The frugal traveler: Krakow, Poland

Hi everyone,

Everyone should take a second Christmas in Poland! Since they leave their Christmas decorations up longer than other parts of Europe and fares are inexpensive in January, why not consider Krakow? Once the Polish centre of government, Krakow has much diversity for the frugal tourist. We toured the royal palaces, investigated the Jewish area of towne, took a day trip to a centre of prayer and adoration. Others we spoke to were provoked by a visit to Auschwitz and in seeing the relatively unchanged communist designed communities. Due to the low cost of tickets on Ryan air, Margies' finding us the Rainbow house small apartment, and our preplanning, the entire trip for both of us was less that €1,000.

No where are you likely to find more friendly people. Several times during our trip Polish people started up a conversation with me - in Polish! It felt wonderful and welcoming, inclusive and genuine - even if I was only guessing at what they were saying.

Poland, along with most of Eastern Europe has been struggling to achieve financial independence and move from being a new member of the European Union to be solvent enough to use the Euro. What this translates to is that while much of Krakow is grey and somewhat run down, much of its previous grandeur is aparent. The tour book we were using called the Kazimierz district (the old Jewish district prior to the Nazi devastation of WWII) "delapedated chic". Indeed, I felt that this could be said about much of the central area of town. As an example, going into our apartment we had a hallway with peeling paint and wooden stairs that were curved in the middle from wear. Once we reached the apartment we had a cheery and recently redone interior that was more than adequate for our needs.

Margie and I kept our costs down (due to the ever shrinking dollar) by bringing along Irish Museli, instant coffee, tea and Chinese noodles . With the addition of milk, a few veggies and some fresh mozarella cheese we had both breakfast and dinner handled. This allowed us to splurg a bit, such as on the restaurant above. Called "Once upon a time" it is at the corner of the large square which houses the oldest synagogue in the city, its cemetary and many wonderful little cafe's. We found it a fabulous place to rub elbows with history as we enjoyed fabulous food.

Well dear friends, our week was magnificent - with many stories (an more picture) to show and tell - but those I will leave for another day as we also returned home to lots of work to catch up on. I look forward to telling you about Czechtova and the glorius cathedral with the black madonna - one of the most direct experiences of the beauty of active faith that I have experienced.

Lots of love to all,
Alana

MultiCultural Living in Cork

Hi everyone,

This weeks blog (can you believe it three weeks in a row!) focuses on a multi-cultural class that Margie and I are privileged to be invited to in Cork. Our inclusion in the course comes through the Zappa quilt experience of all places, just going to show the synchronicity of the universe can travel long distances through time to set up new beginnings. About eight weeks ago I got a letter from a Zappa fan who had looked up the quilt project on the internet and found my e-interview from a couple of years ago. In it I mentioned that I was moving to Kinsale, and this woman decided to write me here. Her tone was friendly and I put it aside but with the intention to write her back.

Time went by and as I was leaving for our trip to the US I decided to write. Since she had asked about how my life had progressed after the quilt I told her about my desire to write for different types of publication. At the times these ideas were focused on reinventing life and I mused about doing an advise column. Long story short, she replied quickly, stating the she had just attended a Christmas party for a newspaper she writes freelance for The Immigrant whose mission it is to advance Cork as a multicultural place to live. The story continued that I wrote to their editor and hopefully that the February issue will see my first advise column in print. Quite exciting.

Well as marketing and networking go these days, this put us on the mailing list for the newspaper, which is funded by the Eastern European Alliance and they also put on these multicultural exchange classes. Margie and I jumped on the chance and off we went to Cork last Thursday for our first adventure.

Fifteen people attended from twelve countries: the US (of course), Rwanda, Nigeria, Serbia, England, France, Ethiopia, Ireland, Italy, Russia and Trinidad. We did not get into all the reasons that brought us to Ireland, although a couple of women came here because of their husbands. Another man is on work exchange and I suspect at least two of the people are there because they are writers and think that it is not only interesting but the stuff of which good stories may be made (in this I am in full agreement).

