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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

I've been to Poland but not Warsaw or Krakow, but I hope you have the best time! May my other people be very kind to you and that you eat a lot of pierogi.

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Jenna Vandenberg's avatar

I have never had pierogi in my life (?!?) and now I want to save my first time for Poland.

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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

Oh my goodness you must! They are quite delicious. Fun story time: when I was a kid, we only got pierogi at Christmas. (We did Wigilia, which is the Polish Christmas Eve meal) anyways, when I went to visit my family in Poland when I studied abroad (Wroclaw, which used to be Breslau, my cousin and I were pen pals as kids), we went out to lunch and I got pierogi. And she leaned over to me, and very earnestly said: “you don’t have to get the cheapest thing on the menu.” I had to explain that I only got them once a year and I was having authentic pierogi God help me!

My preferred ones are potato and cheese (farmer’s cheese, so they’re milder) But there are also cabbage and fruit ones too!!

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Jenna Vandenberg's avatar

I love potato and cheese, so I am VERY excited!

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Marissa Gallerani's avatar

They are THE BEST

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Cynthia Platou's avatar

Another great book with a similar theme is Teaching Lolita in Tehran. During the time of the Iranian Revolution, the author, who is an English professor, no longer allowed to teach at the university invites her students to her home to continue their English literature classes secretly. I look forward to your future posts on your important summer studies and trip.

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Jenna Vandenberg's avatar

Oh! I remember reading that years ago when it first came out! I'll have to read it again with fresh eyes. Thank you for the comment. Comments with book recs are always among my favorites :)

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Adrian Neibauer's avatar

Congratulations on your Auschwitz Legacy Fellowship! I just finished reading Ruth Franklin’s “The Many Lives of Anne Frank.” It is an incredible book that I think you will love.

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Jenna Vandenberg's avatar

Thank you! I'm excited. And I'll definitely pick up Ruth Franklin's book. For so long I've been focusing on time periods other than WWII because it feels like there is such a glut of WWII books, but now I feel like I've missed out. So many books, so little time.

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Diane Wahn Shotton's avatar

I had no idea! Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to hear what you learn (didn't know) on your adventure.

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Jenna Vandenberg's avatar

I'm so excited to learn! I've already learned so much from my fellow teachers and all the shared resources.

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