"These boots are made for walking" is too predictable

The teenagers here are sensible. They're the ones walking around in flat-footed boots. It's the women and their mothers wearing heeled boots - braving the depths of the ice and snow, holding up the too-narrow and barely-there sidewalk remains (as shovelling is NO priority here), by shuffling ever-so-carefully in their less-than-perfect choice of foot attire. *phew* I fit in with the adolescent crowd.

There is a new guy at the gym. Not one of the regular faces, and I would know, as I am one of the regular faces. So I saw him at the gym on Sunday. He was there again yesterday. He came up to me, and in very good English says, "I hear you're from Canada. The others told me. What are you doing in Poland?" Long story short, he's here visiting his parents for three weeks, and has been living in Tennessee for five years. What a surprise! To hear English, at the small excuse of a gym in Radom, Poland! (Well, there are hellos and other basics from the guys there, and the front desk guy Heather and I have befriended speaks really well...but I'm still allowed to be taken aback!) We're going to (try and) meet up for coffee, as he wants to practice his speaking. Yey for new friends!

In one of my favourite (shhh) groups last Friday, in Kozienice, I kicked two students out of my class. They were being far too disruptive. I don't like having to be Miss Strict, but there's a time and place. I walked them to the secretary's office. When I came back to the class without them, the other students asked where they were. With an unflinching straight face, I told them that I sent the boys outside to stand in the cold and snow. Am I bad? I let them come back after five minutes. It was enough that they got the idea.

On Saturday, Heather introduced me to the perfect man, over Chinese takeout: Lloyd Dobler, John Cusack's irresistibly loveable character in Say Anything. Of course, Heather found him first and therefore gets dibs. We also watched The Cutting Edge. I'd be happy to take D.B. Sweeney's Doug Dorsey. Thank you, Heather, for increasing my man standards to a whole new level of unattainable. Oh. And of course after watching a movie about figure skating, we had to YouTube (yes, YouTube as a verb) videos of the great Kurt Browning. You know you love him, too.

There is a new sushi restaurant in Radom. Shocking, I know.

I underestimate Radom's quaintness at times. And for that, Radom, I apologise. All the snow really is lovely. Postcard-worthy, the way it hugs the trees. And the lights downtown still look magical, post-Christmas.

Warsaw this weekend for belated birthday (that's me!) celebrations!! Tata for now.