It’s Friday evening, and in 48 hours I will be high in the air and on my way back to Poland. It’s a bit surreal. The trip last year was the “trip of a lifetime” I said at the time. But I fell in love, I really did–with Poland. I was not there very long when I realized that I’d be back–again and again, as much as I can. And meeting family there last year was like a dream, an amazing dream. And the fact that they’ve invited me back to stay with them and to travel with them across Poland and Ukraine–I am so very fortunate, that’s about all I can say.
There are so many things I want to see and do when I’m there, and I’m sure I’ll do many of them (but of course I’ll save some for other visits!). Sitting here tonight, I can’t imagine what all I’ll do, what all I’ll experience. I will just have to sit back and take it as it comes.
I’ve already written about some of the things I hope to see, do, and experience. But even deeper, I want to gain an understanding of what it is to be a Pole, what it is that makes Poles who they are. I want to understand that sense of national identity that has lasted over a thousand years and brought the Polish people, the Polish nation, through all sorts of good times and bad times. Many have tried to douse or curtail what it mean to be Polish, but the have not been able to do so. And I feel a bit of that inside of me to. I can’t describe it, I can’t really tell what it is. But I sure am very proud to be of Polish descent and I know that that, in and of itself, has a big bearing on who and what I am today. My parents and grandparents–and even great-grandparents–all had a hand in helping me become who I am today, and deep down inside, i feel a special bond to whatever it is that makes me, too, Polish.
So in a few days, another great adventure begins. I’ll be writing about it here, for sure. Stay tuned. This is only the beginning….
