Month 3 in Poland - October 2025

Can't believe it's been over 3 months in Poland. A quarter of our time here? Wow!

This time it's Monika writing the update. Well, I think I have an unique perspective on this gap year in Poland. Simply because I'm back "home". I'm using quotations on purpose here because as an immigrant the idea of home is an interesting one. In the most pure sense home is where my loved ones are. However, the idea of home can be defined in many different ways and can be interpreted by each person differently. Us immigrants, expats, refugees and nomads can have many places to call home. I came from a home here in Krakow, Poland, deeply connected to the city and also to my local district (because I went to elementary and high schools here). But since moving to California 16 years ago, marrying a Californian and raising my kids there, I definitely now feel at home back in Davis. Because of this, being back in Krakow feels like I'm living a parallel life right now. There is one version of me back in Davis, and another one in Krakow. Our flat is also directly on the street I grew up at. So the feeling of home is intensified. 

October summary comes with one huge highlight: Tyler and I took a trip to Rome, Italy, sans kids. The munchkins stayed busy visiting the salt mine with the grandparents. As they say, all roads lead to Rome, in our case it was a RyanAir flight, very convenient from Krakow. Rome is simply majestic, and this was surprisingly my first time. I simply couldn't believe the amount of ancient relics and architecture. Some of it adapted by Christianity. In 3 days we saw the most famous sites, ate a ton of pasta and chased it with either wine or Aperol Spritz. Colosseum and Forum Romanum were spectacular, the weather was splendid, the Vatican Museums with Sistine Chappell was brilliant. I could't believe I was actually seeing the real paintings of Michelangelo and Raphael. When I studied Philosophy & Religion I only saw it in books. I'm so glad we went! Just like with pasta, I want more! Speaking of pasta, Cacio e pepe was a hit, so simple, so satisfying. Italians really know their al dente! I also recommend trying the Hugo Spritz (made with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur), it's so good. We couldn't resist eating at a truffle restaurant, so decadent! Trastevere was my favorite neighborhood, full of locals on a Saturday night. We stayed on Borgo Pio, very close to St. Peter Square. We rented an airbnb from a real Italian lady who showed us around, Tyler ensured we had a terazzo overlooking the neighborhood where we could sip an afternoon espresso (like real Italians we had cappuccino in the morning only). 

This trip was our celebration of both of us turning 40 recently! Cheers to the next 40 (at least!)

In October I went mushroom picking with my dad, which must be his favorite fall activity. Forests smell amazing in Poland this time of the year.  The weather is so so, honestly it feels like winter in Davis, 50-60 degrees (we did get some upper 60ies recently too) with some rain and some sunshine. 

As a family, we're all deep into our routines:

- Alex walks 100 yards to his preschool (aka his 1st grade)

- Adam is doing really well at polish school, already earning good grades and having a positive experience

- Alex attends Taekwon-do and HipHop dance practice

- Adam has robotics, Harcerstwo (Polish Scouts), swim, and history workshop

We found a Lego Technic Museum and Rental Store in Krakow where two enthusiasts have been collecting Lego Technic specifically from the 70ies. What's cool is that you can just rent the lego, put it together at home and return it back (instead of paying $300-$500 to own some).

Another highlight for me was running into my idol, a famous krakovian pianist, poet, singer and songwriter Grzegorz Turnau.

We pop in and out my parents home, we enjoy their cooking and desserts. My dad procures eggs and poultry from the countryside (hens, geese, ducks, guinea fowl) and he guarantees it's hormone and chemical free. 

Lastly, we threw a small Halloween party at our flat for kids friends and they had a blast. Parents partied in the small kitchen and also had a great evening!





























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