Well today I came back from my trip to Poland. I left my house on Thrusday arvo and drove down to Ystad where we took the ferry over to Poland. We took the night ferry so after hanging out awhile and checking out the shops and bars etc ( was a flash ferry) we headed to bed and slept the rest of the journey! When I say we I mean Anna, (my host mother), and her friend Biota, Biota's son Simon, Albin, Brittany and of course myself. Biota is actually polish so that helped greatly when it came to talking to people. Polish is the craziest language I have ever heard!
Anna
Brittany and Biota
Once we arrived in Poland we drove about an hour to the town of Gryfice, which isn't at all big. It is quite funny in Poland as they like to paint their houses green. So as you drive along you see many buildings looking like this...
It was so entertaining it was like they go to the store and pick up bottles of paint and can't decide which to get so they pick them all. there were houses with different shades of green with green and yellow stripes...
As you may know the whole point of the trip to Poland was to visit the orphanage where Anna and Biota sponser the two girls in this picture, Dagmara and Cornellia
It was a very poor area and the roads were terrible. they were bumpy and the kurbs were crumbling down etc the roofs had bits falling off them etc so living conditions arent good. It was a very intense few days. Because we arrived at about 10 we had a few hours to kill before the kids finished school so what else do girls do but go shopping!
After lunch we headed off to the orphanage. There were heaps of kids there and the building looked a bit shabby on the outside but after a lot of what we had seen in the way of homes and buldings it was very good. though the outside wasnt a particularly bright shade the inside was really cool. It was all bright greens ( suprised?) and orange and yellow painted walls with funky mirrors and a couple computors and a tv. So the building in which they live is great except for a funny smell. They have a cool playground as you can see in the photos now but it was sad to see the dirty nappy, plastic, ciggerette buts, and general rubbish lying around and this is what they play in. I was so grateful to have a rubbish bag and clean it up with them.
We brought with us to Poland bags of donated clothes and the likes which the kids sorted through when we first arrived.
The rest of friday we went for a walk with them. Now Dagmarra had taken a liken to me and Brittany and dragged us off away from everyone else to show us her school etc and I think enjoy the company of girls her age. She didnt have fantastic english and a lot of the time we werent exactly too sure of what she was saying but it helped her so much just to ramble to us. She told us her story how her mother leaves and comes back pregnant again, unemployed father no money or food at home... she has 7 sisters and 1 brother. This story wasn't too bad compared with her peers but similar to most. While we walked in the direction of her school, Anna and Biota took a few kids a different way and the Poles on the streets stopped and looked at them. They knew exactly who the children were but who were these people? Why were they with the orphans? Where have they come from and why are they going for a walk and playing with the kids? It isn't because they are horrible people but so poor and uneducated and in that situation they only think of themselves. Where does this leave the orphans?
With Dagmarra at her school.
Saturday morning we went shopping again but Brittany and I went with Dagmarra which was nice. It was sad at one point she couldnt afford a pair of jeans for $30 although with a bit of help from Britt and I that was fixed. It was nice to spend the morning with her just wandering round the shops. That day happened to be one particular boys 16th birthday. However you wouldnt believe it by looking at him. This boy was born with foetal alcohol syndrome ( spelling?) basically the mother had drank her way through the pregnancy. This boy was born without testicles therefore is unable to grow normally and consequently is the size of an 8 year old and looks about 12 in the face. His grandmother rings occasionally. We had pizza that night for his birthday at the orphange which was a nice treat for everybody.
Sunday we took Dagmarra, Cornellia, the birthday boy and another boy whos name I do not know to the beach. Drove an hour to the coast and spent the afternoon walking along it which was nice. Cornellia and I learned eachother how to count in our different languages. It was funny what a friendship we formed through sign language and just walking together.
group photo!
Anna at the beach
Albin
It was really neat through the weekend seeing how you have helped these children. On the friday not everybody smiled but by sunday they were smiling at us and that was really cool. The crazy thing is that all these kids wanted was the human contact. They were always holding our hand or linking our arms, just wanting to touch you. There was one particular girl who I especially wanted to bring home with me, she loved my earrings. Each day she would look at my ears and finger the earrings. I put them on her on Saturday night but then Dagmarra told me she couldnt have them because they were too big or some silly rule. But just letting her wear them all night untill she went to bed made her so happy. On Sunday when we arrived back at the orphanage she looked for me and ran and hugged me hello and then dragged me around the playground because she wanted to play with me. She was so cute and it was adorable. It was really hard to say goodbye.
Olla on the left in the red, who loved my earrings
Nicola and Biota
Brittany and Nicola
a funny sign on the road
Dagmarra also grew quite fond of us which she showed with such a generous gift of a pair of earrings to both Brittany and I each. It meant so much more considering the financial position she is in so it made us realise again just how worthwhile our trip was for them and just how much it meant.
Anna looking posh with her new 'do
It is really hard to portray just exactly how you feel as you walk through the poverty etc of Gryfice and I know that as you read this you will be thinking yeah that sucks and is really sad but unless you actual see it yourself. I am not sure how to explain it. But the three days I spent there really changed the way I thought about it all and really had such an impact. It was heartbreaking but also so great to be able to help these childrens and put a smile on their face. It was a really intense weekend there but worth it. 
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