Polski

I got off my plane and looked around in confusion. 'What is everyone saying? Where do I go? What the hell am I doing here?'. Cue panic attack.... And then suddenly....
'JESS! JESS!'
Thank God, there's Justyna!

Me and Justyna

I went to Poland to visit Justyna, who I worked with in Killarney over the summer. I flew into Katowice airport on Friday the 6th March, and to my relief, Justyna and her mother, Anna were waiting for me. From Katowice we drove 4okms or so to Tychy, the small town where they live.
The first thing that struck me was how differently everybody here lives. There are rows upon rows of dirty looking flats, and Tychy is very industrial, so my first impression was of how bleak it all was. That is, until I walked into the apartment Justyna shares with her Mum and Dad. It was stunning, all the mod cons and so bright and cheerful. There were 4 rooms - bathroom, kitchen, loungeroom/parents room, and Justyna's room. I couldn't put my finger on what was missing for ages, and then it struck me - there are no beds in this house! Apparently this is normal in Poland. They all sleep on pull out couches, so during the day, the rooms can be used for other purposes. Great idea!

Typical block of flats in Tychy

On Saturday we headed to Szczyrk, a town high in the mountains to go 'Skiing'.
Now, for those of you unfamiliar with this term, I believe it is Polish for 'Sliding down huge snowy mountains on your arse'. Well, I'll try anything once, but giving the skis a red hot go I decided that I really needed to not break my legs before I walk for 5 weeks across Spain.
So I 'walked' down the mountain.
For those unfamiliar with this term, I believe it also means sliding down huge snowy mountains on your arse.
Hmmmm, a theme seems to be developing here...
Could it be me?
Surely I'm not that uncoordinated.
Surely not......
So, a lovely afternoon passed with Jess sitting in the bar getting drunk on strong hot wines and laughing at a drunk party of men singing and causing trouble. And speaking to me in Polish....

After a big day at the snow, we raced home to get ready for the party Justyna was throwing at her house to celebrate 'Ladies Day' in Poland. 7 of her girlfriends came over and ignored me for a couple of hours, until they had a few vodkas in them and overcame their shyness with the english language to talk to me. I loved the way they drink their vodka over here - we had a shot glass of vodka, and a glass of coke. You throw back the shot, and then drink the coke - don't ever mix!! Later, we headed to a club where a very handsome man came over to talk to me - only problem was, he had no english and I don't know polish. We sat next to each other for 2 hours smiling at each other. Akward!!!

Me and some of the girls on Ladies Day

I was lucky enough to be able to catch up with some other friends while I was there - all of whom I worked with in Ireland - Artur, Mario and Katia. I spent Monday with Mario, who is one of the nicest men on this earth. He took me on a tour around Katowice and told me all about its history - one of the highlights was entering a huge Cathedral where (the Polish) Pope ('Papa') John Paul once held a service. I then spent Tuesday night and Wednesday with Katia, who was a very good friend to me in Ireland, so we enjoyed catching up on all the gossip.

Mario, Justyna, Katia and Artur

All in all, Poland was amazing, and I had such a great time with my old friends and meeting so many new people (I didn't mention that we were out every night with friends of Justynas - another Justyna, Damien, Sebastian and Joanna). The food was amazing, the drink was plentiful and Justyna's parents were so accomodating and friendly, as were Katia's. I even got a packed lunch to take with me on my plane back to London! It was fun battling with the language barrier - I think I'll be very good at charades now! And a sounds that never failed to make me laugh: Justyna's constant yelling at her friends:
'English please people, talk only English!'

Good Times!