colors than brown.
Amber looked at my for a second, then said "Jess, I think that's Matthew McConaughey in The Wedding Planner".
Hmmm...sure enough, that's who I was thinking of. Gosh, I really need to get out more.

Meet Kid Sis

You may have noticed that I often refer to "we" when I write about things going on here. I do work with a team of 12 other Americans, but the vast majority of my time here is spent with Amber. She is my roomate/teammate/friend/kid sis/partner in crime and just all around great girl =) One of the first things you'll notice if you spend any amount of time around Amber is that she definitely has an ornery side and you know you're loved when she feels comfortable enough to let that orneriness loose! I caught some photos of Amber's favorites in action, although as a disclaimer I must first mention that these photos are dramatic reenactments. No Team Northeast Poland team members were harmed during the process.

#1-The Seatbelt Tug-If you are ever sitting in front of Amber in one of our team's big white VW vans, fully expect her to pull on the seatbelt. As you can see, Patsy is the recepient here and Amber seems to be quite enjoying herself.
#2--The Bathroom Light Switch--I have to say, in all honesty, one of the strangest things about Polish life is the fact that the light switches for the bathrooms are almost always outside of the bathroom. It didn't take long for Amber to realize what fun this could be. This trick has become an Amber Trademark and has spread throughout our team, even to the kids! (I will add that Amber always turns the light back on, but that is unfortunately not always the case when the kids do it!) I think it's her personal favorite and, for the record, she does not discriminate: men, women, children, Americans, Poles, family, friends, guests, Americans, Poles, young, old...all are fair game.

#3--The Croc Kick--As far as I know, I'm the only one on the team who's experienced this one. This action shot was taken from my desk chair and Amber is standing in the doorway to her bedroom. I've had to take cover many a times from flying Crocs.
#4--The Shoulder Tap--Ok, as I said before, all of these pictures are dramatic reenactments. But, sadly, this picture is often pretty close to reality. I've lived with Kid Sis for almost 16 months, yet I still fall for this waaaayyyyy too often. It's one of the originals and, again, a classic Amber Trademark which has been passed on to other team members. Would you believe that Patsy got me with this one just this past Sunday at church!? At church for crying out loud!!

I hope you enjoyed catching a glimpse of some of Amber's favorite moves. All joking aside, I really am so thankful and so blessed to be here with her. I really don't know what I would have done here living by myself. Our teammates sometimes call her my "Kid Sis", but she really does feel like a sister. It's not always easy living here (or anywhere in America, for that matter!), but it helps so much to have someone here to go through this experience with. She's always got a listening ear, a smile or laugh to cheer, CNN updates to share, a song to sing, perspective to share, an eagerness to help out in any way, and that human GPS thing going on! I'd still be wandering the streets of Olsztyn trying to find my way home if I were on my own! We have spent much time talking, crying, thinking, planning, praying, and LOTS of time laughing. Like I said, I'm so thankful the Lord knew what we would both need in sending us somewhere where we'd be together. He is aware of our needs and, just like a good Father, faithfully provides. He even knew I'd need a friend with some orneriness to keep me laughing. =)

Malbork Castle

Things have been a little crazy around here lately, and I sometimes feel a bit like Brutus when she chases her tail. (and, for the record, I had never actually seen a dog do that until I met Brutus. She's special) =) So, yesterday, we decided to take a little break and head out of town for the day. Amber, Patsy, Alethea and I jumped on a train Saturday morning and, about two hours later, arrived in the town of Malbork to see the Malbork castle. The castle was built in the late 13th century and was the fortress for the Teutonic Knights...and, if you know what that really means, feel free to let me know! I do know that they were a Germanic Roman Catholic order of Knights that were responsible for many of the crusades in the Middle Ages and had a strong presence and influence here in Poland(thank you Wikipedia!).
Anyhoo...we spent a few hours walking through the castle and checking things out. The things I noticed were that it was COLD and dark! I have no idea how people back in the day survived the harsh Polish winters without adequate heat and inside a drafty, dark, damp castle. I was also amazed at how large this castle is. There are no pictures to effectively capture the enormisity of this place! However, I tried to capture a few to share with you.

