The day went by so quickly, a semester of days like this will pass in the blink of an eye. It’s all I can do to keep mine open and try to take in as much as possible.
Today we had a lecture on migration at the Jagiellonian, which was mostly rehash from an immigration course I took at Kenyon last semester. The lectures here are interesting sometimes, but very different from Kenyon. One big difference I’ve noticed is the reliance on theory at the Jagiellonian (and presumably other European universities). I’ve never had a professor make so many references to certain authors- we read them outside of class, but the professors’ lectures at Kenyon tend to come more from their own thoughts and experiences, with the theoretical base kind of mixed in, but not the focal point of the lecture. I like it, because having a context to which theory can be applied always makes it more interesting. When the Jagiellonian professors lecture, I wonder, where are their ideas and perspectives? At Kenyon, creativity and academic rigor are bread and butter. Here, they seem more like oil and water.
After class, Kate and I walked to the Krakow transport office so that I could get a refund for the citation I received last week for riding the tram without my I.D. card (oops!). The place had no lights on, and just two employees working at the time- certainly not the picture of a fat, bureaucratic European welfare state. But Poland’s something of a special case- a socialist past and a subsequent aversion to the state that you don’t really find in Western Europe. Plus, it’s nowhere near as wealthy. All that makes it an interesting outlier.
Later in the evening, Ania, Agata and I headed over to Agata’s friend Zina’s apartment, where my friend Kate is doing her homestay. Ania was funny- you could tell it was the last thing she wanted to be doing. She reminds me of my sister when she was about 16, whining about schoolwork, spending hours on the phone with her boyfriend, bickering with her mom. The three of them mostly spoke in Polish to one another, but Zina (a former actress, like Agata), is engaging and dynamic no matter what language she’s speaking. Although the language barrier does create some awkward moments. For instance, Zina was trying to apologize for her poor English skills, and compared her speech to that of a “Neegra,” by which she meant African-American. Kate and I looked at each other nervously, unsure whether we should point out that a) such a comparison isn’t really P.C. in the first place, or b) her incorrect/possibly offensive terminology. Kate handled the situation well, “That’s not a term people really use anymore, it’s considered rude.” “Most people say ‘black’ or ‘African-American.’” I said. “Right,” said Kate, “Although in Poland they wouldn’t really be African American.” I felt my face redden as I stuffed another tea wafer in my mouth. I really wanted the conversation to end. We went home after about two hours and Agata left the flat suddenly almost as soon as we arrived. “My friend is hungry, I bring food, back tomorrow.” Hmm...friend? I wonder why she didn’t think she could tell me she was spending the night at her boyfriends’ house? (Which I assume she is doing). Ania and I had a good time at home, just studying and taking little breaks to talk about little things; school, friends, how expensive textbooks are whether you live in Ohio or Poland. Our topics of conversation are expanding.
