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| Traveling Companion |
GDANSK, POLAND Some times you get everything wrong. On a very slow "Express" train from Warsaw to Gdansk my traveling companion was an articulate young woman, a life time resident of Warsaw and a Buyer for Carlsberg Beer, who, after reading my last blog, insisted that it be amended to reflect the truth about Warsaw. Her vivacious smile, excellent English, had already destroyed my first impressions. "Okay," she said, "the city doesn't seem to come to life but this doesn't mean there isn't any life; clubs, cinima, restaurants, etc. And yes, some of the older people don't speak a foreign language but the young people do. Most learn English in school; four years in primary and another four in high school." She conceded a few minor points but was adamant that Polish people are very open and hospitable. So in the interest of checking my facts, I now stand corrected. On the US, where she had spent a few weeks, she said, "I don't like the food but the amusement parks, roller coasters, I like a lot." Interesting first impressions?
Did you know when traveling from country to country your browser automatically changes to the local language or more specifically to that of your current IP address. This isn't too much of a problem as the layout is the same, only the words are in a different language. What's frustrating though is that your spell check also changes to the local language. In writing this blog, the system thinks that I'm writing in Polish and everything I write is spelled wrong. Here's another quirk: I tried to download a Netflix movie, but the system noticed that my computer was in another country and told me, "No you can't do that." It's strange the way you don't have control over your own computer and the subscription services you've purchased. I wonder if it wouldn't be too much to ask the techno-wizards to give us back our computers.
