I have another experience to share from my time here in Poland. The other night I was reminded how wonderful it is that in the United States you never have to pay for grocery bags. I had realized that campgrounds here in Poland do not supply toilet paper always so I went to a local store to fetch one. This is also a time to mention a dynamic about the Polish people which is that they are very curious. I have been surprised at the level of eye contact people will make with you even as a stranger and that wherever I go I see people looking at me very curiously. I thought it was because I am a foreigner but I noticed that they do it also with each other. That said, I purchased my roll of toilet paper and a loaf of bread and realized of course that I had forgotten to bring a bag and was not going to get one. I then walked back through town, a small town thank goodness, and was very aware of the looks I got from other people. It would be a strange site to me to see anyone carrying around toilet paper and bread so I understood their curiousity. I am glad that I am light on the old feet and got back to the campsite with much rapidity to avoid more of the curious stares. I must remember to always bring a bag with me to stores so I don't have a repeat experience of this.

Since Monday I have been traversing and enjoying the Baltic Coast of Poland. It is such a blessing that I can return to the country that my grandmother's parents came from. I had not really thought of it before I came but I feel it such a privelege to at least be able to get some idea of what life was like for them so many years ago. The Polish people are very focused on family and on community based on the numbers that are out in the streets at night and how often families are out together talking and exploring. I love to visit places where people congregate at all hours of the day and in those places they connect with friends and family members. It is a wonderful alternative to sitting at home viewing the same crap tv shows or having the news tell me who to be afraid of now. This time of year in this area people from all over the country come to enjoy the weather and the beaches.

I am currently in Sopot which is just north of Gdansk. I arrived yesterday and previously had been traveling in small towns including Hel that are along the northwest coast. The weather is warm and the beaches are marvelous so it is definitely a nice time to be here. Also a refreshing change from Western Europe is that the price of everything is considerably lower. The exchange rate makes it so the dollar is actually worth more for once. It is a nice change from the high prices especially in the tourist areas of Germany. I am hopefully going to be able to visit a Church here that does their service in both English and Polish. It has been difficult trying to communicate in Poland because it is mostly younger people that can speak English and they are not always so friendly. I think now that I am in a larger city I will have more opportunities to meet people. Today I have been exploring the center of Gdansk and enjoying seeing so many people out and about. I should be able to post again before I leave here and I'm sure some of you have wondered where I was the last few days. Finding places to use the internet is definitely more of a challenge especially in a country like this which is only now catching up with the technology in the west.

It may be because I am traveling alone or perhaps because of how I relate to people that I notice so strongly the communication between people. I had hoped that this was a dynamic existing with couples I have seen in the United States but unfortunately it seems that here also there are people "madly in love" who can't think of a word to say to one another. I understand that sometimes there is a beauty when two people are together and do not need to say anything but this is different from an obvious discomfort between people because neither one knows what to say. I can think of many instances with couples young and old, especially at restaurants, where the two people will not speak a word the entire time expect perhaps asking the other "What are you going to have?" or "How is the food?" or "Did you see that movie?" Couples who have spent fifty years sharing a life together but when the chance comes to communicate they would sooner turn on the television or go to the movies(On a side note I think that the television and movies are the savior of many a couple as there is no need to communicate anything in front of the screen). It is also amazing that young couples who know little or nothing about one another can think of nothing of interest to say.

I guess it is better to at least not look like you are alone even if relationally you are very much alone. I know this very strongly because I must often walk around to crowded places by myself and I see people that though they have no connection with those around them, based on their obvious discomfort, at least they do not have to look like they are alone. In part I don't blame them because I get no joy from walking about with the "I'm alone" sign over my head. For me to be traveling alone is some of the most difficult time emotionally since I was a teenager and then often by choice and often not I was alone always. That is why it boggles my mind. I believe that each human being is the creation of an infinite and an awe inspiring God and that into each one of us he has placed elements of himself. I could not in a lifetime know the entirity of another of his creations so why is it that we end up with nothing to say. Either it is because we are uninterested in the hearts of others or because we haven't an idea of how to really discover another person. We are so focused often times on our own needs and day to day life that we miss the opportunity we are afforded all the time to connect with the hearts of others who each have pieces of the creator inside of them waiting to be found. This is a great tragedy and a tragedy that often stems from selfish lives, ridiculous social rules that tell us not to ask personal questions, and a shallow-ness in relationships that will never allow for real closeness.

Right now in my life it is so difficult to be around people and because of language differences be unable to communicate with them. It is so frustrating because there is so much to explore in the hearts of all people and so it amazes me that some choose a life where they do not even attempt to really know others. I hope that no one will ever catch me in years to come with my wife or my children or my friends with a bored and disinterested look on my face and witness no communication between me and them. The God of the universe created us for relationship with him and we as his creation have the same need and the same purpose for our lives. It is too short a time on earth to let so much other garbage get in the way.

This post comes awfully late but anyhow I thought it should be shared. A few days before I left Berlin I had spent the day near by in Wittenberg and stopped for lunch. Not realizing what I was ordering, the meal that I was given consisted of a plain bread roll and a plain sausage. This meal choice was written up at the entrance to the restaurant so I had expected it to be perhaps some local specialty. It could certainly be said that the German people are fond of their sausage and this was no exception. I assume now that this was meant to be similar to a hot dog or perhaps the hot dog is some spin off from this. I may never know. I have a strong feeling that the German diet has never won favor with the vegetarian crowd though as it seems that sausage is never left out of the mix at meal time.