Travel Date: 2023/03/24 ~ 04/12
At the end of March, we are going back to Poland. It has been over 3 years since the last time I visited my home country. I have been living in Taiwan for nearly 6 years and have become quite accustomed to life here. In the past, I used to miss home and eagerly awaited each trip back. However, as time passed, and with the challenges of COVID-19, travel restrictions, and difficulties going abroad, I have somewhat lost that feeling of needing to go back. Of course, I still want to see my family, but after such a long time, I don't feel as close to them anymore. Everyone is living their own lives, some have gone through divorces and entered new relationships, and sadly, some have passed away. In recent months, one of my aunts was diagnosed with cancer, and I hope I will be able to see her again.
Not being there for the past few years, I now feel somewhat like a stranger, as I am unaware of what is happening in their lives. It is not like in the past when I lived close to my family and visited them frequently. Now, I am not as significant a part of their lives. Many of them do not use the internet or Facebook, so there was no way to stay in touch. Part of me also feels guilty for leaving my family and everything behind, especially leaving my brother shortly after our mother died and moving 8000km away. It was an incredibly difficult decision. I wasn't even there for his 18th birthday, thanks to COVID-19. We used to be close, but now we barely even talk. He has a job, and the time difference makes it challenging to communicate.
Our flight was on the 23rd of March. We left home at 7 PM, and our friends picked us up to go to Miaoli High-Speed Rail Station. We took the train at 8 PM to Taoyuan and then the MRT to the airport. We arrived a little after 9 PM and boarded the flight at 11 PM. We had a layover in the Netherlands. This time the flight was 16 hours!!! It was crazy... Due to the pandemic, the flight was 3-4 hours longer than it used to be. At least there weren't many people flying, so we had plenty of space. My husband and a few other people sat in empty seats around us. He had three seats to himself, while I sat with our son. Flying with kids is always challenging. Our son slept for a few hours, but then he became bored and only watched cartoons for a while. He kept asking when we would finally arrive. At least he had his own seat on the plane. The last time we flew, he wasn't even 2 years old, so he sat on my lap the entire flight. After arriving in the Netherlands, we only had a 2-hour wait for the next airplane, which would take us to Poland. That flight was also about 2 hours long. We rented a car and drove for the next 2 hours... After counting, the entire journey from leaving our home to arriving at my family's home took 30 hours! It was an incredibly long trip. Additionally, the price of the tickets was much more expensive, nearly double what we paid 3+ years ago.
Our son, Adrian, was really happy. As soon as we landed in the Netherlands, he heard some people speaking Polish and became very excited. He doesn't have memories from our previous trips back to Poland, so I hope this time he will remember everything we do there.
On the first day (actually in the afternoon, as we arrived at 4 PM), we first visited my father and brother. My uncle, who lives nearby, came to help cut some dead roses, and that's when I learned that my aunt had just left the hospital and was staying at home. We also went to visit her, although I felt so anxious to see her because I knew she was seriously ill and didn't look well. At first, I wanted to cry when I saw her, but I told myself that I should try to make her feel better. So we chatted and joked for a while, but she was already very weak at that time. Later on, we drove to another aunt's place, about 40 minutes away, as we will be staying there for the next almost 3 weeks. Adrian fell asleep in the car, and I initially wanted to let him sleep and carry him to the room, but all of a sudden, he became full of energy and excitement because everyone was speaking Polish. He played for another 3-4 hours before finally going to sleep! I wish I had as much energy as he does... We were so tired, and we slept really well that night. My aunt's home is right in front of a railway, but even the sound of passing trains didn't bother us.
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