Coffee

It was a very early start last Monday morning. Anna didn't really protest because she was hardly conscious as we piled into the car at 4:15am to get to Gatwick Airport to catch our flight to Krakow, Poland. The whole transport to the airport went off well, with hardly a hiccup. It was Ange, Anna and I along with 'cousins' Marcus and Magda. I had dropped 'cousin' Tanya off at the train station at 4am to catch a train to Gatwick as our car is only so big.

Anna came to life at the site of all the airplanes. She is a bit of an airplane freak. Every time you hear a plane, she comments (often before you can see it), "Airplane! Flying!" And then she scans the sky to find the plane. It was genuinely exciting at the start of this trip. It was fun to be with chi-chi (phonetic English of the Polish word for aunt) Magda, chi-chi Tanya and Marcus. It was fun to have Anna so deleriously excited at the mere site of planes where there were indeed many planes. It was exciting to go back to Krakow. It was exciting not to have to endure a budget airline, since the British Airways flight was a mere £10 more than Ryan Air for the family! There is something strangely reassuring about being assigned a seat on a plane. I've never really been overly encouraged by the Bulgaria to Romania bus-style rush-seating mentality to Ryan air.

Ange and I sat together. We had a window and middle seat. It was tight, but not as bad as Easy Jet. Plus, drinks and snacks were included. So, after about an hour, the flight attendant came by offering coffee, tea and an assortment of juices and fizzy drinks. I opted for coffee. It had been hours and I was into a caffeine withdrawal headache. Anna quickly pointed at my paper cup, exclaiming, "hot!". "Yes," I agreed, adding "it's coffee."

Anna took approximately 2 seconds to decide she wanted coffee. "Anna. Coffee. Please." I tried to explain that coffee was not a drink she would have much interest in. It was hot. And, it was yucky. Trapped in the tiny space and overwhelmed by the persistence of a 19 month old saying please was too much. Have you seen her eyes?

Ange and I agreed that after one sip, she'd be so revolted by the drink, she'd probably not want another sip til she was in her teens. I gave her a sip. To the amusement of the lady sitting beside us (and probably not our friends in the health care professions), Anna loved it. Perplexed, I was forced into dumping my coffee down my throat to minimise the amount of coffee Anna would get. She drank at the empty cup for a full 5 minutes after I had handed it over to her. And then, for the whole trip, the sight of a coffee was enough for Anna to be requesting her fair share.

On arrival, Poland was fantastic. Krakow is truly one of gems of this world. It is a little frayed around the edges, but has so much character. It always feels like there is so much to discover about it. The wedding in Meleic was amazing (photo is of 'cousin' Ola and Anna at the wedding). The hospitality shown by our 'family' was almost embarassing, it was so generous.

There were also the usual highlights of being in a different country. A couple of personal favourites were the petrol station called "Krak Gaz." We didn't stop at Krak Gaz for petrol, which was unfortunate since it would have been ideal to get a photo of myself in front the sign before English becomes prevelant enough in Krakow that they're forced to rename. Another was a business that had gone under, leaving a dilapitated shell of a building sitting at the side of the road. The ill fated business was called "Driver Bar," and one can only assume that the modern pressures to crack down on drinking and driving probably had something to do with the demise of a bar on a highway in the middle of nowhere.

Sentences

Anna continues to amaze Ange and I. It's not that anything she does is particularly amazing when compared to other children her age. It is just that Ange and I don't have any experience with children her age.

So, an example: last weekend we were on or way into London to see Emily, Armando and Stella. Emily was going to babysit Anna so Ange and I could go to the theatre. On our way into the city, traffic became increasingly insane. At one point, three lanes became one, forcing cars, lorries and motorcycles through a tiny lane with little notice. With no warning and London tending generally on the busy side, it caused a degree of traffic chaos. Vehicles jockeyed for position. A massive lorry (truck) simply pushed his way in front, nearly raking the side of a a little Citreon. All the while, impatient motorbikes and scooters buzzed through any space left by the other vehicles. Some became stuck, not able to move forward or back and generally adding to the confusion. A jerk in a BMW tried to race down the side and get in ahead: the whole mass of vehicles quickly inched forward in solidarity to not deny the BMW. In itself an impressive feat given how little space there was to begin with. Sociologists would have been bemused.

We sat in our little Toyota Carolla bubble. It was that temperature outside (and inside) where one can't quite decide if air conditioning is actually necessary. A children's nursery CD provided background noise rather than entertainment and all three of us looked out the window. As the lorry moved into a space and a scooter shuffled backwards towards us to get out of his way, I commented flippantly to Ange, "London is crazy." Ange agreed. And then, out of nowhere, so too did Anna. "London crazy," came from the back seat. We both looked back as we laughed. Both our initial and subsequent laughter is, of course, the positive reinforcement necessary to declare the craziness of London on a nearly daily basis. And it really is too funny to hear her say it. But Anna's observation of London's traffic problems were just the beginning. Sentences have come fast and furious this week. They include things like, "Stella's in London," and "More porridge please."

Other little language developments provide humour for us too. A personal favourite (and one for anyone who enjoyed the not-so-recent movie redo of Starsky & Hutch), is when Anna would like to do something herself: "Do it!"

And, of course, there are early indications that Anna might be developing an English accent. Water sounds like "wahr-tah," while the intination on other words certainly isn't Western Canadian. We'll get our speech expert Erika to listen in on Skype and give an update.

It's off to Poland in a couple of weeks! But before then, I have a sneaking suspicion we might see some sunshine. Of course, I won't be betting any money on that.