Milk Bars

It's been a slow week for language learning. I tired of Rosetta Stone, so I've only forced myself through one lesson this week. I'll start back on that soon. I got distracted by one of Joss Whedon's wonderful series - Dollhouse. After Veronica Mars disappeared from Netflix Instant before I could watch it, I felt compelled to begin my TV show watching in earnest. Then a cold worked its way through my family, hitting me pretty hard. Summer colds are always the worst. I'm very close to finishing my scrapbook for college, so I'm using free time to do that. Last,  but not least, I got a real (paying) job! So my time is super limited.

Since I didn't learn anything about the Polish language, and I still don't understand the ways numbers change well enough to write about it, I'll write about Milk Bars.

I really really want to go to a Milk Bar (bar mleczny), I read about these in Rick Steves' Eastern Europe (even though Poles will tell you that Poland is obviously CENTRAL Europe) and a girl who received the Fulbright two years ago told me that Milk Bars are not to be missed.

Back in Communist times, the government subsidized food at the milk bars, and luckily for the poor traveler, Poland still foots the bill for most of a milk bar meal. Evidently they're likely to have more traditional meals as well. Which is a win for someone hoping to experience "authentic" Polish culture. I really want the traditional experience, something I'm worried about finding since I'll be living in Warsaw.

Warsaw is just so much more of a city than where I was staying in Lublin last summer. Lublin is the sixth largest city to Warsaw's number one position. Warsaw is also three times the size of my hometown. It's nearly impossible to move around my hometown without a car, so I wonder how that will work. I assume Europe has their public transportation down.

Milk Bars can go two ways - they can be "authentic" (I usually put quotes around authentic because real authenticity is measured in so many ways. It's impossible to be entirely authentic by some standards) or they can be touristy. I love kitschy touristy things, but when I say I love those - I mean the Wieliszka salt mines, not milk bars.

I'm looking forward to some traditional Polish food experiences. I thought I'd use this summer to learn to make blueberry pierogi. That's not going to happen. I hope my roommate can cook!