Yesterday felt a bit like a scene out of a movie.  A commute that normally takes 45 minutes took us 3 hours!  We are in language school up in Sopot which is actually the city just north of Gdansk- reached quickly by train in only 15 minutes from our closest station.  We got 1/4 of the way home and the train stopped.  We sat for awhile and wondered why we weren't moving.  People started getting off the train and walking away.  We had to bust out our trusty map of Gdansk to figure out where we were and how to get home if we left that particular train station.

And then we walked.  For a long time.  In the wind.  And rain.  And did I mention it was below freezing with the wind chill?!

So we find a tram stop and get on the first tram that comes.  We go almost the distance of 3 tram stops and we get stuck in the middle of the track.  A policeman gets on and announces that the trams are being stopped because of the wind so everyone must get off, but there will be a bus coming soon.  So we join about 100 people standing on the curb and tried to stay warm in the midst of the crazy wind and rain.  For a long time.

We decided to walk.  In the wind.  And rain.  Did I mention it was below freezing with the wind chill?!

We passed trees that had blown over, large branches in the street and even the siding of a building under renovation which had blown onto the sidewalk.  That was a bit scary as we timed our steps around the workers trying to pick up the large piece with long screws sticking out- as the wind kept knocking it out of their hands!

We finally reach our normal transportation hub where we're able to get on a bus to our building.  We joined about 100 people crammed on to the bus and finally got home.  3 hours after leaving language school.

And then the electricity went out in our building.  But came back on 8 minutes later.  But continued flickering on and off through out the night.

Then we saw the newspapers this morning and found out that part of the MOLO (the long pier in Sopot) was damaged because of waves that were several kilometers high.  Also it was snowing in Warsaw and half a million people don't have electricity through-out Northern Poland.  And a city a few miles north of here is flooded because of waves crashing into the city.  And the reason the trains and trams had to stop running yesterday was because the winds were blowing large trees and limbs onto the tracks.

And we walked home through that storm.

Anybody who wants to donate money for the purchase of a vehicle for Team Gdansk, please make contributions payable to Avant Ministries....  :)

We've seen a LOT of flats in this city.  I'm signing a contract tomorrow on the 2nd flat we saw on the 1st day.  YIPPEE!!! I'm SOOOO excited to have a home again!!

Do you realize that it was Sept 17, 2008 when I left Poznan and flew back to the States to begin this crazy adventure?  On Sept 17, 2009 I will finally be moving into my own flat again.  An entire year of being homeless and in transition.  Exactly one year.

It's been one heck of a year.  God has taught me a lot.  Wow.  Yeah...  Going through the Refiner's Fire isn't fun, but I'm anxious to see what He's been preparing me for.  Apparently there will be much need for being flexible and doing lots of things I don't want to do, haha!   To look back on the past year of heartbreak, disappointments, good-byes, and tests of faith and patience and surrendering control to my Savior (over and over and over and over again!) it's hard to believe that right now I am totally at peace and very happy, joyful and excited!  Only God can take you through all that and bring you out with more optimism than you started with.

He's an awesome God, isn't He??!

Just a little translation humor:  When looking at a website today for a local home-furnishings store, my teammate giggled at a particular translation.  It was for a goose down comforter with feathers in it.  The translated webpage said, "Feathers are epidurous, horny creatures."  This brought many laughs as my teammates discovered the first of many translation related jokes we will have in the next few years!

Also memorable is the coffee shop downtown with "Coffee Titbits".

:)

We had a 2 hour layover in Warsaw before our flight to Gdansk.  This was our official entry into Poland and my teammates' first "welcome" to their new home.   We get to the airport and stop at the restroom on the way off the plane.  Probably not the best idea because then we got in the back of the line to go through Passport Control.  This line moved incredibly slow and we started checking our watches and mentally calculating the time until our plane would board.

We made it past Passport Control and then around the corner to security.  If it's possible, this line moved even slower!  There's a group of impatient people backing up as two security lines checked everyone getting off the international plane.  While we waited I suddenly noticed a commotion at about the same time a very large security guard put an older man in a headlock and started walking him away from the security line.  The man was swearing in Polish and obviously intoxicated.  The large security guy lets him go and the drunk guy turns around swinging which meant other security guys came running over (leaving the two security lines in the guardianship of one lady who was keeping anyone from going through until her co-workers were back).  Right about this time the family in front of us with two small children caused a commotion of their own.  While the parents were distracted by the scene unfolding in front of us, their toddler son ran off around the security checkpoint and beyond, running gleefully away as his father yelled for him to come back.  The woman who was holding down the fort had to run after this way-ward toddler to catch him and return him to his parents who had not yet crossed through security!

Upon reuniting with his family the toddler decided it was a lot more fun to duck past security than stay with his parents.  We watched as the father almost dislocated the son's arm by holding him so tightly and scolding him through clenched teeth.  Finally the mother and father switched kids and mom held the toddler while dad held the baby.  This put an end to any running for that kid!

