“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
This is a quote spoken by Mark Twain (I was an English major at Bates, sometimes I just can’t help it.) as he reflects upon his regrets. He regrets not embarking on many carefree adventures, adventures that are not well-planned. He regrets fearing mistakes and failures. He missed his trade winds and in turn missed the endless exploration and discoveries awaiting him.
This same man also said:
“With courage, you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.”
In other words, courage is complimented by the act of taking risks and enduring strength, compassion and wisdom to keep moving you forward. All these traits plant the seeds for integrity to grow and thrive.
Both quotes impart essential resemblances to feelings I experienced during my solo holiday in Poland this week. I have never traveled alone before. Even when I flew away from home by myself, I always met up with family and friends at the final destination. I always had a pretty solid plan. Not only have I never traveled alone, I have never traveled alone to a place where I could talk to nobody. I left on my Polish holiday with no agenda except “take GRE.” I had one backpack and a handbag. And I set up camp at several Airbnbs sprinkled throughout hidden side streets, and wandered anonymously and silently through the city and the mountains for half of a week.
While I don’t know too many Czech phrases and can’t hold a conversation with locals and community members who don’t speak English, in Česky Têšín I am surrounded by people who can communicate with me in some way. At times, it requires patience and some laughter but it’s still very much there.
I was in Krakow for the purpose of taking the GRE to see if I could achieve scores sufficient enough to apply to some graduate schools. When signing up for the test, I realized that Krakow is a major city in Poland with many different beautiful sites to visit. I figured I would stay a couple of extra days after my test to explore and didn’t think twice before finding some cheap places to stay alone.
Once actually living the experience, after my test was successfully over, I almost left to go back to Česky Têšín, my safe harbor, early. The first two nights I stayed in a stranger’s apartment all by myself and I never actually met my host. Keys were simply left in front of the door. I was definitely a bit freaked. But, as Mark Twain said, “you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than the ones you did do.” I knew that if I left, no matter how many more travels I choose to pursue with others this year, I would always circle back to this regret. This was my chance to bolster my confidence, resourcefulness, and public transit/Google Maps skills while also embracing courage and trusting my personality to power me through what could be a valuable time to keep growing. I needed to take this chance. So, without a clue as to how in the world I was going to fill my time all by myself, I picked up the keys, unlocked the door and stayed in Poland.
As mentioned in the title of this blog, my solo travel was sparked by the question, “WHERE AM I?” The address of each Airbnb I placed in the search bar of my Google Maps App (Seriously my best friend and lifesaver of this trip) took me down several winding side streets. Sometimes I arrived at what looked to be vacant buildings. Sometimes I was even taken to buildings that were obscured from my view because they were behind buildings on the same street.
I always had Google Maps opened on my phone and I always probably (not probably, definitely) looked terribly confused and screamed “helpless American tourist.” But, with the help of some nice Polish families I met along the street and my rapidly improving ability to speak with my wild gestures and visuals from Google images, I got to where I needed to be each time. Still, I couldn’t help but think how out of touch I was with anything that felt safe and familiar to me. So, the answer to the question, “WHERE AM I?”: Just a day in the life of a rookie solo traveler.
Now, how did I spend my time as a rookie solo traveler? Well, I scouted out several quaint cafes along routes that led me to major historic, tourist sites, streets, and town squares (If anybody needs to know about any cafes in and around Old Town, I probably visited and bopped around 10 different ones so I can share some humble wisdom in this way). I popped into many different churches, including St. Mary’s, right in the Main Square, to let myself rest and reflect, explored the grounds of Wawel Castle and a Dragon’s Den, ventured through the Jewish Quarter, and circled around the booths, boutiques, and restaurants of Old Town. Perhaps one of my favorite moments was when I decided to warm up in a Polish pub and a nice British mom and her daughter sat with me and gave me travel advice and words of sweet encouragement. It felt homey and endearing and just what I needed in that moment.
I also read up on some of the history of some of these sites and learned a bit about Krakow’s landscape and foundation. Wawel Castle, for example, is located in the very heart of Krakow, is situated on Wawel Hill, a limestone Jurrassic hill, and overlooks the Vistula river. The castle dates back to the 11th century and is over 1,000 years old. According to a medieval legend, early Celtic settlements were established by King Krakus, who was believed to have slayed the Wawel Dragon, or Holofagus (translates to “the one who eats whole”).
