I'm leaving Poland after an unexpectedly short 28-day stay. An odd period in my life, so to speak. Almost all the people I met and got to know in Kety, Poland, and the surrounding area, were genuine, kind and giving, just like I was told by friends in the U.S. before I got here. There's a few extra-cool people who deserve extra-cool attention in this space.
Marc, Gemma, and little ones Lacy May and Molly Rose were the best. They welcomed me with open arms and an open kitchen, where I ate more pizza and donuts than Homer Simpson and drank more coffee than a small-town cop. Marc and Gemma were as nice as any couple I've ever met. Lacy May finally accepted me and Molly Rose loved to shake her head "no" at me and watch my "frustrated" reaction -- and laugh at me. We bonded and became a pair of wild White Monkeys. I'd also like to mention pretty Martyna and her mom and dad at the coffee shop, where I continued my cop-like coffee drinking. They were very nice and wanted me to stay in Kety. Anna and Natalia at the hotel, the folks at the "Chinese market" and some guy at an electronics store did all they could to make my stay in Poland pleasant, comfortable and convenient. I got to visit Auschwitz -- which was an emotional, incredible, and once-in-a-lifetime experience -- thanks to Marc and Gemma. The food here is wonderful and very reasonably priced. I loved the perogies, desserts, ham, cheese, rye and wheat bread, peach and blueberry yogurt, oatmeal cookies and donuts. One day I ate seven donuts -- if you eat a lot of donuts on Donut Day, you're supposed to have good luck for the next year. I'm a fat, lucky charm.
The weather was a bit gloomy here. There was one truly sunny day in my 28 days here and the lack of sunshine may contribute to the brusque manner of some of the locals. The car driving was atrocious. People tailgate, speed and stop at pedestrian crossings at the last second. Unacceptable. And cars are bigger, faster and more deadly than motorbikes. I've survived four serious motorbike accidents in Vietnam, but I doubt I'd be alive after four serious car accidents. But who knows ... or cares?
I'm not sure Kety would have been a great fit for my wife Phuong and daughter Joanna. I saw two Chinese people, but that's about it for people of color. Well, that doesn't matter anyway because they're not going to live here. And there are no victories to be won by wasting space in this blog discussing the small cluster of mean-spirited people I encountered in Kety. As a sometimes traveler, I've learned that there are creeps everywhere, but that most people have hearts of gold. Some people think the biggest creep is writing this blog.
I'm heading to Prague for five days and treating myself to a nice hotel and castle tour. Then I'll return to Vietnam to be united with my wife and baby girl. Yesss!
The U.S. State Department basically ignored our request to find out why Phuong can't come to the U.S. to be with her husband and daughter. A year of waiting for nothing. I've been warned that the U.S. immigration system is a mess now and that our bid to get my family to the U.S. could spin in bureaucracy for many, many years. Really, after seeing Auschwitz and better understanding what happened there, the U.S. government can suck socks that smell if it's not going to let my wife enter a country with a xenophobic and belligerent leader. Our family will be just fine somewhere else. Good morning, Vietnam!
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