Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why.

I am actually as long as i have my new smart phone in my pocket.

the darkness is ahead

Yesterday I was living my house at 5 pm and it was pitch dark. With the time change a couple of weeks ago it gets darker earlier in the day and I am already thinking about the Norwegian/Finnish solution: sunlight boxed. I get SAD in the winter season, so better take care of that before it becomes full blown.

I wonder how other people cope with that kind of weather.

11.11.2010 is the Polish Independence Day and as far as I know, most people treat it as a long weekend, but there are some celebrations in Szczecin I hear, eg. re enactment of the event leading to Polish freedom, but I am not sure what it was. I suspect that I am not the only one. When I get on the train I might ask some people how much the really know about November 11th.

aphro wrote:


is that like code for alcohol?

aphro wrote:


oh come now, you should be used to this sort of thing. sorry, i couldn't resist. persistence is part of my charm.

aphro wrote:


with sunlight boxed?

YES


NO, 'you are just hoping that I will be as miserable as you in Poland;). You don't like positive, happy and optimistic people.

what they won't tell u is that the rest of the world know it as Armistice Day.

Yikes!, I thought you were gonna say suicide. (dark humour helps me in winter:)


You have to wait until the snow falls and then go skiing/snowboarding, it's the best fun you can have with your clothes on!

Still lovely weather here, south of Krakow.

that is depressing... when i go to work the sun is rising... whan i go home from work the sun is setting... my evenings look like dark nights....


it's a veteran day today in da ju es ej...


:)

Pgtx vampire slayer :)

i'm going shopping today for a new sheets set for my coffin.... wanna go with me? :)

still have no idea what it is;)


sense of humour helps in Poland in general.

Anyways, I tried whiskey this weekend and it helped a bit but the morning after was quite cruel and I decided to parade in szlafrok until noon.

When I was standing on the ladder (my father just loves to ask me to climb it to change the bulb or close the another window) I was feeling dizzy. I don't think I found a right solution for winter blues yet.


I hate skiing. Almost killed myself years ago on Kasprowy and I am still traumatized. Goral saved my life that evening, but I am not going back on THAT mountain ever. Snowboarding is for kids;). How about skating naked - that would lift some brows;)


all right. I bet Fuzzy had something to do with the weather in Szczecin because it is dark and gloomy. I already want to escape that. Thinking about Madera.


in TEXAS? Yah, right;)

Actually, it was quite warm today and I went for a short walk on the trail around my father's place. We did around 8 km or so and besides the ground being soggy, it was quite all right.

the day WWI ended. the same day Poland got independence. there is a connection, which Poles fail to grasp.

Texas is a wild, forgotten country... ;)


at least wear a scarf, so you won't get sick... ;)

aphro wrote:


nope. par for the course. november + poland = dark and gloomy.

Today (and this weekend) being an amazing exception...Enjoy it while you can...

convex wrote:


it's true. just amazing. i went running yesterday in shorts and a t-shirt.....november 14th....in poland!

thanks for that, not that I didn't notice;)

It looks that the good weather is over and even though the gloom causes headaches at time ( I think), I am still OK ( I am telling myself that), but the truth is that I have achieved what I wanted to within less then 2 months with little effort really.

Aphro, don't worry about the nit picking in z_d and fuzzy's posts! Spelling, weather 'dramas'...Geeez, relax you two. Aphro said she just writes, she does not edit or spell check, she is typing her thoughts and not trying to win a spelling bee contest. Got it?

So, girl keep on reporting from your life in Poland rain or shine, frost or blizzard, windchill or windshield! OK? :)

I'm glad you are all settled fairy quickly as you say with a few glitches here and there. It is the 'glitches' that I like to read about. Hehehe.

Does your everyday life seem 'normal' now? Is Canada just a distant memory? (I think that's what z_d doesn't like)

you know, that is normal for some, get some white christmas lights and hang
them in the windows where you sit mostly, or just around your living room to give
you some soft light.. turn them on when your home watching tv or just relaxing
they really help to keep you feeling not so gloomy, cause they are light and light
inspires. :)

dont use the color ones, just the white cause they give better light.

Or get one of these...

cost wise, the christmas lights are much cheaper and prob will do better then that
hat thingy. lol

180.00 yep, they can keep it IMO

So nicely said ... whoever you said this to must try it ... so shall I.

Everything to me looks so nice when Christmas is around ... I just dont feel like working anymore ... just as december closes in =( ...

