The Countdown Begins

10 days left.  It hardly seems possibly that time has flown this quickly.  Although I still have enough time to resemble a fully-fledged American vacation, I have to start thinking about departure.  There's a box in the apartment to remind me that packing (and shipping) will soon become a necessity.  Of course, I still get to roam around Britain for a bit after leaving Poland, but it's going to be a lot different than my usual habits now.

Today I went to the gym, as usual for a weekend.  Lunch was quick, and there was a trip to the grocery in the afternoon.  One note about lunch: I had a kebab, which is usually prepared by a middle-eastern guy, as was the case for me.  As usual, I asked if he spoke English in Polish, and he responded of course.  I then got a mini-lecture that I can just start talking in English to whatever kebab person there is, because they all speak English better than Polish.  Fun times.

For dinner I went down to Kazimierz and found a nice Indian restaurant, where they had some decently-spicy food.  Spicy food is uncommon here in Poland.  Although a lot of the food has spices in it, they're usually mild and not overpowering.  Having something spicy was different and kind of nice.

I then went to a nice dessert place in the main square that was delightful.  There was a jazz band playing across the way at another cafe, and it was great to be able to sit outside on a cool summer evening listening to the music play.  I will miss this when back in the US, especially on cold, winter nights where I'm trying to fit in a visit to the gym alongside 1-1.5 hours of studying.

One humorous anecdote: the city of Krakow is named after an ancient king / semi-mythological figure named Krak or Krakus, who supposedly founded the settlement on Wawel hill below which lived Smok the dragon.  Consequently, you see businesses such as "Krak tours" or "Krak computers."  I've gotten used to this phenomenon, but I had to stop and take a picture of this one:

Needless to say, I wouldn't trust such a brokerage.