My Final Week

I am writing this at the beginning of my final week in Krakow. At this point in time there are no plans for me to return but anything is possible.

It’s a lot different being here when training is not going on. All of my trainees are now full-fledged customer service personnel and are doing real well. I am here from 2 p.m. to Midnight to help answer system and technical questions but I am not getting many. So I have been using the time to finish some projects not related to this Global Customer Service Center training program. After work we often go out as we are wired from work. Think about it, our Midnight is like your 5 or 6 p.m. Do you go straight to bed?

This past weekend there was a party Friday night, I went to the movies on Saturday night and there was an end of the project Sunday brunch at the Sheraton Hotel. The movie I went to see was Babel, starring Brad Pitt. I had wanted to attend the cinema for a year now and was happy that the opportunity finally materialized. Whereas the American movies shown here are in English with Polish subtitles, this movie was in 4 languages as it took place in Morocco, Hong Kong, Mexico and San Diego. So there were four spoken languages plus sign language. And the movie had Polish subtitles. I would like to tell you how awful the movie was but that would be unfair as I did not understand 4 of the languages in it. Let’s just say that its title says it all. On a side note, over here one can reserve actual seats in the theatre via the Internet, which we did. What a great concept!

On Sunday I went to my church for the last time and said goodbye to the priests and my parish friends. After Mass I had kawa with Julie and Jack, former residents of Pennsylvania and Ohio who have been living in Europe for 23 years. Jack works for Delphi as their Global Chief Engineer. They are a real nice couple that I was sad to say goodbye to.

Later that day I went to the Sheraton brunch which is a good cross between an American brunch and Polish food. There were lots of serving stations including shrimp and fish cooked-to-order. It was such an enjoyable time that after 4 ½ hours we were all still there. It was a really great way to wind down the project and to recognize the project members who are still around. (When I went there with Toni for Easter Brunch I taught them how to make a mimosa.)

Later that night I met up with the newest Americans to arrive in Krakow to help w/ the Go-live of our remaining customers. They will be here until December 20th.

In between all of this activity I have also bid farewell to locals that I have interacted with over the past 17 months. On Saturday it was the waitresses and the manager at the Metropolitan Restaurant. This was my Saturday morning hangout as it had the best breakfast in town. Each Saturday I would arrive to complete my Polish homework while sipping Kawa filterwona Z gorącym mleko (filtered coffee with hot milk.) After my homework I would always order a big breakfast. They have the best French toast I have ever eaten.

So I am going out in a flurry of activity. Many people have asked me how I feel about leaving. My stock answer is “bittersweet”. Although it has been a lot of fun, my job here is finished and Tennessee is calling my name. (Actually, Toni is.) The tearful goodbyes have already begun and more are before me.



Check back next week for my final postings.