Now that I am back in discovery mode – seeing new sights and
doing new things, I ty to keep our blog current by writing at least one post
every week. That entails me doing/discovering something new on a regular basis
which, to me, is manna from the heavens.
On the other hand...
Sometimes there is simply no apt way for me to describe
something without resorting to another language to do so. Apparently, this
phenomenon is not at all uncommon; the BBC routinely features articles on the topic.
Ich bin nicht belastbar (ish bin nish-t
buh-lahst-bah) is a phrase in German that essentially means ‘I am not one to be
taxed’, meaning that I don’t necessarily function well when over-burdened.
That is not quite the correct meaning but then, that is
the whole point of this thesis, isn’t it?
In a sense, that is why I walked away from the high-pressure
world of middle management and sailed off to China. And, when things started to
get intense there – I was the only foreign teacher for 3 years, compelled to
teach every oral English class as well as attend every function and activity,
again I was eager to decamp.
Of course, that’s not the only reason, or even the main
reason. And it’s not even that I am lazy and resented the workload.
The main reason I left was the increasing pressure and
restrictions placed on foreigners which were tantamount to legalized
discrimination.
So now I find myself in Poland, where I look like everyone
else and the only way anyone would know I am a foreigner is if they speak to me
expecting an answer. Here I have a perfect set-up to fly under the radar; to
not be overly taxed, as it were.
I do my writing for Superprof, I do a little shopping, I
take long walks and I ride trams: exactly the low-key life that I crave.
However, last week was more like a revolving door of
happenings; so much so that each instance was considered blog-worthy but,
before I could gather my thoughts and commit them to print, something else was
happening!
Ich bin nicht belastbar: I can either experience
things or write about them, but I can’t do both at the same time.
Last week saw a stew of events; this week sees their
narration. Ready?
Sunday
Poland celebrates 100 years of independence. The entire city
is bedecked with flags and people seem to walk taller, reveling in their
country’s centenary.
Happy 100th birthday, Poland!
Monday
Over here, people tend to shop for just a couple of days at
a time; that is why stores tend to be so crowded on Friday evenings and,
presumably on Saturday – I wouldn’t know about that because I have yet to
venture out on Saturday mornings while the shops are still open.
They close around mid-day on Saturday and are closed all day
on Sunday so, if you plan on having a nice Sunday dinner, you’d best get to
shopping for it early.
Having depleted my weekend stores, I had my shopping list
ready and thank goodness for my new shopping cart! I won’t have to carry
everything; just wheel it home!
My first clue that there would be no shopping today was the
lack of people milling about in front of the shopping center. My second clue
was the extinguished lights and my third clue was the security gates, locked
firmly in place.
Too bad I hadn’t thought to check my new home’s national
holiday schedule!
If I had done so, I would have known that, although the
centennial celebration was on Sunday, it was officially observed on Monday. As
it was, I essentially took my new shopping cart for a walk.
I joked as I walked: maybe I’ll take my toaster walking
next time...
Tuesday
Evelina, Luisa and I had plans to meet for dinner. Their
goal is to introduce me to all the hip, happening places around town; a plan I
am completely on board with.
Soon, I will write an entire entry about these two wonderful
women and how they go above and beyond to help me get established.
For now we must counter Evelina’s dismay at my swollen hand
and limp arm. She insisted I should see a doctor and I agreed. And then, she
found me a doctor and both of my companions declared they would meet me at that
office, bright and early the next morning.
We also agreed I would help them improve their English in
weekly lessons while they would teach me Polish.
Wednesday
One X-ray and one consultation later, I discovered my elbow
is so severely impacted that I will need surgery to straighten it out. There is
also a fracture of the radius that will need to be reset and stabilized.
That is not the best news I could have gotten...
My two young friends having had to leave before I saw the
doctor were now blowing up my phone, eager for the official diagnosis. When I
told them, their immediate concern was my lack of health insurance.
Arriving at their office with my order to report to the
hospital in hand, I found them calling every contact they had, trying to find a
way to score me some insurance.
See what I mean about going above and beyond?
Incidentally, while we were at the clinic, I made the
observation that everything – signs, posters, ect. are all written only in
Polish.
Generally, I agree with this principle: if one wishes to
live in Poland, they should learn the language. However, some concession should
be made to tourists and new arrivals, don’t you think?
I have to say I find this ‘Polish only’ stance rather
unusual seeing as every other country I have been to puts up signs in the
native language and in English. At least in English, and sometime a host of
other languages.
Nevertheless, everywhere I’ve been so far, including the
foreign affairs office where one should apply for a residency permit, there is
absolutely no other language to read save Polish.
Thursday
It’s up early (again!) and off to the hospital. I am
anticipating getting frowned upon because of my lack of language ability and
the fact that I did not show up yesterday, as ordered. Nothing of the sort
happened: everybody was helpful and kind, and the doctor screening my case even
spoke very good English!
Unfortunately, while the clinic visit the day before was
affordable, the surgery is... also affordable, if I were allowed to make
payments. However, they wanted the entire fee up front and I simply could not
get my hands on that much all at once.
We temporized: he made a plaster splint to keep my arm at 90
degrees and I promised to return for a follow-up appointment in 2 weeks, when I
would presumably have insurance to cover the surgery.
As I was leaving the hospital, Luisa texted me the address
of an insurance agent who is prepared to write me a policy!
Fortunately, the bus connections all worked out and, as a
bonus, I got to ride a bus line I had never ridden before – it goes all the
way out in the country!
When I finally made it home I realized that, instead of
taking my toaster for a walk, I had taken my pajamas and toiletries –
everything I thought I would need for a hospital stay.
Oh, well... next time, the toaster!
Friday
Time for the weekend shopping, and I wanted to buy a
printer: between the English lesson worksheets and my residence application, I
certainly have use for one!
Also, I have received another post office summons. It looks
different than the last one; not quite so official. As I am in fact expecting a
package, I trotted off eagerly, pulling my shopping cart behind me.
This outing left me twice-disappointed. The printer I bought
required a printer cable that needed to be bought separately and the postal
notification was once again a registered letter from the post office.
All went well in scoring food, though...
Resolving that I could do nothing about either the lack of
cable or post office wranglings until Monday, I found a nice movie to watch and
tried to de-stress from this action-packed week.
Saturday and Sunday brought a nice beef stew and catching
up on my Superprof writing; something that desperately needed to be done.
Was this an action-packed week or what?
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