The rest of my work week was certainly busy. I feel like I'm going non-stop throughout the work day, and I kind of love it. Wednesday was full of steady research for a July project, then Thursday I came in to discover a paper I was assigned for Friday needed to be finished that day (and by 2!). The 2:00 deadline was a little rough, though completely worth it. While the rest of the office attended an event held in Polish, Matt and I got to go out to the National Defense University of Warsaw to hear the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen speak. As it was the anniversary of D-Day, he tied in some very poignant recollections of the events that led to the creation of NATO, and reinforced that, contrary to the belief of some, it still has work to do to fulfill its mission. I was impressed at how much the Secretary General really applauded U.S. efforts in NATO. Since the speech was geared toward a European crowd, I thought it was quite possible that the theme would be more pro-European. However, while applauding the efforts of Poland in NATO, Rasmussen also discussed the need for EU members to all step up to the challenges of modern security, and not leave the U.S. alone in funding NATO. While some points I disagreed with (like declaring the mission in Afghanistan a "success") , I found Rasmussen to be both encouraging and direct about the challenges facing the future of the NATO partnership.
Secretary General of NATO Rasmussen addresses Polish military officials, international dignitaries, professors, and students at an event hosted by the National Defense University of Warsaw
Friday was yet another busy day in the office (I
actually worked overtime on my first Friday), but
included a fun "field trip" to the outside world. Micha took Matt and
I to a potential conference site, and out to lunch (it was the first time this
week I didn't have a "working lunch"). We went to a milk bar, which
is a holdover from the Communist era. There used to be more than 50 in Warsaw
alone, but only 3 still survive today. The Solidarity Fund, which helps to
preserve historical aspects of Warsaw, is a huge part of why there are
even 3 left today. The one we went to is located on ul. Nowy Świat, a very
trendy street in Warsaw. It's one of those things you'd walk right past if you
didn't know it was there--it has a very bland facade, and no sidewalk seating
like many of its neighboring restaurants. Once you enter, it looks rather
plain, though it's filled to the brim with locals. It's a place that would be
very difficult to go to as a tourist, as the menu is entirely in Polish, and the
staff only speaks Polish. Luckily for Matt and I, we had Micha as our guide.
The food is comfort food at its finest--simple, unrefined, traditional dishes
that remind Poles of childhood meals. I had an amazing tomato soup with rice,
followed by nalesniki, which are crepes filled with ricotta and covered in a
delicious vanilla sauce with sugar. It's one of the best meals I've had thus
far in Poland, and it only cost me 5 zloty (which is about $1.50). It was the
perfect experience to end my first week at my internship.
Also, toward the end of the week, we received our office photo from the
event we hosted Monday night. Considering this was after 10 hours of being in
the office, I think we look pretty good!
From left to right: Matt (fellow intern, from Rhodes College); Micha; Sasha; Michal (new office director); Ivan (Vice President of GMF); Magda; Me; and Jacob
Happy to have survived the work week, I came home for a bit before exploring dinner options with Julie. We tried Bombaj Masala, an Indian restaurant nearby that has received quite good reviews. It was delicious! Then I enjoyed a solid 10 hours of sleep--which was more than welcomed after this crazy week (not setting an alarm is one of the best feelings in the world).
Saturday was a big sightseeing day. I did enjoy sleeping in, but certainly made up for it with lots of walking and exploring afterwards. Julie, Matt, and I met up and went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It has an exceptional amount of information, and is certainly a place you could visit multiple times without truly seeing everything. I suggest, if you do plan to visit, you make sure to read up on the Uprising a bit first. If you had no prior knowledge of the event, I expect it would be a bit difficult to follow. The museum has all displays in both Polish and English, and follows the events of the Uprising from the German occupation in Poland to the end of the war. There is a lot of text, in addition to a variety of different displays. If you are a gun aficionado, there are more weapons in this collection than in any other WWII period museum I've visited. Certainly an interesting addition.
This is a replica of a makeshift radio station that Varsovians set up to communicate with both the Polish government in exile and resistance forces during the war. The museum really puts into perspective how hard the Polish fought for their freedom, and how fearlessly they pursued it.
The museum contains many perspectives on the Warsaw Uprising. As you explore the many exhibits, it becomes painfully obvious how, if given proper support from any of the Allied forces, the Varsovians could have been successful, or at least been spared from complete destruction of their city and population. This excerpt from Czselaw Milosz's "Captive Mind" gives the unfortunate truth about why the Soviets saw it in their best interest not to help the Poles.
In addition to the history of WWII and the Warsaw Uprising, the Warsaw Uprising museum also discusses the beginning of the Communist state in Poland, starting with events in Lublin, a city I will visit later this month.
After several hours in the museum, Julie, Matt, and I walked around Warsaw, going through old town into new town (which technically is older than old town, because less of it was destroyed in the war). At the recommendation of Julie's friend Lara, we tried a nice restaurant that specialized in both Polish and Jewish cuisine. We sat outside, enjoyed the warm weather, good food, and some beer, before continuing our walk around the city.
We came upon two more interesting sites. The first was an art gallery hosting some sort of large public event. Anyone could go in and paint on the art gallery walls or make sculptures from cardboard boxes they had out. It was an interesting project, though I'm not quite sure of the real meaning behind it. It seemed to be related to several things we saw across the street on the subject of the solidarnosc movement, but other than that small bit of word recognition, we really had no idea what was going on.
The public could add their personal touch to the walls of the gallery. When we walked by to go to dinner, the walls were completely white. This is what we discovered on our way back.
Just across the street from the gallery, we found a really interesting public display in one of Warsaw's many parks. This contained large prints of some of the only colored photos of Warsaw after the war. Taken by an American engineer in 1947, they just recently became public. The display contained a large version of the colored photo of destroyed Warsaw (even 2 years after the end of the war, little visible progress had been made at rebuilding), alongside a photo of what the area previously looked like, and another photo of what is there now. It was absolutely incredible. The destruction reminded me of photos of cities after natural disasters--what places look like when hurricanes or tsunamis blow through. However, this was on the scale of the entire city. It's estimated 85% of Warsaw was destroyed in the war, and, of the remaining 15%, not a building was left unscathed. What's most horrifying, at least to me, is that this is not the result of a natural disaster, but the result of human action. Seeing these photos really puts the fighting spirit of the Poles and the Varsovians into perspective.
Photo display of Warsaw post-WWII
After a long afternoon and evening, and several miles of walking, we ended our night with a trip to the movie theater. It was my first trip to the nearby mall, and I was impressed. Considering that the country has been capitalist for 25 years, they have certainly embraced it. The mall is huge, and everything was open until at least 10. The movie (The Place Beyond the Pines) was good, as was the company. And there's something to be said for the comfort of going into a movie theater, apart from the Polish previews, you'd never know you weren't at home.
After a long day yesterday, it seems that Sunday is going to be a lazy day of movies and rest, maybe with some necessary grocery shopping, before Monday kicks off another busy work week. My first week in Poland has been wonderful--I can't wait to see what the next one has in store.
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