Sapphire

Yesterday, I headed out with a few friends (including the woman who lost my phone. See last blog.) to a cemetery in Warsaw. Typically, I think visiting cemeteries is a bit weird, but, as everyone hyped up this holiday and told the foreign students at my school we had to go to cemetery I decided to go and arranged for a group of us to go together.

Sapphire

Alright, so I need to fume and I've decided this will be my place to do so. I went to a house warming party last night at a few friends' apartment.  We stuck around for about three hours before everyone decided to move onto a club.  I was fearing that club we were going to was Park (see the link below).  

Sapphire

Today (Wednesday, September 5, 2007) I was investigating my apartment in Warsaw.  Specifically, I was trying to figure out what seemingly useless switches were supposed to accomplish.  

Sapphire

I just realized what one of the big draws of travel is for me - the complete and utter ecstasy of not knowing anything about what's going on. I was looking through photos of Paris and I only have one that I'm the subject of. I'm on top of Arch de Triomphe. The background: a metropolis of some twelve plus million francophone speakers and no one knows who I am, what I do, what I think, or that I simply don't care about some things. Ecstasy.

Sapphire

On Saturday, July 7th, I received news that my friend in Poland would no longer be attending the same school that I will be attending. Well, actually she didn't have time to confirm that because I was on my way out the door to work, so I cut the conversation short. However, I deduced some information from our very brief conversation that she'd be attending school in Warsaw and that she had found a new roommate.

Sapphire

I sent away for a Polish visa last week and I've already received my visa. I asked for a few extras and I'm surprised that it was really so simple. All I did was send them a $9 money order (visas are free to Americans so the $9 was to cover overnight UPS shipping), paper confirming I had been accepted into a university's program for foreigners to study Polish, the visa application, one 35mm by 45 mm passport photo (though, I gave them three since I figured they'd miss my beautiful face and want a few extra for themselves), and my passport.

Sapphire

After managing to catch a couple of publicos from Ponce to Fajardo I arrived at the ferry station in Fajardo around 11:00. I had intended on shipping myself off to the exotic, and much touted Culebra, which according to Puerto Ricans was paradise, but the next ferry to Culebra left at 15:00. There was, however, a ferry to Vieques at 13:00.

Sapphire

Yesterday, I asked the receptionist at the Hotel Melia about publicos and how to get to Fajardo. He promised to have the guy during the morning shift give them a call and reserve a place for me. He asked me "When do you want to go" and I told him no later than six. The reasoning for that was so I could catch a ferry out to Culebra. Unfortunately, I reverted to civilian time, rather than say 18:00 so I think he confused 6 PM for 6 AM.

Sapphire

My Puerto Rican adventure began on April 13th. My flight left at 5:20 (AM) the next day, but I decided to get a head start, check my luggage and then sleep until 4 or so in the morning. Well, I didn't get to the airport around 11 and ended up leaving my guide papers and everything that would have been useful in my dad's car. Apparently, the airport checkin desks close at 22:00 so I couldn't check my luggage, but I did (after a hassle) manage to get the self-checkin-in kiosk to cough up a boarding pass.

Sapphire

I ventured in to the Hofbräuhaus Newport in Newport, Kentucky with a few minutes to spare before turning 21. I thought that I would like the atmosphere at the first North American spin off of the real Hofbräuhaus in Munich so I wanted to make sure this was the place to have my first American beer, but the place sucked!

Sure, the beer was good, but the Hofbräuhaus has nothing to do with the beer. The Hofbräuhaus is supposed to be an experience with everyone swinging ein Maß back and forth to the tune of Take Me Home, Country Roads. Bar tenders and servers are supposed to come to your table and and serve you. Probably the greatest thing about the experience is wandering into the restroom while singing along with the band to the tune, then laughing as other drunks piss all over themselves. To redeem yourself you give the restroom attendant a Euro, or better yet, a few koruna.