Korean woman in Krakow

i'm an alien, i'm an legal alien, i'm a korean woman in krakow~

that song keeps spinning in my head. yes, i'm here and it's been exactly one week since my arrival. can't believe it's only been a week.

i know you guys are curious about how i'm spending my days - here's a day to day recap :) btw, i don't really have internet at home yet so forgive me if i haven't been in touch.

monday - my first meltdown happened the first night. we arrived at our new house finally - only to discover that our house was filthy! we went throught the house once and all our feet were black - literally - will have pictures to prove later. so the first night was spent mopping the whole house the old fashioned way - oh how i miss thee, wet jet swiffer. i will post a picture of re-enactment later - obviously it will be much more beautified since the actual event included tears and snot.

tuesday /wednesday- a blur. went to ikea and grocery shopping. note to self: when moving internationally, bring everything that's familiar to you that you use on daily basis. hand soap, shampoo, shredded cheese, cream cheese - yeah, bring Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Acme if possible.

thursday- our stuff arrives! whoo-hoo. we weren't sure if we were going to get them but they came at 7pm to unload all our stuff. the movers were young and strong :) they decided that throwing stuff from outside to the 2nd floor balcony was much easier than using the stairs- uh-huh, including our super heavy king size mattress. amay-jing. discovering that young polish men are charming and sweet - good to know, good to know.

friday - unpack most of the day and joe decides that we should hit the town for a relaxing evening - NOT. kids didn't nap and falls asleep in the bus to the town - they fight to sit in the stroller. we decide to put them in TOGETHER in a single umbrella stroller - mak holding ethan. while we're figuring this out, bird comes by and poops on all of us - kids were spared by the stroller cover. what is that saying from Conan O'Brien - that ridiculous dog puppet who says- "for me to POOP on!" i don't know why but feeling like we should be on some comical reality show. we wipe ourself as cleanly as possible and head off to the restaurant. we sit outside - taking in the sites, surrounded by tourists - only to be forced in by rain.

once it stops we head off to the mall to pick up some "good" milk at nicer grocery store. the other milk we had tasted like corn, even mak commented "this is not good...." all the stress from the past several days hits me and i have a major IBS attack. i furiously ran to find the restroom only to find that there's a line of 15 women. unable to communicate that i'm in a hurry, my stomach has pity on me and calms down until it's my turn. thank you Lord.

once that ordeal is over, we head off to McDonalds to bribe the kids who are on the brink of meltdown since we still had to buy the "good" milk - i go to the store and leaves joe with the kids. ethan is flirting with some polish girls, playing peek-a-boo by the store window. joe then discovers that his diaper has leaked. when i return, we feverishly return to the restroom i previosuly visited to change the boy. polish lady who takes money for the bathroom yells "powieruwpoaiureoi!" to us - we don't know what she meant but she pointed at some other room. it was a changing room - thank you! but i hear her mumbling loudly as i entered the room - even without understanding, i know that she's complaining that we haven't paid. calm down, lady, we'll get to it. alas, the day ended with much needed prayer.

saturday- trip to Tesco - big british grocery store. took 3 hours to find half the things we need. i'm proud of myself because i ordered a block of parmasean cheese from the cheese lady. how did i do it? i found a can of processed grated parm cheese - pointed at the selection of cheese she had, raised both eye brows and said "where?" brilliant, i amaze myself.

sunday - church. surprisingly decent sermon. about how you live your daily christian life will determine whether you can gracefully jump through the obstacles of life. was ethan's birthday so went out to downtown krakow for some italian food and ice cream. wishing i was able to enjoy the sights with my dear friends....

despite the minor culture shock, i'm faring well - i'm a true survivor. i will post more discoveries later - ciao. oh, that's the wrong language. do widzenia ~ how i wish i was learning italian instead :P

krakow, here we come.

welcome to my blogspot! it's officially open. was exploring different mediums to be in touch but i've decided this would be best - facebook seems way too complicated but cool to be in touch with people i otherwise wouldn't - and believe me, in krakow, i need to be connected to as many people as possible.

anyhow, we're off to krakow in less than two weeks. i had another panic attack the other night. major scare attack - i'm not sure what i'm really afraid of - scared of the unknown ofcouse, but more than that, i'm scared to face my breaking point - what would ultimately break me? - being with the kids 24/7 without any friends, daily stress of being in a country where i can't communicate, being lonely? all of them sounds so scray..... not to mention the possibility of endless conflicts i can have with joe. AHHHHHHHHH.

have to keep reminding myself that i'm going on a journey assigned by God and i should tackle all the challenges head on, GOD HELP ME! and really, aren't we all on a journey - this Christian life. i'm just getting removed from everything i know, and so many people seem to do it such grace - must God drag me kickin' and screamin'? soooo i'm keeping my composure, my chin up high, fixing my eyes on the prize - wherever this next 3 years will take me - hope to do it graciously :) pray that it won't get too ugly!

btw, i got my mail from INS to get my interview for the citizenship - whoohoo! it's about time! so the interview is on th 19th but i guess i'll fly back sooner than i expected to be sworn in - if i pass the interview :)