Poland in 1991 was changing dramatically from a communist to a capitalist society. My wife and I experienced these changes when we taught at the Wroclaw Polytechnical University and lived in a small village for that year. In this transitional period, we had to face unexpected difficulties like finding housing , repairing a foreign car, heating a house and doing laundry. Poles generously helped us survive these challenges.

Total Immersion in the Polish language made it possible to accomplish two personal objectives seek my family's roots in eastern Poland and adopt Polish children. Poland was reborn during that year and stood in sharp contrast to our visit to communist Russia, Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1972 where we inadvertently toured outside the official tourist agencies.