21 Listopad 2005: ...at Ale’s place
Agata: Ale co robisz iutro?
Ale: idę do pracy ale chciałbym give blood, I did it last time over 6 months ago in Italy, and …do you know any place? ….I could go before pracy in the early morning!
Agata: …let me thing …I send an SMS to a friend of mine …czekaj!
Agata: dobra, we can go to the cinema Amarant, do you know it?
Ale: tak, to jest niedaleko biura, I saw it one day while I was walking, but why?
Agata: they do some blood actions there and if you want we can go tomorrow morning…
Ale: dobra, nie śniadanie, tylko kawa i at 8;30 at Most Teatralny, it’s ok?
Agata: Ok idę, jest późno! pa pa!
Ale: nara!
22 Listopad 2005 ...from Most Teatralny at 8:45
Agata: Ale przepraszam, but I didn’t hear the alarm...
Ale: nie ma problemu, w Włoszech to jest normalne, ale idziemy
...later at Amarant
Ale: can you help me with this questionnaire?
Agata: oczywiście! …but I think is quite similar to the one you have in Italy
Ale: Tak, it looks so…
Agata: ok, now you have to talk with that lady, if you need help, just call me
Ale: dzięki!
Pani Doktor: legitimacja po prosze!
Ale: proszę
Pani Doktor: To nie jest dobrze, skąd ty jesteś?
Ale: Jestem Włochem
Pani Doktor: Nie możesz....
Ale: Ale dlaczego? I do it all the time in Italy, I’m healthy and I fulfilled the questionnaire,
Agata!
Agata: the doctor over there said that our system and bureaucracy is not ready for foreigners...
Ale: but where is this EU where everything should look easier?
Agata: Ale it’s OK, can you wait for me here?
Ale: jeahh, but that’s stupid… I also showed my blood legjtimacja in Italy, unfortunately HIV is the same everywhere!
Agata: ale wait here ok?
Ale: ok...
...5 minut później
Agata: nie mogę też
Ale: dlaczego?
Agata: do you remember the Piercing I did it three months ago? …that’s also stupid!
Ale: Agata, that’s not stupid, that’s normal, when you play with your blood, you should wait at least six months, it could be dangerous not just for you! …idziemy!
w Biurze po śniadaniu
Gocha: Ale jak bełe z Krew? ...Agata powiedziała wczoraj
Ale: Gocha, please speak in English, I’m not in the mood!
Gocha: dlaczego? ups! Why?
Ale: I couldn’t give blood only because I’m Italian…
Gocha: na prawdy?
few hours later after many disappointed e-mails to Italy...
Gocha: Ale, maybe you can call Mirek, he is with Amnesty International and maybe he can find for you a place where you can do it!
Ale: I don’t know, next week I will go to Italy for the workcamp, maybe I will do it there, ale
dzięki, now I feel better!
Styczeń: …after Italy, After Christmas, right after my training in Toruń …w biurze!
Ale: Cześć wszystki! …to jest Damir mój kolega z Holandii, spotkaliśmy się w szkolenie w
Torunia.
Wszstyki: Cześć Damir! Jak Bełe Szkolenie?
Damir: fajnie ale teraz jesteszmy bardzo smenczony!
Ale: Damir, just half an hour, I need to copy some more Ramols and few other things, and then we go to eat something ...maybe while you wait you can read the last number of Ramol!
Damir: It looks nice, dzięki!
Ale: if you want to write for us ZAPRASZAMY! …ehi tylko interesujące rzeczy, you will see which kind of article we have!
Damir: dobra, tylko szypko!
Ale: co to znaczy?
Damir: nowy słowo dla czebie ....fast!!!
in another room
Gocha: so Ale did you managed to give your blood in Italy? Or in Poland?
Ale: no, in Italy there was no time, and I was asking here in Poznań, but it seems that there is just that blood center… L
Gocha: what do you do tomorrow morning …:)?
Ale: well, I’m quite tired and Damir will stay by me the weekend… but it doesn’t matter, tell me where and when! …maybe Damir will come with me, he is from Holland, and it should be the same!
Gocha: Ok bring with you all what you have, Mirek will be there for an action, but it will be better if you go with someone that could translate …Maybe you can ask to
Wojtek, he lives not far from the blood center, and he speaks good English!
