Why Szczecin?

I have neither family nor friends here. I don’t speak the language and know virtually nothing of the culture or how this society functions.

Of all the places in the world that I could hang my hat, why did I choose this specific locale?

Have you ever heard of Szczecin – Stettin, in its German incarnation? Until I was looking for places I could live, neither had I.

Wasn’t I formerly so enraptured with life in China and Chinese culture? Indeed I was and, for the longest time, life was pretty sweet there, for me and other expats. And then, the rules regarding foreigners changed as the country’s government got more protectionist.

Soon, the restrictions became overbearing, forcing my departure.

I am still enraptured with China and Chinese culture, by the way. Only now, I get to admire it from afar and through occasional contact with friends and former students.

From what I’ve seen of this town so far, I couldn’t have gotten further away from chopsticks and festivals.

Why here, then? Why not Thailand or Vietnam, where the culture is similar to China’s?

You might understand if I gave you some context.

I grew up in Berlin, Germany, at the tag end of the cold war: The Wall was still up.

I remember gazing across no-man’s land from any of the viewing platforms in West Berlin, vowing one day to get past those barriers – and now, I have.

Not through any special effort of my own, mind you. It’s not like I am some kind of hero, risking my life and freedom to smuggle people away from an oppressive regime, as others have done in the past.

By comparison, my transition to this formerly east-bloc country was a breeze!

I chose Szczecin for several reasons: for my childhood defiance in the face of oppression, for the fact that this city is so close to Berlin that visiting there would be a day trip, and because the cost of living is so very low.

Also because of it being a former German territory and being so close to the German border, there is a good chance that I might get by speaking that language, at least until I learn more Polish.

I’ve said before how self-defeating my walking away from my postal job was, but there is no time for looking back: moving forward is the only way.

As such, I had to find a place I could afford to live in, especially seeing as I now know that I am completely on my own – no family support in sunset years for me!

Not only is the cost of living here exceedingly low, the exchange rate is especially favorable. As I earn about 1,000 Euro per month from my Superprof writing gig, that translates to a little over 4,000 zloty, the Polish currency.

That is about 1,000 zloty more than the average citizen here earns in a month, which decidedly puts me in the ‘well off’ category.

Also, consider how low the rent is on an apartment. Even in city center, I can rent a room for about 800 zloty; utilities included (that’s a little over $200). Not only can I put quite a bit away for my sunset years, I can also afford to travel!

Which brings me to the second reason I selected Szczecin: it acts as a gateway to eastern Europe, and everything is connected by train.

Once I obtain my ‘green card’, I will be free to travel anywhere within the Schengen zone: all 26 member states of Europe and the 4 countries that have European agreement. 

Hungary! Latvia! Estonia! Belarus! All open to me!

I will have to get a visa to fulfill my dream of touring The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, though. And also to ride the Trans-Siberian Express from one end to the other. Russia doesn’t allow people to randomly travel around their land.

In the meantime, I have the thrill and excitement of discovering and learning: a new city, a new language, a new culture; a new way of life.

Even though I don’t have a sponsor, like I did in China, I have fewer qualms about being here alone.

In fact, it might have been my reliance on Sam that permitted my laziness in learning and discovering China... there’s food for thought!

For one, I look like everybody else: I am not a giant or a foreigner – by appearance, anyway. Even my body type is common here; I no longer feel like an oversized freak.

Nor do I feel judged and condemned, as I did so often in America. Does that sound paranoid?

·         Taking a smoke break while out, in Oregon, a total stranger shouted at me from across the street that I’m not allowed to smoke... in that parking lot.

·         Walking my son’s dog, whose nervous bowels threatened to let loose, someone shouted at me to clean up after Zeva from a moving car – he couldn’t know that I was going to get a poo-bag!

·         Arriving in Ft. Worth, waiting at the transit station for my sister to pick me up: security informed me I may only stay inside the terminal for 10 minutes – maybe they thought I was a vagrant?

·         Waiting for a city bus on a hot, Texas day. Unwilling to stand in the sun, I stood in the shade, apart from the actual stop, in front of an office building for only a few minutes before a security guard informed me I could not stand there – on a public sidewalk!

·         Waiting for my daughter in a North Carolina shopping center parking lot, I quickly closed the car door because someone was whipping into the parking spot next to us. He got out of his car and demanded to know why I closed my car door, and then hit me!  

All across the country, while perpetrating completely innocuous acts, I have been shouted at, vilified and assaulted. If I do sound paranoid, I come by it honestly, don’t you think?

Fortunately, I don’t think such things are going to happen here. I know this much about the culture: one is not expected to smile, nod or say hello to complete strangers. That fact is borne out by no one smiling at me in the grocery store, in the elevator, or anyone walking down the street. No one has even made eye contact, and that includes the store cashiers! 

To be sure, I am acknowledged; people don’t bump into me and they give me room in the elevator. In fact, just today a young man boarding that conveyance at the same time as me actually deferred to me, allowing me to enter first... all while staring at his phone!

Perhaps later I might find that distance offensive and/or annoying but, for now, it suits me just fine.

Distance. Loneliness...

For all that I was made to feel unequal by all of that shouting and rudeness that I endured stateside, if I wanted to, I knew I could strike up a conversation with anyone: in a diner, at a shop... Maybe they’d think I was weird, but, at least, social contact was possible in the states.

Here, everyone I’ve dealt with so far has been friendly, but I’m not kidding myself: after Evelina gets her commission for negotiating my apartment rental, I’m fairly sure we’ll be done being friends.

Ditto with Alina, the very nice person who arranged my phone service.

Once the immediate flurry of interaction to get set up is finished, will I have any social contact at all?

And, if not, will it quite nearly drive me crazy, as it did in China?

I think not.

For one, I am better prepared for this adventure: in better health, and more aware of the dangers of aloneness.

For two, I will not be as isolated as I was in China: alone in the enclave of the deserted campus (over winter break), with it being such a stuggle to get anywhere, and everywhere being so alien – territory I wanted to explore but, because of feeling so sick, could not bring myself to do.

For three, I have a fantastic support network.

My conspirators, who saw me through all of the travails of living in China are still with me on this new adventure. Yes, they are still responsible for publishing every article – be sure to thank them!

Gary, my dear friend, always available via WeChat; Olaf, now but a train ride away, in Germany.

My family: when the chips are down, they would be here for me, I’m sure.

I am also quite optimistic – both of what this adventure could bring, and of the human ties that bind me.

And you: together, we shall explore Szczecin and make it our home, OK?