Dear Dali

Como te sientes?

-"Vivo"???

Have You finished reading your 700 pages long ,art and music book yet?

Was your teacher right and your thinking has completely changed since?

Here is the latest news from Poland.

Remember how every time we met in Mexico, you would tell me that I look

better than last time? I know back then it was ayahuasca, peyote, temazcales and cacao working wonders on me.

I don't think I would hear your corresponding complement now. I haven't felt very good recently. After about two years of undisturbed respiration, my cough appeared again.

Suddenly it's back and it's keeping me up at night, so I don't get much of a beauty sleep nowadays, not to even mention blissful ceremonies.

There is a suspicion that it is an allergic reaction to hair of our ubiquitous new member of the family, my little kitten. But it is not confirmed so I am not putting charming ginger to sleep yet!

Due to this health change my writing is affected. Except, maybe it is not for the bad.

Perhaps I won't use so many "repetitions'", as you say?! By the way, I am at all ,not upset, for the recent, crushing, criticism. It is just my distorted sense of humor.

We are having horrible road works next to our house now. Big machines and awful noise from the morning all day long. Place looks like some sort of a camp. In addition it stinks, there is a lot of dust, plus they are using some chemicals so strong that are drying our trees.

Almost as if we didn't have enough concrete already, it turns out that Stary Śleszów needs pavements- all of a sudden.

I was joking to William, that somehow the village knows I am writing, so they are preparing the road for my book's premiere. Even my father recently started to fancy label his wine bottles as if he knew that I am writing about it.

William!

At this very moment our environmental engineer is in the corn field.

Together with most surprised to see him there, Polish youth. According to the latest, William comes from Paradise on Earth. Place of forever warm, with beautiful beaches and exotic coconuts we can only dream about. It is not common to meet Ticos in our spot of the Universe!

-"Why did you want to come here?". Young Polish man ask.

There are no more than 10 guys from Kostaryka in the whole Poland. Can you imagine?

For sure the fellow in subject is the first one in the local villages and definitely the first one in the maize field. Maybe he is even the only 'Pura Vida' who got dirty dumping the coal as well.

From the arrival day our 'imported' friend was telling me that everything looks different than back home, of course it's true and not only the landscape is unalike. You won't see parrots, toucans, quetzales, humming-birds or blue jeans frogs in the natural environment here.

Instead, rooks are very common, there comes my family name- Gawron.

While we are at it. Is your grandfather still in stitches? Actually I am waiting for the right moment to tell my father that in Spanish we are 'cabron'. I can immediately imagine my kitten hurriedly trying to take off his name badge while I am explaining what it means.

Back to the main subject!

William gets so happy every time he sees a deer. We can even watch them running from our windows sometimes.

Apparently deer is a national animal of Costa Rica but it's rare there. In a similar logic sloth should be a national animal of Poland since is non existent here. But we have aurochs and lynx in the wilderness, did you know ?

Our mentality is far from 'Suave un toque' (Hold on a sec) or 'Llevarla suave '(To take it easy).

Polish people, instead of to care for health, are told to work really hard and to always be punctual.

Not like in the coast of Central America, watches are very popular here.

It is also my personal experience of this cultural difference ,every time when we are going somewhere. I am sitting in my car, the engine's on and William is still brushing his teeth or sitting on the toilet!

Well...Exactly  in moments like this I am forced to do a lot of exercises on equanimity.

Latest Vipassana practice from Guatemala comes in handy.

By the way, in Polish we write Gwatemala. William laughs that 'w' and 'k' are our favorite letters. We don't have 'q' and 'x' in our alphabet. So for example we say 'Meksyk' and you are 'meksykanin'.

ą...ć...ę...ł...ń...ś...ź...ż...Poles ABC

'Konstantynopolitańczykówna' (meaning the daughter of somebody from Istanbul) is the longest word in the local tongue.

I can assure you our new citizen is having the time of his life learning this rustling speech.

It must be correct that roots of Slavic languages are in the sounds of leaves in the forest.

Our cuisine is of course different, If you want to be cruel ask William if he misses gallo pinto.

One common thing between Costa Rica and Poland is that both countries broadcasted "MacGyver" at some time in the past. Only unlike there- here still exists an army.

At least we follow MacGyver's spirit in our garden, where we use my mum's bra handles to undergird tomatoes.

So, 'Mucho brete' in corn field, gracias a Dios! I am learning some expressions and what they mean. 'Orinar fuera del tarro' ('to pee outside the can'),when you do something grossly inappropriate.

I think this has already happened to our buddy. When he loudly farted at my grandma's table during lunch. Que torta!

Maybe it's time to finish for today, I feel I am 'Hablar paja' ('talking straw'), also my kitten is biting my feet demanding some play time.

Before I finish, I am astounded to see Ticos call their soul mates 'media naranja' (half orange). Straight away it reminds me of a long story about how I actually found myself in Central America- my adventure started from Malaga!

But that in another letter...

to be continued

Malwina M. Gawron

Poland, August 2017