these days, I just want to be alone.

though many people consider warsaw the backwaters of the world, there is a little hope here, a little glimmer of something that you can't find anywhere else.







I found out why the women here are so fierce. in communist times, men and women were completely equal. here the proportion of men to women doctors is about 50/50. they made the same amount too (not that anyone was really making anything substantial at the time, but still). women are used to independence, and aren't placed into subservient societal roles from the beginning. it's a totally different method of cultural upbringing, and that's why they all breathe this aura of "fuck you, I don't need you and your shit."

recently, however, a lot of international corporations have been coming in and this has been changing. hiring has been favoring men, as "they don't have babies and families and all that," something that's new to the polish women and that they are clearly not very happy about. after all, if you'd never had to take any of the shit the rest of the world's women have to deal with, why would you be okay with it now?

funny to think that here, it's today, but for everyone back home it's still yesterday.

I met my twin on the metro today. I was wearing a white top, blue jeans, and red flats. she had on a white top, blue jean skirt, and red flats. we both had white ipod earbuds in. the funny thing was the slight difference in the flats. hers weren't as shiny, but they had much cuter bows than mine. mine were definitely newer than hers, but somehow hers had a much more classic look. I know this is overanalysis of shoes, but the analogy is so perfect to our backgrounds. I feel like everything we do back home is shinier, newer, but it doesn't have the same charm. here everything is a little more worn, but there's that little magic, that old world style. it's that little bit of flair that we just can't imitate.

I had thoughts on anonymity, but they are not terribly concrete yet.