When I got there, I was a maverick dog. The only two people I was in contact with were Jan, a chemical engineer, and Iweta, a nice woman employee of the municipality who was helping me in whatever way she could to make me feel less lost.
So… I ended up at the premiere of a film in the main local cinema theatre and there I met Justyna, a beautiful girl with yellow cat eyes and an irresistible gap between her upper teeth and Janusz, a weird guy who wore a leopard-print hat and a Red Army coat. I spent a crazy night with them and some of their friends. I fell in love with Justyna, and I became friends with Janusz and especially with a guy named Darek who traded in parts of old locomotives and stuff like that. They somehow adopted me.
Silesia could be harsh and pretty hostile – and believe me, it was – but I wasn’t alone and that made a big difference. Very quickly I felt at home. It was natural, simple. I loved being there, it felt so good to build something from zero in such a neutral place.