Rugby season

The Warsaw Frogs have entered the meaty part of their schedule. Last weekend, we had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Poland's most picturesque city, Krakow, to face the 2nd team of Juwenia. This past weekend, we played a team from England, Old Brentwoods. The Polish monsoon has provided us with the kind of sloppy conditions that make any Brit feel at home. (click on pic for larger view)

It seems like all of these clubs, from the U.K. in particular have such monikers that deviate from the standard City - Mascot format. This weekend we are hosting Sussex Police (are these guys cops, or what?), Heathfield and Waldron (sounds like an ambulance chasing law firm, or maybe they will represent you if you are the victim of brutality from the Sussex Police), and Barns Green (buy your retirement condo next to the beautiful links of Barns Green!)

It's nice to be the "only game in town" when it comes to hosting teams from the U.K. The attraction of 1 Pound beers and pubs that are open all night is a strong enough lure to stock the Frogs with willing opponents well into the next decade. I just wonder whether I will be able to withstand the next few months . . . maybe I should rethink things and buy a membership at Barns Green.

A monumental day in history.

There have been many watershed events in the history of technological innovation:

1800 - Volta invents the battery.

1834 - Samuel Morse invents the telegraph.

1854 - John Tyndall demonstrates the principles of fiber optics.

1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.

1916 - Radios tuners invented, that received different stations.

1940 - Peter Goldmark invents modern color television system.

1942 - John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the first electronic digital computer.

1947 - Mobile phones first invented. Although cell phones were not sold commercially until 1983, AT&T came up with the idea way back then.

1985 - Windows program invented by Microsoft.

1990 - The World Wide Web/Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) created by Tim Berners-Lee.

and finally,

April 13th, 2008 - My mom discovers how to send a picture over e-mail.

Thanks to my brother Dave for teaching her!

Maybe this isn't important to you, but being 10,000 miles away from my family is tough. I only get to see them twice a year, but now that Mom has taken this gigantic leap forward in communication, I should be getting many more updates on the grandchildren, Griffin and Lauren. I can't wait until she starts her own YouTube series devoted to her adventures with these two cuties.

The mean streets of Warsaw . . .

Sometimes I find myself wondering why more Americans don't take the opportunity to work or even just take a trip overseas at some point in their life. In fact, there is a widely published statistic that only 34% of Americans over the age of 18 own a passport.

I know that there are a number of obscure contributing factors at work here. These include, in no particular order:

*Proximity - North America is so huge that it would take a lifetime to see the diverse array of sights within its borders. There are so many different ecological and cultural zones in North America that contain even more variety than continental Europe.

*Cost - With the high cost of airfare, hotels, and the plummeting dollar, international travel is something that few can afford.

*Time - We all know how little vacation time American companies give their employees. Using all of those 2-3 weeks on one trip seems a bit wasteful. Europeans, conversely, receive more vacation time yet are paid less, thus take more time to go on holiday.

*Fear - The following piece appeared in the Chicago Tribune, on April 7th.

POLAND
The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw reported that crime throughout the country is declining but there are places in Warsaw known for criminal activity that are best avoided. Advice from the embassy includes: avoiding large parking lots near closed businesses, especially after 10 p.m. when police say crimes increase substantially; limiting activity in the vicinity of Wilanow Bus Stop; and evading groups of individuals who might approach you.

This was part of a regular World Watch column where various security updates from embassies around the world appear. I don't know why it was picked up by the Chicago Tribune since there aren't many people I know, except for a couple former Chicagoans I work with, who are regular visitors to this site. Should residents of Illinois be aware of this?

I wait for my bus in Wilanow (pronounced vee-LAH-noov) almost everyday. I don't hang out in large parking lots near closed businesses. Does anybody? And how can you have a group of "individuals"? If you are an individual, how can you be part of a group? I always stay away from individuals who have the audacity to form a group.

This alert came about because a couple American kids were mugged near that area. One actually had an iPod stolen. While I harbor sympathy for any victims of petty theft, one has to ask if it was really necessary to issue an official warning from the U.S. Embassy.

I have found Warsaw, and Poland as a whole, to be a place where one doesn't have to worry about walking down the street at night. You actually see woman stroll through parks by themselves long after the sun goes down. So to my visitors arriving in the next few months, please don't cancel those plane tickets. The reports of Warsaw being a haven for organized crime have been greatly exaggerated.

Home is where the heart is. . . or should be.

April 2nd is the anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death. This is considered a day of reverence in Poland and you can see many candle votives and makeshift memorials to this holiest of men as you walk around Warsaw. There was even a "sighting" of the pontiff in a bonfire on last year's anniversary.

