Why Polish children will never wonder which bathroom to use...

**DISCLAIMER: This post isn't meant to spark a debate on politics.

First off, ALL the world watches American politics. Oftentimes, when people find out we're American they'll want to discuss Trump vs. Clinton. Random people here express very decided opinions on the matter...sometimes I feel like they know more about American politics than I do!

But even I am aware of the recent debate about Obama's directive on bathroom rights for transgender students.

Which brings me to my observation:

Polish children will never wonder which bathroom to use. 

Unexpected Gems in Lviv, Ukraine

Now that we've been back for three weeks... I guess I better say something about our little rendezvous in Lviv.

Or Lwow.

Or Lvov...

Lemberg? (Okay, I think you get the point. Let's just say that has a lot to do with history and politics and I won't bore you with that discussion this time.)

Speaking of politics, one of the first little "gems" we encountered in this Ukrainian city was at the booths for the Easter festival. Turns out, Ukrainians aren't big fans of of the Russian president...

Vladimir Putin souvenirs in Lviv, Ukraine

A Trip to the Hospital, Polish Style

I wish I could say my trip to a Polish hospital was for curiosity's sake, or for an educational field trip with the medical school, but it wasn't. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a miscarriage in January and after four months of my body not returning to the normal, I finally visited a gynecologist here in Lublin. She recommended I go to the hospital asap. 

You'd think that would be some pretty straightforward advice, but it's surprising how such things can be so complicated in a different language. Let's just say that my tears of frustration were completely justified after searching for the szpital for over an hour and then having the non-English speaking receptionists dismiss my inquiry about the hospital even when I desperately pointed to the sign for szpital that was just down the hall. That's when I decided to just go home and let my husband help me with this one. (Since he knows about 20 words of Polish in comparison to my 5 :)

Two hospitals, four days, and six needle sticks later... 

Poland's Constitution Day

We came back from Ukraine yesterday (post coming soon) since Alex has been pretty sick with a terrible cold. He still didn't have school today though since Poland celebrates Constitution Day, which is basically the equivalent of the United States' Independence Day it seems. I assumed there would probably be some sort of event going on since I could see police cars blocking the street below our apartment. When you live where I live, all you have to do is step out your front door to join the festivities.:)

I arrived just in time to see the parade of soldiers and military trucks.