Locked up in the dorm

In the afternoon we go to the Praga district of town to deliver two letters on behalf of some American friends of Andrew's. No success, we have the wrong address maybe, but can't find the people to whom the letter is written. Shame. We walk around a bit, it is a dark and desolate place. Dark. Mud everywhere, piles of mud in the streets. This is not a fun part of town... (NOTE 2013: it will change a lot over time though.)

After that we go to Hortex, an eatery serviced by a large food company, and have a good fruit salad with ice-cream and walnuts for 46 zloty.

The three of use spend a quiet evening in our dorm room, chatting and having a light dinner. Around midnight, when it's time for Ann to leave and go back to her dorm we realize all the dorm's doors are locked! No way to get out of the building, not even an emergency exit. Only a quarter (25 US cents) to the chubby, crancky and sleepy porter lady finally buys Ann the freedom to go back to her dorm a few hundred meters away, across the Independence Avenue.

This is a procedure that will become fairly common in the coming months: to get into the dorm late, to get out for a late party somewhere in town, and to let guests in and out the dorm after hours.

Italian flag by my bed

Bread, cheese and Vodka. Polish coat of arms and map on the wall behind Andrew