Brian in Krakow - Final Thoughts

As I write this I notice that a month has gone by since I left Krakow. During this period I have had a lot of time to reflect on what living in Poland has meant to me. Here are my thoughts.

People in Poland are just like you and me. They have families, jobs, homes, want to relax after work, and do care about their fellow human beings. What makes them different is that their mother tongue is something other than English. Period. If you think about Americans, there is not one typical example. We are different from each other by looks, religion, ancestry, age, and where we live. (As a former New Yorker living in the South I know about this last one…..) So to say that people are different around the world is to say that they are like us but different.

Now, living in Europe is different than living in most of the U.S. As I have written elsewhere in my blog, living here means accepting small apartments, small washing machines, small cars … you get my drift. Whereas so much of the U.S is “super-sized” most of Europe is not. But you can live in smaller surroundings because things are more efficient. You recognize that with the cars here but the same is true of the appliances. Take my combination washer-dryer. It was not two units stacked on top of each other but one machine the size of a dishwasher. It first washed the clothes, and then dried them. And it had a mechanism that determined the weight of the clothes and then used an appropriate amount of water. Sure, that feature is in washers in the U.S. but I bet it was first used outside of the States.

Traveling to other countries was also easier. Of course, other countries in Europe are like the states in the U.S. Whereas we think nothing about driving across state lines, Europeans travel to other countries almost with the same ease. Be it by rail, car or plane, most of the Poles I worked with have traveled extensively. With such an excellent rail system in Europe, this is how many of them traveled. And with the recent influx of discount air carriers, many are now flying. (I flew to Berlin for about $62.00.) All of this travel makes their passports look dog-eared compared to mine. But mine is getting that way also. While on this assignment I made it to seven countries: Poland, France, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia. Not too shabby.

I took in a lot of cultural events as I had the time and, quite frankly, enjoy doing so. Since I lived within the city center it was easy to visit a museum on the weekend or attend a concert after work. My only regret is that I never made it to the Philharmonic. Actually, I made it to the ticket counter for a popular performance but it was sold out. But I did enough other things to make me feel that I acquired a sense of the cultural scene.

Because I immersed myself in my environs, at times I truly did feel like I was a life-long Cracovian. True, I didn’t understand most of the language but I did get by. Like most others there I did my food shopping at the corner grocery store. In many of these places you had to ask for the items from the shelves behind the counter. (Reminds me of the local delicatessens on Long Island.) And because there was only so much I could carry, I did my shopping several times a week. (Doing this reminded me of what I learned about Parisians when I took French in high school.) But shopping frequently did allow me to buy freshly-baked bread often as it was so good.

All of my walking around town (I averaged 4 miles a day) also allowed me to live like the locals. Be it to the cleaners, the grocery store, the drug store or to church, I was in there with everyone else. Getting around by feet allowed for total immersion in contrast to going by car which is more like bypassing everything. Walking is one of the activities I truly miss now that I am home in Tennessee. I have taken four walks along the greenbelts around town trying to keep up the momentum of walking. But it is difficult because as a nation we don’t walk places, we drive. And around my town, someone walking looks like their car has broken down. But I will do my best to force myself to get out and about by feet. I don’t want to gain back those five pounds I lost.

The thing that stands out the most in my mind are the coincidences that surrounded me often. For example, I saw my Polish instructor Kinga in more places around town than I saw anyone else. And then there was the week that my high school’s European travel group was staying at the hotel I was in. I even was able to see a priest I had not seen since I graduated. I also met a man who had been an intern at one of the IP paper mills in New York. I first saw him in church and then he sat next to me in the square. That’s when I started the conversation that uncovered the IP link. But the one that stands out the most is befriending two Americans, not far from my flat, who wound up being members of my church in Collierville. We had never met each other but had a lot of friends in common. All of these chance meetings of Americans has me believing that a lot of people are traveling to Europe and Krakow has become a tourist hot spot.