Today, the Dragon’s Den is a seasonal site that many visitors can experience when touring Wawel Castle – this is one of the sites I chose to explore and consisted of a long, spiral flight of 135 steep stairs, leading to a succession of three chambers under Wawel Hill. This underground route is about 80 meters in length and was well lit with electronic lamps. I exited through the mouth of the cave and was brought before the Wisla river and a statue of Holofagus, who spurts fire on demand vis a SMS message. This was definitely a unique experience and one I would have never known about had Roman not mentioned it to me before I left.
This leads me to my next point – yes, I was traveling alone in a place where I could not communicate with anybody. At the same time, I was constantly in touch with family, friends, and loved one who were checking in with me every day. When writing one of my first blogs, I talked about navigating an unrooted life. Well, I have certainly found my roots, which solely consist of people keeping my grounded and sane in both America and the Czech Republic. My roots consist of people who make me feel loved and safe. Twain talks about how with courage “you will dare to take risks” and will in turn discover “the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble.” An essential aspect of this courage, courage that motivates one to embark on solo travel, stems from people who believe you have the strength, compassion, and wisdom to do so. Again, I am lucky to have those roots in both America and the Czech Republic. And they have helped me acquire some new stories and memories of a Polish holiday.
Upon returning back to Česky Têšín safely, I was greeted by Roman and Pavlina outside my flat and we recapped our holiday adventures at our favorite pub. I brought back some regional Polish cheese for them to try and then was gifted bottled, marinated pumpkin from a grocery store in Cieszyn, the Polish side of our city (a product that is nowhere to be found in the Czech Republic)! I have been searching for canned pumpkin so I can share some pumpkin spice treats with my students and Czech family and I now have the ingredients to tackle this self-imposed project.
It was funny sharing my Airbnb stories and explaining all the various sites I stumbled upon during the first half of the week. Again, I was simply reminiscing about a long week of solo travel with my roots in the Czech Republic, who supplanted the courage that I began to cultivate while in Poland. Now Roman is helping me map out an ambitious trip that I want to tackle at the end of my grant – a solo trip to Athens, Greece as a way to cap off a year of crazy adventures and priceless periods of growth and courage. Will this happen? Who’s to say but as of now it is definitely on my radar.
Finally, on Saturday night I attended my very first school sponsored event – my sixth-year students performed what they have been learning at their after-school dancing lessons for their families and teachers in attendance. In the Czech Republic, it is very common for students at all sorts of secondary schools to participate in dancing lessons – and these lessons are definitely impressive because all the students were very talented and made dancing look easy! I definitely have two left feet when I try and dance so I was definitely impressed and would love to learn how to keep an elegant rhythm at the Maturita ball in November.
Finally, before I left for my Polish holiday, a group of students nervously waited outside of my cabinet (office) to ask if I would attend this event. When I said “Of course, I’ll be there!” they looked very surprised and then scurried off to their next class. Now, that was a week before this event actually took place. As I walked through the door (again, THANK YOU Google Maps for helping me navigate) the students look shocked but at the same time thrilled that I actually showed up. It was very sweet seeing the students in a setting outside of their classroom. They clearly had been working hard on their ballroom dances so it was nice to see them in their element, smiling and performing for their families and school community.
While watching the performances, I met a primary school student and she excitedly fired off several questions to me about different American traditions – including Halloween, Christmas, and high school dances and party music. She was so excited to be able to talk to me, asked to take a photo with me and had me promise that I would attend the next dance. Another one of my students introduced me to her three-year old sister who shyly told me her name and then had me kiss her hand for, as my student translated, “Good luck.” I don’t know what for but it made me smile 🙂
Several students came up to me throughout the event telling me that they are so happy that I came – These comments really showed me the importance of showing interest and understanding of what the students experience and participate in after school. All of my students have very different backgrounds and interests and I learn more about them every week. I am excited to continually understand where they come from so we can better our in-classroom dynamic. These are the moments that always stand out to me the most.
I was also talking with some students about their holidays and one student told me about a personal trauma she experienced. She looked relieved to be able to tell me about this event that took place and also told me that being at this dance helps her live life, even when she is down. The primary school student chipped in with an important comment, one that applies to everybody I think: “All we can do is live life and be happy. That’s the best way to live!”
It’s a simple quote and one that seems intuitive. But at the end of the day, no matter what, if we are traveling alone, scared, and uncertain, put life back in perspective and simply, as the primary school student told me, be happy and live. We all have American smiles – not just me. Even if it feels small sometimes, one smile is all it takes to put life into perspective. This is my goal every day. And I plan to keep it that way.
So what’s next? A British Bonfire, Mountaineering club party and race in the Beskidy Mountains (tested the trail today, should be a great event!), potential Erasmus (international student exchange program) project development, and my first time writing an assessment and grading students! Happy November and until the next post…ahoj!
Redefining Escape 