Poland: Project Miscellany

One of the challenges of Habitat projects is having enough work for everyone, of different types, with sufficient materials and equipment. This is particularly true when we are building a small house, in a severely underdeveloped country, with little or no access to conventional building materials and where the construction is necessarily sequenced--you can't lay the foundation until you dig it, lay the block without the foundation, etc.

This project has less of a problem with this than any I have been on. Since the building is huge, there is less of a sequencing problem. At this stage, the work is all interior, making weather a non-issue. And most of the current work is painting the 20+ rooms, which involves sanding, priming and painting. And painting all of the countless windows, which involves scraping decades of paint off them, then painting them. And a little demolition work, for those wanting to do some "real" work. So there's no chance of running out of work, for not having a little choice of things to do and to be able to vary it, etc.

Materials are also not a problem. We seem to have plenty of them available, with a foreman who is very on top of his job. Piles of sandpaper, buckets of paint which he mixes, etc. And sufficient equipment (brushes, brooms, etc.), including a sledgehammer for demolition

Of course, we don't find all the equipment that many of us are accustomed to when we are at home or at Habitat in the U.S. Which always leads to teams saying "let's go get... and donate it" (as well as using it while we are here.) This then leads to the experience of going to the local shop(s), discovering what little is available, and making do with less.

This is also not a problem here. We compiled a list of desired items, then stopped at the Casterama on our way to the job site this morning. This is the local equivalent of Home Depot/Lowe's. Part of a European chain (one of about 5 similar chains that are all over Europe, including Poland.) We went in, sparkling new and clean, everything you could think of probably (including a vending machine for espresso, lattes, etc.) I asked Michal how long it has been here. "Seven years." When did Poland join the EU? "Seven years ago." A visible consequence of the EU, with clear benefits and less clear costs.

So we bought about $200 worth of stuff. A shop vac, a ladder, paint brushes, drop clothes, extension cord, etc. etc. Showed up at the site with all of this. Foreman took one look and exclaimed "for me?" When told yes, he just beamed. And walked around fondly admiring his new "toys" (as he referred to them.) We are making great use of them, and they will be used by other teams that follow us.

But what we are missing is the sense of completion. When we're building a home, we (sometimes) actually complete it during our time. Or at least, come close. But we will only have done a little on this project, leaving much for following teams of volunteers.

And the engagement with local people. Other than our foreman, it is just us and Michal (our Habitat guy.) No families, no kids hanging around, no villagers. I miss this. It's always been one of the distinctive and most beneficial parts of these trips. I often think that it is the most important part of the experience, since it is what changes me (and perhaps, them) most. And we won't have it. More of a problem for those for whom this is a first time, but even for people like me, a bit of a disappointment.

When I propose leading a team, I do not have a choice of project. Only (occasionally) of specific location (though that can, and has, changed at the last minute.) I am glad to be here, and the work we are doing is important to some of the least of Gliwice. So I set aside my own "it's all about me" and embrace the opportunity I have to be here, experiencing it all.

I have occasionally used the term "undermined" in its figurative sense. I have never thought of it in its literal sense. This area is a major coal mining region for the last centuries. The building was built in 1905. Since then, coal mining has been done underneath it. So the ground has subsided some, the building is no longer on solid/even ground. So one of the first tasks was to stabilize it by inserting iron beams running through it in a cross hatch fashion. The building is now stable, no longer suffering from having been undermined. (Wish I can say the same for myself in my earlier administrative life.)

When we bought our first house, we wanted to change the color of the living room and dining room. A good friend was a professional painter. We could afford him for the living room, but not the dining room. So one Saturday, I took on the dining room. Spent endless hours painting the ceiling, still more doing the walls. Sometime later, John came on a weekend to do the living room. I watched as he did the ceiling, swinging the roller from a long pole with long smooth swipes across the ceiling. He did in minutes what took me hours. I have always since admired the skill of a trained, experienced craftsman.