Ale: Dobra, Jestem bardzo szczęśliwy :) ...I will call Wojtek later, I hope he would like to help me…
14 Styczeń: …early morning
Ale: Damir! ...so what do you do? Are you coming with me?
Damir: too many beers yesterday, you were right, never drink before giving blood!
Ale: Ok sleep! You can join me later, (I think I will manage for 12; 00! …idea J)
…see you at five to twelve in front of Ratusz!
Damir: why five to twelve and not twelve?
Ale: don’t ask, see you there and wish me good luck!
at 10:00 a.m. (Sobota) at centrum Krwiodastwa
Ale: Cześć Mirek, Cześć Woytek, thanks for coming… so Mirek where should we go? I have lots of papers with me and also my Italian blood legitymacja
Mirek: perfect, I go to ask at the reception, you can wait here?
Wojtek: Ale sorry, we have a bad news, they arranged an appointment with you and the director of this centre, but they forgot that Pani directorka doesn’t work on Saturday
Ale: F…! …I wonder if I will ever manage to do it!
Mirek: Ale don’t worry we can come here on Wednesday…
Ale: Wojtek can you come again on Wednesday?
Woytek: no but you can ask to someone else: Marta, Asia, they will love to help you again …ok now I must go!
Mirek: me too, so Ale call me on Tuesday, and I arrange the meeting for Wednesday, Dobra?
Ale: so, but shouldn’t you stay here for your action?
Mirek: the action was the meeting with you and the director…
Ale: ahhh …so I gonna call you for Wednesday… nara I dzięki bardzo (I didn’t expect it!)
Środa: at 8;00 a.m. at centrum Krwiodastwa
Ale: Asia, thanks a lot for coming, you are always available for me!
Asia: nie ma za co, ale mowimy tylko po polsku bo teraz mamy spotkanie z directora
Ale: gdzie?
Asia: na górze, idziemy!
…Później
Asia: Ale it was so funny, and have you realized?
Ale: co?
Asia: you spoke all the time in Polish, and I have just added few things …I’m really impressed!
Ale: jesteś pewna?
Asia: yes Ale you were talking so much about your experience in giving blood and all you trips in Europe…
Ale: jeahh, but I wonder why she finally let me done my blood…
Asia: ale when you started telling her that you are suitable for giving szpik kostny, then I think she became more and more convinced to let you give blood…
Ale: Asia jestem bardzo szczęśliwy, where do I have to go?
Asia: that door is for the boys... see you upstairs!
Ale: Doktora, Asia, dlaczego mój krew nie leci?
Pani doktora drugi: nie wiem, ale sprobujemy z innej renki
Ale: mam nadzieja (...all this fight to have this right and now my body doesn’t want it L)
Pani doktora drugi: dobra, teraz jest spoko!
Ale: fajnie J
afterwards in the Tramwaj
Ale: Asia look, now I have polish legytimacja for giving blood, and now if everything it’s ok, I can come here every 2-3 months
Asia: jeahh, but only for boys so often, for girls every 5-6… I would have liked to give, but my hemoglobina is too low today, and also I took some antibiotics …but next time… will you come with me?
Ale: oczywiście! Now I’m really expert in Polish blood system! And do you know the best thing?
Asia: co?
Ale: when I took back my jacket, they gave me 8 bars of chocolate, isn’t great?
Asia: yes, ale don’t you get it in Italy?
Ale: no just some stupid snacks and juice!
Koniec
That’s a true story! I think it’s very important to never lose motivation, not just for the right of giving blood but for any right… in April we have election in Italy (HOPEFFULLY WE WILL KICK him OUT!) and I can’t go there …because I’m here, but I would like to vote from Poland… I called the Italian embassy in Warszawa, but it seems that being European Volunteer is not enough (but that’s a problem of Italian bureaucracy don’t worry!).
…the blood fight is just over …another one is starting now!
I would like to thanks (in order of appearance) everyone that took part in this adventure: Agata, (NOT Pani doktora!), Gocha ( the best boss I could have ever got), Wszstyki, Damir (even if lazy!), Wojtek, Mirek (great!), Marta (she would have helped me for sure, but I asked Asia first!) Asia, Pani doktora drugi, Ania Reich (for the grammar support for this nice story!).
