From England to Poland

     What a crazy week. I began my journey early Wednesday morning when I took a bus from Glasgow to Machester, England. The bus ride was actually quite enjoyable as the Scottish and English countryside were beautiful. Once I got to Manchester I had to take a train to Chester where Michelle is living. Of course I got lost and couldn't find the train station. I tried to find it and aimlessly walked around Manchester for about an hour. Manchester seems to be a pretty cool city so I'm glad it was the city I got lost in. I wandered into a used book store and felt at home. While looking through their select selection of travel books I saw a Nashville and Memphis tour guide. I almost started crying. 
     I kept walking and the clock kept ticking so I knew I had to just bite the bullett and ask someone for directions. I saw two older women walking out of a store and asked them which direction the train station was. As I was getting ready to open up my backpack to pull out a pen and paper, they asked if I wanted a lift to the train station. I was shocked by their kindness, almost at a loss for words, and I gladly took them up on their offer. I got to the train station, successfully got on the train, and arrived in Chester about an hour later. I am so glad that Chester was the town in England I was able to visit. It was everything I thought an English town would be. The weather was absolutely beautiful during the several days that I was in town and I was so happy to be in such a nice, quaint town all the while in good company. 
    Very early Friday morning we left for Poland. The flight itself was an experience. Let's just say with Ryanair Airline you get what you pay for. Friday afternoon we arrived to our hostel, met up with everyone, and saw the city. It was so great to see friends from Hendrix, share some good laughs together, and to be called P-Hop again. I didn't really know what to expect of Krakow before getting there, but I was pleasantly surprised by the city. We walked to the top of the castle right as the sun was setting and the city looked beautiful. Saturday we walked around the city and stopped for lunch at a tradional Polish perogie resaurant. The perogies were everything I thought they would be, they were delicious. 
     That afternoon our plan was to go to Auschwitz. I had a lot of anxieties about seeing it. If just reading about it made me feel sick, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to actually be there. I knew that it was something that I had to see, and something that I would never forget.To get to Auschwitz we had to take a 1.5 hour bus ride. The bus was weird, very narrow and cramped with blue lights illuminating the interior and soft rock hits playing in the background. When we got to the stop for Auschwitz I was surprised. It was in the middle of a neighbohood, restaurnts, homes, and hotels were all in the vacinity, people were walking their dogs past the camp. Being inside is something that is inexplainable, no words I write will be able to capture what it was to be there.  As we were walking out of Auschwitz to get back on the bus to go back to Krakow there was a sunset. Even though I wanted to say that the sunset was beautiful, it wasn't. I was in Auschwitz. I kept thinking of Ann Frank and how in her diary she says nature is a cure for all wounds. I really believe that it is, but this is a wound that can never be healed. How can something as beautiful as this sunset exist in a world that's so cruel? How can extreme beauty like this sunset even be seen in the same place as a place like Auschwitz? 

    
     Sunday morning we left Krakow for what I knew would be a long day of travel, but not as long as I was anticipating. Long story short, I missed my bus from Manchester to Glasgow because the name of the bus was different from the company I booked with. The worst part is is that I had been in Manchester for over 3 hours waiting! I had to take two trains to get back to Glasgow. I'm thankful I still got back on the night I was supposed to even though I was truly exhausted when I finally arrived to my flat.
     This weekend I came to a realization about what has changed in me since the six weeks that I have been here. For the first time in a long time (or maybe even ever) I haven't been worrying about the future. Thoughts of up coming plans and where I'll be when don't stress me out. I have absolutely nothing to be stressed out about here, and for once I'm soaking it all up. I fee like I'm truly living in the moment. It's a good way to live.  


***In other news unrelated to my Poland trip, last week I also went to a Scottish family's home to make dinner. Stay tuned for my next blog as I plan to discuss that experience and one of my life's passion: food!!***   

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

     I planned my first non UK trip! I am going to Krakow, Poland with some of my friends from Hendrix. I never really thought about going to Poland until the idea was suggested to me, but now I am super excited about going there. It will be interesting to go to a European city that is completely different from ones I have seen in the UK. Along with seeing the city, we're also going to go on a tour of Auschwitz, which to be honest, I'm kind of nervous about. Nervous isn't really the right word per se, but when I think about it I get a sick feeling in my stomach. Thinking about going there reminded me of the time in high school I was going to a protest the night of a death penalty execution. It was not something I was particularly excited for or looking forward to, but I was still interested and intrigued by the whole experience. I feel similarly about about going to Auschwitz. I know it won't be "fun", but it will interesting and unlike any place I've ever been to. 

     I will be doing A LOT of traveling by myself on this trip. Since there were no convenient flights from anywhere in Scotland to Krakow, I am meeting Michelle in Chester, England, staying with her for a few days and then we're flying from Liverpool into Krakow together.  Getting to my plane in Liverpool is going to involve a bus ride, a train ride, and of course a lot of walking. It will be an experience, but I know it will be good for me. I'm getting better at the whole public transportation thing. I took the subway by myself for the first time yesterday. Granted, the subway system here goes in a circle and is pretty easy to figure out, but I still felt like I accomplished something. Even though it's hard to organize all of this, I am quite glad it worked out this way so that I can go to England as I will probably not be going there again during the next three months. I also planned another trip for the weekend right after Poland in Carbisdale, Scotland.  The international society at Strathclyde rents out a hostel for 150 students and we stay there for the weekend. The hostel we are staying in was once a castle that has been converted to a hostel. I am so looking forward to getting away from the city for a few days and seeing a more rural part of Scotland. 

     We've also been starting our Spring break plans, picking our final destinations, making a timeline and such. Talking about all of this traveling, all of it becoming a reality, is so humbling to me. How do I deserve all this? I don't think I'll ever understand how things work out in life, so all I can do is be thankful that they are working out like this for me. 

     Things feel like they are finally starting to level out here. I'm getting used to my classes, know where I'm going on campus, learning what time to wake up in the morning, getting lost   in Glasgow, business as usual. I'm starting to feel like a normal student again. Sort of.