Poland: Images 03

Warsaw was almost completely destroyed by the Nazis during the Warsaw uprising. The people tried to resist the Nazis and got crushed. During the communist era, the old town was rebuilt to look like it did before it was destroyed.

Parts of the castle wall still exist.

From the cieling inside the rebuilt palace.

Me, somewhere in the old town.

Poland is a very Catholic country. There is religous imagery everywhere.

There are churches next to churches and around the corner from churches.

Poland: Images 02

Chopin is one of Warsaw's most famous sons. This statue is in Park Łazienkowski. He is sitting under a willow tree. Took me a while to believe that it was a willow tree.

This piano belonged to Chopin.

 Cast of the talented hand.

Replica of Chopin's death mask.

Piano styled crosswalks!

Poland: Images 01

I just spent some time with my friend in Warsaw, Poland. Remind me not to do that again, in the winter! I didn't take many photos because my trusty Canon PowerShot is no longer trusty. And my Panasonic video camera takes really bad still shots.

The newest and biggest shopping mall in Warsaw. A refuge from the cold and a welcome source of fast food.

I have to say, I do not particularly like Polish food. I tried, really, I tried. Alicja made me try. I sum up Polish cuisine as pork, soups, dumplings & cabbage. It is not horrible - even the tripe soup - just an acquired taste.

A sampling of pierogi. I liked the one with turkey & carrots, but that was not very Polish.

Ducks at Park Łazienkowski.

Electrical outlets on Poland are hermaphroditic. They have both male and female parts.

Struggling to learn Arabic

Why am I struggling to learn Arabic? No, no, no. Not why it is a struggle, but why do I even bother in the first place? Well, it is fun to study languages, but this one is really tough. It would be nice to know the language when I visit a place, to get a better feel for what's really going on.

But today, I came across this article from the BBC, Campaign to save the Arabic language in Lebanon. What?! So I read the article. Turns out that most people in Lebanon speak French, because it was a French colony. And the younger generation tend to speak English. While hardly anyone can string together a decent Arabic sentence!

The article goes on to say that this is also an issue in North Africa, Egypt, Jordan & the UAE. So I ask myself, "Why am I struggling to learn Arabic?" I don't have a good answer as yet.