last post from Poland!

I am writing my last post from Poland. It is a bittersweet moment but I am relieved to be going back to Texas. Four weeks away from home and all this is familiar is a lot to deal with. It makes you appreciate those who give up their time and private lives to serve our country much more. Life is much more difficult away from those you love.

We drove by bus back to Warsaw yesterday. We stopped in a small town to visit the Jasna Gora monastery, home of the Black Madonna. It was an amazing experience. The Black Madonna gets her name from the dark wood her face is carved from. There are different legends surrounding why her face is dark, one being the oil/incense burned in the church has darkened her face. The Black Madonna has special significance to Catholics in Poland and in Europe. She is an icon and is believed to have kept Poland safe from invaders throughout several attempts in history. She even emerged unscathed from Nazi occupation. A copy was made and the original was hidden. The Nazis never knew they were looking at a copy! The Black Madonna has become a symbol of the faith and survival of Poland. She was even crowned Queen of Poland!

People travel from all over Poland and Europe to visit the Black Madonna and worship in her presence. While we where there, a group of priests was having Holy Communion and they had traveled for eleven days by foot to get there. Many other groups arrive by foot as well to make this holy pilgrimmage. It was a moving experience.

The monastery itself is beautiful and there is lots of church history and Polish history to be viewed there. The crowds are so large it almost resembles a tailgating party before a college football game. There are food booths and tents set up where people sleep. Its a really moving experience to see the faith of so many people displayed at once.

We arrived back in Warsaw after 7 p.m. so my friend Gaea and I decided to have dinner at our favorite restaurant in Warsaw one last time. Its a German restaurant, Adler, and we had the Russian style pierogi, pierogi Heidi. Its like a dumpling stuffed with cheese and potato. Delicious! I had a milkshake for dessert and it was the best shake I have had, besides my mothers! It was vanilla icecream with actual pieces of chocolate mixed in! Yum!

Today, we visited the birthplace of Fryderik Chopin, a famous classical musician. The gardens around the home are being redone so there is not much to see right now. We toured the house and it was beautiful. We had a free afternoon so I spent it napping and preparing to go home. I am trying to figure out how to haul home all the souvenirs I bought for family.

Tomorrow, we have a wrap-up session at the Fulbright office and a reception at the Consulate General's house. A farewell dinner tomorrow night will conclude my trip in Poland.

My flight leaves Warsaw at noon on Saturday and we will be back in the States, in Chicago to be exact, at 3 p.m. I should be home in Texas by 8 p.m. Saturday night! It has been fun, meaningful, and interesting! I am ready to get back to my life, my love, my family, and my friends in Texas!

Good night from Warsaw! A final goodbye from Poland!