Heeei, tramvai!

Un lucru pe care polonezii nu'l suporta - sa stea in picioare in tramvai. Pesemne s'ar simti aiurea in tramvai, nu stiu, insa nu vrei sa stai in calea cuiva atunci cand e pe cale sa isi revendice vreun loc in mijloacele krakowiene de transport in comun. Si nu vorbesc de persoane 50+ si nici de locurile rezervate, caci lucrurile ar fi cu atat mai grave in astfel de situatii. Daca cineva te'a impins, si dupa ce iti verifici portofelul realizezi ca e la locul lui, inseamna ca pe undeva pe langa tine e un loc liber. Asa ca te dai la o parte din calea nefericitului. Alte motive sa te impinga cineva nu prea am intalnit. Ar face orice sa puna mana (sau fundul) pe un scaun liber. De multe ori, doamnele se urca in tramvai, vaneaza un loc (sau ridica pe vreun tanar), isi lasa poseta pe el si apoi pleaca in cautarea unui compostor, uneori destul de departe chiar. Iar odata ce'au sezut, nu se ridica inainte sa coboare. Am vazut o intamplare de'a dreptul infioratoare. O tanara doamna ii arata cu degetul unei oarbe care incerca sa se aseze peste ea crezand ca locul este liber, ii arata unde este un alt loc liber. Insa nu s'ar fi ridicat sa sa duca insasi catre acel loc. Ii era teama. Insa experienta de azi m'a pus pe ganduri. Ma urc in vagonul din spate al tramvaiului, fara sa ma preocupe faptul ca e mult mai gol decat primul. De fapt nici n-am bagat de seama astfel de detalii. Oricum, ca idee, in general ultimul vagon e cel mai liber. Ma asez pe un scaun dintre cele multe libere si imediat dupa ce se inchid usile ma izbeste drept in fata un miros intepator de cacat. Mi'am zis initial, ridicandu'ma si indreptandu'ma catre celalalt capat al vagonului ca pesemne sunt doar fructe, fermentate... Dar mirosul ma urmarea cu aceeasi persistenta, incat, pentru cateva momente eram ingrijorat ca ar putea fi de la mine. Ma blocasem, pur si simplu. Eram blocat pana la urmatoarea statie. Mi s'a parut atat de mult. Nu sunt scarbos din fire dar mirosea mai rau decat in orice buda in care fusesem, chiar mai rau ca in haznalele de la tara. Ceilalti, destul de multi de altfel, cat sa acopere cam toate scaunele, nu pareau sa se sinchiseasca prea mult. E adevarat, unii isi puneau ceva la nas, altii doar il si'l strambau, dar nimeni nu m'a urmat la prima statie in celalalt vagon, mult mai aglomerat si fara nici un loc liber. Abia la a doua, am vazut o cucoana care, recunoscandu'ma, imi marturiseste ca ea nu mai putea. Am coborat in sfarsit la Dworcowa, si am privit trecand pe langa mine, vagonul din urma in care cei cel putin 10 oameni isi acopereau nasurile cu hainele sau cu fularele, dar erau totusi fericiti, pentru ca erau asezati. As putea ghici ca in sinea lor se simteau mai norocosi decat suckerii din primul vagon care stateau in picioare.

Zapada, omat, nea...

What could more beautiful and romantic than the first snow when it takes you by surprise and the snow flakes are huge and dense. I was thrilling at 2am when getting out of CK Browar after 5-6 hours of 'beering' it has taken me by surprise. It's been unusually cold yesterday (I had bought a scarf to ease my neck from the stinging Krakowian cold that had come too soon for me), but still I couldn't expect it. Nevertheless it didn't stop me from enjoying it like a lunatic jumping with Maria in a crazy dance in chase of these gigantic flakes like I had never seen before (at least she's not very used to snow). The others could not keep themselves from laughing at our unusual dance right in the heart of the city, a dance that to the people passing by seemed rather a busker's performance than a delighting personal experience.
At about 4am, as we were getting out of Kitsch it had already stopped and the snow was laying on the branches of the previously naked trees and on the cars. It was a good reason for a first snow fight. I must admit, I surrendered easily. We eventually retreated to a warmer place with snow melting in our collars and in our souls.
It has rashly melted right after dawn, and with it our winter mood. It was then when I realized that it is hardly past mid-October and that I should be worried at least as much as I was happy. I hope I'll survive. After all, it's Poland not Scandinavia.

Argument

More than half a year ago I decided to start blogging just to tell stories about a nice period in my life and my post-Erasmus experiences. I called the blog 'Erasmorphosising Europe' being proud of creating a previously unexisting word and a concept as well. Although I never wrote about the absolutely great time that I had as an Erasmus student in the pasta and pizza homeland, I posted a few experiences during my hitchhike travels to Poland, including a pretty harsh post about the Hungarians evoking their anti-Romanian history. I eventually erased them. Anyway, it's almost clear that the blog had no history, as I am also not very fond of this kind of literature (still). Now, however, since it seems that I'm going to continue living abroad, I'm starting to consider it an useful tool to share happy moments, frustrations and other experiences with faraway friends. After all, I have been bragging that my stay in Poland is almost like a second Erasmus scholarship, from the fun point of view. First of all I considered changing the concept, making the title ambivalent - obviously, it's not only about me 'Erasmophosising' Europe, it's also about me getting changed.
Let's all see if it works out fine this time. Obviously, I need your help, since I'm not planning to be a narcissistic writer. Or at least not anymore, because up to now I've been pretty shy about all the kinds of literature I wrote.

What is Erasmophosis?

What the... is Erasmorphosis? What kind of blog is this, you might ask yourselves...

First of all, who is Erasmus? Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was a late 15th century Dutch humanist and theologian, born at Rotterdam. This guy did a lot of studying, traveling and writing. But that's another story, anyway.

So, what is Erasmus? A lot of things. But when I think about Erasmus I think about 6 wonderful months of my life. I think about Erasmus as this extraordinary mobility programme that after 500 years decided to revigorate the desideria of Erasmus of traveling while studying, or vice versa, studying while traveling.

Erasmorphosis? What kind of word is this?
Sooner or later we''ll all erasmorphosise, I'm telling you! We'll all get the big picture that Europe is nothing but a huge country with different regions and dialects...