Warsaw - Day 3

Warsaw is wonderful! We have been here for 3 days now and I am still finding new things to enjoy. The food here is plentiful and good. For the last two evenings, they have taken us to restaurants for dinner. Each dinner was 4 courses! They bring out a first course of cold vegetables, meats, breads, and cheeses. The second course is soup. The main course varies. Sunday night we had steak and fries. Monday night we had dinner family style meats and sides. They brought SO much food to our tables...duck, spare ribs, perch, pork chops, and pork knuckles. (I had the pork chop- no extreme meals for me!) Then the last course is always dessert. The have delicious ice cream here. Its called lody and its much creamier and sweeter than in the U.S. I will have to force myself not to eat ice cream everyday or, for that matter, every meal. I have a dress to fit into when I return home!

Monday, June 22- We visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and spoke with the Officer of the Americas (basically the under-under deputy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs --> similar to our Secretary of State). He talked about the transition of Poland from communism to democracy and Polish/U.S. relations. Interesting fact- There are not illegal immigration issues in Poland.

Our second visit yesterday was to Warsaw University where the Fulbright Commission is located. We had aa feminist/activist professor talk about women's rights/status in Poland since Communism. She discussed abortion, liberal activisim & equality for women in Poland, and gender issues. Interesting fact- Poland has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in Europe. Interesting fact 2- Poland has the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in Europe.

We walked through Old Town (the older district in Warsaw) last night to get to the restaurant for dinner. The architecture is beautiful but all the buildings have been reconstructed. Approximately 84% of Warsaw was completely destroyed during WWII. It has been rebuilt to model the old buildings but very few original structures remain. We saw a memorial statue to the children of the Warsaw uprising in the Warsaw ghetto, which was completely destroyed when the Nazis burned it after the uprising.

Fun fact- Supposedly, if you smile at a Pole, they will either presume you are stupid or you are coming on to them. :) They are a very stoic people, probably a legacy leftover from communism.

Tuesday, June 23- Today we visited the College of Europe, which was amazing. It's a small campus in the suburbs of Warsaw. The main campus is in Bruges, Belgium. Only 100 students are accepted to the Warsaw campus and only 300 students are accepted to the main campus in Bruges. The College of Europe is basically a one year masters program to prepare students for policymaking and government positions in their own government or with the EU. The EU is the main focus of curriculum. In Bruges, curriculum is more specific, like EU law, while in Warsaw its more interdisciplinary. The actual campus was formally an aristocratic residence that was taken over by the Communists to use as their dacha, or personal retreat. Nikita Khruschev visited the campus while Poland was still Communist! Our speaker actually attended college in the U.S. at Harvard. He was very interesting!

We also visited the Center for Advancement of Women, which also focuses on improving the equality for women in the workforce and in the private sector. They were a less activist group and more focused on working with the policymakers to make changes. No protests for them!

We have free time this evening so a small group of us are going out to try Adler restaurant, which serves German, Bavarian, and Polish cuisine. Should be fun!

**Note: I took lots of pictures but, of course, I left my connector cord from my camera to my computer in Texas. Pictures will have to wait until I return, unless I find a cord. **