Last spring, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Vatican with my parents and brother, Dave. We went into the basement of St. Peter's Cathedral where all the popes are enshrined in their crypts. Of course, there was a small crowd gathered near PJP's tomb as they each waited their turn to pray their devotions. It really was a moving scene.

John Paul II is now on the fast track to canonization, or sainthood. The Catholic church wants to remove his body from the crypt and display his remains inside the cathedral. However, there are those in Poland who want his heart removed and enshrined in Wawel Cathedral (pictured). This is in Krakow, near Watowice, the Pope's birthplace.

This practice is not without precedence. Famous composer and pianist, Frederic Chopin, has his heart embedded in a column of Holy Cross Church here in Warsaw, while the rest of his body lies in Paris.

You can read a fascinating article about this debate here.

My sympathies to those in Da North Country

While I bask in the glories of springtime, Mom, Dad, and the rest of the crew in northern Minnesota are digging out from a bona fide blizzard. I'm not talking about a light dusting that will melt in a few days, but rather 24 1/2 inches of fresh, deep powder. The picture to the right was taken in Bemidji, MN yesterday. Unbelievable!

Below is my Dad moving some snow on Sunday afternoon. Little did he know that this would be a futile attempt since they got another foot last night. The second picture was taken the next day. In the picture is our next door neighbor, Joe Gnoza. Notice the depressed look on his face as he comes to grips with the cruel reality that gardening season is at least another 6 weeks away. But I'd like to wish him a belated 70th birthday. Cheer up Joe! Also, a happy 78th birthday to my Aunt Dolores, who is also probably back in Hibbing cursing all this snow.

Warsaw Half-Marathon

Ahhhh . . . the beauty of standardized testing is to give the teacher, errr, I mean the kids, a time-out from the daily grind. So, while they engage in the tedious process of filling out bubbles with a #2 pencil, I will give you, dear readers, an update.

Last weekend, a couple of friends from work ran the Warsaw half marathon with me. For them, it was their second road race ever, coming on the heels of competing in the Run Warsaw 10K last fall. I applaud them for their chutzpah, running double the distance with virtually no build up to this mileage. This may be due to the fact they seek out advice on running from yours truly. I'm not exactly a fountain of conventional wisdom when it comes to adequate preparation and proper nutrition.

So when the three of us toed the line, I think we embodied one of my favorite running expressions, "off the couch". To do a race "off the couch", means that you have taken the time to put aside the six-pack and bag of chips in order to perform some sick test of endurance with little or no training. I have seen some amazing off the couch performances and, unfortunately, have utilized this training program way too often. That's what happens when you look at endurance athletics as a way of earning "beer credits". The more miles you run, the less you have to worry about looking like you spend a good portion of your life sitting on a barstool.


My two colleagues, Pawel and Pawel, are both P.E. teachers at AS-Dub. Both of them "walk the walk" when it comes to knowing how important exercise is in your daily life. But I'm sure all of us can remember having a gym teacher back in school who was a walking contradiction of everything he preached. I won't name any names, but those of you who attended Hibbing High School know who I'm talking about.

Anyway, the Pawels had a great time, finishing in just a shade over 2 hours. More importantly, they did not cross the finish line saying "I will never do that again!". So it's all going according to plan, he said with a menacing smile. In a few short months, you should be reading about them completing their first marathon . . . off the couch, of course.

Thanks for reading! And answer the poll question!

Thawing out . . .

After a few minor blizzards, I do believe that spring has finally arrived here in Warsaw. The bike has been dusted off, the beer tents are preparing to open, and there is actually a period of usable daylight after the long workday. This also means that hormonal adolescents are harder to control and a cagey veteran teacher has to employ a strategy of taking the class outside whenever possible.

Last weekend, ahem, I mean the weekend before that, prior to the Kielbasa going on Easter hiatus, required a trip to London and the inaugural participation of the Warsaw Frogs in a rugby 7's tournament on English soil. For those not familiar with rugby, it is usually played with 15 players on each side exchanging bruising hits and chasing an oversize ball when the little guys (these are called backs) quake with fear and kick it the length of the field. 7's is an abbreviated match in which each side has 7 athletes (hence the name "7's"), who are usually a bit more dainty and breakable than the average rugger.

The Frogs, benefiting from the assistance of some London Irish players, rolled through pool play and into the semi-final round, but were jobbed by the refs and settled for 4th place out of 20 teams.

After the tournament, we took in the sights but not before being treated to great cooking from Sean's mom. It was nice to stay in their house down in South London and wake up to the smell of breakfast every morning. Thoughts of my own mom's cooking certainly came to mind as we sat down to enjoy this delicious cuisine. Alas, my two weeks back in Minnesota for the summer will be here before I know it. How time flies when the weather is beautiful.