Weekly, I mean, every-few-weeks-update

Sooo...we went to Prague. And it took me a long time to finish that post. And then I never did weekly updates.

So, let's see what's been up!


Valentine's weekend we "celebrated" with our traditional stop at McDonald's. Emmy had a hair appointment around lunchtime, and we all took the tram into town since the weather was decent and not too cold. Afterward we walked across to the mall and ate in the food court.

I'm not sure I've ever posted our Valentine's/McDonald's story before, so as refresher...Charles and I had several years of either being apart on Valentine's Day or weird things happen, the "best" of which was in 2003, days before his first deployment to Iraq. We'd begun the day at a funeral for my uncle's mother, then driven to the beach to meet friends and spend the weekend visiting with them one more time before he was due to fly out on the 25th. We got almost all the way there, when the phone rang and Charles was told the planes were arriving in 48 hours, he had to report in at 5:30 the next morning. Remember, this was Feb. 2003, there was no Iraq war at this time, but we something was brewing. Needless to say it was a tearful and long drive back to Greenville from the beach to pick up his car, then we both drove back down to Augusta. On the way, we realized we had not eaten in hours, so we stopped at the first place we found, which was a McDonald's. We noticed the place was quite empty as we picked at our food, and as we walked back out to the car, it hit Charles: It was Valentine's Day. He walked around and opened my door for me, and grinned and said "Happy Valentine's Day, honey!" We died laughing.  Then next two Valentine's Days he was deployed. Not that we had ever made much of the day before (in fact we'd been apart or in evening classes previous years) or really cared to make a fuss of it, but it was just amusing. We don't go every year, but when we can we at least try to grab some fries or a sundae on Valentine's Day and reminisce. It's good we can laugh about it because the honest truth is we both should have been way more scared than I think we were about where he was heading. (Which technically no one knew at the time).

Anyways, after our McDonald's lunch, we went to the park for a little while to enjoy the sunshine that had peeked through.

First time on the swing! 

Yay for some sunny weather! 

Emmy and I both had haircuts that, week, actually. I LOVE the hairdresser I finally found here. He is amazing. He *gets* me. And most importantly he speaks wonderful English, because hair is just one of those things you really need to be able to tell some what what you want.


I'm not sure I've mentioned it yet, but I have started Polish lessons. Polish is more simple in someways, and incredibly difficult in others. And they declinate everything. Do you know what that means? ME EITHER. There is not a box in my brain for this. In fact, my spell check says that is not even a word.  And, in Polish you also change the endings on practically everything.  My Polish tutor is a grad student working on his PhD in historical grammar. I do find it a fascinating language, especially how it survived through years of being an underground language, unable to be spoken outside of private homes because it was illegal. What a testament to the Polish people who kept it alive through several generations and brought it back to life again.

On the 15th, which is my sister's birthday, our cousin Jessica gave birth to the newest Hawley member, baby Beatrix "Bea". He is JoJo and Bea the day she was born. She was a BIG girl, 10 lb 8 oz! We cannot wait to meet her in person!

Charles was gone again this week for work to Oberammergau (in the Alps, you should feel SO sorry for him). In among the classes he attended he got to go sledding and see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle (Cinderella's castle at Disney World is allegedly modeled after this one).  Things at home plugged along. We had a little snow that looked pretty but was mostly gone by morning. I had a fun girls night with a friend. Emmy had a birthday party.

Charles got home Saturday evening so on Sunday night we took the tram into town for a date

night. We had a great time, we love having public transportation. He also took the tram home after dropping off the rental car on Saturday, which meant no one drove our car from Friday night until Monday morning.  

Shredded insulation where it tried to
make a nest. 

When I went to go start the car on Monday, it would not start. The lights came on and such, but it made a strange sound. It did not seem to be the battery, could it be the starter? Of course, Charles was already off at work and I was stuck home with Emmy needing to be at school. Fortunately a friend came to the rescue and took her to school for me while I dealt with the matter at hand. 

Insulation on top of the battery, etc.

Remember that dead bird we found in the car in Prague? Well, turns out it was not a cat, it was a creature called a marten, kuna in Polish. As soon as I opened the hood, I knew the darn thing had done it. 

The insulation under the hood was shredded much worse than when we'd looked in Prague. And some wires and tubes to the battery had been cut. 

In case you are wondering, dealing with insurance, tow trucks, mechanics, and car dealerships when you are in another country is VERY stressful. Thanks to my Polish baby-sitter and the advice of the Polish national who works for our national support element, I was able to get the car towed to the dealership. I was told it could take awhile and they did not even give me an "appointment" for it to be checked out until Wednesday. Fortunately, they called Tuesday evening as I was sitting in the little bar/canteen at the barracks waiting on Emmy's drama class to end, and I was able to hand the phone to one of the guys who works there to translate for me. The darn rodent did over $500.00 in damage! They had to replace the battery and some wires, etc. and order the new insulation.  

I was helping host a baby shower for one of our British friends at the end of the week, on the 26th, so fortunately I had my car back in time for that. I'll post pictures of the shower in a separate post! 

Two Months into this adventure

Hello friends and family

I realized that two months ago yesterday we arrived in Poland. I keep getting a lot of questions so I will try to answer a few of them here!