Back to the old dude in the headlock.  When he started throwing punches he got immediately thrown into a security room which took out two of the agents who had been manning the security line.  So then we had to stand around and wait while they called for more workers to come.   All of this time the clock is ticking and we watched our flight go from "On Time" to "Boarding".  We finally get up to our turn in line and an old lady in front of my teammate had bought a large amount of Vodka at the Duty Free Shops.  Security would not allow her to take this so she was arguing with them which incited the rage of the man behind her, who obviously was also trying to sneak alcohol past security.  He was a little bit intoxicated as well and had started shouting back at the time they were headlocking the other drunk guy.  He had simmered down with the threat of being thrown off his next flight... right up until the point he realized they were gonna nail him for sneaking his own vodka through the line.  So he starts shouting and flailing his arms as my teammate and I are getting our computers out of our bags to put on the conveyer belt.  Then he says something and runs away as the security guards again leave their post and chase after him.  We looked at each other and checked our watch again as we had no choice but to wait some more!

FINALLY we ALL got through security and made it to our plane just in time to see the baggage handlers loading one of our teammates' suitcases onto the plane.  Then another guy tried to hand him another suitcase (which was one of several of ours we counted on that cart).  He held up his hand and called over his buddies who then counted the suitcases in the plane already and then turned to count the suitcases remaining on the luggage cart.  They scratched their heads and counted again before shrugging their shoulders and standing there dumb-founded.  This is when we got the inkling that some of our bags would not be waiting for us in Gdansk!

As it turns out, our 18 pieces of 50+ lbs would have exceeded the weight limit on this teeny tiny plane.  I actually was relieved to know they didn't try to cram it all in there because until that moment we'd felt pretty special that we'd slipped past every boarding agent with our carry ons which weighed 3 times more than the allowable limit!  We started calculating the additional weight our team of 6 was bringing on this very little plane and got a little paranoid!

Then we boarded the plane and they were handing out Polish newspapers to read on the flight.  The headline in large, bold font right across the middle of the page said, "WE DON'T LOVE AMERICA ANYMORE!"  I couldn't understand much of the article but it had to do with Poles being mad at Obama's administration for snubbing Poland last week.  If I understood this statistic right, only 7% of Poles support Obama now.  Ha!  We're in good company...  :)

Great.  Thanks, Obama.  And we'll walk into Gdansk 9 days after all this....

With Putin in Poland for WWII Anniversary, Many Poles Feel Snubbed by Obama

tedlipien on Sep 2, 2009

With such powerful historical precedents, it was yet another public diplomacy mistake by the Obama Administration to send a relatively low-level US delegation to Poland. It was led by President Obama's national security advisor General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret). So much so, that according to the New York Times Moscow correspondent, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has taken pains to play down the fact that neither President Obama, Vice President Biden nor Secretary Clinton were present at the anniversary observances in Gdansk.

The Obama Administration officials have also not reacted to numerous statements by Russian officials and pro-Kremlin journalists, in which they defended Stalin and his secret agreement with Hitler to jointly attack Poland in 1939. Polish government leaders are concerned that in an attempt to "reset" relations with Russia, President Obama will drop the Bush Administration's plan to deploy parts of the anti-ballistic missile shield in Poland, as well as in the Czech Republic.

www.chinaview.cn 2009-09-03 04:40:26

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WARSAW, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The absence of the U.S. leadership at Tuesday's World War Two anniversary ceremony in Gdansk of Poland was "a lesson in realism" for Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Wednesday.

"I think this is a lesson in realism. This must be viewed with American eyes," Sikorski said, noting that the United States today had to deal with serious problems like the financial crisis, the Mideast and Afghanistan and was paying less attention to Poland as it was not a problem hotbed.

"From the U.S. point of view, everything in Poland is going well, and they simply don't share our sensitivity on these matters, and this is something we must be aware of in our politics," Sikorski was quoted as saying by the Polish news agency PAP.

On the eve of Tuesday's World War Two anniversary ceremony in Gdansk, the White House informed Poland that the U.S. delegation to the event would be headed by James Jones, a retired general and head of the U.S. National Security Council.

Last week Polish government aide Slawomir Nowak said the delegation head to Gdansk would be former defense secretary William Perry. This brought protests from Poland's opposition, who claimed that the absence of higher-ranking U.S. officials at the ceremony meant Poland was unimportant for the United States.

Commenting the opposition's protests, Sikorski, who talked with Jones on Tuesday, warned against "falling into extremes" in relations with the United States. "We shouldn't oscillate between unconditional devotion and bitterness and disenchantment," the minister said.

Sikorski's remarks come amid nervousness in Poland that the Obama administration is preparing to drop plans to build a missile interceptor site on Polish soil.

