Happy New Year, Everyone…
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Contrary to the tranquil Christmas last week, Warsaw was quite merry and crowded in the New Year’s eve. There was an “Old and New” music festival in Plac Konstytucji which definitely enlivened the cold Sylwestrowa noc. There were Edith Gorniak, Kayah, Feel, and some foreign bands performing the cover version of ABBA songs. Needless to say, the success of Mamma Mia movie starred by Meryl Streep had inspired the theme choice.
I didn’t go there, as I spent the last night in 2008 together with other Indonesian people in Indonesian Residence (Wisma Duta) in Warsaw. And just like in any other Indonesian gathering, the famous Dang-doet music was surely played and made everyone cheer up and shake their hips. Project Pop was right when they claimed that “Dangdut is the music of my country”.
Approaching midnight, the fireworks were clearly heard and seen from all around the town. People were then blowing their paper trumpets and hugged each other in joy. Ah, guess you can call it the Euphoria of New Year! There’s always some sort of excitement and hope in every beginning, New Year is certainly no exception.
So, Happy New Year everyone…
Wish you a joyful and prosperous year ahead!
A Lonely Christmas
Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you’re home. ~Carol Nelson
Here’s a surprising fact: Christmas Day in Warsaw is very much alike Lebaran Day in Jakarta. And by that, I mean: empty streets, no public transport, no shops open, and many of Varsovians (Warsaw citizens) returning to home villages to celebrate Christmas with their parents or grandparents. Who said the moedik tradition only belongs to Indonesian?
In short, my first Christmas in Europe was unexpectedly and awfully tranquil. I even sensed loneliness in this blessed day. It is bad enough to spend a religious festive far from your family and friends, I had to spend it in a dead-city alike. Well, at least it only died for two days (25-26 December 2008). In 27 December 2008, most shops are re-opened and public transports have operated again.
Bottom line is, Warsaw is not the place you want to go on Christmas Day. Period.
The snowy road on my way home from church...
Drunkeness.. Again!
The title said it already. This time the drunk man, or to be exact: the drunk old man, sat in the bus next to me. He seemed quite sober for an intoxicated man but his mouth obviously smelled alcoholic. At first I didn’t notice him, but then he started a conversation with me, in a friendly way, with a funny smile. Basically, he asked from which country I were. What can I do but to answer him?
Drunk Man : (speak in Polish) Where are you from? Are you a Chinese?
Me : No, I’m from Indonesia.
Drunk Man : Ah, you are from Korean?
Me : No, Indonesia.
Drunk Man : Vietnamese?
Me : Indonesia.
Drunk Man : So, you are Japanese?
Me : (give up) Yes, I am.
The drunk man smiled and I grinned, hoping he was satisfied with our little nonreciprocal chat. But then he continued:
Drunk Man : (saying something in Polish)
Me : Przepraszam, nie rozumiem (Sorry, I don’t understand)
Drunk Man : (still speaking in Polish) Do you speak Deutsch?
Me : No.
Drunk Man : French?
Me : No.. (I thought I have claimed myself as a Japanese?!?)
Drunk Man : Ahh.. Mademoiselle !!
Along with that, he cheered up and saw my (beautiful) hands with (perfect) nails polished in glitter. To my surprise, he suddenly lifted up my hands, lean closer to look carefully to my nails, thought for awhile, and then he claimed
Drunk Man : Manicure!!… ah, Manicure.. (right to my face)
Me : (stunned) Oh, yes, yes..
Drunk Man : (still pointed at my nails) Bella.. bella..
Me : (speechless)
Drunk Man : (saying something in Polish and lean even closer to me)
Me : (start to panic, looking out to escape) Oh, my stop. Przepraszam… Do widzenia.
Try to be calm, I got out of the bus and found myself still 3-bus-stop away from my destination. Thanks to my prejudice and carefulness, I had to wait in 1,5° C coldness for another bus to come.
Speaking of drunk people in Poland, here is a related news from detik website. In Otwock, a mother-to-be was drinking heavily just in time of her labor and sure enough, she gave birth to a drunk baby. What in the world… !!
The Most Famous Woman from Poland
The first woman who won Nobel Prize, and also the first person to win the Nobel Prize twice in different science fields, one in Physics (1903) and another in Chemistry (1911), both for the discovery and research of two new radioactive elements: Radium and Polonium (Polonium was named after her native country: Poland). Born by the name Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw in 1867, she finally moved to France to study in Sorbonne University because at that time women were not allowed to attend colleges in Poland. There she met Pierre Curie who then became her solid partner in work and marriage.
The tragic death of her husband (he felt on the street and was ran over by a horse-drawn wagon) in 1906, put Madame Curie into a great shock and grief. But less than a month later, the Sorbonne University agreed to made her the first woman Professor in the university, filling in his husband’s position. Nevertheless, the academic society still didn’t accept the idea of a woman to be a member of the prestigious French Academy of Sciences and in 1911, it rejected her application.
