i'm leaving on a jet plane

So, I'm off on vacation tomorrow for three weeks! Any orders placed between now and September 20th will be filled the last week of September. Please have patience!

I haven't been to Europe since 1991, and I'm excited as all get out. We will be visiting Poland, Ireland, and London for a few days at then end. Arek is originally from Poland, but he and his family left when he was 8, stayed a year in Austria, where his sister was born, and then moved to Thunder Bay. Nothing happened to him there until he was 22 and he met me ;). Anyway, we are off to meet his family - he hasn't seen them since then, and I've never met them. We'll be staying with his grandparents at the old family farm for a few days, and then with his uncle in Warsaw. His mother and step-dad have been there visiting since the beginning of August, and will still be there when we arrive. This will be great, as not only will I get to visit with them as well, but they will be another set of translators for me! I bought myself a little Polish phrasebook, and am already having trouble pronouncing the words. Even with phonetic spellings, I'm ready to throw the book out the window. My mouth hurts from trying to get my tongue and lips around those syllables - there is absolutely no reason any word should have more than five consonants groupings! It will be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. I have a certain degree of familiarity with England, as well as "romantic" European countries such as Spain and France, but I've never been to an Eastern European country. From what the guide book says, I will either fall in love with this crazy country, or be so dwunk on wodka that I von't effen notis, yes?

The thing I'm worried about is my lack of "caring" for the Polish cuisine. Arek's mother has tried to get me to like borsht and other such dill-fully delights, but I can't get my taste buds to embrace them. Why, oh, why, my lovely Poles, must you pickle everything? And food in Poland is so entwined with their hospitality, that I'm sure I'll be offending at least a dozen people by my polite refusal of the fourth helping of ponshki. I will let you know how much weight I gain while on vacation. Apparently, according to Arek's sister, the Pastry Truck goes by his grandparent's farm every morning! Pastries, now you're talking a language I can understand :)