Monthly Challenge

Grateful For The Privilege of Travel

Grateful to all the strangers who, in various ways, showed me that there is beauty in diversity, and that kindness is the international language

As someone who grew up in a country where leaving our own town was bordering on a miracle, I have plenty to be grateful for regarding the privilege of travel (yes, travel is a privilege; it isn’t granted).

Grateful to my parents for infusing in me a love for travel

I’m grateful to my parents that from my youngest years, despite all the difficulties, they infuse a love for travel in me. They always said, “Travel, seeing the world, is the best education.”

I wrote about my childhood travels in the article where I introduced myself to Globetrotters, but I will mention a bit here again, as it is definitely something I’m grateful for.

When my sister and I were little, every year, my parents took us across the country to the seaside or the lakes in the northeast of Poland (what a magnificent wilderness this used to be). We travelled on a train because we didn’t have a car. They carried all our necessities, including food supply for a couple of weeks (during martial law, it was impossible to buy food outside of our own town) in two big heavy backpacks. Our tent itself was about 20kg heavy, but my parents didn’t mind.

I loved camping in the wilderness, walking through the forest and collecting berries and mushrooms, which we would have for lunch or dinner. Cooking in our self-built camp kitchen was a lot of fun too. We played in the sand, swam in the sea or the lakes, and sat at our campfire at nighttime. Sometimes farmers invited us and gave us bread, milk products, and other goods.

Except for travelling across the country, my parents often took us for hikes in the mountains surrounding us, and we stayed overnight in a mountain hostel. In winter, we went skiing; in summer, we camped at a nearby lake and sailed. Aside from trains and busses, our most common means of transport were pushbikes or simply walks.

Grateful to my parents for giving me the first glimpse into the world outside of Poland

As soon as the borders opened and we could travel abroad, my parents took us to Bulgaria. It was some type of organized trip, but very different from the modern way of organized travel. We went there on a train and stayed in a private apartment with a very friendly elderly man as the host. We didn’t speak Bulgarian, and he couldn’t speak Polish, but the language wasn’t a problem. It was how I learned that the spoken language doesn’t matter because kindness, friendliness, smiling and gratitude are an international language.

One or two years later, my parents took us on another trip. I was 16 years old, and my sister 13. At that time, my parents had a car, a Fiat 126p, and we travelled across western Germany in this tiny car with a small trailer. We didn’t have much money to afford such a trip, so having some relatives helped a lot. We either were lucky to stay for a couple of nights with some “friends of friends”, or we slept in the car (well, my mum and little sister were in the car, and my dad and I slept on the ground next to the vehicle). We loved it!

In Germany, for the first time ever, I saw people of different colours, cultures and religions, people of various sexual orientations or those with disabilities (in communism, disabled people weren’t allowed to be publicly seen, and being a member of LGBTQ was against the law). I grew up in a very open-minded family, so we talked about the diversity among various groups of people, but this was the first time I saw them.

Grateful to our church for showing me more of the world

My family is Protestant. We belonged to the religious minority during communism, so for us, going to church was prohibited. Yet our community was strong, and we got some support from churches in other countries.

When communism was over, our pastor, whose wife was from Finland, organized an exchange program with the youth from his wife’s home country. We were there for a couple of weeks, and I lived with two different families. Again, though we didn’t speak the same language, it wasn’t a barrier for us. I learnt that our cultures were quite different, yet diversity isn’t about good and bad but unique and beautiful in its own ways.

Though I can’t sing, I was a member of the church choir and went on a few trips across Germany with the choir. We travelled from place to place, staying with various members of the church, and more and more, I was falling in love with the travels and the opportunities western countries could give me.

Grateful to the family who welcomed me as their Au Pair

When I was 23, I went to Germany as an Au Pair. The family I lived with was lovely, and they treated me as if I was their second daughter. They had only one kid, who was 11 then (if I remember right), a lovely girl.

My tasks during the day were cooking dinner for the girl and her grandpa, occasionally walking with the girl to school or playing with her when she wanted to. This didn’t often happen, as she had plenty of after-school activities.

The family asked me if I wanted them to employ a cleaner or if I would like to have the job and earn extra money. Of course, I took the job — cleaning an empty, clean house wasn’t a big deal, and the extra money enabled me to start studying in Germany straight after I finished my year as Au Pair.

The family was also extra patient and tolerant. When I first arrived in Germany, I couldn’t speak German. They tolerated this and helped me to learn the language quickly.

Grateful to all the strangers who, in various ways, helped me during my traumatic year(s) as an immigrant

My beginnings in Australia were rather challenging. I arrived on a tourist visa with no further stay conditions, which meant there was no way I could stay in Australia longer than six months. However, I loved that country, and… thanks to strangers, I can now call it my home.

I’m grateful to the lady who, by chance, saw my desperate email looking for work. She invited me to an interview and agreed to sponsor my visa.

When Andy threw me out of our home and made me homeless, strangers helped me to find a roof over my head and invited me for lunch or dinner. The smile of a stranger or a friendly word helped me to get through the darkest times.

Thanks to the friendliness and kindness of strangers, I’m now Australian by choice, and I can have the life I always wanted.

Grateful to all those who showed me that the world is a beautiful place and there are friendly, loving people all around the globe

I didn’t travel a lot, but I saw a few countries, and everywhere I went, I met friendly and welcoming people ready to help me. Grateful to all the strangers who, in various ways, showed me that there is beauty in diversity, and that kindness is the international language

Enjoyed reading my story? Would you like to know about me and my travels? You can check my articles in

or any of my travels list, for example

You can also subscribe to my newsletter to receive an email every time I post, check out my blog featuring much more of my photos or you can find me on Quora, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.