First polish midterm test tomorrow and I don't even know how to say "good luck". Feeling the need to stay on the highway to fail-town until way past midnight I think. Nie dobrze nie dobrze!
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Thursday 29 September 2011
Sunday 25 September 2011
Weekend.
It's Sunday and I'm getting ready for a quick shopping spree at the centre which is only 5 minutes away from my flat to buy another pair of shorts. Seems like summer isn't going to end just yet, which is something I can undoubtedly accept. Thought I should take advantage of the sunshine today and read my biology notes outside by the river Wisla (with a funny L that I don't know how to insert so it's pronounced "visoua") ...and eat some leftover pasta. Bliss!
Friday was a relaxing and happy day as I got granted my student loan and today I think I managed to sign some forms electronically which will enable the money to get transferred it into my account. I was feeling slightly more of an adult when I paid the tuition fees off my own savings *before* knowing I would be getting the money so soon. Oh well, now I guess I can go back to being a Slavic princess again. 9000 NOK a month is a ridiculous amount to live off in a place like this!
Yesterday was another new level of fun. We were a group of ~20 playing paintball! All dressed up in camo outfits, some of us more anxious than others, we divided ourselves into teams and signed a paper agreeing stuff like "you're the one responsible for any eye injuries that may occur on the field". Getting hit by the paint bullets was nowhere near as painful as I thought it would be and I managed to get away with only two bruises on my arm and one on my hip! ...but at the same time I was being a bit of a sissy hiding behind the barriers most of the time. I suppose I had a single moment of pride though, when I managed to hit one of the more experienced guys on the other team while playing capture the flag ^^ Hah!
Friday was a relaxing and happy day as I got granted my student loan and today I think I managed to sign some forms electronically which will enable the money to get transferred it into my account. I was feeling slightly more of an adult when I paid the tuition fees off my own savings *before* knowing I would be getting the money so soon. Oh well, now I guess I can go back to being a Slavic princess again. 9000 NOK a month is a ridiculous amount to live off in a place like this!
Yesterday was another new level of fun. We were a group of ~20 playing paintball! All dressed up in camo outfits, some of us more anxious than others, we divided ourselves into teams and signed a paper agreeing stuff like "you're the one responsible for any eye injuries that may occur on the field". Getting hit by the paint bullets was nowhere near as painful as I thought it would be and I managed to get away with only two bruises on my arm and one on my hip! ...but at the same time I was being a bit of a sissy hiding behind the barriers most of the time. I suppose I had a single moment of pride though, when I managed to hit one of the more experienced guys on the other team while playing capture the flag ^^ Hah!
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| After three hours of running around, these are those of us who were hyped enough to take an -after shot :) |
We went to a dentistry- flat party in the evening, ate some home made guacamole, got kicked out by 11pm, went to another dentist-flat which had access to a rooftop(!) to continue the party where the police arrived a few hours later (obviously not as hot as the ones that came to your party, Vaishi)- by which time we went to a club where I stole another Zywiec pint glass for our flat's collection. First night out on heels, so I skipped the dancing and slept like a kid until noon. Phew!
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Wednesday 21 September 2011
Dobry wieczór!
Transl: Good evening!
We finally managed to set up the internet the other day and did a wee cheer-dance quickly followed by a row of silence as soon as the three of us logged on to facebook. Classic. I even forgot that I had packed my gymbag and kept delaying the plans I had already made.
Soooo.... I'm sure you're dying to know about what's been going for the past ten/eleven/14 days or however long it's been- it's not like I'm keeping track of these things, I can barely find time to CHILL for half an hour before I realise there's yet another thing I should be doing/fixing/reminding myself of doing later.. I guess the first day of school is a good place to start.This was allegedly NOT "the" day to dress up in your fanciest LBD and look like you're going to meet the queen- that time will come by the end of the month when we have our "inaguration" day and officially become students of the university/matriculate and whatnot.. It's not like in Edinburgh when you go to your Director of Studies and casually let them know you're alive. This is Poland- people do things FORMALLY! It is almost needless to say that there is a semi-formal dresscode even for lectures. In other words I have a feeling that I won't be wearing out more than one pair of tracksuit bottoms this year and will instead have to invest in items I have never owned before ... like pencil skirts... seriously >_< ? I hope I can at least get away with half of my wardrobe.
