Confessions and Corrections

Last Friday, I danced. Without a drink in my hand.

It was Agnes’s birthday party, and we got back from Warsaw just in time. The driver she had hooked me up with was a guy she knew through couch surfer, and he was on his way to the party too. Of course, braving that drive just for a party doesn’t make this guy any ordinary couch surfer. He’s a couch surfing addict. …At least that’s what his business card says. No joke. It reads: “Couch Surfing Addict” with a picture of his smiling face. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. Very interesting dude. And another prime example of the good-natured people in this hospitality network. I’m not looking forward to the day when a knife-wielding maniac logs on and ruins it the way he did American hitchhiking.

Agnes’s party was at her friend’s coffee shop. …a coffee shop that serves vodka. Cool little café decorated with artifacts from the days of communism. And like any cool coffee shop, it’s versatile- quaint café, rowdy bar, art gallery, and they even let a group of Ukrainian folk singers practice on Monday nights. (yeah, I got footage).

Vodka… dancing… high-fives (piątka!)… then Agnes pulls me in…
“Can I tell you something?”
“Uh… yes.”
“I’ve never randomly e-mailed a couch surfer like the way I did you.”
“…Really? Cuz I just assumed you did this all the time…”
“No…”
“Well, can I tell you something?”
“Okay…”
“You weren’t my only random e-mail. I got, like, four.”
“Oh…”
“But for some reason, yours was the only one I responded to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Destiny.”
“Probably.”
“Say ‘piątka.’”
“Piątka!”

Then we high-five’d. (My king-of-high-fives brother Brian would’ve been proud).

So Agnes and I are like ‘this’ now (*holding up crossed fingers).



For our next lunch together, she said, “okay, I’m finally gonna take you to a milk bar.”

…Apparently the place I earlier thought was a milk bar was not a milk bar. Milk bars are similar with their handwritten menus and old ladies who look like they’ve worked there for fifty years. …but just about everything in these dirt-cheap and dirt-y cafeterias look like it’s been there for fifty years. It’s like walking into 1961. And with 1961-like prices, it’s no surprise they’re still open.

Later in the week, Agnes introduced me to Sexmission (proper polish title: Seksmisja)- Poland’s favorite movie. Communism could never unite a country like this 80’s comedy. Everyone loves it. Everyone. But, confession: I didn’t. The fantastic plot is bogged down with poor comedic timing and slow development, not to mention any humorous nuances in the dialogue are unfortunately lost in translation. Sorry, Poland. Really glad I got to see it though. If you’re ever traveling in Poland, this film is an instant conversation starter.

The week wasn’t all lunches and sexmissions…

Agnes got me an interview with the author of “Były dancingi i grały orkiestry w mieście Łodzi” – a book reflecting on entertainment during communist times. (The girl’s got connections).

Luckily, I got to do more than just listen to some old man talk about history. Anna (an architectural student and friend of the Topografia peeps) showed me the closed factories. Not the ones used for art spaces and museums… the boarded up ones that say: “keep out” or “danger: unstable structure.” We’d climb in mission-impossible-style and make our way over the broken floorboards and through the heaps of dust. The only factory she wouldn’t go near is the one with “the dogs.” Good idea.

Then Anna (btw- it’s actually pronounced An-ya; very popular name here) hooked me up with one of her architectural professors to interview. I know the opinion of an architect seems a little excessive given the subject of the movie, but get this: one of his focuses is transportation infrastructure, and while he was talking about Lodz public funding for “road widening,” all I could think about was a proposed plan in Detroit for road downsizing.

One last confession: as my stay in Lodz winds down, I don’t feel so sad to say goodbye to everyone. I have this weird feeling it’s only temporary.