Moving again

Today's principal activity was moving from the hotel I've been staying at to the apartment I'll be living in until I leave Poland.  The apartment is much closer to the city, which is good; however, it is not air-conditioned, which is unfortunate.  They did bring in a fan for me, but it's still pretty warm in here.  The internet connection appears to be better than in the hotel, though, so that's another positive.

I'm on the fourth floor, and the apartment has what I would like to affectionately call "the world's smallest elevator."  This elevator is clearly designed for one, although a couple could probably squeeze in as well, as long as neither were too large.  Also, Poles start their floors from 0, so I have to remember to push "3" in the elevator or I'll go one too far.  It's only a matter of time before I mess that one up.

Picture of said elevator:

The apartment landings in front of each door have timed lights.  There's a glowing light switch that you can hit to turn on the lights, and then they turn off automatically.  The result is that when you step off the elevator, it's very dark, except for the spot of light where the switch is.  That may take some getting used to.  It's secure though; the building requires a code to enter in the first place.

The apartment is in an old, European building and is fairly small.  The windows face North and are immediately above the street where you enter the building.  The windows open fully, but have no screens.  And before anyone gets any ideas, I neither have nor desire a mechanism for stringing my clothes high above some European street to dry.

Fortunately, the apartment has an iron and ironing board, which my sad, rolled dress clothes desperately needed. I'm neither the best packer nor the best iron-er, but I think I made it through alright.  This action will avoid my coworkers believing that I sleep in my work clothes.

I also did my first grocery run in Poland, and there I had my first experience with a non-English-speaking cashier.  It was a little rough, but I got through and I don't think I lost anything in the process.  Items to remember: cena = price, and make sure to get a label for your produce.  Also, the plastic bags cost 45gr each (about $0.13 USD), but are slightly stronger than the American versions that are free.  I'll keep my eyes open for a reusable one, though.

Supposedly there's a grocery or two that are closer than Carrefour, where I went today, but I needed some atypical items (ice cube tray) that made me want to go to a larger store.  This store is in the middle of a mall. Imagine going to Glenbrook (for the Fort Wayne folks) or Circle Center (for the Indy folks) and having a grocery store in it.  Kind of weird, but workable.

Lunch today was at a "Mexican" restaurant that I thought it would be fun to try.  While not bad, there are some definite discrepancies between this place and Mexican food.  Pros: I could actually read the menu (in Spanish), food was good; cons: no one in the place spoke Spanish, not exactly normal Mexican seasoning (cilantro y cebolla, anyone?).

For dinner, I had my first pirogi in Rynek Głowny (the main square, which I am now two blocks from).  They were delicious.  This meal cost about $7.80 USD including tip.

My first day of work at the new office is tomorrow.  They're sending a taxi for me, so that eliminates one variable, but there will still be a lot of new stuff to learn.  The adventure continues!