As I exit my Krakow Adventure and re-enter the American lifestyle I would like to thank a few people for making this trip so special. First of all to Toni for agreeing that she could live without me for awhile. Next, to my managers for asking me to lead the training project that was the reason I went to Krakow. Third, to all of you who told me how much you enjoyed reading my blog and living in Europe vicariously. When I first told some people that I was going to write a blog, they looked at me quizzically. But that did not deter me and your comments made it even more fun to do. Fourth, to all of you locals who have helped me with directions, translations, taxis, etc. You have been friendly and a friend so you get a special thank you. And finally to God for keeping me safe. Well, mostly safe as there was that visit to the hospital emergency room. But since I was released later that day I guess I was being held in his hands after all.

I started this final posting by talking about the similarities between Poles and Americans. I can even replace the word Poles with Europeans or any other group. My time here has allowed me to make an observation which I can sum up with this next statement. I truly believe that if more people traveled internationally, and did so with open eyes, there would be a lot less hatred, violence and war in this world.

If any of my words have made you interested in traveling to Europe, Poland or Krakow, I’d be glad to help answer any questions you might have. Just drop me a line.

With that I say “do widzenia” (goodbye). It’s been a great ride.

My Final Week

I am writing this at the beginning of my final week in Krakow. At this point in time there are no plans for me to return but anything is possible.

It’s a lot different being here when training is not going on. All of my trainees are now full-fledged customer service personnel and are doing real well. I am here from 2 p.m. to Midnight to help answer system and technical questions but I am not getting many. So I have been using the time to finish some projects not related to this Global Customer Service Center training program. After work we often go out as we are wired from work. Think about it, our Midnight is like your 5 or 6 p.m. Do you go straight to bed?

This past weekend there was a party Friday night, I went to the movies on Saturday night and there was an end of the project Sunday brunch at the Sheraton Hotel. The movie I went to see was Babel, starring Brad Pitt. I had wanted to attend the cinema for a year now and was happy that the opportunity finally materialized. Whereas the American movies shown here are in English with Polish subtitles, this movie was in 4 languages as it took place in Morocco, Hong Kong, Mexico and San Diego. So there were four spoken languages plus sign language. And the movie had Polish subtitles. I would like to tell you how awful the movie was but that would be unfair as I did not understand 4 of the languages in it. Let’s just say that its title says it all. On a side note, over here one can reserve actual seats in the theatre via the Internet, which we did. What a great concept!

On Sunday I went to my church for the last time and said goodbye to the priests and my parish friends. After Mass I had kawa with Julie and Jack, former residents of Pennsylvania and Ohio who have been living in Europe for 23 years. Jack works for Delphi as their Global Chief Engineer. They are a real nice couple that I was sad to say goodbye to.

Later that day I went to the Sheraton brunch which is a good cross between an American brunch and Polish food. There were lots of serving stations including shrimp and fish cooked-to-order. It was such an enjoyable time that after 4 ½ hours we were all still there. It was a really great way to wind down the project and to recognize the project members who are still around. (When I went there with Toni for Easter Brunch I taught them how to make a mimosa.)

Later that night I met up with the newest Americans to arrive in Krakow to help w/ the Go-live of our remaining customers. They will be here until December 20th.

In between all of this activity I have also bid farewell to locals that I have interacted with over the past 17 months. On Saturday it was the waitresses and the manager at the Metropolitan Restaurant. This was my Saturday morning hangout as it had the best breakfast in town. Each Saturday I would arrive to complete my Polish homework while sipping Kawa filterwona Z gorącym mleko (filtered coffee with hot milk.) After my homework I would always order a big breakfast. They have the best French toast I have ever eaten.

So I am going out in a flurry of activity. Many people have asked me how I feel about leaving. My stock answer is “bittersweet”. Although it has been a lot of fun, my job here is finished and Tennessee is calling my name. (Actually, Toni is.) The tearful goodbyes have already begun and more are before me.



Check back next week for my final postings.