An Aussie in Poland is coming to an end. After three years and nine months I am leaving Poland. It’s been an interesting three and three quarter years to say the least. The cold winters with white salty patches on my shoes have been frustrating. Although after I had decided to leave Poland, I discovered Górka Szczęśliwicka (Szczęśliwica Hill) located on the west side of Warsaw. If I had known of its existence and the fact that I could learn how to ski and snowboard there the winters would have been much more enjoyable. I have managed to head for the slope three times in the last month which have made me a tad more comfortable on skis. If the snow returns I might make a fourth attempt and hopefully plan a skiing holiday once a year or so to practice my new found skills.
I’ve met some interesting people who have enriched my life and I hope that we will stay in contact once I return to Australia. I’m not saying goodbye to Poland forever. I plan to return for annual holidays or at least every eighteen months or so to visit family. I’m not leaving on my own. I’m taking with me another person. My partner. He’s going to want to visit his family on a regular basis too. It’s going to be hard leaving and starting all over again. I love fresh starts but I’m worried about my partner who’s first goal will be to learn as much English as possible. Shocking I know that after three years together we’ve communicated in Polish ninety eight percent of the time and only sometimes thrown in a few English terms.
Poland has had its ups and downs as I have had mine over the past three years. I do like Poland, I could even go as far as saying I love Poland (at times anyway). Summer is fantastic especially when the sun is shining and its scorching – something that the locals don’t like. I love riding my bicycle along the streets and see poppies popping up in the fields or on the side of the streets. I like how the mood automatically changes from sombre to relaxed, and everyone shifts from wearing dull grey and black to clean whites and bright shades of green, blue, pink and yellow. It’s not just the flowers that start blooming but the people do to.
This blog will be changing too. I won’t be writing about my frustrations and experiences with Poland but about my journey through life, struggles and successes with language learning, travel encounters, studies and life in general regardless of my location. The name will be changing. The layout too. Once chapter ends, and another begins. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.
I have four weeks remaining in this developing and growing city that has become an important city in the European Union. It’s future can be bright as long as the church and state start behaving like adults and putting its citizens first rather than their greedy pockets. But that’s another story. In the next few weeks I’ll try to post a few ramblings about Warsaw and what it has to offer. And if you’re interested you can check out my running journey at www.runningcandid.blogspot.com
