Just Another Week in Warsaw

Is week 2 really over already? I cannot believe how fast it went. It's probably due to the fact that the first part of this week was pretty crazy. Monday and Tuesday were research days, working a lot with regards to the upcoming Warsaw Euro Atlantic Summer Academy, which the GMF is cohosting along with the College of Europe (Natolin campus) and the Polish American Freedom Foundation. It's a huge event for our office--two weeks of hosting a variety of people and activities. I'm pretty excited about it, as I should get to hear several of the really amazing speakers on the agenda when the conference rolls around at the end of July.

Wednesday was a big day for the office. We had the pleasure of hosting a GMF non-resident Transatlantic fellow, Celeste Wallander. Dr. Wallander is a specialist on Russia and the surrounding areas, the former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia for the first term of the Obama administration, and a current professor at American University's School of International Service (so...kind of a big deal). Dr. Wallander, in between meetings with a variety of officials, think tanks, and NGOs, participated on a panel to discuss her paper "Russian Defense and Security Policy in 2013: How Russia is NOT Stuck in the Cold War and Why that is a Problem," alongside former U.S. ambassador to Poland (and newly appointed GMF fellow), Lee Feinstein, and  former Minister of National Defense of Poland, Janusz Onyszkiewicz.

I actually had the big task of taking notes on the event and producing my first official office write up. You can read it on the GMF website, here: http://www.gmfus.org/archives/russian-defense-and-security-policy-in-2013-how-russia-is-not-stuck-in-the-cold-war-and-why-that-is-a-problem/
(Sadly, no writing credits are given, but it's more than just a little exciting to have something I wrote up on the GMF website!)

After the event, most of the office got to go to lunch with Dr. Wallander. We went to a tasty Serbian place around the corner, and got to talk to her for an hour about a variety of things. She's an amazing woman, and very down to Earth, especially given how accomplished she is.

Thursday and Friday were much anticipated days in the office, because our fearless leader Michał is gone to a conference. Apparently, this means slightly more casual days. (It's sort of like the kids being given free reign of a home--there's some joy in being a little lax on the rules, but you don't want any trouble from Mom and Dad when they come home!) As I discovered Thursday, casual not only applies to your dress during this time period, but also to the time you arrive (to a certain extent). I took full advantage of that and came in at 9:35 today (and was still the second person there). It's definitely a different atmosphere, though it's still been very productive. I've been doing some research on unconventional fossil fuels, such as shale gas, for the office recently, and I'm thoroughly enjoying expanding my knowledge on such a hot-topic issue.

Thursday night was fun because I met up with several American interns (all working for a variety of different companies), for a night out in Warsaw. Most of the group I had only briefly met at an orientation session, so it was certainly fun to get to know them better. We had a delicious dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant on Nowy Świat. Unfortunately, our waitress wasn't having her best night. Well over half an hour after finishing our meal (maybe even closer to an hour), we finally got our check and could leave. We then settled for some cheap beers on one of the many outdoor patio areas that are set up in the area during the summer months. As I didn't get home until after midnight, late start/casual Friday was much appreciated!

Fun night out on Nowy Świat in Warsaw.

This weekend I'll be heading out of Warsaw to travel to Krakow. Julie (my roommate), Paulina (our Polish "intern abroad liaison"), and I leave bright and early tomorrow morning (I'm hoping to be able to nap some on the train). It'll be my first of 3 weekend trips around Poland (I'm also going to Gdansk and Lublin), and I'm very much looking forward to getting out and exploring.