Good to me

Counting from the end of tonight, in the past week I've been on 7 airplanes. I'm even updating this blog from the Charlotte airport again...

I had to go up to Ohio for the funeral of a family friend, Jim Campbell. His wife, Chris, and he lived with my family three different times when we were young. They were our "nannies," but not in a rich-people way. They helped raise Jordan and me. I called Chris "Somebody" and Jim "Nobody." As in, "I want Nobody to tie my shoes." No idea why I started that. I probably wasn't spanked enough.

Kontynuuj...

In America, the Internet is in English

Hi everyone. I'm in Charlotte, NC, using free American internet. When I logged in to post a new entry, I did not have to try to guess which Polish link to click. That was weird.

I have a few moments until I board the boat plane to Nashville, but I wanted to put up one more post before I'm officially home. I promise I will post a few more things even once I get back, because I still have many pictures to share. The following text is from an e-mail I just wrote a friend. There will be pictures after the break, too.

Kontynuuj...

Kraków MEGAPOST

Yo! I have Photoshop, all is well. It was lots easier than I thought. Sorry for doubting you, NSCC. You still owe me money, though.

So, there are over 80 pictures I'm going to post. I don't think I'll write much, maybe just to explain what certain things are. I went to Kraków with Magda and her friend Monika (I think, I'm terrible with names, but that's a fairly common one so it's a good guess) on 2 April. I really enjoyed seeing another Polish city. I have to admit, I like Warsaw better so far. However, I would love to try again on a day that is warm and sunny, and see what my impression of Kraków is then...

But for now, pictures.

Kontynuuj...

Piccolo problema...

(Yes, that is Italian.)

I have Photoshop legally, but haven't been able to provide my student documentation to get a serial number... So the trial period finally ran out, and now I can't use it til I get this sorted. This wouldn't be so much of a problem except for the fact that I shoot a file format called RAW, and that needs to be processed before it can be displayed as a JPG or something else.

So, while I'm getting this figured out, here are some older, random pictures that don't really contribute to a story or anything, but might be interesting to someone somewhere.

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Prezydent już nie ma

The President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, as well as his wife and 80-something other people, have died in a plane crash today. Please pray for the loved ones of those who died, and pray for the people of Poland during this difficult time.

Wielkanoc

As I begin this, we are 21 minutes into Easter. So happy Easter, everyone.

I will share with you some images from Palm Sunday. I went to see what mass was like. I'd never been to a Catholic mass before, at all, so it was quite interesting for me.

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Wiosna

Spring. Yes, it has been something like a month since I last posted, and I am sorry. The weather has been so tricksy lately. You get a day where you need to unbutton your coat to walk around comfortably, and then a few hours later you have a snowstorm. This has happened 2 - 3 times that I can think of, and I was not expecting that at all. “That's March in Poland,” they say. But these past few days have been really glorious. I even bought a spring jacket (on big sale — they must have been like me, thinking that spring was never actually going to come), after having walked around rather comfortably all day in just a long-sleeved shirt. There's been rain, clouds, and sunshine. My bazie (pussywillows) are sprouting and rooting. I keep my windows open. Spring really is the best because it is so full of hope. I will miss being here for the beautiful Polish summer, but spring here feels like you've earned it.

So what else have I been up to? Well, I'll have to look at my pictures to remember. You can look too. This post will be very image intensive, just to warn you. You might want to set aside 2 - 3 hours to absorb it all.

Kontynuuj...

Byłam na spacerze z psami.

Today's title is courtesy of my friend Magda. She took pity on me and tried to teach me a few Polish words. This phrase means, "I was walking with the dogs." And that's what we did yesterday, and it was great. I'll get to that later. The only reason I remember how to say that is because she wrote it down, phoneticized it for me, and coached me through it several times. Still the only word I remember is psami (dogs).

I have several pictures to share from the past week, so click the link below to get started.

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Bardzo Brudno

That's one phrase I know myself, thanks to my laundry machine. (It's in Italian, translated to Polish.) "Very Dirty." It describes the current conditions outside. The last three days or so have been quite warm (that is, above freezing). I'm very cold-natured, but even with just one or two degrees above 0C, I felt renewed. I even got hot walking around outside. It was really nice at first, but now the snow is melting. I know it's part of winter, but when there's this much snow in the first place, it doesn't take long for things to get disgusting.

Kontynuuj...

Internetowej!

This is kind of meta or something, but I wanted to share that my home church wrote a little article about me in Poland on the Kairos website.

Read it and enjoy. Some of it is exclusive!

And I posted a new post a few hours ago, so make sure you don't miss it.  :)

I'm going to bed now.  Dobranoc <3


CLB

Rozwiązanie tymczasowe.

A temporary solution, I think that says. Susan is letting me borrow her point & shoot camera, and I should have my replacement by the end of the month. A man coming over from the States has agreed to bring it with him, so I don't have to pay for int'l shipping, or duty taxes. I'm very excited.

I also have some pictures from Malaysian Food Night, thanks to Kaylin. I took a few of them using her camera, and she is very kindly letting me use some of hers too. I'm going to mention which ones are mine; assume the rest are Kaylin's. (Some might be Susan's too; I don't know.) Anyway you can assume the best ones belong to K.  :)  Click the link to read more.