Anyways, orientation day!
We were given nametags and information packs that were uploaded on USB stick-keychains shaped as a surgeon in scrubs- I think it's close to being the coolest gadget I've ever owned! Then there were several talks and a "white coat ceremony" where we were all called out and given our doctors' (i.e. lab-) coats. Feeling rather awkward after having been called up and walked down the to the front, anxious about making a scene while putting it on and heading straight back to my seat at the very back of the lecture theatre I soon settled with the idea that this is going to be THE coat that will take me through the 6 years of med-school. Cool, yes?
POLISH CLASSES however.................. now that's what I call hard core! Thankfully we meet every day of the week and even though it seems like my group is much slower than the others my vocabulary is probably reaching the range of 30-50 words, which to me is quite baffling. Then again I have to know how to count from 1-999,999 for tomorrow. Failing this oral test means sitting a written test the following week (for which I might as well start preparing for already :/) Who knew I'd ever have to learn such a crazy language!?
Oh well, at least I can order beer and pay the taxi driver... Bardzo dobrze!
Which brings me to the standard of living, only if I start talking about it further many of you will probably morph into ostriches and hide your heads under the ground or alternatively give yourselves a grand facepalm.
....not that I care, so I'll mention it anyway muahahaha. With my student loan (which has not plunged into my bank account and worries me a little as I am currently living off my savings...) I allegedly have the capacity to live like a Slavic princess. When I go out for a meal at a fancy restaurant in the evening, they charge me roughly £6. If I ever want a cappuccino in the canteen, the total is roughly 80 pence. If a tram ride is what I desire, the fare costs me 40 pence- that is BEFORE applying my student discount. I have to say I felt a bit ripped off when buying my bike as I paid £50 more than another classmate who got hers a week earlier. Though I don't really care cause it looks bloody gorgeous:
We finally managed to set up the internet the other day and did a wee cheer-dance quickly followed by a row of silence as soon as the three of us logged on to facebook. Classic. I even forgot that I had packed my gymbag and kept delaying the plans I had already made.
Soooo.... I'm sure you're dying to know about what's been going for the past ten/eleven/14 days or however long it's been- it's not like I'm keeping track of these things, I can barely find time to CHILL for half an hour before I realise there's yet another thing I should be doing/fixing/reminding myself of doing later.. I guess the first day of school is a good place to start.This was allegedly NOT "the" day to dress up in your fanciest LBD and look like you're going to meet the queen- that time will come by the end of the month when we have our "inaguration" day and officially become students of the university/matriculate and whatnot.. It's not like in Edinburgh when you go to your Director of Studies and casually let them know you're alive. This is Poland- people do things FORMALLY! It is almost needless to say that there is a semi-formal dresscode even for lectures. In other words I have a feeling that I won't be wearing out more than one pair of tracksuit bottoms this year and will instead have to invest in items I have never owned before ... like pencil skirts... seriously >_< ? I hope I can at least get away with half of my wardrobe.
Anyways, orientation day!
We were given nametags and information packs that were uploaded on USB stick-keychains shaped as a surgeon in scrubs- I think it's close to being the coolest gadget I've ever owned! Then there were several talks and a "white coat ceremony" where we were all called out and given our doctors' (i.e. lab-) coats. Feeling rather awkward after having been called up and walked down the to the front, anxious about making a scene while putting it on and heading straight back to my seat at the very back of the lecture theatre I soon settled with the idea that this is going to be THE coat that will take me through the 6 years of med-school. Cool, yes?
I'm quite amazed by how his genuinely happy expression lasted throughout the entire ceremony. Impressive facial muscles!
