It's a long story as to how I ended up on a bus filled with
aspiring travel guides, wandering through Slovakia. Suffice
it to say, I took a camera with me and took a few pictures.
I recorded a few thoughts in my journal while sitting on my
bed during the last night of the trip:
During certain experiences one has to remind oneself to
make the most of it. This, unfortunately, is one such
experience. I've spent the majority of the day on a bus
or in a castle/abbey/church. I guess this is exactly
what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting it to be
so tiresome. And lonely. Actually, I guess I was expecting
— even dreading — the latter. A bunch of
Poles on a bus all day — can't expect much conversation
there.
I'm not even sure why I came on this trip. From the beginning
I've dreaded it. But I wanted this year in Poland to
be different form the previous three. I didn't want to
sit in Lipnica weekend after weekend. I wanted to get
out some, to see a bit of the world just out of reach.
To have a few more city names appearing in my journal.
So when ******** invited me, I said, "Why not?" Even
though I knew why not.
So — on to the point of this journal: what I learned
today. First, there are a lot of roads lined with apple
trees in Slovakia — in the north, anyway. Second,
there are a lot more Cygans [(Polish for Gypsy)] in Slovakia
than in Poland. Third, I can understand a surprising
amount of Slovakian, and Slovaks understand me when I
speak Polish. Fourth, there's something wonderful about
releasing the shutter on a film camera and knowing you're
creating something physical, and not just 0's and 1's
— and I'd forgotten that. Fifth, Slovakian architecture
is surprisingly dissimilar to Polish, at least in homes.
Sixth, there is a large group of Eastern Orthodox Christians
in the area.
Still, I keep thinking one thing — I miss the feeling
of belonging I've taken for granted so many times. You
miss its absence but often are blind to its presence.