We spent our first time together sharing briefly about our countries - not directly but through the vehicle of telling someone else who tells the group. It was interesting that Margie and I both stressed the diversity of the US and how, even if we are to exchange bits about our country how we can't be said to speak for the "American experience." While I suspect that is true to at least some respect of everyone in the room, I left thinking that this was a new concept for the others. In other words, it seemed that the others in the room felt as though they could speak to how life was in their country - that they came from a unified experience based upon their native origins. I find this especially interesting in that one of the men (from Rwanda) comes from a country with 5 clearly defined ethnic groups. Of course we know of the war between between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi, where somewhere between .5 and 1 million people perished in the spring of 1994. I cannot even imagine the lives or experiences of some of the people in our group. As I told the group, I came along because I realize what a baby I am in terms of understanding the experiences of the rest of the world.

A couple of times a US identity became too much the center of focus for me. The first was during the presentation by the woman from Serbia in which she was answering questions about Bosnia. I did not understand the references, but the men from African countries were questioning her about the political unrest. Her point of view is that Bosnia is a group that developed recently, as Yugoslavia broke up and that Serbians don't know much of what happened there. After mentioning "the Nato bombing" she looked directly at me and said something that left me wondering to what extent inappropriate (in Serbian terms) US intervention had instigated whatever happened there. More to learn about at another time - recent history will come alive for us as a result of this class.

During the small gathering at the end of the meeting one man said it was nice to have the US represented and then the group asked questions about the upcoming elections. I replied as I commonly due (hoping for a democratic outcome, trying to explain the dynamics behind decisions that might include either a black or woman president - etc) but came to a place where I pointed out to the group that we all were discussing the politics of the US but were unlikely to be able to equally discuss the politics of anywhere else in the world to the same extent. It seems to me at times as though the US is both a world power AND a source of entertainment for the rest of the world. Entertaining, likely until some overt foreign intervention makes our colonial ideals become apparent once again.

Colonial history can also bring laughter however. As the man from Ethiopia was explaining that his was the only African country which was not taken over by outside powers during the time of world colonization, the man from Italy said, "But we tried!" To which everyone laughed.

Before I go, the personal and honest conversation I had with the woman from Trinidad moves me to what is likely a common experience anywhere in the world that is currently experiencing modern day colonialism - that of the multinational corporations. She was telling me that while the oil and asphalt (pitch) industries were the big producers of wealth in her country, that it makes her mad that the smart black Trinidad men always take second slots in management behind their white, foreign counterparts brought in by the companies that employ them.

Clearly the complexities of the world will be displayed in what we learn from this group. Please comment from your experiences that may be similar or different to the ones I describe here. I look forward to keeping up the conversation in weeks to come. Next week however we will be experiencing Eastern Europe for ourselves as we take three days and go to Krakow in Poland.

More next week,
Alana

The Drumming Circle

Happy Saturday morning blog reading fans!

I am celebrating my second weekly blog of 2008 - so far so good.

Last night found me going for the first time to what will likely be my regular Friday night gig - African drumming. A local man hosts the drumming circle every Friday, and a couple of people I know have gone and liked it - so what the heck, last night I gave it a try. We meet in the Temperance hall - the one that Jean and Carla wrote about as the pink building, "a gathering place for meetings and plays and watching tourists pass by." You enter the building to find a circle of folding chairs set up (last night for about twenty drums) each with a drum in front of it.

The drums are about 2.5" tall with a drum head of about 12"-14". The travel across town from their owner's apartment (whose name I have to catch on my next visit) in these fairly elaborate bags that keep their heads warm on cold nights and give the carrier a strap to hang on to. Many of the participants carry them back on our way to the pub when we finish the 2 and a half hour session.

