BY JENNA MCASSEY ‘19
Cześć from Poland, Nichols College Bison!
This week was my first full week here studying abroad in Krakow, Poland, and I have already fallen in love with the city.
Krakow has welcomed me with open arms, and I feel at home. I have had the opportunity thus far to explore the city and its beauty. I have eaten at some of the most traditional and historic Polish restaurants and have found little coffee shops and bars that make Krakow so unique. It is almost impossible to describe how special and beautiful Poland is. There is something about it here—it feels like it would be almost impossible to leave. And even after settling in, it doesn’t feel real.
By far, my favorite place to go in the city is a café in the Rynek market square called Café Bar Magia. This is a cute little café that has a courtyard garden in the center of it. Luckily for me, I live right outside the city center, so this little place and everything else is right around the corner for me!
The city center is one of the things that Krakow is most known for. It has restaurants, cafes, shops, churches, bars and so much more scattered throughout a huge square. There is a variety of farmers markets, festivals, and horse carriage rides every day of the week. It makes living here feel like living in a village out of a movie or story book.
This past week, aside from trying to navigate around town, I have started my Polish language studies at Jagiellonian University. I will be taking an intensive, two-week Polish language course before my regular classes begin. Attempting to learn the language is by far one of the most difficult things I have had to do, but Polish is a beautiful language so by the time December comes around, I hope to have a general understanding of it. Language is such a huge part of the culture here in Poland, and it is something I am determined to learn.
Another important part of the Polish culture is food and soccer. Stay tuned, because next time you hear from me, I will be digging into different types of Polish foods and will be sharing my experience at a soccer game here in Poland.
Do Zobaczenia!
Jenna McAssey is a junior at Nichols College and an intern for the College’s Office of Marketing and Communications. She is spending this semester studying abroad in Poland.
