Chilli's Blog 009 - Since leaving Brighton: 182 days / Before we leave Krakow: 10 days
Date: February 8, 2011
I looked out the window this morning. The church opposite us was bathed in sunlight. The golden spires reflected the light back at me. It may have hurt my eyes but I did not want to look away. I saw several pigeons flying into a hole in the bricks. I have always wondered why I always see them around when I look at the church. There were two small birds sitting on a golden cross at the top. They were copying each other almost perfectly. They both turned right, their tails in the air. They looked forward, then turned left. They flew away, at exactly the same time, to the bell tower. They looked like Thompson and Thompson from ‘Tintin’, black with white bellies, copying each others every movement.
We were recently interviewed by wProst (a very popular Polish magazine) as a whole family. We were each asked a lot of questions, but mostly it was ‘Why move to Poland?’. Before, I hadn’t been entirely sure. But the interview made me really think. I didn’t fully realise what Krakow meant to me and how long it had taken me to properly settle in. It took about five months to realise that I didn’t want to leave. It took me the first two months to stop complaining (although I would only complain about being here when I was upset or angry - it wasn’t an on-going ‘I HATE IT HERE!' or anything).
I have always loved Krakow, it just wasn’t my home. It felt a small part of me, but not enough for me to leave Brighton for a long time and feel okay about it. We brought our flat in 2006. When we came here to look at it, and others, it was the first time Milligan and me had been to Krakow. Even then Milligan and me loved it here, although it was really hot that summer. But since coming here for six months it has become so much a part of me that it’s now equal with Brighton. Perhaps it has become more my home than Brighton.
But your home is where your family is. I will never forget my time here, even if I get amnesia. I don’t think I will forget such an intense time of experience, creativity, and family.