..and these are my classmates ^^
After x number of speeches we had lunch, some unfortunate souls were interviewed by people with suspiciously professional video cameras as if they were on the news and in the afternoon we went on a tour of the anatomy museum. Fascinating as always, though quite similar to the one in Edinburgh :)
The locations of our classes are close to one another and I quite like the neighbourhood and the mix of old/new buildings. A decent lunch at the cafe consisting of soup and a main course with meat, veg, salad and rice is less than £4 and apparently rather delicious. What's strange however is the limited lunch hours as apparently there is no designated "lunchtime"-culture here as far as I can tell. It's even more difficult when 60+ students are trying to buy their lunch from the same cashier during the 30 minute-break between the two subjects we have during the summer course.
The chemistry classes finished last week, which for me was a massive relief as I am not a huge fan of the
subject (don't dare judge, I can still become a doctor!) Having already done two courses in biochemistry I might even get exempted from the general chemistry course this year by transferring the grades I got at UoE- which weren't fantastic, but I keep thinking it will give me more time to concentrate on anatomy and histology as I will still be required to do a course on organic chemistry. The summer course in biology is okay- mostly repetition from high school/1-2-3rd year biology which I am quite happy with.POLISH CLASSES however.................. now that's what I call hard core! Thankfully we meet every day of the week and even though it seems like my group is much slower than the others my vocabulary is probably reaching the range of 30-50 words, which to me is quite baffling. Then again I have to know how to count from 1-999,999 for tomorrow. Failing this oral test means sitting a written test the following week (for which I might as well start preparing for already :/) Who knew I'd ever have to learn such a crazy language!?
Worth mentioning: other than the usual verbs, nouns and adjectives, Polski peeps also conjugate (i.e. bend- hahahaha great inside joke here) numbers, names and pretty much every other family of words you can think of. Except MY name for some bizarre reason...somehow I'm inconjugable- or unbendable if you like. Phew!
Which brings me to the standard of living, only if I start talking about it further many of you will probably morph into ostriches and hide your heads under the ground or alternatively give yourselves a grand facepalm.
....not that I care, so I'll mention it anyway muahahaha. With my student loan (which has not plunged into my bank account and worries me a little as I am currently living off my savings...) I allegedly have the capacity to live like a Slavic princess. When I go out for a meal at a fancy restaurant in the evening, they charge me roughly £6. If I ever want a cappuccino in the canteen, the total is roughly 80 pence. If a tram ride is what I desire, the fare costs me 40 pence- that is BEFORE applying my student discount. I have to say I felt a bit ripped off when buying my bike as I paid £50 more than another classmate who got hers a week earlier. Though I don't really care cause it looks bloody gorgeous:
My only bike accessory requirement was the basket. The fact that it's green is a pleasant coincidence :)
Another random thing I have to mention is how we got acquainted with ~15 medics from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science & Tech) last week. We met this group of guys randomly on a casual night out at Buddha bar (already had too many beers at this place) where they mentioned that they were "touring" Krakow as a medic-choir. Unsurprisingly they elegantly barged in to the school canteen two days later all suited up and sang us some rather cool acapella tunes (!) and after the brief concert, invited the entire class to a tram-party that very evening. Que pasa you say? Well I said the same until I saw the concept and it was basically a club on wheels that took us through the town and a bit further where we got to take our own drinks and enjoy the ride. Major fun times ^^
Will tell more about all the new stuff later! Going out to meet another bunch of new people now. Laterzzz!
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Friday 16 September 2011
No internetzzz
Having no internet connection sucks and I keep getting bullied for the situation I am in by more or less everyone in possession of a smartphone. We are hanging out in Mia"s supercute flat right now and should have started building her IKEA couch ages ago. The outside world including local news and facebook just seemed a bit more interesting thats all...
On the bright side I live in a cool flat (I obviously got the green bedroom :D), got a gym membership, bought a BIKE, started to stock up the fridge and generally party like.. every other day... ehm... ON OCCASION!
Should have internet in the flat by monday though, by which time my first two weeks in the Krak will be elaborated on. Yeehaw.
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On the bright side I live in a cool flat (I obviously got the green bedroom :D), got a gym membership, bought a BIKE, started to stock up the fridge and generally party like.. every other day... ehm... ON OCCASION!
Should have internet in the flat by monday though, by which time my first two weeks in the Krak will be elaborated on. Yeehaw.
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Wednesday 7 September 2011
QuickNews!