Its good that I am now more self-employed and dont have to depend on jobs or commands or someone over my head. I never liked to work in december =) ... although January makes me more active, I wonder why!

I love to see cartoons now =D ... the Christmas spirit all over ... families together ... so many nice things.

maybe its cause you know its a time of year when things will come to a end, you have
it in your head, january is a month of renewal, a new year, new feeling comes with that.

december is the last month of the twelve,, its a busy month, because you prepare for
the new year, and so theres many things to finish and the thoughts overwhelm
so that could be why you just want to relax and enjoy the lights and music and company
of family and friends.


very good, I hope it helps. it does help me , for some reason those little white lights
perk me up.

thanks for that. I am not easily put off and I am proud that I did the move by myself, started working in the second week of my arrival and managed to hold everything together. I guess I have a positive attitude since I have achieved what I wanted to: to be close to my father and to land a decent job and. Whether that is due to my strong personality and luck, is hard to say, but I know that if one has focus in life and goes after what he/she wants it could be achieved, provided that one is healthy and mentally stable;).

That was the point of my thread really.
As for nit picking, I will leave it to miserable few.

I visited a Jewish cemetery this past weekend and it was a moving experience since the place was beautiful, covered with moss and half broken head stones. I took some pictures, but I have no time to post them here yet.

Hi Aphro,
your updates about Poland are great! very inspiring of you to make that big move back to Poland.
As for the SAD, I have one of those SAD therapy lamps that I use in the morning when I wake up (for about 15-20 minutes) and they are really great. I feel I have more energy during the day and I don't feel so down. Hope you can find one of those to help you out, cause you are right, it needs to be dealt with soon before you get into more of a slump because of the dark days.

take care!
Zosia

...SAD can only be overcome through alcohol consumption and good company... Same recipe has worked for the last thousand years...

You forgot the -

" :-) "

buying yourself a new toy works for a while, too. Shopping in general works for many.. For me - thank Jah for internet.
Otherwise, I wish I could escape this foolishness and hide out in some God forsaken third world country from Thankgiving till New Year.

thanks Zosia, I am in search for a lamp. Thanks to other suggestions too, but I don't think alcohol will work for me:).
Polish obsession with firanki

Firanki is a central part of the window decoration in Poland and I don't have any, only blinds, which I close for the night. However, the business of window decoration with firanki is blooming in this country since Poles just love them. They could be plain or with a design, white or cream, but if one doesn't have firanki, he or she is not 100% Polish. I think that firanki are not only designed to decorate the windows, but also to protect the inhabitants form other people looking into their apartments during the day. The fact is that they can always hide behind the firanki and peek thorough to check what is going on outside. So it is really a one way street. People can look out, but nobody can see in, well, unless it is evening and then it is the other way around.

Polish obsession with: ja mam zawsze racje: I am always right
For those who live here, they know what I am talking about. I am always right relates to the fact that even if the Pole is wrong, he/she will never admit to it and will defend his/her position to death.

Polish obsession with change

Honestly, I was away for 8 years and they still have not figure out the change situation. It is so annoying. I was shopping today and the clerk asked an old woman if she had some groszys. Even if she did, she had a hard time looking for it and most of the time I do too, since they are so small and I cannot see, what is what. If I am in a good mood I will give the clerk change, but if I am not, I cannot be bothered. If one is running the business they should have all the change.

The other day I was taking a taxi and the driver could not give me change, so I got a free ride. Unfortunately I use the same taxi company, so I met him a couple days later and paid him for two rides. Friken unbelievable.

So if you ever come to Poland, make sure you have lots of change:).

hehe... firanki make the place look cozy... but you can get used to the comfort of heaving blinds... yeahhh...


hell, yeah!!! :D


i still never have... on purpose... i tell the sklepowa to go and find my change... and hurry up!

:)

the passive - aggressive Poles

Well, as the time goes by, I am re discovering the things I have a problem with. One of them is the passive- aggressive attitude of some people in Poland.

Eg. my friends keeps bringing up that fact that all the people she has met through me are really horrible characters. I have to mention that I have never met anybody through her, so I came to conclusion that she has not friends to be proud of. I don't know.

She already criticized the place I work for since she used their services in the past. She did not congratulate me on getting a job in a week time and a full time at that.

She is very successful, but never happy.

I can write about other people with a similar attitude, but that would be writing about people with a chip on their shoulder and we have a plenty of those on PF already.

first snow in Szczecin
not really a snow yet, bit some flurries. The winter is ahead of us I think. Will report more later:)