I’m back in Krakow and haven’t been writing as much as I’d like- for a couple of reasons- the housing shortage here has been no joke. The place I stayed before is now being rented long term- I waited to hear back from a couple of people so I held off til the last minute to make a decision on Airbnb, there was a Backstreet Boys concert this weekend which apparently meant that most places which are reasonably priced suddenly weren’t, Backstreet Boys?, and it’s the All Saints Holiday this week. Not Halloween, but rather a time when people go to cemeteries and clean up and put out fresh candles- still not the same vibe as a Mexican All Saints which is joyful and sweet and celebrating those that have passed, this is typically Polish- heavy, Catholic, and somber. All of this has meant that I’ve switched housing four times in the past two weeks. Which really cuts into a day.
Besides that, I reconnected with Krzysztof Chawrona’s foundation, Fundacja Nidaros, which is in a new location! They made a recent - about three weeks ago- move from the busy streets of Kalwaryjska to an old nursery school on Duchacka. It’s still in the city, but has some green space, feels more homey, more peaceful and I’ve spent lots of time there. Currently the rooms are large and house lots of families in one big space, but their goal is to subdivide the larger rooms so that each family unit has some privacy. I’ve also visited other refugee centers which are mostly outside of Krakow- between 10-15 miles out of town- still on the bus line, but a less convenient/frequent bus line. The more frequent buses that drive there are short transport vans, they can get packed and stuffy and make me feel like I’m in a sardine can of Covid. Which is now all but forgotten here. When the war started, Covid fell to the rear view. Not dissimilar to the US. I guess you can only be exhausted and anxious about a limited number of things at a time.
Mostly mothers and their children of varying ages live in Fundacja Nidaros. Currently, the rooms are wide open filled with mattresses and bunk beds, many families living together in one space. Adults and teenagers hang out most up here, if they’re not cooking, working, or attending online school or Polish school.
Cats brought from Ukraine live here, too.
Lots of phone scrolling, there’s not much else for those who are in transition to do. This is what one version of waiting looks like. Love for the US, Ukraine, and not pictured, but also a Polish flag to the left of the US flag.
Maybe these cats sometimes wish they were still in Ukraine.
The kitchen in the new foundation, which is also a place of a lot of activity. I caught it in a rare empty moment between laundry and food prep.
Lyudmila and Nataliia are from Tarnopol, in Western Ukraine. While there is not much fighting, the air raid sirens and the constant fear prompted Lyudmila to bring her children to Poland for a while, where they don’t have to worry about air raid sirens and surprise attacks.
Lyudmila holds up her phone to show me how she feels about what’s happening in Ukraine. It’s impossible to try not to make sense of it.
In the playroom.
The kitchen starts to get busy.
Fresh food donations.
The new foundation location on a dreary day.
