there is a man under the table.

I resent small children. This is a realization I came to yesterday. Don’t get me wrong here, I like children, I want children. Not now, but some day. Let me clarify: I resent Polish children. It is in no way their fault, so I cannot hold them in any way responsible for my resentment, and I recognize that is comes completely from my own inadequacy.

Yesterday in the Kiosk there was a small child in front of me. This was one of the stores where everything is behind the counter, and you can’t just grab what you want but instead you must know the word for it and be able to ask. This small child wanted a candy bar, asked for it, paid, and when on his way with his new bit of chocolaty goodness. At this point in my life here this is an accomplishment that is well beyond my current capabilities. When it was my turn at the counter, I made a series of grunts and poorly pronounced words that I had thought were Polish but apparently not. After a few hand gestures and pointing, the candy bar I wanted was placed on the counter. To pay for it I was unable to understand the price, so I held out a palm full of change so that the man could pick through to find the appropriate amount. I know logically that I should not resent the child for the ease in which he received his candy bar for the difficulty which it took to receive mine, but when I five year old is more capable than I am in the world it does hit the pride a bit. Though I am sure that I appreciated the chocolate reward in a deeper way. At least that is what I tell myself.

Polish is a difficult language and I am trying. I have a computer program to help me learn, but it is a slow going progress. My Polish consists of a series of words:

Man
Woman
Boy
Girl
Table
Car
Airplane
Dog
Cat

Then I have a few words to connect my nouns:

Jump
Run
Walk
Dance
Fly
Over
Under

So far is has proven difficult to enter into conversation. Two days ago, we went to the home of someone who had a cat. This was my chance. I knew how to say cat. So I waited…….
Finally my moment came! The cat leaps up onto the table! At that moment I proudly told everyone, “the cat is on the table!” They were very impressed. And with great luck the cat jumped down, and I quickly said, “Cat jumps!” For one brief moment, I was a hit. But it quickly passed and my moment forgotten.

So I continue to wait for such moments when my Polish skills with pay off, but these moments seem few and far between. I can tell you that the girl walks. That there is a man under the table. And my personal favorite: Patryk runs like a woman. But I am not allowed to say that in public.