World Travels

Gallery: Dublin

sirus — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:11:00 GMT

Last Entry

sirus — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:46:00 GMT

As some of you already know I was in Dublin last week for a few days. I will upload the photos shortly. The weather wasn't very good when I was their but I didn't let the wainy weather stop me. (That's a combination of windy and rainy). I don't know why but when I went outside to walk around I got this urge to listen to November Rain. I had a good time; went to the zoo of course. It was awesome. Not a lot of stories to tell about Ireland because I had such a short stay.

Also, I am headed home tomorrow morning so this will be my last entry.

Gallery: Dublin Zoo

sirus — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:26:00 GMT

Gallery: Sealife Aquarium

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:40:00 GMT

London

Still Kickin

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:39:00 GMT

Sorry it has been, once again, a long time since I have written anything. I don't have the internet at the place we are staying and the library connection is spotty at best. Not much has been going on over here. I've been studying a little bit and watchin tv, or the tele according to brits. Ok, who thinks calling it a tele could be a little confusing since the telephone is also the tele? Seriously. And I've also decided that the British accent is equivalent to if a guy from downeast Maine, you know the ones with really thick accents, won the lottery and tried to talk all proper because of his new found wealth.

I have added a few more photos if you want to take a look. Also, I think the tentative date for me coming home is around November 24.

Gallery: Madame Tussauds

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:35:00 GMT

London

Gallery: London

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:15:00 GMT

Around London

Gallery: Hindu Parade

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:09:00 GMT

Alperton

Gallery: Cars

sirus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:06:00 GMT

London Dealerships

London

sirus — Sun, 4 Oct 2009 13:01:00 GMT

So we are in London. Well, just outside London so we could be closer to Ania's job. She works in a hotel restaurant in Ruislip. The place we are living isn't the best place but it's good enough for now. The town is an Indian town. About 95% of the people that live here are from India. I found a place I might start taking Taekwondo a couple times a week. Not much else is going on right now. Oh yeah, we went to the London Sealife Aquarium on Friday. That was pretty cool. We also went to the London Dungeon. It's a walk-through of London's gruesome history with actors that try to scare you and a couple rides. It was pretty cool.

Crazy trip to Bialystok

sirus — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:30:00 GMT

Ok, a warning for the three people that actually read my journal: this post is really long so when you read it make sure you have time.

It turns out we are headed to London on Monday. We were going to stay in a friend of Ania’s place while he was home in Poland but his landlord in London decided he didn’t want someone he doesn’t know staying in the room. So we found a few places we can look at and will stay in a hostel for a night or two until we rent a place. Oh, and did I mention, we leave at 6 am Monday and Don’t get there until 1pm Tuesday. Maybe I’ll get some reading done.

We went to Bialystok on Friday to buy some things Ania needs for her job in London. I was driving and just before the mall we were headed to I got pulled over. I had apparently ran a red light that neither Ania or myself saw. The officer came to the window and did his spiel at which point I said in English, Sorry, I don’t speak Polish. Ania leaned over and talked to him and gave him the car registration and I had to give him my license and a copy of my passport. He went back to the cruiser and had a laugh with his partner. He then came back to Ania’s window and talked to her for a second. We had to follow him around the corner because we were in kind of a bad spot. When we stopped, again, we had to get out of the car. Apparently people from the United States are not legally allowed to drive in Poland. He was good about it and didn’t give us a ticket or anything and just told Ania to drive. If I did get a ticket it would have cost 1000 Zlotych. And I guess the only reason I didn’t get a ticket for running a red light, which they usually give I guess, is because I was from a different country. Wow, that was close.

So we finally get to the mall and start looking for the things Ania needs, one of which was a black pair of shoes. First of all, we pass by a store that I had previously found a really nice brown soft leather jacket I liked. Their was a sign that said 50% off so I had to go inside. The jacket I liked was only 20% off but I still had to try it on again. What is it whith coat makers making coats that only fit people if they have a huge gut. The coat was awesome other than it was way to big in the mid region. So we left so I could think about it. We went into a bunch of stores and I browsed the men’s shoes when they had them. I found this awesome pair of casual-dress shoe that was like a soft brown leather. I thought to myself if they have this in my size I’m buying them and that jacket. They would have matched perfectly. As you probably guessed by the past tense that they didn’t have my size. The stores in the mall only carry up to a size 44 or 45 that I found. The shoes I am wearing are a size 47.5. I could probably get away with a 46 because I had to buy my shoes a size bigger than normal because of how they are constructed. So that was a bummer. I wish I had still bought the jacket though. It was awesome, and cheap at 20% off. It was originally 500 Zlotych, so it would have only been 400. And with the exchange rate it would have been about $140. As I am writing this I am thinking I should go back their on Sunday and buy it before I go to London. I will keep you posted.

So then on the way home we decide to stop at this place Ania had never been for something to eat. When we drive in their is this group of kids standing in front of the door. Their were about 10 kids all between probably 19-21. Ania wanted to leave because the town we were in has kind of a bad reputation and she though the kids would give us trouble. We decided that we should give it a try. So as we are walking past the group to go inside they are talking about something. When we got inside she told me that one of the kids had asked if he should go kick my ass. Well apparently the group thought better of it because he didn’t come over. So we are standing inside looking at the menu on the wall in the corner, next to the bar. The kids come and stand at the bar cornering us in. I though, great, I’m gunna have to see how well Jared has trained me and kick these kids asses. Seriously, they were young, drunk, and all really small. I honestly don’t think it would have been that hard. Then all of a sudden Ania wanted to leave, which we did, making me believe they were still talking about kicking my ass. We went outside and got in the car when the kids came back outside. Luckily for them they weren’t stupid enough to pull anything.

