Zakopane Addendum

In the routine of the week, I don't have a whole lot new to report.  Things are pretty normal here.  Although I'm still learning new items, they come at a slower pace and with less surprise than initially.

Here are a couple of more observations about the weekend in Zakopane:

• Grilled cheese means something entirely different over here than what we think of in the US.
• Finding the words that are different between Australian English and American English is fun.  Example: Sarah and I both see something at the festival grounds.  Her/me (simultaneously), "Candy floss!"/"Cotton candy!" Then we look at each other and after a few seconds she says, "OK, what do you call it?"
• I've heard that for years there was this guy that dressed up as a white bear in town and tourists would flock to get their pictures taken with him.  However, it was kind of a dirty, gray bear costume and the guy was half-drunk most of the time.  He apparently became something of a Zakopane legend. We did not see him.  My informants were disappointed at this.
• We did, however, see Bugs Bunny, Hello Kitty, and several other non-identifiable mascots.  Hello Kitty should not exist as a mascot.
• Australian word for British citizens: POME ("pom").  Prisoners Of Mother England.
• Polish for "let's go" is chodźmy ("HODGE-meh").