Under a Polish-U.S. accord signed last year, 10 ground base interceptors are to be installed in Redzikowo, northern Poland, as part of a larger U.S. missile defense system that would also include a radar system in the Czech Republic.

Russia objects to the anti-missile shield plan, warning it will deploy a short-range missile system in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad bordering Poland, in response to the U.S. plans.

I'm offended on behalf of the country and culture which has so hospitably opened her arms and welcomed me.  I'm offended that my own passport country has so snubbed Poland on the annivesary of a very important event.  There is an undercurrent in Polish culture that feels other countries think of them as inferior.  It makes me mad because Poles work harder and have more spirit and pride in them than most Americans.  I know I might get in hot water for saying that, but it's what I see to be a true fact.  Poles fought hard for their country.  They fought hard against the Nazi's despite all their "allies" turning a blind eye on their struggle and refusing to come to their aid.  When Poland fell to the Nazi's, Poles then escaped and fled to France and England to join their armies and fight against Germany to ensure that though they'd lost the battle, they would not lose the war.

Fast forward 40 years to the shipyards of Gdansk.  Polish workers stood up to the Communist regime and demanded workers' rights through the Solidarity workers union.  Poland fought hard and succeeded in being the only country under Communist rule that was allowed a workers' union.  Why??  Because the Communist government realized they could not stamp out the pride and zeal that Poles have to defend their homeland.  That's a STRONG statement, and it's very true.  I still see that pride and zeal today.

Fast forward 10 years and Poles led the fight for democratic elections.  Many Americans think that Communism ended when the Berlin Wall came down.  Stop and think for a moment, what events LED to that collapse?!?  It didn't just randomly happen one day!  Poland fought for and attained a democratically elected government on June 4, 1989- setting into motion a domino effect that swept through Eastern Europe and led to the Berlin Wall coming down.  It started in Poland, yet we so quickly overlook that.  Poles remember it well, and they should.  It is something to be fiercely proud of!

Fast forward 12 years to September 11, 2001.  Do we remember that day?  Certainly!  And do we have any idea which country was the first to call Washington and OFFER (without being asked!) military assistance?!  It was Poland.  We've got Americans fighting on the front lines for our own freedom.  There are Poles fighting right alongside us, fighting for our country and theirs.  Together.  Poland is America's most supportive ally in Europe.

Fast forward another 8 years to the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the official beginning of WWII.  Poland put together a ceremony to remember these events and invited world leaders to attend.  My own country, the great United States of America, couldn't be bothered to even commit to attending the event.  THE DAY BEFORE we decided to announce who would be sent to represent the U.S.  It's not our President, or Vice President, or Secretary of State... nope.   This did more to damage Poland's view of the United States, and honestly I don't blame them for being upset.  I'm upset and I'm American!

I read this excerpt on a blog I frequent about Poland.  This particular post is written by a Pole and gives an honest perspective from Poland:

Germany and Russia, the perpetrators of the 1939 attack on Poland they conducted in agreement and concord with each other, are sending the highest authorities: Angela Merkel, who is engaged in a longstanding genuine effort for German-Polish (and other) reconcilliation, and Vladimir Putin, who isn’t. Among those attending are many heads of states. The EU will be represented by the prime minister of Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt, a country currently holding the presidency. Jerzy Buzek, the newly appointed speaker of the European Parliament, former Polish prime minister, will act as a symbol of a new era in Central Europe.

It is however the absentees, who are most talked about. It is a very important occasion for Polish politicians, and diplomatic world knows it. Absence, therefore, says a lot. French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown the prime minister of the UK and the American president Barack Obama decided they had more important things to do, are sending their representatives of lower rank. These decisions received very cold reception among many Poles. They feel France and Britain have betrayed Poland in 1939, by not providing military help to which they have commited themselves in treaties. And thay say, together with the USA they betrayed Poland once again after the war, leaving her for Soviet occupation. Therefore Poland, an ally that managed to defend longer than France, has become the only ally that didn’t actually win the war. And today, many feel, that these leaders can’t even manage to find three hours to appear on official celebrations. This is noted, and Poles have a good memory - as one of commentators put it on a Polish news channel.

This is a very important day. For many decades we weren’t allowed to talk freely about what happened during the Second World War. Communist dictatorship blanked out half of our war fate from official memory. Some Western countries were able to remember what happened and have moved on. We didn’t, we are remembering it now. It is the last big anniversary when witnesses are still alive. We need this - a Warsaw pedestrian told Polsat News.

 

Popular feelings are reflected in the press, which comments that relations with Poland have become the last priority for the United States. And that she is not getting anything in return for being America’s faithful ally. Polish effort in Iraq, and Afghanistan turn out not to be “lives and money well spent”. Oil contracts did not happen. Promised investment (off-set in return for aircraft deal) is not coming. USA are pulling off the missile shield. And on top of that Poles still need visas to travel to the US. Opinion polls on Poland’s participation in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are falling flat.