#5 of 12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland

Here’s the latest episode of our summer/winter reflective series “12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland“.

Nowa Huta

5. How to live without a backyard

For an Australian, your own backyard seems to be a rite of passage. Even in my student share houses, there was always a backyard, usually under-used and overgrown. I hardly knew anyone who lived in an apartment – that’s something only for rich, inner-city, business people. Here in Poland (and the majority of the world), that equation is rather reversed. Continue Reading →

#4 of 12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland

Here’s the next instalment of our summer/winter reflective series, with Wendy looking back at her year as a migrant in Poland: “12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland“.

Those blocks….Katowice

4. To look beyond the blocks

A few kilometers from the charming medieval Kraków city center, things start looking very different. Take a trip to Łódź or Katowice and you just can’t ignore that things look… Continue Reading →

#3 of 12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland

Here’s the next bite of our summer/winter reflective series “12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland“.

Warsaw

3. If it ain’t broke, fix it!

While the modern shopping mall is now a completely normal part of capitalistic life in Poland, unlike back home, it is still possible to meet all of your needs without entering these shiny temples of consumption. In fact, absolutely unlike life in Australia, it is still possible (and affordable) to get most things repaired, instead of throwing away and buying new.

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#2 of 12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland

Here’s the second course of our summer/winter reflective series “12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland“.

Pierogi by Babcia on Christmas Eve

2. Eat and cook to the seasons

The ever changing, more extreme seasons of Poland, mean you’d better just embrace whatever time of year it is to the fullest while it’s here. Poland has taught me that this also ought to include your everyday eating. Continue Reading →

#1 of 12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland

We’re trying a new technique 😉 Rather than posting one mega article that’s just too long to read, we’re going to feed you this one in bite-sized pieces across a summer/winter (depending what hemisphere you’re reading from!) series – hopefully keeping you hungry for more! The series is a reflection piece Wendy put together looking back on her first year living in Poland: ’12 things I’ve learnt living 12 months in Poland’. Smacznego!

Tuesday, November 1st, 2016: Poles flocked to the cemeteries to place candles on the graves of the departed and reflect on life, death, loss and love. On All Saints Day, a national holiday, these sites of grey stones, narrow passageways and quiet resting are transformed into bustling hubs of family meetings, large floral displays and as the afternoon darkness of night settles, the twinkle of thousands of candle lights to mark each life with memory. The smell of melted wax is thick and sweet on the air, escaping from the gaudy, modern plastic lanterns, in the competition to see who’s relative’s grave will have the candle burning the longest.

While I don’t have graves of relatives to visit here, the day was also a time of reflection for me, as it marks one year since I crossed the border from Belarus into the country that I’d travelled half the world over without a plane to reach. I’ve lived in Poland one year now – a whole 4 seasons getting ready to repeat their turns. So let me think a little about what I’ve learnt in this time, in this place…

New Years Day 2016, Wrocław

1. To see the beauty in every season

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