So, confession time: while my move to Poland went pretty smooth, my new job is not quite working out the way I envisioned. My boss has been fumbling with my schedule, with work-permit related paperwork, and even with addresses of the businesses I’m supposed to teach English at. What’s a writer to do? Well, go... Continue Reading →
I have a soft spot for Amy’s Kitchen— especially as they’ve been adding more gluten-free items to their already exclusively- veggie line-up. And there's something about the combined wonderfulness and terribleness of TV dinners that makes them intriguing. (The restaurant Tap in Detroit is even doing a "gourmet" style TV dinner.) And yes, my first post... Continue Reading →
A week before I left the Czech Republic, I impulsively bought a bottle of Kofola— (a glass bottle! makes the taste better you know)— that unique Czech brand of pop, which was meant to replace Coca-Cola when western products weren’t allowed during the communism years. The only other time I’d had Kofola was while drinking,... Continue Reading →
I'm typing this right before I get on a train to leave Hradec Králové— my home in the Czech Republic since February— and I'm sending myself off with a gluten-free cream puff from Bazalka. Very short post— and it's almost impossible to capture that transitional moment of leaving anyhow. So, it's off to the next adventure...
Bratislava was unexpectedly beautiful— for a capitol city I had not heard of before, I was charmed. Perhaps because it’s in the shadow of the more well known Prague and Budapest, finding Bratislava seemed like finding something unexpected and hidden. My first night there, I wandered into Old Town, and found a stage set up... Continue Reading →
Lovely day for a bike ride— warm, sunny, but not too hot— through woodsy paths and little winding roads in the Czech Republic. Our destination: the castle Kunětická horawhich was near-ish to Hradec Králové. We did make a pitstop at the recently opened lookout tower Rozhledna Milíř, which had a great view of the... Continue Reading →
From the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases."For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question “How can we eat?” the second by the... Continue Reading →
Loan words and brand names are like tiny, one shot Rosetta stones— the keys to puzzling out a restaurant menu in a foreign language, or getting a cup of coffee when you’re tired. (The two I’m thinking of are tofu and Maggi.) And the first of this memory part starts in a classroom in Michigan,... Continue Reading →
This last week, I felt very... foreign. Just a little bit lost. I had passed the happy stage of moving, where everything’s new and fun to explore, to where it was irritating that things weren’t as easy as they were in the last place I lived. For example, making peanut butter sandwiches had become difficult,... Continue Reading →
When you’re gluten-free, finding a new wheatless product can make your day. Which is how it was with these cookies: I had been told that the area of the Czech Republic I’m in, near Hradec Králové, is known for their gingerbread. Of course, I figured I couldn’t eat any. Til I wandered into my favorite shop,... Continue Reading →
Detroiter in Poland 