Trendy Two Thousand and Twelve

We had a christmas party for AIESEC the other day. It was really nice, Favela managed to be on time for once, minus Louise! We got dressed up for the first time ever, girls wore dresses and boys wore shirts. We ate pierogi (so much pierogi - we took some back to the hostel) and did this really cool polish tradition; sharing wishes with each other for the next year while breaking bread similar to that from a catholic church. I also tried polish beer with cherry syrup in it, surprisingly not too bad! The party ended when Louise kicked the stereo chord on accident, hahaha. On the bus home three men came and stood behind us, then at one stop grabbed Louise's blackberry and sprinted away. A bit of a downer to the night and a wake up call about living in a city centre. This is the first theft we have experienced in Poland and I hope it was an anomaly.

Since the next day the end of the world was predicted, Favela hosted a party. We drank way too much vodka, and partied hard, the hostel manager kept telling us to shh! The photos are truely terrible! But we survived and that is what counts.

The Night of the End of the World

Now I am in Piotrkow Trybunalski, a small town in Central Poland. I am so glad to be out of Hostel Babel. We got here via a six hour traffic jam on a really uncomfortable bus. I am spending Christmas with Emsi and her large family, plus Leo and Sara (from Colombia). We went shopping today. Polish people have quite a distinctive sense of style, something my sister would call the 'Svetlana collection of Supre'. Thigh high socks, high heel boots are a must. Sometimes with skin coloured tights. Skirts are small and tight, coats are fur-lined. After spending quite a bit of time in shops because Leo needs clothes (he has packed three pairs of underwear and two shirts for two weeks travelling... ew) I have started to like Polish fashion. Its growing on me. I really want some high heeled fur lined boots that every polish girl seems to own. I bought a dress today for christmas or new years, but its quite modest for Poland!

Speaking of which, I am heading to Prague after Christmas, then going to Turkey for a week, I can't wait! Right now we are lying in Emsi's room after making desserts from our countries. I burnt my pavlova because I didn't notice the oven was on grill! Eek. The Colombian and Brazilian things were really nice. Today I also cut Leo's hair and it was a near disaster because I thought using an electric shaver would be easy. Haha, Emsi luckily had some skills. One night Emsi said 'trendy 2012' while having her photo taken in Wroclaw and I found it so funny especially with her accent. Apparently this is a normal phrase in Poland - 'fashionable' and the date. Now I want to use it as much as possible before the end of the year!