Ah, And the Disillusionment

Certainly not unfamiliar to the collegiate or post-collegiate traveler in Europe, the constant haranguing visited upon the American traveler by Europeans can be annoying, but eye-opening. Some of it is simply cultural, Europeans poking fun at things like flip flops as I mentioned, or speaking slowly and with a higher volume when a European doesn't speak English. This being tolerable and perhaps amusing at times, the serious intellectual criticisms are never far behind.

The United States as a nation is being accused of many things at the United Nations' Human Rights Council in Geneva. Chief among them, the violation of international treaty and the third Geneva Convention all routing back to Guantanamo Bay. I understand where Europeans get the impression that everyone back in the US is completely oblivious and/or apathetic to what is outside borders. And many times I can't disagree with them, as a plethora of problems plaguing the world can be attributed to the US that we don't see. Why would we?

When I encounter an individual from another European country, or even an individual from Switzerland, I usually don't bat an eye informing them I am an American. I certainly don't turn it into "I hate my country and that's why I am here" conversation. As some do out of genuine personal disposition, I believe. On the contrary, I inform the individual that I am from Minnesota, a wonderful place to call home. Indeed, I miss is very much.

Without fail, however, the individual looks at me with eyes that say only one thing: have fun back home, you're country is going down the tubes. And I know what they are referring to: the Project for the New American Century. I'm not going into it, though, because it depresses me and I'd rather be depressed when I'm in the comfort of my own home, Minnesota. That, and, I'm not sure how far into I personally subscribe my belief.

In conclusion, I'm simply manifesting in words that it's a little frustrating. My hands are about as tied as anyone else. But I'll keep reporting.

Moving Around, Again

Bonjour,

To properly update everyone, it is confirmed that I will be going to Ecuador. My flight will leave early Saturday morning 30 September 2006 (likely still Friday in the US). I will fly into Madrid and then the long haul into Quito, Ecuador. Since I'll be following the sun, I will land in Quito on Saturday afternoon and will then be in the CST zone.

Though this press junket will likely place me in many very nice hotels, I am not sure what the communications situation will be. As always, I will have my US cell with me for emergency calls. Keep in mind I cannot use it for casual calls as it's almost five dollars a minute in Ecuador (as opposed to one in Europe). Nonetheless, expecting with caution, an internet connection should be available.

On 15 October 2006, I will fly out of Guayaquil, Ecuador and back to Geneva. On 18 October 2006 I will fly out of Geneva and back to Warsaw. And after being on two continents within a month, will likely stay put for a month or until I get feisty and start scheming another trip (assuming I'm still solvent), whichever is first.

Before leaving, I'm going to find a day when it's not raining in Geneva so I can post some pictures of this beautiful city and its lake. That is all for now. Thanks.

TRIP CURVE

WARSAW>>>GENEVA>>>ECUADOR>>>GENEVA>>>WARSAW

City by the Lake (With pictures!)

Ah, yes, and now, Geneva. Some of the more scenic pictures will have to wait as I need to get back down to the lake front sometime soon and really get around. But for now, here's some of what my life looks like right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my office. The United Nations' main entrance into the Palais de Nations.

The view from my room at my host's apartment. The building is on a very busy street but the amazing thing is, I can't hear the Trams at night, they're so smooth, even riding them is a pleasure.

This is another view of the UN from the museum next door, the Ariana. Take note of the mountains in the background. I get to look at those daily.

And finally, it's certainly not uncommon to see peacocks wandering the premises of the UN. Feathers are at a premium as those who work rarely leave one behind if seen walking around the premises.

More to come.

Stare Miasto II (Because I had to go back)

I don't have all my notes and information in front of me, but I still wanted to post a few pictures of Warsaw's "Old Town" before I forgot. I was able to capture these images when I returned to the area but this time, with a camera.

This is the monument to the old city that greets pedestrians upon entrance.

Above is the town square that's just beyond the statue.

Getting farther into the city, as you can see, everything is getting cleaned up and restored to its original state. Not an uncommon site anywhere you go within Warsaw in general.

For the "Old Town," this is a typical grouping of residences and businesses below.

This is one of the entrances to the "Old Town's" core. To the right is a wall which more or less forms a circumference to the core, and below it, the last remaining ditches that once comprised a moat.