Gold Stars for my mom and my brother who actually commented last time.

Happy Birthday Brandon. I hope you are having a good one.

I guess that’s all I wanted to say. I wrote this once but the webpage timed out on me and I lost it all. I got smart and wrote it in word then pasted it to my journal.

It's Been Such A Long Time

sirus — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:44:00 GMT

Ok, honestly. Who thought of Boston when they read the title? Speaking of epic songs by amazingly awesome groups, I heard a techno remix of none other than Journey's Don't Stop Believin' when I was at the gym Saturday. Seriously, is their any other song that makes you stop what you are doing and just sing along than that song? If you know one let me know, then be prepared to be slapped because your WRONG!

Aaannywho, sorry it's been such a long time(I think I should be goin...yeah) since I last wrote something. I've been extremely busy, doing nothing. You'd be surprised how fast your day goes when you don't do anything all day. Since the last time I've posted we have helped Ania's Uncle finish picking his potato's, I have mowed the lawn at Ania's parents garden, and other stuff but I just can't think of anything else right now.

I guess the only news I have is that, as of right now, we are going to London on Friday for the duration of my stay here. I had planned on taking the GRE in Warsaw at the end of October but it looks like I may have to take it in Dublin instead. Why Ireland you ask? Well I'll tell you. I looked up testing centers in the UK, and Dublin was the closest they had. So darnit. I am going to have to take a trip to Dublin. Doesn't that suck. And while I'm at it I may just take a hop, skip, and a jump over to Scotland.

So that's all I have to say, I think? Feel free to leave comments and ask questions and stuff of that sorts. To entice people to leave comments I will guarantee people gold stars. Hmmm, now you want to leave comments don't you.

Pickin Spuds

sirus — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:52:00 GMT

As the title suggests I picked potatoes all day. Ania's Uncle has a little farm and they all help him pick the potatoes at the end of the season. It was fun. While we were in the field their cat had her babies and we were all excited to get back to see them. When we got back, their was only one kitten. They just assumed the father had found them and killed all but the one the mother could save. Well that didn't fly with me so I went into the barn and 1: found 40 eggs they had missed somehow, and 2: two kittens. They were, of course, extremely cute.

The Swan and Me

sirus — Wed, 9 Sep 2009 17:30:00 GMT

It was a pretty uneventful day so Ania and I decided to go for a walk. We were walking around this lake when we came across a bunch of swans. We stopped to look at them when the only male started to hiss at us. I didn't even know swans hissed. I wanted to see what he would do but Ania insisted we leave them alone. So, of course, we kept walking.

Bialystok

sirus — Mon, 7 Sep 2009 16:09:00 GMT

We went to Bialystok (the l is suppose to have a diagonal line through it and is pronounced as an english w) yesterday. We were going to go to yoga in the morning and then head to the mall and eventually go see The Final Destination in 3D that afternoon.

Well Yoga fell through because Karoline, Ania's cousin, got the days and times mixed up. So instead we just went to the mall all day until the movie. Try shopping with two girls in a country where you don't speak the language, so you can't really go do your own thing, while they look at 4000 different pairs of pants and not buy any of them.

Anyway, they have wrangler jeans here and I looked at the price and it said 339Zl. Zl is their symbol for money like the American $. There is just something about seeing the number 339 that makes me not want to buy that pair of pants. With the exchange rate its not so bad, only around $120 depending on the exchange rate that day. And yes, this is for a pair of wranglers.

So then we went to the movie. I was hoping it would be cool with 3D and all. Well I was wrong. The 3D was lame and in some points may have actually taken away from the movie. So I wouldn't recommend seeing it in theaters, especially if you want to see it just for the 3D.

Oh, and when we first got to Bialystok Ania had to put some money in the bank so Karoline and I waited for her outside. While we where standing there somebody walked buy and handed me a flier, for english lessons. While I was looking at the flier thinking about the humor in it I flipped it over and on the back was Tom. A guy I met in Bar Harbor who married one of Ania's friends from Poland. He was a native speaker at the school.

Lucky Me

sirus — Fri, 4 Sep 2009 22:15:00 GMT

I must be the luckiest person alive right now. So the other day Ania's cousin Karoline called her and asked if I could help her translate something. I of course agreed, so we meet up with her at a local pub that night. Turns out she wants me to read two scientific articles entitled Molecular biology of inflammation and sepsis: A primer and Leukocyte apoptosis and its significance in sepsis and shock. She wants me to read them, write a summary of them and explain them to her so she can write a paper on sepsis and apoptosis. Did I tell you I was the luckiest person alive or what.

Gallery: Sokolka

sirus — Tue, 1 Sep 2009 20:46:00 GMT

Bathtub

sirus — Tue, 1 Sep 2009 19:02:00 GMT

So the tub I have been taking a "shower" in every day is just about 3 feet long. If you don't already know, I am about 6'4" so it's a little awkward. Can you imagine? Well, most of you probably don't want to imagine me taking a bath so here is a picture of me in the tub so you don't have to imagine:)

Early morning swim, relatively

sirus — Tue, 1 Sep 2009 09:07:00 GMT

I went to the pool again today. Today also marked the first day of school in Poland along with a change in hours for the pool, which now opens at 6. I, however, didn't go until 8. Still, I was the only one in the pool. It was kinda nice. Oh, and here is what I look like in my cap and goggles. And did I mention, my nifty goggles came with a nifty pink carrying case.

August 31st

sirus — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:50:00 GMT

Went to the pool today to do laps. I got exhausted a lot faster than I expected. I am going to try and swim five times a week to help facilitate my quest of getting into shape. We'll see how that goes:) I also bought a nifty swim cap and goggles to use in the pool.