My husband just returned from Poland. While over there he really could see major differences in the way of life between there and home. He saw the poverty, the crazy drivers and nothing in English. Very few are able to speak English and translators were needed for my husband as he went over to speak at quite a few places. They loved hearing his language and kept insisting he speak to say something during his quiet times. They are a people with no luxuries. He even brought them toilet paper because they don't have what we have. They have what's eqivalent to the brown paper we use at rest stops to dry our hands.
The first, real Polish experience of course, was the food. His first food experience upon arrival was Potato Pancakes stuffed with sausage. All the meals had some form of sausage in them. Sausage for breakfast, sausage for dinner and even sausage soup for lunch. Beef is not affordable for most. I even saw a sizzling Polish Kelbasa still cooking over a bed of what looked like onions and some other veggies over Skypes. It looked delicious. There is no such thing as what we call convenience foods over there. They make everything the old fashioned way....by scratch. There is no opening up a can of soup.
The average wage is about $500 a month and with gas at about $6.00 a gallon the cost of living is high. Quite regularly the cupboards are bare at the Pastor's home. He gives alot of food away. They shop daily for their food. Vodka is the beverage of choice for many. I'm thinking that must be cheap by the way it's used over there. Alcoholism is a very big problem and one of the reasons we go over twice a year. We help set up Alcohol Programs via one of our elders who has been going over there for about 15 years now thru the Most Excellent Way Program.
So my husband got brave and decided to take a walk to the nearest market down the street. During the years of Communism the shelves were often empty. A load of bread would come in and almost as quickly would be gone again. He did all he could do to avoid people in the store because he knew not even enough Polish to get by. He was on a quest to bring me back tea and chocolate. He said it was very strange shopping knowing virtually no Polish and nothing in English. He would have to guess what was in the cans and packages and it was not easy to always tell. The girl at the register asked him a question and of course he had no clue what she asked. He figured it had to do with the currency or Zwaties. He said the store is nothing like what we're used to not having nearly the variety of foods we do here in the States.
The drivers are crazy. Ten years ago under the Communist Government there were virtually no cars seen zipping along the cobblestone streets. Horse and buggys have now been replaced by very small automobiles. The cars are so small that most could not accomodate our very tall rugged elder who stands about 6'2". Think covered ATV's and you'll have an idea. I imagine with the gas prices it's the only way to go. They saw one SUV and it looked way out of place drawing much attention. It must be similar to us seeing a limo drive by. That is, if you're like us living in the country.
So since nobody had cars ten years or so ago this is a country of basically brand new drivers and they drive like it. Many times my husband had to run for his life escaping more than one close call. He saw quite a few driver-ed type cars. They had a big L on them to warn the other more "advanced" drivers of the new trainee on the road. He said they were worse than Boston drivers.
While there I had a request for him to bring back chocolate. I have had European Chocolate from Bulgaria before and it was delicious. So I waited with anticipation for another European mouth watering experience. I'm still waiting. It was AWFUL. He brought home a nice pretty tin of carefully wrapped chocolates that he figured came out to be about a dollar a chocolate. They were probably half the size of our Chunky's here. So it would be expensive even by our standards. These filled chocolates looked good, smelled good and weren't too bad in comparison to the candy bars he also brought home. I tried two of these wrapped chocolates and that was enough for me. I could taste the alcohol immediately which sent us to search out the ingredients and sure enough about halfway down there it was....alcohol. In chocolate?
It only got worse from there. He brought home two chocolate bars. He knows I'm a dark chocolate type of gal so he got two bars, one that had a 70% label and the other 90%. Now I was pretty sure 90% was gonna be a problem. I mean that's gotta be close to bitter I told him over skypes, but I was game still imagining and remembering my last experience with European Chocolate. Well it turned out the 90% was barely ok, still too bitter for my taste, but it turns out the 70% bar had me spitting it out in the trashcan pretty much immediately. So much for Polish Chocolate. I don't recommend it.
Of course while over there he also went to the two concentration camps, Aushwitz and Birkenau. Many know that Aushwitz became the biggest center for the mass extermination of European Jews. Most were killed in gas chambers immediately on arrival without registration and without identification. He saw a room with thousands and thousands of shoes and another with almost as many suitcases, many with names on them. He saw the showers, the firing squad and the ovens and felt the evil still that permeates what is now a memorial for those that died there.
Now he's talking about us moving over there. I'm ok with giving up luxuries and helping those less fortunate with both physical and spiritual needs but I never ever even thought of Poland. So it looks like I'm going over there next year and who knows? Maybe in a couple of years, we could be learning a new language. It would be an experience for sure, and I will make sure I pack lots of toilet paper and Hershey bars!
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