by Monica Wiant | Apr 17, 2018 | Personal
I’ve always loved milestones and the way they inspire me to look back and look forward. Ten years ago, on my 30th birthday, I wrote a blog in which I listed meaningful memories of my 20s and set three goals for my 30s. Move to a nicer house: Check. Have another...
by Monica Wiant | Mar 24, 2018 | Personal
Voicemail is among my least favorite forms of communication, somewhere between “barely legible Post-It note” and “swift kick to the shins.” It’s visually stressful. Seeing the red light on my work phone makes me feel like I’ve...
by Monica Wiant | Oct 31, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
Two years ago, The Poland Project found me. I think there are ideas that you discover, and there are ideas that find you. Writing a novel based on my grandparents’ experiences in World War II feels like the latter.After my mother handed me that stack of brittle...
by Monica Wiant | Jul 1, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
The final blog of my Poland trip is dedicated to my traveling companions. As I sit in a Warsaw hotel on the eve of our flight home, I am overwhelmed with appreciation for them.Evie.She learned the Polish words lody (ice cream), niegazowane(non-carbonated water), tak...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 29, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
I blame the lack of yesterday’s blog on Polish hospitality. At 2 a.m., full of food and wine and good cheer, the only words I could find were Polish ones. Specifically, one, which I learned this week: Zapraszamy. The literal translation is “We invite...
by Monica Wiant | Jun 28, 2017 | Personal, Poland Project
There are three speeds on Polish highways: 147 km per hour in the left lane while the Mercedes driver behind you flashes his lights because you’re driving too slowly 68 km per hour in the right lane behind an enormous tourist coach from Greece or a semi truck...