Archives-Starbucks-Archives-Starbucks...I think it's a pattern

Still busy here in Warsaw! Today involved more running all over than I thought. I started off early by going to the main USC office, the office where they hold birth, marriage, and death certificates that are not yet 100 years old. I went here looking for Papa Joe and Mama Manya's birth certificates, as well as those of their siblings. I went early so that I wouldn't have to wait long (you have to take a number and wait until they call it), since the other day the place was packed! It was quiet this morning, and there were only about 4 other people there. When they called my number, I asked the woman who worked there if she spoke English. She looked down and started shaking her head. I asked if anyone who worked there spoke English. She continued to shake her head. She looked at one of the forms I had filled out, and shook her head more! You can imagine how confused this made me. She turned the form over and wrote the name of another USC office that I had to go to. This didn't settle my confusion. Luckily, a man waiting to be called spoke English, and he came over to translate what the woman was saying. Apparently, the main USC office doesn't hold historical records, you only go there to register births, marriages, or deaths. The other archive was where I would find the records I was looking for.

Not really knowing where to turn, I went over to the Jewish Historical Institute across the street to see if they knew what the protocol was at the other USC office. The woman who helped me yesterday was there again today, and she told me that this new office might have what I was looking for. I asked her if it was far, and she responded, "No, just take the bus this way" and motioned to the distance. After hearing horror stories about the electric trams from our tour guide in Krakow, I wasn't planning on using public transportation much, but the office I needed to find was across the river, and walking would take a long time. I decided I needed a place to sit down and regroup, and what better place to do that than Starbucks? Just like in America, Starbucks here has free wifi, so I began looking up tram schedules and maps and ticket types and ticket prices and locations to buy tickets. When I had it all worked out, I set out to buy my ticket. There are machines where you can buy tickets, but only at specific stops--most people buy tickets at magazine kiosks on the street. I found one and bought a ticket (when I finally got the woman to understand what kind of ticket I wanted), and then headed over to the tram stop. When the tram came, I got on, figured out how to stamp my ticket, and then was off! I got off and started walking towards the office.

When I got there, I asked the security guard where to go, and he directed me to take a number and go into the main hall. When my number was called, I asked the woman there if she spoke English, and she said "no." But I showed her my forms and she understood to take me upstairs where they keep the original records. The two women who worked upstairs didn't know too much English, so they brought over another employee who did. He explained to me that I needed to prove that I was related to the people whose records I was requesting, since only direct relatives (or those with a court order) can access birth records there. I showed them my mom's birth certificate, which I had brought with me, and then they began searching for the records. I asked about my grandparents' siblings birth records, and they said that they couldn't give me copies, since I wasn't closely enough related, but they could tell me if the records exist. Eventually, they found Papa Joe's birth record, and the English-speaking man explained to me how to get a copy. I would first have to go pay for the copy in another building, then bring back the receipt to get a copy. He wrote down for me in Polish "one copy of a birth record" to show to the people in the other building. I went to that other building and showed the paper to the woman at the information desk and asked if she knew English. She said no, and then tried to send me back to the first office. I told her I needed to pay, and showed her my credit card. She then surprised me with her perfect English: "Oh! I know. Just go right down the hall." I got a laugh out of that one. I paid, then brought the receipt back to the first office, where they gave me a copy of the record and showed me the original document, which had more details than the copy. It had Papa Joe's maternal grandparents' names, and listed that they lived in Kamionka, a village nearby to Kolomyja, where Papa Joe was from. It also stated that Papa Joe's parents were married on September 1st, 1918, in Linz, Austria, a fact that we hadn't known before. The women there are still working on finding Mama Manya's records and all the siblings' records, so I'll have to go back to that office at some point.

Next I visited the AGAD archives, where they have records older than 100 years old. The woman in the reading room spoke English, and was very helpful with showing me how to fill out all the many forms I needed to fill out to request documents. I filled out papers requesting 9 different sets of microfilms, and I'll be back tomorrow to review them. Let's hope I remember how to use the machine!

After AGAD I began walking back to my apartment, but on the way I saw...another Starbucks! I decided to sit down there for a few hours to get some work done. It's really interesting to compare Starbucks here and in America--in America, most locations aren't that big, and from what I've seen (unless they've changed it), drinks all come in disposable cups. Here though, both locations are huge, with multiple seating areas both inside and outside, and hot drinks come in mugs instead of paper cups. Here it's more like a regular coffee-shop instead of a "to-go" place, which makes sense, since people stick around coffee-shops more here than in America.

Anyway, walking around near my apartment, I also found a cupcake store and a Haagen-Dazs. Definitely visiting both those at some point...