Monday, we had pday of course. I had fun playing doctor that morning and dressing my battle wounds. Although, it wasn't a battle because there wasn't even a fight... and I didn't even know about the battle... soooo... the spider was just being mean. Anyway, I dressed my spider bites with basil, baking soda paste, and Epsom salt cloths. Then, I covered it with a plastic bag from the produce section of Biedronka and wrapped it all up tight with a gauze bandage. And through the whole thing, Sister Ludlow was probably thinking I was some crazy witch doctor with all these potions, pastes, and healing balms.... but that's okay. Then, we were able to go for the day. Eventually, we made it to an Escape Room!! It was way fun! It was this one called "Fantasy." I really had to search for one that didn't involve creepy things like spiders, snakes, and a lizards tail... Haha, well, like death and demons and nasty stuff like that. But I did it! And it was kinda like we were in this magical forest place and had to find a pocket watch and a key to get out. Lots of puzzles, locks, keys, and even using a human chain to complete an electric circuit to get another key to fall out of the ceiling!! Haha, it was way fun and we all had a good time. Ooh! And there, they had a map and they had people put pins of where they were from! Boise was even written on that world map!! So of course I had to put my pin on Boise! Needless to say, I was the FIRST person from all of Idaho!! Yeahhh!!! Super huge accomplishment.. I know! XD But yeah, the Escape Room was a success!
We did an Escape Room on pday!
Tuesday wasn't too exciting. But.. OOOHH!! We found this SUPER CUTE French cafe!! And the name for it was perfect: "Charlotte." Literally everything about this place was just PERFECT!! The bread, the food, music, the super friendly staff, it was SO CHEAP, the outdoor seating on the cobblestone street... seriously everything! Oh, and they even had Ratatouille!! I've always wanted to try that after watching the movie, "Ratatouille." So we'll definitely be going back there. I seriously love that place so much. It totally reminded me of that one French cafe we found in downtown Salt Lake City. Let's just say that in Salt Lake, it's legit French food! They do a really good job! (I say that because the food here at Charlotte was the same as the cafe in Salt Lake.) Anyway, after doing part of weekly planning there, we went to the chapel to run the Family History Center and finish Weekly Planning. And later in the evening, we went to Skytower for English. We ended up in a group of 5 somehow. So Sister Ludlow and I were able to talk to these 3 guys. We were talking about summer holiday and one guy had gone to a lot of weddings. Then, they all asked a bunch of questions about weddings in the United States. Which, of course, we then talked about the temple with them for a while, which was really cool!! In the end, I was able to get connected with them all on Facebook and add them to our group for Sports Saturday. So hopefully we can start with them through that!
Wednesday we had District Council and then Sister Ludlow and I went and did an English finding activity on the Rynek.
We wrote a question on the whiteboard and people came and answered it. And then THEY started talking to US!! Which I always love to have happen. I met so many cool people!! And all types of people as well! From this crazy, but super nice Pagan guy who gave us incense from Nepal, to an American football player from Atlanta, Georgia. We met all kinds for sure. I had a really long and nice conversation with a lady named Marta. She is originally from here, but lives in Washington D.C. working for the FDA. But she is really hoping to start her own business back here in Poland. She was super nice!! And I love it when things like this actually give us a chance to get to know people!! And they actually stay to talk!! Another guy tried to guess where I was from (guessing Scandinavia because of the hair and eyes. And then jumped to Russia and Belarus!!) Nobody ever guesses the United States! I also met a group of Polish people who are living in Oman right now. And also this super nice couple from Macedonia! I love meeting all these people from around the world!! It is so much fun! After that, we went to the train station to catch our train to Kraków for exchanges. But it was an hour late, so that was fun. On the train ride, I got SO MUCH DONE!! I just had a bunch of little things that had been stacking up and I needed to do them. And a 4-hour train ride was the perfect opportunity to do that! I felt so productive and accomplished by the time we pulled into Kraków Główny!! Haha! We met up with the STL's (Sister Training Leaders) and headed back to their apartment for dinner and bed!!
The Rynek in Kraków.
Cool picture I took on the train ride to Kraków.
Arriving in Kraków, I was so tired and was just being goofy. So please enjoy this picture. (P.S. this is why they don't let missionaries stay out past 9:00pm hahaha!)
Thursday was such a good day! We had exchanges in Kraków and I got to be with Sister Lueck (from my MTC group) ALL DAY LONG!! And it was the best thing ever! We started out with studies like normal. Then we all headed to lunch at this Korean restaurant and got Bibimbap. I had never had it before, but it was good!
We also had a member come teach with us. Her name is Tania and she is awesome!!
After the lesson, we spent some time talking with Tania and Gabi. Then, Tania started playing this song on the piano that a Sister missionary had taught her. (I only know it from the Kriser family teaching us this duet.) Good thing I remembered it because I was able to play the duet with her and it was so pretty and so much fun! And after that, I was even able to teach her another duet song on the piano (credit goes to mom and "simply music" hahaha). But we were able to play another duet together. I loved spending some time talking with Tania and playing music with her!! Later, Sister Lueck and I went contacting for a while. And Gabi came with us which was WAY cool!! She got to be a missionary for a day! (We even ran into 2 guys from Brazil, so Gabi was able to speak Portuguese with them!)
