ItҀs been nearly 3 months since I left American soil to embark on my journey into Central and Eastern Europe. After a semester of toil, preparation, and anticipation prior to my departure, I left the states both eager and arrogant about the next 5 months of my life. With international leadership experience, I expected to quickly assimilate and thrive in my new home. I eagerly anticipated experiencing the richness and diversity of a culture unknown to me, and I unintentionally constructed preconceived notions of a utopian expedition into Europe with high expectations of myself in how I would photographed, write, and even feel about my experiences here.
Within weeks, I realized my prospects were naive and unrealistic. I experienced a culture shock unknown to me. It was unique from previous experiences I had labeled as such, such as my glimpse of poverty in the Dominican Republic, or that of the crumbling infrastructure in Jamaica, both of which were one-week trips which fairly large groups of Appalachian students. But here was different. Poland is a developed middle-income country. How and why am I experiencing this?
I felt completely alone. I struggled to find comfort and familiarity. I ripped myself from the familiar beauty and security of my small university community and threw myself into a bustling, emerging neo-capitalistic city of half a million inhabitants, where connections and communication often seemed challenging and inaccessible. I felt isolated, and more than ever before, and only briefly and superficially, I began to partially understand what a minority or immigrant might experience.
One afternoon after a conflict with a young man who didnҀt like me talking to him in English, I posted the following status on Facebook that truly resonated the message above:
The biggest thing I have learned so far while being in Poland is tolerance and patience. I have experienced quite a bit of prejudice for my lack of Polish language. And I can't help but think about how some Americans treat migrant workers who lack fluency in English back in the US. I guess traveling really is the only thing you can buy that will make you richer.
Despite this, I must address the simple question, ӀWould I do it again?Ԁ And the answer is simple and easy, yes. While my experiences in the Caribbean undeniably shaped and stretched my worldview for the better, my experience here have reveled less to me about the world, than it has to me about myself, who I am, and just as important, who I want to be. Traveling with an intention to experience the world with an open heart and mind can be a challenging, yet humbling experience, and while it has not been perfect, ideal, or even enjoyable at times, it has been real, and ultimately it is authenticity that creates purpose and passion in life.
I conclude my time this semester with the Study Abroad blog of The Appalachian with the wise words of Mark Twain:
ӀTravel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.Ԁ
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| Poster we made for my birthday celebrations! |
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| Japanese culture event |
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| Big music festival my roommate was a DJ at, we made some fake VIP passes that worked. Free beer and kielbasa! |
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| From my dorm |
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| Easter lunch with an amazing family that opened their home to me. |
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| My Ukrainian roommate looking extra awesome |
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| Lunch break at Model UN conference, feeling a bit classy. |
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