Day 12

Jenna:

Sunday had us up early looking forward to the one thing we hadn’t been able to do in Rome, attend church. Although Th’s family are not members, FIL was up early on his day off to chauffeur us to the location of the church building. This was a completely different experience for both of us, as church in Poland is not held in a church building, but in a downtown district in the middle of a bunch of shops! I thought for sure we were headed in the right direction, but we saw a sign that just looked like the church’s name and knew we must be headed in the right direction. We climbed the stairs and pulled on the door to discover we couldn’t get in! To the right was a small button, a buzzer in fact. It was so funny, buzzing ourselves into church. The ward is very tiny, with something like 6 or 7 sets of missionaries and 10-15 members who were present that day.

It took one of the missionaries only a minute or two to come back and sit by us. I am sure that it was obvious that we were members, and even though he introduced himself in Polish they all said they had us pegged as Americans as soon as we walked in. The church really is the same everywhere though, even though we couldn’t understand what was being said, it was what we felt that was most important. The branch president came up to greet us after the meeting was over, and I got all flustered and forgot all of the words I had worked so hard to learn! The missionaries were eager to hear of home and talk in English, and so we were shepherded through all of the meetings with a translator at our side at all times.

We met TH’s parents coming up the stairs, and from their they whisked us off to the largest park in Poland, even larger than New York Central Park! We ate our last Polish dinner, which was of course delicious, in this darling old restaurant featuring some of the most unique artwork I have ever seen. All of the paintings were done directly on wood, and each of the chairs had some kind of character on back. Shrek and Fiona were my favorites. The bathroom was even exciting, with the bottom side of the toilet seat cover featuring the face of what looked like a very startled man. I guess I would be pretty startled myself if I had to look at people’s bums all day long.

This was the first Polish meal where we skipped the soup course, not because we didn’t want it, but because I was so stuffed full of good food from all of our vacation time I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish my entrée if I had anything else. As with every other time, we turned the ordering over to FIL, and we ended up eating wild boar. That’s right, the scary pig that lives in the forest. It came with a type of side salad, very welcome after a vacation with few salads in sight, and I saved the potatoes on my plate for the very end because they were so soft and tender. Without the soup course filling me up first, I was successfully able to finish off every delicious bite. I really enjoyed the Bacardi stirring stick that came with me water. I found it to be a very funny addition to the meal. I am not sure if it is done very often in Poland, but we had the waiter take a picture of everyone at the table. You can see TH’s aunt, Hannah, his father, my Mom, TH’s mother, his sister, her boyfriend (who we have nicknamed Camo), and myself.

After dinner, TH’s mom and dad left, and his aunt, sister, and sister’s boyfriend joined us for a guided tour through the park. This was no aimless stroll, Hannad had prepared so well, bringing photos, and somehow learning the name of every plant that grew in the park. It was very impressive, and a great chance for Mom and I to break out our cameras at every opportunity. We might have more pictures from this walk than from any other activity during our vacation. Highlights include snacking on the petals of an edible rose (not all roses are edible, so don’t try this in your garden!), riding on the little train that took us through the park, and posing Zu and Camo on a park bench in the same fashion of two statues located in the park. I took a few fun pictures with what I like to call the good luck statue, so named because touching the rose the girl is holding will bring the person good luck. I was beginning to feel a little bit lonely without my Polish boyfriend present, and so I spent a few moments cozying up to the statue man. TH is much cozier than he was. We also encountered some lamas and rams, sadly not quite as exciting for us as it is for most since we are pretty used to the farm animals by now, but I loved the little llama song that Zu kept singing on the way to see them.

The day ended once again, at the home of the TH’s family. I developed an affinity for dwarves on this trip, and Zu was sweet enough to point one out that she had discovered in her garden. I got a kick out of the buzzer that they have to get into the front gate, which lists the names of person in the house. I was able to take a few pictures of the interior, a shot into the doorway of TH’s old bedroom (which Zu has taken over now), and the living room where we spent our time whenever we were there. I was finally able to spend some time talking to TH, after taking almost a two week break from doing so. When I came back out into the living room I discovered such a fun spread of food. A pea salad, deviled eggs with mustard, bread and butter, and three different kinds of sausage. I really started slacking off on the tail end of the trip, because I don’t have pictures of any of this! I was so hungry I uncharacteristically dug right in without whipping out my camera to take a few pictures. It was probably my favorite meal we had during our time in Poland, once again proving that homemade food will always be better than anything else. Dessert included poppyseed cake, cheesecake, and special apple pie that TH’s grandmother had prepared just for our visit. I jazzed all of the desserts up a little bit by dumping one of TH’s favorite treats, evaporated milk from a tube all over everything. It was SOOOOO good.

I know I am not alone in thinking that we owe our deepest gratitude to TH's family for being so open and inviting when inviting us into their home and their live for the past few days. I hope that they will agree in affirming that we all feel like a family now, a thought that makes me smile ever time I reflect on it. I hope to be returning to Poland, and their home, many times throughout the coming years!

With this, our trip has come to a close. Yes, we technically have days 13 and 14 as well, but they are entirely unremarkable, and I think mark a time for both of us when we are counting down the hours until we can be back in our own beds no longer living out of a suitcase and wearing clothes which have been washed several times in the bathroom sink. This trip was much better than I could have hoped for, luckily filled with much more fun than frustration. Mom and I have grown closer together, and even decided that we could survive (and win!) The Amazing Race together. I might need to learn a few more languages, and I think we need to be able to successfully run a few miles without passing out, but I think that it’s time to start filling out our applications! Thanks Mom, the trip was fantastic, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.


Arrivederci!