Just about cried my eyes out of my head when I saw this. It's the "Monument to the Little Upriser," dedicated to all the children that participated in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. If you click on the picture, you should be able to view a larger one with more detail.

That's all I have for now. Geneva stuff to come.

City by the Lake

Mea Culpa for not posting recently. I have been very busy at, well, work. I have carved out a nice little cubicle space in one of the UN press offices. I now have my little name badge, Swiss transit pass, and a place to sleep at night. My host in Geneva has been most gracious in showing me around the city and getting me started on a couple of stories.

Geneva is a beautiful city. The first night, upon my arrival, my host took me down to the lake front. Taking in a deep breath and closing my eyes, I thought for just a second or so that I was on the shores of Lake Harriet. The people are very nice and quite patient with my broken French. And the coffee is great too.

Being at the UN is another story, but not bad altogether. It goes without saying that the United States is not looked upon very fondly in any of these rooms. The Human Rights Council reconvened shortly before my arrival and after their diligent efforts to inspect prisoner conditions in Guantanamo Bay, repeatedly were blocked out by the United States. Our country's operations there have now given rise for great concern on a human rights level. We now appear among nations such as China and Nepal as being areas of concern.

I will be Attending a press conference outlining the efforts of UN officials trying to evaluate the state of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay today and hope it generates a story. Indeed, I have little doubt it will. The United States carries a very big stick in the UN, and many of the administrators, secretaries, and officials otherwise must constantly fight with United States interests and bureaucrats when conducting their charges within the UN.

It's frustrating really, being an American and dealing with the scowls, which are soon removed at mention of my presence as a journalist. Nonetheless, I can say without question that we're much less welcome in Geneva than in Warsaw.

Hoping to write more later and include pictures of the neighborhood. Hope all is well back home.

Transient

I board a plan bound for Zurich, and subsequently, Geneva in about an hour. Consider this a disclaimer that I may not be back in touch, at least, for twenty-four hours. My apologies.

By the way, sitting in the terminal with two Orthodox Jews. I've never seen men text-message so fast in my life, and their at least three times my age. Europe has us licked on the whole SMS thing, no doubt. To a certain someone I worked with and constantly was throwing it back and forth as I checked the mail, this someone who texts really fast: eat your heart out. These guys would trash you. You should see it. It's amazing.

Sorry this wasn't one of my more thought-provoking posts. Will be posting more when I get resettled.

Cultural Values

Sorry to those reading this blog that I did not post yesterday. I took the day off, like every other person in Warsaw, and likely Europe for that matter. Today I visited "Old Town" or in Polish, "Stare Miasto." This is both the city's geographical and cultural center.

Rebuilt to reflect its historical foundation and architecture, it stands as another win in the fight against the detrimental history of Poland during World War II and after.

Leveled and left to crumble, Warsaw has seen its fair share of shelling. But as industrious as the Poles are, no amount of Shelling could stop their determination in rebuilding this culturally critical section of the city. I will post pictures later as I of course, forgot my camera when heading there today.

On another note, while riding the Tram back to the apartment I am staying in, I noticed two reliefs, flanking the entrance to a building on one of the main streets in Warsaw. Again, without my camera, I can only describe the relief, more importantly, explicate on the meaning of the reliefs.

To the right of the entrance stood tall a Polish man wearing a military uniform. Although not bearing any weapons, at least ostensibly, the look on his face was one of duty, faith, and a prerogative to protect and preserve.

To the left stood a woman with a child at her hip. The woman, holding a tablet and writing device, was minding the child at her hip. Her hair was in a bun, if I recall correctly and she was wearing a very traditional dress (almost a sun dress, really, but with shoulders and short sleeves).

Conclusions, though not unique (and that's a good thing) to Poland, it is certainly not outside of logic to assume these three cultural values: duty (honor), family (children), and education (cultural growth). Duty being entirely reflected in the soldier while the latter two resting with the woman and child.

I guess all I can really think about is how our relief, say, outside of perhaps the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis, would look? What values would we try to reflect in our relief? Would we decide to separate the man and the woman, place the child with the man instead? And would the man have to be in military garb, or should we place a standard suit on him?

It's just nice to be reminded that many cultures in the world still hold dear the values of education, family, honor, etc. And not to say we don't. I just haven't seen artwork of that nature very often.