Madame Curie died in France in 1934 from aplastic anemia, caused by overexposure to radiation. She had been known to carry test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket and store them in her desk drawer without proper protection. To honor her, she was buried in Paris Panthéon alongside her husband. Her eldest daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, followed her step as a physicist/chemist and also won a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935.
Madame Curie founded Radium Institute in Warsaw in 1932. Now it becomes “Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology”, the leading and most specialized cancer research and treatment center in Poland. One of the brick walls bears the inscription, MARII SKŁODOWSKIEJ CURIE, W HOŁDZIE—”In homage to Maria Skłodowska Curie.” Note: There’s also a Radium Institute in Paris, France, which now becomes Institut Curie. It is also a research center on cell biology and oncology for cancer treatment.
Following picture is the Marie Curie’s birthplace on Ulica Freta in “New Town”, Warsaw.
Come Dance With Me
There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good.
~Edwin Denby
You like dancing? And music too? What about comedy? I’m sure there’s a lot of people like those things. Now, how about a Revue Show? Ever heard of it?
I haven’t. Not until I was taken to the so-called one and only revue show in Poland, TEATR SABAT. Located in 16 Foksal street (downtown of Warsaw), the show is obviously well-known among visitors, especially expatriates, in Poland. The show started at 8 PM and cost 110 zloty (around Rp 425.000,- at current rate) per person excluding dinner.
A little dictionary look up before we continue:
Revue Show is defined as a theatrical entertainment consisting of a series of songs, dances, and comic sketches. It is often devoted to topical satire, although another kind of revue concentrates on spectacular costumes and dancing. The word “revue” derives from French word which means “review” and gained its top popularity in Broadway in 1920’s.
The one I saw in Sabat was also a show of spectacular costumes and dancing (although I must say the songs were not great). The topic is Europa Razem (Europe Together), which was specially choreographed to celebrate 50th anniversary of EU, and corollary performing songs and dance from EU countries.
Malgorzata Potocka, in the middle, the founder of Sabat ballet team and director of Sabat theatre
The show went on for about 2 hours (with 15-minute break in the middle) and closed with such a glamorous closure. After that, the audience may get on the stage to dance (yes, the stage became the dance floor after the show) accompanied by the requested songs from the singers.
My most memorable scenes in that show were:
~ The lady who was beautifully swinging with only one hand in the big rim. She was supposed to be a background dancer for a song, but undeniably she became the center of the attention during that song. Her name is Katarcyna Zigler. The photo is taken from the Sabat website, since no camera is allowed in the theater.
~ The happy Cancan dance from France where the tall Sabat girls in bright red-and-blue costume kick their legs high while holding up the front of skirt (always lighten up the room, I guess :)). The French scene also included the stand-up comedy look-alike by the hilariously coquettish Madame Coco (performed by a man, not a woman, name Jacek Mureno) and some Moulin-Rouge song performance.
~ The Irish tap dance performed by the nine Sabat ballet dancers in a row. Always make the heart beat louder and faster.
~ The famous “circle of fur” where one lady is surrounded by others using the big fan from fur (I don’t know what it is called, but see the picture below).
After seeing this show, I realize that I was always more in awe for spectacular rhythmic dance where the music come from the dancers’ movement instead of the musical instrument. Sure enough the dancers should move in unison to make a music beat out of it. The Irish tap dance in group is one example. From Indonesia, I highly enjoy watching the Salman dance from Aceh (also called the “Thousand Hands dance) and the Kecak dance from Bali. They are astonishing!
Tap Water, Anyone?
For people wanting to go to Poland or any part in Central and East Europe (CEE), following is a warning from The Visitor website which implicitly suggest that you need to allocate a little more money on your drinking water :
Drinking tap water at home in Western Europe is fine. Unfortunately you will not be able to do it here. The quality and taste of tap water in Poland is not very good. When boiled, no problem, but drunk directly from the tap it’s often quite strange in taste and sometimes not very good for you. Just have a bottle of mineral water with you all the time. The good news is that you can buy mineral water almost everywhere, including small kiosks, so don’t worry you won’t dry out.
last update August 2007
And so, that’s what I do here. Buying a 5-liters bottled water, which costs me 3.6 zloty (equal to Rp 14.500,- at the current rate) each day. Not because I have read the warning, but simply because most people here, even the locals, practice the habit. They prefer to buy bottled water for drink, whilst the water from the faucet is used for bath, wash, cook, and teeth-brushing. A strange combination for people from Western Europe and US, I guess, but it’s alright with me. In Indonesia, I also had to regularly buy Aqua gallons (well, actually buy and ask them delivered to my house :)).