A little web research this morning told me that the drums we use are Dejemba:

Djembe has a vast sound range and is very responsive. Although on the surface it appears to be played with just three conventional strokes, by slight changes in positioning, pressure and accentuation of each stroke, slightly different sound can be created. Add touch notes(or grace notes, These are the non existing notes which can be represented by gentle touch on the drum, useful for keeping the timing) and you can create a colorful vibrant tapestry of sound.

my experience is that base notes are played with the flat of your hand in the middle of the drum and higher notes are played at the edges. Both require some pressure on the hand (rings removed to save the drum head). Very quickly fingers tingle if not ache, but this sensation too is lost as the head warms up, the drumming becomes intensified with many of us playing two or three different rhythms that weave and dance over the course of a session. Not that I could follow the complex rhythms very well, but I know this will come with time and experience.

At the pub afterward, I valued the diversity of people that come to Kinsale - many of the most interesting are drawn here by the Future Education College. Several in the drumming circle are in that group - many learning permaculture - or the art and science of sustainable living. The most distressing potential (as we talked about climate change) is that if the polar ice completely collapses, so does the gulf stream. This would create a climate in Ireland much like Norway (BRRRRRRR). Not that this is likely to happen in my lifetime, but something to research more in the future.

Other than this, it has been a great week back at work. Unexpectedly an old work acquaintance looked me up to help mentor one of his students in action research. It has spurred my interest in finding part time work with helping teachers and organizational development folks in these projects.

Got to go now - Shadow doesn't seem to be very perky this am and we are giving her lots of attention.

All the best,
Alana

New Year's Resolutions

(rough drafted on the plane home from the US on the 2nd)

Hi everyone,
Starting in again with regular blogging is one of my New Year's resolutions. I am especially saying "Hi" today to Alice, Joan and Jean as the three of you have proven to be my most faithful blog readers. Blogging makes sense as part of this year's major task: to break into writing for a consumer marketplace.

Looking back on 2007 I see a series of misdirected actions which caused me to end the year with a loss of life's gusto. Thankfully the trip we are just finishing reversed that trend. Being in the US and seeing large numbers of family members on what Margie and I called our, "Grand tour" turned out to be a wonderful prescription for rejuvenation. Traveling to the US as a tourist is a blast! California is blissfully sunny, San Francisco is a fabulous city, the ocean is magnificent with waves that shoot up over our heads, can I say more? Of course I can! We took in coconut Palm tree lined streets, Christmas lights, and all the American favorites (such as Mexican food!). Balmy days strolling on the beach dodging the waves at high tide and adobe Spanish styled tile roof homes, nestled in neighborhoods that are diverse as time and building styles could allow. These and many more memories will be stored in our brains as treasured keepsakes from this trip.

Family can be wonderful, warm, inviting, and our experience was that everyone generously opened their homes and their lives to those crazy relative who now live in the Europe. Small children have grown two years older, and have their parents. Talk around dinner tables was of political change, imagined or hoped for. Thank heaven all were well and enjoying good health, although in one case it had been a close call.

Since we did not shop we did not see the commercialism at Christmas that used to drive me nuts. We celebrated by sheparding an aging mother out to see decorations in Houston's malls and hotels and (later) to see the lights decorating the houses at night. When we left the US two years ago the large blow up Santas were something of a novelty. Now a variety offer bright and colorful splashes on most blocks. Two of my favorites were a Santa in a hammock between two palm trees at a beach house and a full Santa express train, complete with elves, toys and moving parts.

As is often the case within deep human connections we travel home realizing that we were given a great deal through our exchange of ideas and conversation with others. It was refreshing to be viewed and acknowledged by friends and family who see us from the same cultural lens as that we grew up in. I leave having felt "seen" and this energized my passions for writing. It feels good to be able contribute fully and I look forward to some new beginnings when back in Kinsale.

On the horizon for 2008 are:

1. Volunteering and perhaps leading a meditation class at a cancer center in Cork.
2. Writing a book proposal and query letters describing our passage from the US to Ireland.
3. Writing an advise column for a free newspaper geared for immigrants and multicultural living in County Cork.
4. Teaching online, mentoring doctoral students, drawing pictures and playing games with friends.

Now I look forward to hearing about your hopes and dreams for the New Year! May 2008 bring you joy and fulfillment.

love to all,
Alana