Bonjour and Au Revoir

After a lengthy, yet wonderful conversation with my contact in Geneva, I must report that I will be missing Warsaw for the month that I am away. Though my presence as an accredited journalist in the United Nations press office will likely garner a number of stories, I nonetheless have fostered a certain affection for Poles.

It's strange. Of all the European countries, Poland would seem to have a deep-seated regard for Americans that was generated through two sources of cultural exchange. Firstly, the enormous amount of emigration to America and the successful establishment of Poles therein would indicate that we, as Americans, are very tolerant people who appreciate hard work and earnest assimilation into American life whilst those assimilating maintain certain aspects of their culture for the benefit of our cultural understanding (hence, Nye's Pollanaise's popularity in Minneapolis and the Polish deli across the street; which I will refrain from even attempting to spell).

Secondly, our support of their endeavors to rid communism and Russia from their country during and after the Cold War. This is a state still very much self-conscious of the reputation it holds worldwide. I was reading an editorial in Poland Monthly, an American publication written for both immigrants and Poles proper in which the author notes the extreme sensitivity of Poles when referencing Nazi Death Camps as "Polish Death Camps." Indeed, nuances such as these, to the ignorant, can be devastating blows to the ego of this culture.

Poles are very quick to point out that they were not the cause of, nor did they assist (as some recent historians allege) in, the concentrations camps, namely Auschwitz. The reverence bestowed on Americans is perhaps also an indication of their desire to be more American. I can't even begin to describe the behavioral similarities emerging in this country and the United States. I hear cellular phones go off all the time, their ring? American music. Cars thumping with base moving slowly down city streets blasting? American music.

Advertisements, technology, arguably right down to their landscaping, Poles want to enjoy the cultural wealth of the United States. And while our direct investment as a country is marginal compared to that of other European Union countries, we continue to ship over trade agreements and business ventures.

One of the key business ventures we have shipped over here is the very industry I was working in before arriving: insurance. Since the Polish government's version of social security and health insurance have been less than reliable, Poles have taken to purchasing copious amounts of life insurance. And given the increased state of health and hygiene within the country, underwriters are having a field day with this mostly unsubscribed market.

Many Polish companies are just as well, doing business with the United States. Key example being LOT, Poland's airline. LOT runs regular, daily, if not twice daily flights out of Chicago and other major hubs such as New York direct to Warsaw (a grueling flight by most accounts). Polish immigrants in the United States come back to visit often. Though I don't have hard data in front of me, I would guess that Polish immigration really has not slowed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, I would believe it has increased. It's not uncommon to hear someone tell you they have a relative in the United States (I believe I mentioned this earlier).

The strong cultural ties would seem to be a two-way street. Although I have a feeling that the Poles are putting more into this relationship than we are (and why that is, I'm not sure).

As a people, the Poles continue to fight for their own piece of the pie. And rightly so. Other than being the subject of a number of jokes in America poking at cultural "density" shall we say, the Poles have really done nothing but garner positive attention for being peaceful and rather graceful when challenged.

Upon my return from Geneva, I should hope to write more on Poland (and send that off as well). It is pure curiosity and the welcoming nature of these people that I cannot deny.

The Offspring of Capitalism

Ladies and gentlemen, of Minnesota, the Mall of America managed to have an illegitimate child in Poland that we're not aware of. It's called Arkadia and my god, it's huge. I believe at one point I made in inference suggesting that Poland is currently, or already has recovered economically from it's past occupation.

Arkadia stands as testament to the great power of capitalism. At least for this monument, Poland has recovered. I was about to start taking photographs inside but realized I'm still doing my best to not shout out the fact that I'm a tourist (even if I bill myself as a freelance journalist).

Suffice it to say, any pictures I took would have resembled the malls of the United States. They even had a Pizza Hut (although this was finer dining than one would imagine). In essence, you're not missing much.

I've been riding the Tram here and find it to be one of the more effective forms of transportation. Indeed, as the projections of the LRT in Minneapolis would suggest, it's a good idea. Even a know-nothing such as myself can ride around and get from place to place.

I have three more days in Warsaw before heading out on assignment in Geneva, and then, perhaps Ecuador. Intending to make the most of it, be sure to check back soon for more pictures and yes, my personal discourse on Warsaw.

All the best.