So, how come the water quality in Poland is not recommended for instant drinking? I tried to find the scientific answer but the it doesn’t come quite clear to me. But let me rephrase it: Poland was used to be a socialist country. The central planning economy in its system was not aimed to improve the standard of living of its citizens, hence leaving the water and wastewater treatment sector in poor shape.
A report in 1996 said that the industries in Poland frequently dumped their effluents into the municipal sewer system or directly into the water. Nitrogen, phosphorous and reduced biochemical oxygen demand were the major water pollutant in Poland. The effects did not only create local problems like oxygen depletions in the water, but also influenced the water quality downstream in Lake Zegzynskie (supplies drinking water for Warsaw), the Vistula, and the Baltic Sea. I suppose this is what made Poland senior citizen believe that the tap water is unsuitable to drink and pass the paradigm to younger generations.
Nevertheless, in several more updated forums such as Polish Forums, many people said that it is SAFE to drink tap water in Poland. The reason they do not drink the tap water is that it has some fairly high traces of chemicals used to purify it and tastes a bit chlorinated. It has nothing to do with sanitation rather it has to do with the taste. In Polandian blog, they even argued that the Polish’ superstitious prejudice of unsafe tap water has something to do with the vast homegrown bottled water industries. There’s a known fact that some of bottled water companies fill their bottles with water from public supply. Briefly said, I suppose it is a matter of customer perception.
Back to my daily habit of buying bottled water, my concern is about the tons of plastic waste produced by me and thousands of people. Scary facts about plastic bottles are: a) The amount of oil used to produce plastic water bottles in America alone is enough to fuel about 100,000 cars for a year. b) Americans buy an estimated 28 billion plastic water bottles every year. c) Only 13 percent of water bottles are recycled, while others are incinerated (burned into ashes) or end up in a landfill.
Drunk Man at the Bus
“You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.” (Joe E. Lewis, American Comedian and Singer, 1902 - 1971).
I saw a drunk man at the bus today. He was so intoxicated that he actually passed out before the exit door and couldn’t get his body up. His friend slapped him a few times, shook his head and body, talked to him a loud voice to wake him up. After three bus stops and no result, eventually he was dragged out from the bus.
The scene took place in front of my seat. I didn’t take picture because it would be inappropriate, I supposed, but it was indeed my first time watching a drunk man at the bus. In Indonesia, it would certainly make a scene and other passengers would heavily chatting about it. But in Poland, I guess people don’t pay much attention to it. They just sat still with no words and kept enjoying the bus ride.
But really, people do awful stuffs when they are drunk. Check Google or Yahoo images and you’ll find a lot of amazing pictures showing what people are capable to do when they are intoxicated by alcoholic beverages.
But being a mother, I must say this picture is the worst (where the h*** are the parents??) :
Photo taken from here.
Must All Snow Be White?
Pertama kalinya ngerasain salju beneran...
What was the first thing come in your mind when you hear the word “snow”? Winter, white, cold?
This November, I actually got the first chance to see the real snowfall (in quite significant amount enough to cover almost entire streets, houses, cars). It is quite breathtaking, really. Coming from a tropical country like Indonesia, you’d only see the white snowy land through pictures. And after seeing it by my very own eyes, I simply thought “Gosh, it’s like this land is being whiten - is like getting ready to start a new chapter in white empty paper!”
During winter, people wear warm clothes of average 4 layers - long john, shirt, sweater, and jackets. Plus all other accessories: winter boots, hat, shawl, etc. Kerasa ribeeett banget kalau mau keluar rumah. (Apalagi buat anak kecil nggak sabaran seperti Jonathan =)) Tapi mau gimana lagi, suhunya di bawah 0 derajat Celcius. It’s colder than refrigerator.
So, how’s the snow look like in a close-up? Well, very much like “es serut”. Mirip banget. Tinggal dikasih sirup Marjan merah, jadi deh =)) Tapi rasanya? Well, hambar-hambar aja tuh (yeah, I tasted it a little bit, okay?).
Oh, and to answer the title of my post above. No, snow is not always white. In Russia, they have recorded cases of orange, black, blue, green and red snowfall (see the news here). But snow is supposed to be white, right? Hmm.. see below explanation from snowcrystals.com apparently there are quite a few websites dedicated to discuss about snow and ice) about why the snow looks white:
“A large pile of snow crystals looks white for the same reason a pile of crushed glass looks white. Incident light is partially reflected by an ice surface, again just as it is from a glass surface. When you have a lot of partially reflecting surfaces, which you do in a snow bank, then incident light bounces around and eventually scatters back out. Since all colors are scattered roughly equally well, the snow bank appears white.
In fact, the ice does absorbs some light while it’s bouncing around, and red light is absorbed more readily than blue light. Thus, if you look inside a snow bank you can sometimes see a blue color.”
