There are three things you learn about yourself when traveling internationally:
1. How you handle jet lag (mentally and physically)
2. Whether or not you can, actually, fall asleep anywhere
3. How much (or, in my case, little) you know about the country in which you're traveling
The A Capella and Chamber Choirs from the University of Wisconsin- Superior are traveling on an eight-day performing tour in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland. We are pursuing not only international performance, but also global acceptance, love and knowledge. Today was day one of our journey.
Our group of around 40 singers and chaperones left Superior, Wisconsin, at 8:15 AM and embarked on a two and a half hour bus ride to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. Once our entire group checked in, we spent a surprisingly quick four hours grabbing a bite to eat and jabbering with excitement that the day had finally arrived; our Polish Performing Tour was no longer a mere dream, but was an actual reality we would soon embark on!
Our group split into two flights — 30 of us went on a flight to Paris that would connect to Warsaw, while a smaller group went to Amsterdam and would connect to Warsaw. The planes were supposed to arrive at their respective layover destinations within 15 minutes of each other, leaving just enough time for each group to go through customs, security and recheck bags.
However, a maintenance delay on the Paris plane caused us to leave nearly an hour late. Upon landing in France, it was clear we were not going to make our connecting flight.
After hauling carry-ons, winter jackets, and 30 tired, jet-lagged Americans around the Charles De Gaulle Airport, we officially missed our connecting flight. However, we were able to miraculously book 30 tickets on the same, next flight to Warsaw, just in time to make a 7:30 PM rehearsal. Despite our stressed, fried, and anxiety-riddled nerves, we were together, we had a meal voucher, and we had a flight. We were good to go. Next stop: Poland, in six hours.
I struggled through my best (let's be real: it was terrible) French when ordering some lunch, and I topped off the meal with a classic eau clairé chocolat and a small cup of coffee. Soon, we were boarding to reach our final destination: Warsaw.We reached Warsaw around 6:30 PM local time, still dragging at what felt like 11:30 AM body time. We checked into our hotel before having a brisk walk to a local restaurant called Pod Samsonen. There, we had a delicious dinner of traditional Polish food, which included a beginning, brothy tomato soup with noodles followed by an entree of marinated beets and potatoes for my vegetarian pallet, and pork and potatoes and cabbage for the others. We finished our dinner with a delicate peach topped with rich vanilla ice cream and a bourbon-y chocolate sauce. It was truly delicious and hit the spot after a long day of extended traveling.
On this first day, I learned that I can indeed sleep anywhere and that jet lag is not just another myth. Also, airport floors are extremely comfortable when you're exhausted.
Tomorrow we have a rehearsal and concert on one of the most magical days of the year; tomorrow is Christmas Day in Poland! Lots of pictures and updates to follow as we pursue authentic and universal love and learning through performance!