TRAVEL ADVISORY

Thanks to the generosity and wisdom of some one at home I miss very much, I now know why I received the odd looks that I did walking around yesterday. Nothing screams "American" louder than flip flops. I'd like to inform those reading in the event any of you decide to come to Europe. Leave the flops at home.

Strolling the Neighborhood

Getting more comfortable with Warsaw, I took a stroll through the neighborhood I am living in. Although I am a man of words, at least most of the time, I do think visuals are quite helpful.

This is a typical string of apartment buildings. As you can see, pastels are still very in here in Warsaw. If you'll notice, in here, and other photographs, sidewalks have a dual purpose here: parking and walking. It is not uncommon for a pedestrian to be compelled out of self-preservation to look out as cars pull up in the sidewalk and park in a gingerly fashion.

I wish I could say you're not looking at what you're looking at. Unfortunately, as with any major city, an individual with a can of spray paint can make their opinions heard without compunction.

This is a picture of the main form of public transit, the Tram. Though a subway and buses exist, within the city center this would seem to be the preferred method of public transport.

One of the more interesting things about living in a growing, recovering city, is perhaps the juxtaposition of old and new guard. In the foreground, a very trendy piece of architecture (perhaps a financial center) and behind it, an older (but it may not even be that old, relatively, for Europe) structure. The division is startling. Think about the old photograph of the Foshay tower in Minneapolis sitting in front of the gargantuan IDS Center after it was built in the early seventies.

No, that's not Hyundai's corporate headquarters in Poland, that's an apartment building. As in the United States, any building or wall is fair game for advertisers. Thinking about it though, that's kind of helpful in a way. When describing where one lives, what better marker could you have than, "I live under a gigantic Hyundai sign?"

And a little slice of home. That's a Victory motorcycle, one of the few American motorcycle companies in the United States now that Excelsior-Henderson and Indian Motorcycles went under (and that leaves Harley-Davidson and Victory, I think). Guess who owns Victory: Polaris. Where's Polaris operated and manufactured: you guessed it, Minnesota. This bike was shipped here. I wanted to touch it, but it's another man's bike.

Recovery

I am recovering from my jet lag at an alarmingly slow pace. Or perhaps not, I haven't even been in Warsaw for forty-eight hours and I expect my jet lag to be gone already. At any rate, I have been able to establish some cultural conclusions since my arrival:

1.) Many, many Poles speak English (especially those my age) if only a little, but many are very proficient which makes life that much easier when acclimating.
2.) Poles are an incredibly industrious people who are basically reaching the end of their recovery with regard to the Soviet era of occupation (if they haven't recovered already). More to the point, everything is getting rebuilt, refurbished, or recycled. From the photo below, you can see they perhaps are attempting to rival the financial cities of Zurich or Frankfurt:


3.) Much of Warsaw is confusing in infrastructure, albeit this city was around long before we had city planners who had a large field to draw their lines across and create neat little grids where the streets are alphabetical.
4.) Polish is a strange child of Slavic and Latin. As many of us learned in language classes, one can generally (with some intelligent thought) infer the meaning of words with English (given of course, the language is Latin-based). Unfortunately, in Polish, this is probably true for a fraction of the words. Thus it is, buying shaving cream and a bar of soap this morning proved challenging, but certainly not impossible as I can now rid myself of this three-day beard I have.

Here and Now

I arrived in Warsaw yesterday around dinner time. A very well-written email containing detailed instructions as to how I should arrive at the residence I am currently at never came through. After a night in a four-star hotel (Holiday Inns are very nice in Europe), I finally have my residence established. Here is a picture of my hotel room:

I also made contact with my freelance colleague in Geneva. This will likely be my first venture out of Warsaw in seeing him there. Also, there is a slight chance I could find myself in the jungles of Ecuador (an interesting opportunity has arisen), but my better sense would seem to dictate I try to conquer one continent at a time. And my wallet is hurting a little after Holiday Inn had its way with me.

Thanks to those who corresponded with me while I was in limbo. Your words of encouragement and assistance helped me through greatly. I think it's about time to sleep (jet lag's a real drag).

Bon Voyage

To all, my thanks for your support in this endevor. I will be sure to write more upon my arrival, but for now, I wanted to express my gratitude.

"Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together." Joseph Pulitzer, 1907