We are doing well! I kept waiting for the inevitable culture shock to really hit me and cause a meltdown. It happens, I remember it happening to me when I studied abroad. I remember trying to prepare students (and their parents for the phone call that would ensue) when I was a study abroad advisor, surely it was going to happen when we moved overseas with two children and a dog!

Oddly enough, it hasn't happened. Sure, there have been a few tears and lots of frustrations. The middle of the 2nd week is probably the closest I came to that moment, I was feeling pretty isolated and lonely, but we met Katie and as we knew, things would improve. We are still adjusting, I'm not sure when we'll feel like we really "belong" but life here is good.

Charles is enjoying his job, at least as far as I can tell. He may have a bit more insight, and for security reasons we'll never discuss what he does (or specifically where we live, etc.) in any concrete way. Working with NATO is a big adjustment, and this unit has three framework nations (most NATO units have one and a couple have two) so you have three countries "in charge," and we'd been prepared for how this can make things take forever to happen.

We are enjoying getting to know people from all over. We have new friends who are Danish. Well, he is Danish, she is American, but they moved here from Denmark. Their daughter is a grade ahead of Emmy but they are great friends and play together during their breaks (I'll post more about her first day of school later) and have a lot of fun. Emmy also has a friends from Slovenia, China, Germany, Poland, and Latvia (I think, it may be Estonia, I'll have to ask her).

The language is still a big hurdle for us. Some days I just don't feel like having to deal with the interaction. Last weekend we went to Berlin for the day (I'll also post pictures about that soon). Katie and I went to the train station on Friday afternoon to, as they say in the military, to Recon the situation. We needed to figure out tickets and the time table in advance. I knew we needed to do this to avoid the frustration the next morning, but as we were leaving, I just did not want to go. I knew that it was unlikely the person selling us the tickets would speak English (she didn't) and I was tired and grumpy and I just did not want to deal. But I sucked it up and we went, and we came home knowing what time the train left and with a ticket in hand.

Turns out there was a lady in line behind us who spoke English and she stepped up and offered to help interpret. We have google translate on our phones, and that can help you get by, but in the moment a live person is so much easier.  Most younger people speak English, they are required to learn it in school, but a lot of them are shy about their language skills and embarrassed to speak it with you. I am often self conscious about my Spanish skills, especially the older I get and the less I use them. I think living here has made me realize that I need to worry less. I hear people who speak English as a second or third language all the time. Few of them speak perfect English, and I'm not sitting there judging them, so why would anyone else be doing the same of me if I speak Spanish? Most likely the are not. And I am SO grateful whenever anyone who does speak English steps in to help.  So, friends, if you speak another language and you hear someone struggling and you speak their language, don't be embarrassed to help. Your little bit of Spanish or German or French could be a lot more English than they speak and your help could make a huge difference, and they will be grateful that you tried, even if you cannot fully help.

Also, if you see someone who is new in town or is a tourist in your town, have some grace. Smile, be friendly, be gracious. Southerners are known for being welcoming and friendly, I love (and miss) that about the South.  But the little bit of news we get is inundated these days with images of immigrants who have been forced to leave their homes, and I see some nasty comments regarding "illegal aliens" and people who are not like us. You don't know their story or why they are there. I just moved here with most of my "stuff" and my family and had people to help us get settled. I had a house waiting on me and money in the bank. No one would leave home with nothing but the clothes on their backs to face a dangerous and uncertain situation unless what they were facing was better than what they were leaving. I cannot even imagine. I don't know what some of the people we encounter think about me. Clearly they quickly know I do not speak Polish. Sometimes that frustrates people, I've gotten a couple of unpleasant sighs when I say "Nie mówię po polsku" (I do not speak Polish).  I'm not trying to get political, nor do I expect that many of you are encountering many people from other countries on a regular basis, but this is certainly an eye opening experience for us.

Our house is more or less set up. We still need to hang a few pictures, and as we live in the space we see where we need to rearrange or reorganize a few things.  I need someone who has an eye for design to come help me figure out what to hang in the dining room. It is big and it echos! We need something to absorb some sound! The guest room/office and the garage/workroom are the last big projects we need to work on. We have no guests definitely scheduled (yet...better make your plans, we are only here for two years!) but we want to have that space comfortably prepared soon. The only room that is "done" 100% is Matthew's, so I'll post some photos of his room soon. I have about ten different post topics I'm working on or have in my head! We have a new baby-sitter who is Polish but lives in the U.S. and is home for a few weeks for weddings (her sister was married this last weekend and her brother gets married in late October) so we get to take advantage of her free time and need to earn some money while she is between jobs in the U.S. I'm going to have her coming a few days a week for the next couple of weeks so I can really focus on some of these projects. I will feel better when the house is as "done" as I can make it, and it will help me get ready for the fall party we are having for Matthew's birthday.

I'll close this out with some random things I've learned in the last few weeks...

• It is really hard to cook without a knife.  And in some cases, it is hard to cook without a can opener.
• In a pinch, a moving sticker is a good substitute for tape.
• Havarti cheese makes an excellent accidental substitute for Monterrey jack or cheddar on nachos/tacos.
• We really should have bought a tape measure that has yards and meters on it. If you're moving to Europe, go ahead and get yourself one.
• I'm not really a fan of duck. Emmy, however loves it. 
• I thought grocery shopping with the kids could be stressful, man I had no idea! 
• I have been reminded of how wonderful public transportation is.
• Wine helps. Sometimes, it helps a lot.