This is a drawbridge over a moat.
This picture is what the castle looked like after WW2, when the Germans retreated and pretty much destroyed most of Poland. Many of the places were able to be rebuilt based on old paintings and photos, but you can still tell where newer brick and materials were used to repair the damage.
Ok, so I don't think the Teutonic Knights drove Dodge Ram trucks, but this was as exciting for me to see as an 800 year old castle. We don't see many trucks around here and it was a sight for sore eyes =)
This is by no means a full shot of the side wall of the castle, but all that would fit in the picture!

Some Random Pictures (and how many times have I used "random" in a title on here!)

As usual, it's been a while since my last post. It seems like things here are just the same old, same old, so I have a hard time thinking of anything interesting to post about. Well, for the record, I still haven't found anything too interesting to post about, but here I go anyways! These are just some random things pictures of some of the things that have been going on the past couple of weeks.

This past Monday was absolutely gorgeous. It was one of the few days lately that have inspired the hope that, yes, spring really may show up here! In honor of the beautiful day, Amber and I went into Old Town to a coffee shop to get a cup of coffee and sit outside and work on planning english lessons for the week. Mondays are our "get organized" day. We use that day to go to the grocery store, bank, post office, and things like that, as well as plan our lessons for the week. We also meet with Ala and Nina that night, so it often turns out to be quite a busy day. But, it was so refreshing to be able to enjoy some fresh air while we worked on plans.
Last week, there was a team of seven Americans from Arkansas who came to prayer walk for the week. They were great people and it was a huge blessing to get to spend some time with them. Amber and I didn't get to actually go out with them as they prayer walked, as we were busy teaching classes! But, we did get to spend some time with them in the evenings for meals. On Thursday, they came to Nowe Kawkowo and Szalstry and prayed for the people while we taught classes. After our class in Szalstry, one of the men there had prepared cucumber soup and served it to all of us! It was DELICIOUS. And this Thursday, he had prepared a traditional Polish dish called Bigos, along with some really good cake. Amber, Bryan, and I were treated to two helpings of Bigos. It was delicious and we didn't have to cook dinner when we got back! This town is like a breath of fresh air. It's beautiful. There is a small lake, it's right near the forest, the people are so friendly, and it's totally quiet. We were there one day a few weeks ago and, as we stood still, the only sound we could hear was the sound of the wind in the trees. It was wonderful.
This is a sign inside the swietlica (like a community center where they hold an after-school program) in Szalstry. Do you know what these letters are? These are all of the vowels used in the Polish language. Looks pretty fun, huh? I will say this though: the letters don't have different sounds for certain words, as ours do in English. It's pretty hard to explain why 'a' sounds so different in the words "bat" and "car", you know?! It really doesn't make sense, and I have a whole new compassion for people who are learning english!
And, last but certainly not least, Nina, Ala, and introducing Stefan Tweety. I answered the door Monday night to welcome Nina and Ala for our meeting and, lo and behold, there was Ala holding a giant inflatable Tweety, almost as big as she is! Nina had brought Tweety back from Warsaw as a gift for Ala and Ala wanted him to meet her American friends. So, he sat in on our conversation. And, yes, she gave him a name. She said there were too many Tweetys in the world, and he might get confused with the others, so she named him Stefan Tweety! How fun is that?!? I seriously love hanging out with these girls. They are so fun and it's great to have some friends just to be goofy with.

Axl Rose in Poland!?!?!

The first time I noticed this guitar was about a month ago in Jemiolowo. We walked in one wintry, cold afternoon and some of the kids were playing around with this guitar. They looked like they were having fun, so Marcin jumped in with his own efforts on the guitar.

I didn't really think much about it, and the guitar resurfaced here and there over the past month or two, until we walked into the meeting room this past week and I caught one of the girls strumming a little ditty. Well, as well as she could strum with several of her fingers wrapped up in a bandage.

The big surprise came as I peeked closer at the guitar. I looked closer and, lo and behold, there was Axl Rose staring back at me on the guitar! I mean, if that wasn't a photo op I don't know what is! So, while this is a totally meaningless and pointless post, enjoy a few photos of the Jemiolowo Axl Rose Guitar...I mean, you just don't see one of those every day.