I thought of this as I was doing some roller swinging in the rooms. First the primer coat, then the finish coat. Have the long pole like John had. Have the body rhythm swinging it, similar to John. Didn't have his skill, but certainly had greater facility with it than I did so many years ago. I hope he would be pleased with his student.

John also taught me there was no shame in dripping paint. The only shame was in not cleaning it up afterwards. I did the former, and the latter.

Supermarkets are a novelty for me on these trips. Never had them before. Here, one is about 2 minutes from the guest house where we're staying, and another about 2 minutes' walk from our job site (both the same chain--and yes, it's a European chain, and yes, it came since Poland's entry into the EU.) Went there yesterday to buy some fruit and other stuff for us at the site--we have lunch delivered, but we want fruit, cola, and cookies for snacks. Went there again this morning for more of the same. Oh, and a freshly baked chocolate croissant, still warm. Paris patisseries don't have to worry, but it was a very good non-French-bakery croissant. Don't remember this being an option 46 years ago.

Gliwice isn't a tourist city. But it has 3 attractions (or so we're told.) One is the university where we are staying (30,000 students, the 2nd largest and best polytechnic university in Poland, established in 1946); a former silver mine; and a radio station where The War (which is how it's referred to) started in 1939. Michal tried to get us interested in going to the silver mine. No takers. Fortunately, he didn't ask us whether we'd like to see where The War started. Instead, we simply stopped there on our way back from the site. It's a radio station tower ("the largest remaining wooden tower in the world") where a confrontation between Germans and Germans-posing-as-Poles took place in 1939. And "The War" ensued. It's a beautiful place, beautifully kept. And clearly very meaningful to Poles. I'm glad to have been there. And to not have had the opportunity for the team to veto visiting it.

Poland: The Other

Kasimierz is the Jewish district of Krakow. It was established (I think) in the 1300's by King Casimir. He wanted to stimulate economic development of Poland and welcomed the Jews who at that time were migrating out of western Europe (probably because they were unwelcome, but I'm not sure of my Jewish history.) The area was adjacent to Krakow but physically separated by a channel of the Vistula River, which encircles most of Krakow.

Several bridges connected Kasimierz to Krakow which at that time was completely surrounded by the city wall. The district flourished over the next seven centuries. Synagogues built, cemeteries established, markets developed, money made. It is said that King Casimir was known as "King of the Jews" (but I'm sure not by the Jews.)

And then came the holocaust. At the outbreak of WWII, Poland had the largest Jewish population in the world--3.5 million. The holocaust killed 90% of them. Of that total, about 65,000 came from Krakow/Kazimierz itself. Today, there are 130 Jews living in Krakow. And since the fall of Communism in 1989, the Kasimierz district has been the "hot" place to regentrify. Lots of restaurants, clubs, etc. Lots of money pouring in to rehab the buildings, 6 of the 7 synagogues have become museums rather than being active synagogues. And the cemeteries exist to receive the bodies of Jews from elsewhere.

We had a fascinating guided tour of the district with a very knowledgeable guide. We started at one of the cemeteries. Beautifully maintained, quiet, filled with poignant monuments (some in Hebrew, some in Polish, some in German). I found it surprisingly emotionally overwhelming. I don't know why, I just did.

Krakow is in the southern part of Poland--a broader area known as Upper Silesia. It's a geographic area that has been part of various countries/empires over the last few centuries. At times Czech. At other times Austro-Hungarian. At still other times German. Or Russian. And very occasionally, Poland. Some families have lived here through all of that time. Gliwice, the city where we are living and working, was established in the 1300's and has lived through all of that time. There's a beautiful church in the center, built (I think) in the 1500's/1600's. Someone asked "did Poles build it?" and realized it was a difficult question to answer. Who was in power at that time? Were the people living there German? Czech? Austrian? Russian? Polish? Or just people?

Our project is working on renovating a building that was an orphanage. Built in 1905, it was started by the daughter of a wealthy family who felt called to minister to the poorest of the city. It is a beautiful old building--stone, high arched windows, beautiful wood beams, and perhaps 20 rooms arranged around a large open room. At some point, the orphanage closed and the building was abandoned.

