The Sun Came Out...The Sun Came Out!!

I wanted to shout from the rooftop today when I saw the sun peek through but I figured I didn't need to add that to my "dumb American" reportoire yet!

After spending the full morning organizing the office I was set to hit the streets of Wroclaw and enjoy the sunshine...but wait...where did it go??? Unfortunately, by the the time I ventured out the sun had disappeared but the temperature was nice for walking - without mittens -for the first time in a while.

I had three goals for today:

1) Go to the Farmer's Market and find some sweet potatoes
2) Pick up some Polish pottery
3) Find a hairdresser

As you might guess, none of them were all that easy but here goes...

Polish Pottery: The city of Boleslawiec is known for their great pottery. There is a store in Warsaw and a small shop here in Wroclaw in addition to the factory store in Boleslawiec. I'm trying to convince Craig to make a road trip there in the next few weeks but in the meantime I wanted to pick up one small piece in town. Now that the outdoor storefronts have been taken down I had to circle the Square (hmmmm, sounds like geometry) twice before recognizing it! Oliver was able to chase the same pigeons multiple times that way though!

Hairdresser: Since it was a nice day I opted to lounge outside several hair salons today to see what the clientele looked like going in and coming out. I will NOT be caught dead with the maroon or vivid, carrot orange hair you see frequently around town! I may not be afraid of color but too much of a good thing is BAD NEWS!!! I think I found a place just outside the Square. After the International Friends of Wroclaw (IFOW) meeting tomorrow I wll wander down and see if anyone there speaks better English than I do Polish and make an appointment. I figure all I have to do is point to my roots and hold an appointment calendar and they should get the picture. I will have to muster up my courage. New places tend to be a little overwhelming but I will forge ahead!

Sweet Potatoes: I've already been to two grocery stores and have yet to find a sweet potato anywhere!!! With the huge Farmer's Market in town I was very hopeful of meeting with some success in my hunt. WRONG!!! Tons of potatoes, beets and some unknown long ,stemmy thing but no sweet potatoes. Not sure what I'm going to make for the Thanksgiving Happy Hour the IFOW is sponsoring for families. I figured sweet potatoes would be unexpected but not non-existant. Now what????

More tidbits:

There were pre-carved pumpkins for sale at the Farmer's Market today. Never saw that in the States! I did confirm Halloween is more of a sacred, rather than candy-grubbing holiday. It seems westernization is occuring at the young adult level since various bars are holding Halloween parties. Everything shuts down on Thursday in honor of All Saints day. Craig and I plan on walking to Twin Spires church to get a flavor of the occasion. We then have to run to the airport to pick up his boss. No rest for Craig!

Outside the Market there are street vendors - many of them selling flowers and fruits but on a much smaller scale. Today there were two interesting vendors. The first was knitting slippers and selling them. Not sure what the market for slippers is but she was trying. The second street vendor threw me for a loop. She was selling ladies underpants from a brown cardboard box. Not the pretty, Victoria Secret kind but the up-to-your-neck, white variety! Hands down, I would buy the slippers!!!

There is a cafe in town that has chess boards built into their tables. When a patron is done they leave the game as is for the next group to play. That is kind of intersting!

Craig and I had our first Polish lesson together last night. It was nice to share the "deer in the headlights" look with someone! I much prefer the face-to-face lessons over the online variety but still have MUCH to learn!

Not much else to report. Just wanted you all to know the sun does come up in the east!!!