The Wojewodzic family quickly has become my Polish family. Monica and Vova (pictured here with me in Krynitsa) are both about forty years old and have their own business - making and selling designer bags. Evidently, this is the real deal. They have their own factory and designers and sell their products all over Europe. I am expecting to take a tour of their office and factory before I leave. They even have a website, which I will post under the links tomorrow. (It seems I wrote down the wrong website this morning.) The two of them work very hard every day to provide a nice home for their boys. Monica says she believes they are different from many Polish families in that they have a rigorous schedule (working from 8am to 6 or 7pm everyday) which means that they do not spend tons of time together as a family during the week. But they do sit down every morning and evening together to share a meal. This is a lot more than many American families can say!
Their home (to the right) is situated just outside downtown Nowy Sacz. It is beautiful - and it was designed by Monica and Vova over many years. It is a completely open space with no walls separating any of the rooms on the first floor, except the hallway, closets and bathroom. Upstairs, there are 4 bedrooms, plus 2 bathrooms. It is very comfortable here - to the point of making me feel as though I'm on vacation somewhere far away from Poland. They have a decent sized yard with a large pond, hammock and barbecue pit. Do I have to come home?
Monica and Vova have been very kind and gracious since I arrived last Friday. Monica's English skills are limited, but we have been able to find a way to get across all important ideas. And she surprises me with certain words sometimes like "grave" and "stain." They just seem like unusual words to me. Anyway - we get along so well that stayed up until midnight my first night just talking about life and the many differences between life in the US and life in Poland. This is our most popular topic of conversation.
The boys, Bartek and Mihal, have been great, too. Bartek has been at school most days, so I have limited interaction with him. He's also a 16 year old boy who is anxiously awaiting summer break, so he's off with his friends a lot. Mihal is a wonderful young man who is getting ready to head off to the university in Krakow next fall. He has been a great help transporting me everywhere, showing me different sites and serving as translator between me and Vova. Vova speaks no English and a lot of Russian and Polish, while I speak a lot of English and minimal Russian and no Polish whatsoever. It is difficult living here for these 2 weeks knowing that I came here with little interest in learning Polish. Monica and Vova knew the situation (that I only speak English) before agreeing to take me in, but I can't help but feel as though I am being disrespectful for not trying to learn more Polish. I have been making an effort lately to learn phrases and words, but I think my brain is just so full of information that I hardly retain anything for long.
Despite the language issue, we have been having a great time together these past few days and I am looking forward to the next week. Maybe we will get to go out for ice cream again tonight?
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