Back to Polska

Today, it's been exactly three months since I came back to Polska from Australia (via a few additional countries). Was I fearful of the return when the tiny plane from Budapest was about to touch down on the runway at Warszawa airport? Of course I was. After a fabulous time spent in Australia (especially the last few weeks) fueled by an intoxicating mix of Lebanon and Turkey I was afraid that everything would fade away a bit once back in my home country. I was obviously happy to see my family, catch up with my friends and... well that's all. Some of you might remember what I went through when I returned to Polska in summer 2008 after my first year in Morocco. It was an immense reversed, cultural shock and even the fact that I knew I was going to stay two months only helped very little.

This year the circumstances were quite similar to a certain degree. I was coming for an extended period of time and I had several goals to achieve. The most important being to pass my ACCA exams. Similarly, three years ago I had to write my thesis during the time I had to spend in Polska.

Luckily for me, some of the circumstances were also drastically different. Three years ago, I was totally broke. I was quite well off during my last 3 months in Morocco thanks my little fortune earned as an extra on the movie set with Matt Damon. That money was only enough to extensively party in Rabat and Casablanca but did not last until my return to Polska. As a result, I had to accept to work for my younger brother and for my parents. The job for my parents included cleaning toilets in their tourist summer guesthouse and the job for my brother was to sell inflatable mattresses or inflatable crocodiles for children to play on the beach as well as cheap sun-glasses made somewhere in South-East Asia. I know that many people had to made their way up the career ladder from the very bottom in order to succeed but I have never heard of anyone making this way up with inflatable crocodiles. It sounds funny now but it was rather depressing when I had to go through that.

The extended financial resources earned this year down-under and empowered by unusually strong Australian dollar made it easier for me to cope with the Polish reality this year. Let's admit that - the Polish reality is not that harsh. On my first night back to late-summer Warszawa, while I was getting on the only line of the capital's metro, I thought to myself 'Warszawa is a pretty cool, I would easily see myself live here'. But I quickly understood the source of that uncommon (and a little bit unreasonable), patriotic thought. My return to Polska was like an extended holiday. I had almost 4 months of not having to work while I did not really need to worry about money. Firstly, I was living with my parents (no rent or food expenses). Secondly, it's still much cheaper in Polska than in Australia or Western Europe. Thirdly, I had enough savings and every expense was justified by saying 'it's in my budget for Polska'. I also did not have to wake up everyday to go outside into the cold to take public transportation and deal with the local working culture and mentality that I still do not like. I also arrived in Polska at the end of the summer so I did not have to cope with the influx of tourists and - which was even better - I did not need to sell inflatable crocodiles.

So yes, the spontaneous, little thought of going back to Polska was based on very shaky, unstable and temporary foundations. Luckily, I realized that quickly. This did not prevent me from enjoying my 4 months in my home country. Catching up with old friends, family and using my native language were all pleasant activities. Apart from getting frustrated with my exams and studying there were no dramas directly related to my extended stay in Polska.

Then why was it so much easier now than 3 years ago? Was it because I was 3 years older? Was it because the summer crocodiles were out of the picture this time? Was it because I had much more savings in a very strong currency? Or because I was more mature? As much as I want to say that it was thanks to my maturity I have to admit that it is not the most right answer. It was probably because of mix of all the factors. Me being more mature, slightly richer and no longer haunted by the dreadful reptiles. No matter what the reasons were, the most important thing is that I really had a good time. There was no complaining this time and much more pleasures. I was way more bearable to myself... and to others in my environment.