Do Widzenia UEK

I should be on my flight home today. Instead, I’ve been home for 8 weeks. Who could have predicted that? I feel like since I came home on such WEIRD and absolutely bizarre terms, I didn’t experience culture shock the way students abroad usually do. I had trouble adjusting to being under someone else’s rules again but that was it. Not hearing Polish hasn’t been weird because in the dorms, with my friends, we would speak English. It feels like I’m in the dorms, with my friends, when I speak to my family, in English, in our house. I haven’t been out to interact with other people that are not my family and friends yet. Maybe the first time I go to the grocery store I’ll say thank you in Polish or something. Who knows? For the record, I haven’t been to a grocery store since MARCH 11^th!!!!!!!! I haven’t been to Meijer since January. I’m going to see how long I can last without going. Not like I want to go to Meijer anyway. I am glad to be home because I missed my big bed, full closet, mom’s cooking, family dinners and my family’s presence. I am super happy to have Maddie here too. She adds a new element, perspective and loads of comedy to this household. I have my best friend living in my house and I love it. Even though I wish I was still in Krakow, I’m not taking this time at home for granted. Before COVID, family dinners with all 5 of us home were far and few between because of jobs, school, and other activities. But now the whole family and Maddie are home for dinner every single night! I really missed family dinners and didn’t realize how much until I came home. After my two weeks of true quarantine, my classes started back up and I created a new routine for myself. I woke up at 8:30, drank my coffee with my mom and Maddie, started grinding for the day, watched Mel Robbins, ate, and continued to grind. I’m not super proud of this… but I am able to tell you what’s on TV during certain hours of the day. But this is because I work downstairs on the couch. On Wednesday, May 6th, I successfully completed a semester at the Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Krakowie! I ended this semester with all As! I finished my Holocaust studies class over Skype, my art and arch and Polish culture class over Zoom, and my language class over email. For my finals I had to write 8 pages on Vad Vashem (Holocaust studies), 10 pages on Wawel Castle and Cathedral (art and arch), 10 pages on the Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines (Polish culture) and make a video about me in Polish (Polish language). As a STEM major, writing 10 pages about something non-analytical was a STRUGGLE. Somehow, I completed all of my papers and earned As; I made it through the wackiest semester of my life!! I miss Krakow with my entire heart and more. My brain spends a lot of time wondering what I would be exploring today if I was still in Europe. I follow a lot of Poland Instagram accounts including photography accounts of different cities, some of my favorite coffee shops and clubs. It’s a way for me to stay connected with the city and country that I love. I talk to at least one USAC Krakow student a day, every day. I still keep in touch with my roommate from Poland and all of the other friends I made there. I’m so thankful for technology because everyone I spent those two months with is a text, call, or snapchat away. As for the future, anyone that knows me in the slightest knows I have plans to go back to Krakow and Europe. No dates have been decided yet, but things are in the works. For the summer, I’m taking an online chemistry course, chemistry and society, for my minor. I had to buy an at-home experiment kit so now I can break beakers at home instead of at school! I’m not sure what my plans are for a job yet…that’s a problem for when Michigan actually opens back up. I’m waiting for the day I’ll be allowed outside. Other than that, nothing new is happening at my house. I’m trying to find a new hobby to start since I have all of these free time. This is the official end of my blog. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading my adventures as much as I enjoying sharing them. Love, Helene.