March of the Living 1999 Diary

April 11, 5:25 PM (Poland time)

Well, we're in Poland. Coming down on the airplane, it was a little strange to see the beautiful white clouds (as seen from above) turn into a grey haze. As I looked down from the airplane window, the houses and land were all fuzzy, and even though the plane descended, the houses stayed fuzzy. This seemed oddly fitting as the decor for Poland, though I'm not sure why.

As we went though customs, there were Polish families (and maybe press) watching us, like we were in a zoo. El-Al [Note: our airline] doesn't usually fly to Krakow, where we are now. It made me feel really self-conscious, seeing those people looking at us.

I'm sure there will be many parts of this trip that I will not remember. I won't remember, for example, that the breakfast on the plane was a hard roll, a muffin, and some orange and grapefruit pieces. I won't remember that I didn't sleep on the plane, not really. I'm sure there will be parts that will be etched in my mind for a very long time, but we haven't gotten to those yet. There's just a sense of anticipation.

One thing that strikes me as unusual is the number of security and military men. I think I've seen more men in army uniform (they are Polish, I think) today than I have in my entire life in Montreal. They haven't done much that I've seen, but they're everywhere.

Several times already I've wanted to dance or sing. We haven't yet, but we're just in the bus outside the airport. We've only been in Poland for an hour and a half. There's plenty of time left.

I think I'll sign these entries from now on. It makes it like a letter (to you, whoever is reading this).

Until later,
Julie :)