My mailbox is happy and I'm going to Poland! :)

Today my mailbox has been very happy for the first time this month! To be honest, I had nearly lost my hope for receiving any mail before I go for a week to Poland, so you can imagine how happy I was, when I opened my mailbox and - to my great surprise - it wasn't empty! :) I've received a letter from my dear Israeli friend Stav :) Her letters are always long, beautiful and very thoughtful, so it's a pure pleasure to read them! She's also enclosed 3 lovely postcards and used special stamps. This time I won't make her wait long for my answer, because I've already started writing and should be able to send it from Poland.

 

There's also been some outgoing mail from Lviv today. My new penpal Erin has a special friend, who's been incarcerated for many years, but has been trying his best to be a positive person and to help others. He's going to have his brithday this month and I hope this day will be brighter thanks to the birthday cards that he's going to receive from all around the world! I really loved Erin's idea and decided to contribute immediatelly. It was the first time I was sending any mail to an inmate and, as I wasn't sure about the rules, I used a plain white envelope and standard stamp, which I normally never do. In fact, I've been considering finding an inmate penpal for quite a long while... Maybe this small experience will finally encourage me to give it a try! Moreover, I've also sent a postcard to Kinga from Hungary, who won my giveaway yesterday. She won two Polish postcards, but as she's kindly offered to send me a card from her hometown, I've decided to treat her with an extra one from Lviv, written in my broken Hungarian ;)

 

Tomorrow morning I'll be traveling to Poland. First I'm going to spend 3 days in Lublin together with my Belarusian friend Olga (which means that I'm also going to receive a letter from her tomorrow - with a very special delivery) :) I've already been to Lublin before, but I'm happy to be going there again, because I actually like Eastern Poland. Myself I was born and raised in the West of Poland and didn't travel to the East until I was 18. I know it sounds strange, because you all know me as an avid traveler, but as a teenager I'd usually travel to Ukraine and see Eastern Poland just through the train's window :) But when I finally went to Lublin, it reminded me of Ukraine in a lot of ways - and that's probably why I felt very comforable there. I'm sure I'm also going to discover something new for myself in Lublin this time, so this trip certainly won't be boring. The only disadvantage is that there's no train connection between Lviv and Lublin, so I'll have to get there by bus. But well, I think I'll survive this 6 hours long torture ;)

Later, on Sunday, I'm going to take a train to Opole and meet my relatives. First I'll meet my mum and grandfather and then I'll go to a smaller town of Kluczbork to visit my grandmother. I'm very much looking forward to seeing her, because the last time we met was in 2012... The family issues can be very complicated sometimes, but  the older I become, the more I understand how important it is to keep them "alive". I was just 18 when I moved from Poland to Ukraine and it took me whole 2 years to come to Poland again (just for a few days). For those 2 years I thought it was better for me to start a "brand new life" and to cut the ties with my past. I was annoyed each time people were asking me about Poland. But I've grown up and have gradually developed a more relaxed attitude. I live in Ukraine and feel Ukrainian, but I'm originally from Poland and this will always have some impact on me. And I should never forget about those people, who love me. I don't know, whether I'll have a chance to blog during my stay in Poland, but I'll certainly be back in about a week! ;)