Kontynuuj...

Nie rozumiem po Polsku!

Seriously, it's starting to annoy me that I don't know any Polish. I went grocery shopping today (which was, apparently, really stupid of me. I've never been in a grocery store that busy before; not even before a Tennessee snow storm) with a specific list of things to buy. I found most of them, but the things I wanted most — dill, and a can opener — were nowhere to be found. I couldn't tell where the spices were for a long time. Then, when I found a few, I realized I didn't know what dill was called. But I did something very ingenious: I went to the large seed packet display at the front of the store, found the picture that looked like dill, and tried to figure out which word on the front of the packet was the important one. (Turns out, it's "koperek.") Despite my best efforts, I still didn't find any dill. Now, this is Poland, so there's GOT to be some. I just didn't have any idea where else to look. Add to that the fact that I seemed to be the only one in the store willing to get out of anyone's way, and... well, I've never been so stressed grocery shopping in my life.

Kontynuuj...

Przeszkoda

An obstacle. It is this: My camera is broken.  :(

It is the only digital camera I brought. My darling, beautiful Canon G9. I have ordered a [used] replacement, but it has to ship to my USA address first. I'm not sure when I will receive it. I have a couple of fun film cameras, but they're pretty specific — a fisheye, and a four-frame — and so I'm not sure I'll use them on a daily basis.

I feel very crippled without having a camera on me at all times. This is what I get for trying to pack light, I guess.

Anyway... I'll still post updates, but they won't be as fun to look at. I should have another content-filled one by Saturday or so. Until then, hope you are all having a great week. (I am still doing a bad job at sleeping normally, which is why I am updating at 2 a.m.) Dobranoc...


CLB

Pierwszy z fotografiami

Meaning, First One with Photos. I'm getting most of my translations from Google Translate, so don't go thinking I'm all smart or anything. Also don't go thinking I'm extra dumb, in case they're really wrong.

So, as you may have guessed, I have a few photos for you. That's how much I love you.

Kontynuuj...

Jestem w Polsce?

Well, I think that's what I should be saying. I'm not really sure. Regardless, my darlings, the fact is that, as of yesterday, I am in Poland.

I am wreckingly tired, and have to meet Kaylin (the journeyman missionary, about my age) in about 45 minutes, so I'll write more later. But I'm very happy to be here. It's danging cold, is the only thing. My apartment is enormous.

I must buy a card reader, as I forgot mine; but I should start putting up pictures in the next couple of days. Keep an ear out!

Love,
Chelsea

One Week to Go

There are SO many things I ought to be doing at this moment, and updating this blog is not one of them. I'm very excited about Poland, but not channeling my excitement in the most productive ways. Still, I feel like I'm getting things accomplished, because of how God has been moving in my life this week.

I'll be moving back into Mom's house on Thursday or Friday, which will be good. I'll have all my stuff in front of me, and that'll make it easier for me to get organized and pack. Right now I just have a very nebulous list in my head. The main things I want to bring are cameras, books, and yarn. I can knit cables now, and that's a great feeling. I made a cabled cowl for Hannah. It looks really good on her. :) I'm going to make a sweater for me next. It's this one.

No point to this... But I guess it's good to get in the habit of updating regularly. Cameron is waving around a Santoku knife, declaring the merits of "That Day Is Done" by Costello/McCartney. (Elvis wrote the best bits.) Cameron's a "toilet paper under" kind of guy. I don't know if our relationship will work.

Friends laugh together! Be good, everyone.

Love,
Chelsea

Welcome.

Hello everyone,

I guess I am not that creative. My Alaska blog was called Chelaska, and my Poland blog is called Chelska. Still, they go nicely together. So welcome to my new blog. The purpose of this will be to share my thoughts, experiences, and photographs from my upcoming trip.

I am leaving to go to Poland for three months on February 4. I am a volunteer with the IMB, the International Missions Board. I've been to Poland twice, for 7-10 days each time. The first time was in summer of '08, and the second was in summer '09. Both times, we were working in Jewish cemeteries. I won't go into that right now, but you can view the photos from both of my trips if you go to my Picasaweb page. There is some information about the team over in Warsaw at Team Warsaw. I think I will be helping update the website some when I'm there. My writing background and minimal HTML experience may finally come in handy.

If you know me, you know that I love to travel, experience new cultures, and meet people from different countries. This fueled my initial interest in the project. When I actually got there, I fell in love with the work we were doing, with Poland, and the people over there in general. What a fascinating history that country has.

God has really been working in me and opening me up to new experiences, and new levels of love and patience. I still have such a long way to go, but am so grateful for this time of preparation I've had before leaving for Poland. Three months isn't a very long time, I know. But I'm expecting great things out of my time in Warsaw.

I think that's all for now. There's a lot more information I could post, but all the salient facts will come out in due time, I'm sure. If you have any questions, advice, etc., post them here, and I'll try to respond to them.

(Oh, and by the way, I hardly know any Polish... So keep me in your thoughts there as well. I do know how to say "I'm sorry," which I think is the most important phrase to learn.)


Love and Unicorns,

Chelsea