We went to these really cool and pretty places. We went up by this castle and through Old Town and on the Rynek... it was all so pretty!!
Eventually, we had to head back to the apartment, so we said goodbye to Gabi. She really wants me to come and serve here in Kraków. She is amazing and I love her so much!! So I wouldn't mind one bit if i could come here and be with her and Tania!! At the end up the night, Sister Lueck and I talked about how much we loved today and didn't want it to end!! We had such a good flow going and it just felt so unified!! When we taught, it was so natural and the spirit naturally flowed. We both really hope we can serve together as companions. I would be overjoyed!! But for now, I'm grateful I was able to spend the day on exchanges with her!! :)
Sister Lueck and I with our Korean food in a park.
After that, Sister Lueck and I went to the chapel for our lesson with Gabi. I was lucky enough to have taught her last time I was on exchanges as well. I was so excited to teach her again. She's a 19 year old from Brazil and studying here in Kraków, Poland for a year. She can be pretty shy, but this lesson with me and Sister Lueck, she really was open with us and it was so good!! 
Me and Gabi!!
Me and Tania!! (in case these pictures get mixed up... she's got red hair.)
Gabi, Sister Lueck, and Me.
Castle in Kraków.
At the train station heading home from exchanges (Sis Ludlow, Me, Sis Christensen, Sis Lueck).
Friday we headed back to Wrocław. Nothing too crazy happened. We ended up doing a finding activity with the Elders. We went out to Plac Wolności and drew a giant chalk version of the Plan of Salvation. It looked really good!! Only sad thing is.. we always draw things in chalk and then it rains the next day!! XD So that's pretty sad. But it looked good while it lasted!! After that, we did some contacting. Sister Ludlow and I met this Polish lady who lives in Israel, but comes back here every 2 months. She is Jewish and has been her whole life. I think she's the first Jew I've met here in Poland (that has told me they're Jewish), so that's pretty cool! After that, we taught a fun English class which included receiving a gift from a student and Kuba spontaneously singing "Yellow Submarine." He is so funny! But yeah, about the gift: This lady, Nahla, gave us these crosses from Bethlehem! They are these wooden beaded necklaces with a metal cross and then it has wood from olive trees in Bethlehem!! I thought that was super cool!! I feel like as missionaries, we just get a bunch of random gifts from people. And it's always interesting to see all the different ones!
Saturday was fun! In the morning, we made banana bread for our Branch Picnic.
It was a pretty rainy day, so we ended up having the picnic in the chapel instead of in the park. We had games, church movies, talking, lots of food, and it was all super fun! But best of all, the Estes family came!! Ewa Estes was a referral we received from missionaries near Mesa, Arizona. First, we had been trying to get in contact with her which took a while. And then, actually meeting her took a long time too. But Ewa and her 4 daughters were able to come to the Branch Picnic!! I was so excited!! It was so great to finally meet them! Basically, Dan (Ewa's husband) and 3 of their daughters were baptized earlier this year and then they moved to Poland. Ewa still hasn't been baptized. But we want to keep teaching her. I had such a good time talking to all of them and getting to know them. I already feel really tight with them and I feel like Ewa already really trusts me, which is super great! And I just love their family so much already!! I'm so excited to work with them!! :) Later, Sister Ludlow and I took a plate of goodies out to Konstancja since she's been sick and we haven't been able to get ahold of her in a while. So, we decided to just drop by! She thought it was so weird and crazy that we would just bring treats over to her just to be nice! I guess that's a very American thing, huh? Oh! And on the way to Konstancja's, there was this super cool, random parade that we just happened to see and get to watch. I felt like I was in America again. It was way awesome!!
Later, we visited Lucyna (a member) and read a conference talk with her. We read "Behold, the Lamb of God" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and she loved it!! That talk is SO POWERFUL!! It's amazing. If you haven't read it, please do. You'll feel something special, I promise!
Me and my banana bread baby...
Just your casual parade through the streets of Wrocław.
Sunday was good too! Nothing too exciting happened until after church. We were able to go Music Contacting in this pretty park by the Zoo. It was a cooler day, so it felt like Fall. And I just loved being there in the park, playing violin. We met some fun people! A lot of kids were asking their parents what I was doing as they walked by. One man came up and, in English, thanked us! He said, "You made this park magical today. Thank you for making this place magical!!" Probably the best compliment I've ever received haha! Also, this kid RAN up to me and said, "Co pani ma?!" (What do you have?!) I told him and he wanted to try and play it, so I let him. Then, he handed it back and asked me to play something. His Mom explained that they both love to listen to this sort of thing. So I played a hymn for them and they loved it!! The kid applauded at the end and just had a huge smile on his face! Aww! It makes me so happy that I'm able to make people happy through my music. Even if I'm not a professional. It was so cute!
Love and miss you all!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
This cool telephone booth we found.
"I can show you the world..." (These gnomes just wanna be Aladdin and Jasmine I guess..)
This photographer came and randomly took our pictures in the park!! So here's the picture he took of me playing the violin!! Kinda cool, huh?!
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