Tuesday after class, I was leaving when a man stopped and asked me to take his photograph. Of course, I was friendly and nice and took his photo. Then he asked me where I'm from. So, we start talking about America. Because he's from America too! He's been teaching at my school all year, and no one sought fit to introduce us. JM is this adorable old man. We ended up chatting for quite a while before we made plans to get lunch the next day after my class.
The next morning, I taught. Then JM and I headed to the 49th biggest tourist attraction in Warsaw. It's this large market with lots of little mom & pop stores. Through that, we found Asia Tasty - which JM loves because it has Vietnamese food he can't find anywhere else. Asia Tasty was decent food, and I enjoyed chatting with someone from back home. JM has since started sending me all sorts of news articles from NPR and the like. It's very enjoyable.
After that, I went to Charlotte where I loitered, waiting for the moment I would meet a new American friend. This girl is a friend of two other Fulbrighters here. All three of these people went to the same university. I agreed to meet with her because the other friends know and like her. New girl was in Warsaw for a couple weeks. So, she didn't have a telephone that works here. Nor was she familiar with public transport. But she assured me that she could meet me. So... I waited. I waited. And I waited. And when she was 30 minutes late, I thought... Golly. She's probably lost in Warsaw. So I waited some more. I've never felt so idiotic in my life. Because this girl was not going to show. Embarrassing.
The next day, I met a former Fulbrighter from Morocco who is currently working in Warsaw. She showed up. And was really cool. It was fun comparing experiences both as a Fulbrighter in a new country and as a teacher in Warsaw.
Anyway, I figure it was just like life to have me encounter all sorts of new people... at the end of my year in Poland.
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