Saturday October 12th, 2007

I slept late again today, as Dean Czolpinski had suggested, and it felt wonderful. I was feeling myself again a rose to meet the Polish Autumn sun in the early afternoon. I enjoyed a wonderfully hot shower in my apartment and quickly dressed. I strolled down ul. Sienkiewicza not as a typhoid ravaged lunatic but as that of a new resident, greeting passers by with smiles. Downtown Bialystok is beautiful. During World War II much of the city was destroyed by the Nazis but was rebuilt and is a joy to behold, a lovely Central European city. I walked around the block to the Red Church and went in. I retraced my route and stopped in at a local grocery and purchased a few items. I returned to my apartment and relaxed before the evening’s activities. Dasia arrived to meet me at the academy and we walked through central Bialystok to Teatr Lalek. The Teatr is located along side of a lovely park and we dined on cheese and potato pirogues. These pirogues were almost beyond my powers of description, soft and fresh, delicate dough encasing morsels of cheese and potato and crowned with bits of caramelized onion. We sat in the restaurant which overlooked the park, speaking of the upcoming performance.

We entered Teatr Lalek which is a lovely modern theatre with smaller black box type of space and an larger proscenium space. The foyer provides exhibition space as well as a bar and reception area. The exhibition space was filled with works of photography by Leszek Mądzik, who was the sceneographer for the production. An intimate reception was held after the curtain calls at which time I met and spoke with the cast and the sceneographer Leszek Mądzik. Hordouvers and wine were served at the reception. I embraced my friend, Dr. Marek Waszkiel and he said to me “Mark, you will learn Polish and stay with us.” It had been over five years since he and I have spoken and I thanked him for his part in making my Fulbright visit possible.

Dasia and I finished our wine and made our way back to the Academy.