Homelessness was not a problem during the communist era. If someone was homeless, the government identified a family whose house was larger than the "allowed" size for a family of their size. The homeless person was then assigned to that house.

But with the fall of communism, homelessness developed. Two shelters were built in Gliwice, but for reasons unknown to me, one of them closed recently. But the homeless didn't close. Two young women formed a foundation to open a new shelter, including providing a full array of services to women and their children to help move them back into society. At some point, it became evident that the former orphanage was available, the foundation took it over, is now partnering with Habitat to complete the conversion. By year's end, it should be open, able to house 20+ women and their children. It is good to be part of this work.

I have never been part of "the other." (Well, except when I was in a class of 17 black women, 2 black men and me intensively discussing Toni Morrison's "Beloved" for a week.) I don't think I'd do well.

Poland: Then & Now

Lots can change during the 46 years between my visits to Krakow. And some things don't. A few initial comparisons:

Then: Flew for 23 hours from Hartford to Copenhagen with refueling stops at Gander, Shannon ["look at that empty fuel gauge"], and London. Breakfast, then a few hours cycling around Copenhagen. Then overnight train to East Berlin, war-damaged buildings remaining, breakfast in a grubby cafe with surly waitstaff, attempt to take a picture of The Wall running through Brandenburg Gate without getting arrested by the Gestapo, another long train ride to Warsaw and finally, Krakow. Now: Flew for 14 hours from Raleigh to Krakow, with plane changes in Washington and Frankfurt. Only "refueling" was me--in the McCafe in the Frankfurt airport (my new best friend since it's the only eating place I can find in that airport other than one that specializes in duck.)

Then: One of the ways the Soviet era controlled its citizens was making their currency worthless outside the country. So unless you could (somehow) get "hard" currency, you couldn't travel. The "official" exchange rate was 4:1 (zlotys to dollars.) The "tourist" exchange rate was 24:1. The "dining table rate" (leave dollars on the dining room table at night, find zlotys at your place in the morning) was 80:1. And the "street" rate was 100:1 (unless the zlotys were counterfeit or the seller was police and arrested you for illegal currency transactions.) Now: Exit the plane, find an ATM, insert my bank card, take out zlotys. (There still is a "street" business, but I'm not sure why.)

Then: Sent hand-written(!) letters to family and friends. Written on thin, lightweight paper (postage was expensive) in tight cramped printing/writing (I failed cursive.) Take to the post office, send "air mail" and arrives 5-6 days later in the U.S. Now: Typing on my netbook, in my hotel room, when finished hit "send", and in microseconds, "you've got mail."

Then: Wander around the Market Square in the Old City part of Krakow. Cloth Hall in the center, centuries old building lined inside with shops. Ringed by stalls and vendors selling all manner of things--flowers, meat, produce. Basilica on one side, clock tower in middle that chimes the hour. At noon, large mechanized figures emerge to trumpet mid-day. Now: Wander around the Market Square in the Old City part of Krakow. Cloth Hall in the center, centuries old building lined inside with shops. Ringed by stalls and vendors selling all manner of things--flowers, meat, produce. Basilica on one side, clock tower in middle that chimes the hour. At noon, large mechanized figures emerge to trumpet mid-day.

Some things don't change.

Krakow is a beautiful old city. Once the capital of Poland, a major university center (Copernicus studied here). Largely saved from bombs during WWII because it was too close to the concentration camps. (I guess we knew they were there.)

The Old City was surrounded by the city wall, which they turned into a delightful green space that now surrounds the city. Leafy trees, flowers, grass, benches are much nicer than walls.

I don't remember there being a McDonalds or Hard Rock Cafe when I was here. There is now. I don't remember any shopping malls, either. Now there's a modern 7-story one alongside the train and bus stations. And all sorts of shops with international names (Diesel, Cardin.) And lots of sidewalk cafes, coffee places, gelato stands, etc. None before.

Then: A Soviet-era city. Now: A European city.