I guess the main essentials have been covered by now: bought a sim card, hair dryer (pink & shiny!), teabags, a lunchbox and my first academic book! Browsed for flats and ended up taking the first one we found. Will be living with these lovely girls for at least a year, yey:
It's a rather busy road and being a heavy sleeper even I have had problems waking up at night because of the noise! The beds are okay, although I am missing Vaishi's crazy massages as my neck is currently one big knot. Can't wait to pick up the keys to our flat TOMORROW and moving in on Friday!
I also have to add the cuteness of my lunchbox and notebook- I am sure Sara especially will appreciate the presence of Hello Kitty :)
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Karoline & Anne Margrete :)
Our current dorm rooms look something like this:
And this would be the view from the 15th floor of the dorm building:
I also have to add the cuteness of my lunchbox and notebook- I am sure Sara especially will appreciate the presence of Hello Kitty :)
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Monday 5 September 2011
Piwo proszę!
You will be pleased to know that I am safe and sound in a wonderful city which for the record is BOILING at the moment. Leaving Norway without checking what weather to expect was clearly a massive fail-bomb which exploded on me today as I had to hunt down a H&M to buy SHORTS! So, apparently I've been walking around in the 30 degreesC heat since my arrival and my tan after the last few days is more impressive than the one I've been working on for the past four months... Great.
Other than the fact that it's HOT, I've found the people to be very friendly. My roomie, Kasia, for instance will be studying dentistry and being danish/polish she is teaching me the basic 'essentials' that I have to know about Krakow- crossing the road on a red-man sign could get you fined, so is drinking in public. The hobos around the river are just high on happy-pills at night and won't attack you, however you should stay away from the bald guys who walk around in gangs- they are the ones who cause trouble. So far I've seen 20+ hobos and lots of old ladies walking around in the late evenings and not a single bald young man- this place is clearly safe!
Referring to the title of this post- it is so far the only thing I can say in polish with complete confidence! For the entire first two days all I happened to consume was crispbread, cheese, peanut butter, yoghurt and... beer!!??!? (piwo means beer, in case you're still wondering) And just to mention the odd fact: polish beer is rather nice and today I had my first hot meal in two days at a sushi place and I can assure you that miso soup has never tasted better!
I keep having to ask people whether they speak english and realise how the language barrier is getting annoying already. Must. learn. polish. NOW!
The google-translator's english-polish function has got to become my browser homepage from now on...
Keeping it short and sweet for now as I am hoping to actually make it on time to the orientation day tomorrow... Knowing my own ways I will probably have to run after the tram in the morning and spill coffee on my dress or do something equally clumsy, if not just sleeping in.
Might consider supplying the next post with a few photos as well. Yea. Might.
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Other than the fact that it's HOT, I've found the people to be very friendly. My roomie, Kasia, for instance will be studying dentistry and being danish/polish she is teaching me the basic 'essentials' that I have to know about Krakow- crossing the road on a red-man sign could get you fined, so is drinking in public. The hobos around the river are just high on happy-pills at night and won't attack you, however you should stay away from the bald guys who walk around in gangs- they are the ones who cause trouble. So far I've seen 20+ hobos and lots of old ladies walking around in the late evenings and not a single bald young man- this place is clearly safe!
Referring to the title of this post- it is so far the only thing I can say in polish with complete confidence! For the entire first two days all I happened to consume was crispbread, cheese, peanut butter, yoghurt and... beer!!??!? (piwo means beer, in case you're still wondering) And just to mention the odd fact: polish beer is rather nice and today I had my first hot meal in two days at a sushi place and I can assure you that miso soup has never tasted better!
I keep having to ask people whether they speak english and realise how the language barrier is getting annoying already. Must. learn. polish. NOW!
The google-translator's english-polish function has got to become my browser homepage from now on...
Keeping it short and sweet for now as I am hoping to actually make it on time to the orientation day tomorrow... Knowing my own ways I will probably have to run after the tram in the morning and spill coffee on my dress or do something equally clumsy, if not just sleeping in.
Might consider supplying the next post with a few photos as well. Yea. Might.
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