...making Linux just a little more fun!
Jimmy ORegan [jimregan at o2.ie]
Following last month's horror story (http://linuxgazette.net/136/lg_launderette.html#mb-the_dog_ate_my_laundry), I had an unexpected stress-reliever: one of my best friends, who had been un- and under-employed for months, received a large payment, and bought me a ticket to his hometown, Poznań, leaving last Tuesday, returning Sunday morning.
Mostly, I did the tourist thing - Poznań is a beautiful city. My friend took quite a lot of photos, and put them on the web: http://www.fixeverything24.com/gallery/Jimus%20&%20ja/
One of the most amusing things to happen on one of my numerous
walks around the city was when I happened to glance at a brochure I
had just been handed, and saw that it was for English lessons
Spending St. Patrick's Day in Poland was an interesting
experience. Firstly, the first Irish pub I visited was owned by the
only other Irish person I've met who speaks Polish
The second pub was the most interesting part of the day. I had
my first green beer there, and it was the only drink I bought
there, because I was the only Irish person in the pub, and a lot of
people wanted to talk to me about Ireland - someone even produced a
map so I could show them where I live
It was fitting that I met the nicest girl[1] I've met in a long time that night -- I started learning Polish to talk to a Polish girl, and one of my main stresses was that she LJBFed me[2].
The night I returned, I met two guys from Poznań, who wouldn't believe I was there until I showed them some pictures on my phone. I was hugged several times for such things as visiting a post-pub sandwich kiosk, much beloved by all, and for knowing the chant for the local football (that's "soccer", for any Americans...) team.
[1] I found a note from her in my pocket the next morning on the
plane, telling me I'm sweet. What a nice thing to do!
[2] If anyone is interested (and although she told me in English), the Polish for "Let's just be friends" is "bądźmy przyjaciółmi" (well, "zostańmy przyjaciółmi" in this case), though to be fair, she seems to be genuine, and not just feeding me womanese.