Summer Plans '08

Well after almost 8 months of NO posts I'm happy to finally have something interesting to write about! I've found two internships in New York City and will be there from the end of May to the beginning of August.

The companies I'm working for are both in the Fashion PR industry and this summer will be a sort of test-drive to see if I like this kind of job enough to turn it into a career (so let's hope it's not very Devil Wears Prada-esque). I'll be reporting on my day-to-day activities, and also very likely be venting about the diva-like behavior I'm anticipating from my bosses/co-workers. 

Fingers crossed that I take a bite out of this city (and not the other way around)!

It seems like just yesterday...

Wow I can't believe it's been over two months since I left Poland. I'd kept meaning to write this last entry to wrap everything up and reflect on my time there, but I guess I just got wrapped up in everything here with school, and RA stuff...

It seems like it was forever ago that I was living in Kapelanka flat with luke and maria, but i still miss it like i just left. I'm wondering when I'm going to stop missing everything, and hoping that it doesn't require me to forget everything in order for that to happen.

It's so strange being back in school. I thought once I got back into the swing of things, it would begin to feel normal again, but I'm not so convinced anymore... I think at this point, I'm just going to have to stick it out for the next 2 years, and then head back to Europe as quickly as possible. I guess time doesn't always bring distance.

I don't want to give the wrong idea, I'm by no means miserable here - it's just kind of hard to compare something so basic and normal, with something extraordinary. We'll see how it goes for my final half of my college years. For now my blogging career is at an end, but I'll definitely resurrect this when something interesting starts happening, or the next time i get out of the US (whichever happens first!) ;]

until the next time, biziaki!

Synchronicity

Today I was walking around Krakow trying to buy all my last-minute souvenirs and just enjoy the city for a bit when I was astonished to see what was ahead of me... a boy wearing a Charlotte Hornets jersey!! in KRAKOW! it's a sign. it's time to go home :[ I discreetly took a picture to quell any disbelievers... it doesn't show the name on the jersey from this angle, but any true Charlotteans will recognize those colors!

I'm flying to Frankfurt tomorrow, spending one night there, and then heading back to the Queen City. Looking forward to a quick visit with the fam before heading back to school :]

My Last Weekend in Poland :(

I can't believe I'm leaving already, it literally feels like I just arrived! This was my last weekend here and I can't think of a better way to have finished my time here. Friday night was Marie's birthday, and one crazy-fun party, and saturday, of course was MY party :) Ten of my closest friends in krakow came to our flat and we started the night out right with champagne, singing, and cake! I've made a video that can describe the night better than any number of adjectives so check it out below.



This week I'm going to try and do all the touristy things I had put off, thinking i had PLENTY of time to get them done! And i've still got to go souvenir shopping for everyone back home... any idea where i can find a 3*5 polish flag??

Party on the Amber Coast

This weekend was fantastic as I finally was able to see the north of Poland and swim (really just wade) in the Baltic Sea! Luke and I planned the trip to Gdansk and then invited pretty much everyone we know in Krakow, and we ended up with a group of 9 coming with us. Me and Luke left early Friday morning (the 4am wake up call was pretty rough), and we rode the morning train to Gdansk, arriving around 1pm. Then we tried to catch a boat to Hel (an incredibly thin, but long peninsula near Gdansk that is supposed to have a really nice beach), but unfortunately it seems to be a pretty popular destination and all the boats were full – I'm pretty sure it's popular more for the name than anything actually that great in the city ;)

So anyway we really wanted to ride a boat while we were in Gdansk so we bought tickets on this pirate ship that was in the harbor and decided to go to Westerplatte, which is where the first fighting of WWII took place in Poland. The Galleon Lew dropped us off in Westerplatte and we found this really nice beach where we killed an hour playing Frisbee and attempting to get in the freezing cold water.

After our pirate cruise we decided to meet up with Pamela (a trainee from Gdansk), in Gdynia. The area of Gdansk is actually comprised of three cities called the tri-city. They are Gdansk (the most scenic of the cities), Sopot (more like a beach resort), and Gdynia (kind of the industrial area of the tri-city).

We went to a beach on Gdynia and caught up with Pamela over a piwo. Then after we had relaxed a bit and gone to her apartment to change, we caught the train back to Gdansk and met up with all the rest of the trainees from Gdansk. We went to a bunch of different clubs in Gdansk, and soon realized that everyone wasn't kidding when they said that the only good nightlife in the tri-city is in Sopot! But we had a pretty late night in Gdansk and then headed back for some sleep before the rest of our group joined us Saturday.

Saturday we met up with the other 7 who had taken the night train Friday night and we toured Gdansk for a bit, and then decided to go to Sopot for some fun in the sun J We played on the beach, a brave few decided to swim, and then we went for some polish cuisine before checking out the nightlife we'd heard so much about.

Sopot definitely was the place to be on a Saturday night. The clubs are all actually ON the beach and the one we went to, CocoCabana, was mostly fun latin music. Everyone was pretty exhausted from all the traveling so we headed back early and got some sleep before our last day in Gdansk.

For our last day, the good weather deserted us and we had deal with some pretty cold, rainy nastiness. Since we couldn't spend much time outdoors, we went to the amber museum, and were pleasantly surprised. I can easily say that it is one of my favorite museums ever… I had no idea you could make such beautiful things from amber! Check out this picture below, it was my favorite piece.

At the end of the day, we fought our way back on the night train, managed to scrounge some seats, and tried to sleep as much as possible before we pulled into Krakow at 4am, most of us having to catch just a few hours of sleep before going to work that morning!

This week we have THREE birthday parties as well as Frisbee and soccer AND a trip to Ocjow to fill the time… if anyone's in Krakow on the 28^th, give me a call, my bday's going to be CrAzY!

Ultimate Frisbee Champs :)

We have a weekly tradition (now that the weather's nice) and it is some pretty intense ultimate frisbee!! We try and meet once a week on Blonia (this massive field in the middle of the city), and get some exercise, followed by a well earned piwo. This week almost 20 people showed up to play and we made new friends, laughed, and sweat A LOT ;)

The above pic is only one side of our big table... (there were definitely more boys there than this pic suggests)

Tomorrow Luke and I will be up at 5am to catch the train to Gdansk, and then 8 more trainees/friends from krakow will be meeting us saturday. Party on the Baltic!!

Aww, it's nice to know you're missed!

Here's a picture my family sent from my brother's graduation party... i'm not gonna lie, i got a little misty eyed =)