Welcome to Poland!

I was at the Gdańsk International Airport Train pick-up point and it had been 30 minutes since I had landed in Poland, a country I had no firsts about. Too exhausted to draw a first impression, I decided to do it until after I had a long relaxing shower at my hostel. But a positive encounter with a helpful local lady in her 30s started my stay on the right foot. I mentally constructed hypothesis about the lack of conceit of Polish people as the lady and I struck up a conversation in the train. She was going to get off on the next station and asked me to follow suit in order to catch another direct train. “So nice of her, right?” I mentally quipped and hopped off the train.

I straightened up while she looked around, as if searching for someone. She excused a Polish man passing by and started a conversation in rapid Polish. Several glances and gestures at me indicated that the conversation was about me. I was ominous, but I consoled myself- they’re having a simple conversation, nothing more. I examined them, non-judgmental but cautious. “I have to rush, but this man right here is going to help you get the next train,” said the lady. Lost for a response, I simply nodded, smiled and bid her farewell.

The Polish man greeted me, beaming as if meeting a long-lost friend, which was surprising. Lifting my suitcase without any permission whatsoever, he started walking ahead beckoning me to follow his lead. I started to panic on the inside. ‘Where is this stranger taking me? The trains are right here, we don’t need to move! Were those two plotting something in Polish?!’ All kinds of thoughts began to cross my mind. Reaching out for the pepper spray in my left pocket and clutching a safety knife inside my cross sling bag at the same time, I armed myself. I fervently prayed for this fair, averagely tall, 40-something Polish man to not be a sociopath who led young, adventurous and seemingly naive foreigners to their end-game. In hindsight, I should have stopped and asked him what his plan of action was right in the beginning. But things happened so rapidly, I couldn’t gather my thoughts or ask him any questions. By this time, I was fully awake, alert and panicking in full swing. The walk seemed endless until he turned the corner, which was a surprise because we weren’t in a dark alley with a dwindling number of people.

We were at the ticket counter! Finally resting the suitcase on the ground, he glanced my way, flashed a bright smile as if the long, tiring walk gave him the utmost happiness and excused himself to walk up to the lady at the ticket counter. Alert at all times, I kept observing their conversation for any unusual body language cues. Next, I see the Polish man’s hand waving me out of my trail of thought. He was holding a ticket to my final destination. Not what I was expecting. I thanked him with incredulity in my voice that I hope he didn’t detect, and asked him how much I owed him for the ticket.

“Nothing. This is our welcome to you from Poland!” He smiled that fantastically happy smile again.

I didn’t know how to react except to feel overwhelmed, touched and grateful. “Are you sure?” I asked. “Yes yes, it was barely anything, don’t worry about it”. Lifting my bag, he gestured me to follow him back the way we came. I was still processing everything that just happened while he wore himself out dragging my bag through a flight of stairs up to the train platform. ‘He probably wants to strike up a conversation and get my number,’ I thought. But I was wrong, again. Upon reaching, he rested my suitcase on the platform, wished me a happy stay in Poland and smiled his non-conceited smile. I thanked him for his help and niceness and then, he left. Just like that. Proving to me that all my fear and thoughts were baseless.

I will never forget that moment, what he said to me, or his smile. This incident tops all the happy encounters with locals I’ve had till date. Why? Because that man didn’t know me, or had a conversation with me to know if I was a nice person. He simply relied on his good nature to help a foreign, first-timer in his country. Thinking about happy accidents like this refills my heart with the belief that most people, anywhere in the world, are genuinely good. While it definitely does not excuse me from being cautious always, it does show that not everyone we meet is out to get people with bad intentions. Sometimes, good memories lie just a step ahead of the immediate paranoia.