The Berlin Wall In My Life
Twenty five years ago today the Berlin Wall came down. On that day, I was Manager on Duty at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel. I saw Helmut Kohl stride out of the hotel where he was hosting a reception for, I think, Wojciech Jaruzelski. I can't remember the details... He left in the middle of the reception with his security detail trotting behind him, barely able to keep up with him. I will never forget it.
All I could think of was THE BERLIN WALL IS COMING DOWN! Germany is re-uniting! What does this mean to the world? To Poland? To me? I was tingling with excitement, the world was finally CHANGING! I ran up to the General Manager's office where we had a TV on showing CNN's coverage. It was riveting to watch. Surreal.
Later that night I talked with my mother who was full of fear... The Germans are uniting! The East Germans are scary! They are a threat to Poland! The fear started to creep into my mind. History is hard to ignore. Maybe bad habits too!
Looking back today, I feel that my personal story is somehow inter-twined with these historical events in some meaningful way. In 1989 I was starting my career in an American company, in my first full time job, which had come to Poland to tempt me out of my freelancing translator work. Today, after 23 years of life outside of Poland, most of which has been in the US, I'm just 5 weeks away from boarding an airplane to take me BACK to Poland.
Hhm... there is something elegant about this symmetry. Again, I'm tingling with excitement!
All I could think of was THE BERLIN WALL IS COMING DOWN! Germany is re-uniting! What does this mean to the world? To Poland? To me? I was tingling with excitement, the world was finally CHANGING! I ran up to the General Manager's office where we had a TV on showing CNN's coverage. It was riveting to watch. Surreal.
Later that night I talked with my mother who was full of fear... The Germans are uniting! The East Germans are scary! They are a threat to Poland! The fear started to creep into my mind. History is hard to ignore. Maybe bad habits too!
Looking back today, I feel that my personal story is somehow inter-twined with these historical events in some meaningful way. In 1989 I was starting my career in an American company, in my first full time job, which had come to Poland to tempt me out of my freelancing translator work. Today, after 23 years of life outside of Poland, most of which has been in the US, I'm just 5 weeks away from boarding an airplane to take me BACK to Poland.
Hhm... there is something elegant about this symmetry. Again, I'm tingling with excitement!
Comments