Hello! So much has happened in these past few days. When we arrived in Chicago, we went to visit one of the fathers of the Mercer Service Scholars. We toured downtown Chicago within small groups. We stuck mainly by Navy Pier and went into the stores located as a strip mall near the pier. It was so hot! I believe that the pilot said the weather was 105 degrees; it sure felt like it. We then had lunch at the father's office, and I had my peanut butter sandwich because I did not think that Asian food would agree with me. Then, we flew out of Chicago on time. The flight was not as bad as I had expected it to be. I had to sit by two boys, but that was all right. I was able to talk to some of the surrounding passengers. One of them was on his way to compete in Odessa with Team USA as a weight-lifting champion. Another one was a material scientist from India whose specialty is solar energy. I also met a little girl named Gabriella who was going to visit her extended family in Poland right before school. So, all in all, it was all right. It was strange that there was only about three hours of darkness.
When we arrived in Poland, it was around 11:00 in the morning. The clouds were overcast, but the weather felt great! It was in the low seventies, and definitely better than Georgia weather! We settled into our hotel, which was all right---a little moldy and smoky. We could not find a place to exchange money, so Dr. Grant had to venture into town to find a place that would. He then exchanged Polish money for American dollar bills. We ate at the hotel's restaurant, and the food was delicious. Chicken and french fries are two foods you cannot beat! We then traveled by tram into the city later on in the day. I was so tired that I kept falling asleep, and as a result, I did not get off the tram when everyone else did. Apparently, they did not know that I was missing. I only woke up when the gentleman next to me nudged me so that he could get off at his stop. Luckily, Debbie had done the same thing, and so we were able to get back to the tram with the help of a man from the U.S. embassy. In my franticness, I tried to dial members from my group. I was not able to get anyone, but a little message appeared on my phone that says PL-PLUS. I do not know what this means, but I hope that the phone company is not charging me a phone calls that could not be placed.
Needless to say, everything turned out fine, and then Debbie and I went to dinner with the professors. I do not think that the food agreed with me; apparently, they like to put cabbage in their kebab wraps, and I thought for about half of an hour I was going to puke. I am glad I did not, though. On Saturday, we woke up bright and early at 5:30 and caught a train to Krakow in order to view Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was very saddening, and a very thought-provoking place. On our way back, we were all exhausted, as we had a lot of jetlag and we were carrying around a lot of heavy emotions.
On Sunday, I was able to go to church! I was very happy that I was able to go, and I was even able to understand what was happening, even though the entire Mass was in Polish. Then, we were free to explore the city of Warsaw before leaving for Armenia that night. We went all over downtown to places such as the Stalin Building, the mall for lunch, the Hard Rock Cafe, the main cathedral, the Jewish ghetto, and the remaining ghetto wall. We then had to head straight to the airport after dinner. Our flight took off around 10:30 p.m. and arrived in Yerevan at around 4:55. Yerevan is three hours ahead of Poland, so I have yet to face another time difference. :) We finally got settled into our hotel at 7:30 in the morning (bleh!) but we were able to sleep until 2:00. We then went to lunch at a local restaurant before touring a church and monastery. We finished off the afternoon shopping downtown and having dinner as a class at an authenic Armenian restaurant. Armenia is a very interesting place; it is much different than I conceived of it to be. I think that it has a very strong middle-eastern vibe to it, much like Turkey. We have a great view of Mount Ararat, too, which I think is so neat. You can only see it in the morning, though. It disappears in the fog during the day.
Tomorrow, we are going to be going to the National Museum before being transported to Vanazdor for our first day of work on Wednesday. I hope that I will be able to sleep some more. :) I hope that all of you are having a nice time in Georgia. I love and miss all of you so much! I hope that we will have Internet in Vanadzor, but I cannot promise that it will work. Just keep checking your e-mail and the blogs. Take care, and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers constantly!
Sincerely,
Ashley
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