One Chapter Ending, Another Beginning

This last week or so has been a very emotional one for me. I took my last hikes in the mountains of southern Poland, said goodbye to the wolves that I have been following through the forest all these months, always a step or two behind, and also closed an important chapter in my life. I have done a lot of reflecting over the past week, about some of the experiences I have had here, about where I started and how far I have come, and of the subtle changes that my experiences here have brought about in me. There has been a lot of laughter and a lot of tears. This has been one long rollercoaster ride, but every climb and every drop, every turn and every redirection, every increase in speed and every slowdown, they have all been worth it.

So I won’t bore you with all the things that have happened this last week, but I will mention some of the more important things, and also some of the more humorous happenings and thoughts. So when it came time to leave my worksite for the last time, I was looking out the window of the place I have essentially called home for the past 11 months, up at the mountains that I have befriended during my numerous hikes. As I was looking out the window, only a few minutes from catching a bus and leaving that place for good, I saw a small dog run up to the fence of the yard. I immediately recognized this dog, a Labrador mix. I first saw this dog when I arrived here in February, and quickly named him the “Marking Machine.” He literally pees on every single thing he comes across, and he takes such pride in it and puts forth such an effort! Every time he lifts his leg to pee, he lifts it so high that he looks like he will fall over backward. It is hilarious! I fell in love with him and looked for him every morning as I would wake up and look out the window to see what the weather was doing in the mountains. Since returning here in September, I had only seen him once, at the very beginning of my return. I was starting to worry that maybe something had happened to him, but as other things started piling up, I also began to forget about him. However, this day, the last time I looked out this window, he decided to make his presence known and come say goodbye. He looked up at me through the window as he was doing his best to make sure all the dogs in the neighborhood knew whose fencepost that was. I hope he goes on to mark those fenceposts for years to come.

After saying my goodbyes to the mountains, to the place where I have been calling home, my hosts, and to my biologist friends, it finally came time to say goodbye to the wolves. It is always hard working to protect something that you never see, but I have learned that you just need to trust that your efforts are making a difference. I will miss these wolves and always trying to solve the puzzles that they leave behind. I hope that they have a future in this region and slowly gain more acceptance among the people here.

I then traveled up to Krakow, my home away from home for nearly the last year. Among all the cities I have been to in Europe, Krakow is right near the top. Not even considering how my life has changed during my time here, Krakow is an unbelievably beautiful city with a lot of character and history. Walking through the streets that I have come to know so well, memories rushed into my head without abandon. Every street corner, every tram and bus stop, every little shop, they all had memories tied to them. It was pretty emotional, especially the last walk I took through Market Square. On the way there, I stopped by the good old Orange Hostel, where I had spent every weekend for five months. I had become their first VIP member, received my own special discount there, had a bed reserved just for me, and had also made friends with the girls that worked there. Luckily, this time, as I stepped through the door, I saw one of the coolest girls I have befriended there. She knew right then that I had come to say goodbye. She showed me around the hostel, which has undergone some significant changes in the last two months. It was almost a completely different place, but not quite. I think the Orange Hostel and I both grew up together over the last several months. If anyone gets a chance to visit Krakow, please stay at the Orange Hostel, but please stay away from bed number 10 in room 6. That bed is special:)

So getting back to Market Square, I remember first arriving in Krakow and taking my first walk to the square. I was overwhelmed by its size and by Mariacki Church towering over the rest of the square. It is remarkably beautiful, particularly at night. Although it is overrun with tourists at certain times of the year, it still had a beauty that cannot be touched by any amount of people packed in there, and no matter what languages they are speaking.

I said goodbye to my friends in Krakow, who have been incredible and more generous and nice than I could have ever asked for. I hope to see them again, either in Poland, the U.S., or somewhere in between. The world is a big place while you are traveling, but a small place for meeting people. Life is funny, and you never know what your path will lead you to, and who may be traveling along a path to the same place. Life is beautiful that way.

After wishing Krakow a goodbye and giving it my thanks, I traveled to Warsaw. I only spent about a day and a half in Warsaw, so didn’t get to see much. The Old Town was pretty cool, while other areas had their own charm. I definitely noticed the difference between Krakow and Warsaw immediately—Warsaw is much bigger and is the commercial center. Warsaw was also mostly destroyed in World War II, so the old buildings found throughout Krakow are almost non-existent in Warsaw. That being said, Warsaw has areas where the Communist-era only seems like a few years ago. The square, dull, concrete buildings left behind are not esthetically pleasing, but they do add some character to the area.

After leaving Warsaw, I arrived in Berlin. Berlin is a really cool city. It is a little run down and shows some age, but there are awesome little cafes and shops all over the place, and there are also really cool, green parks scattered throughout the city. I really enjoyed just walking around and getting lost, completely without an agenda and no plans at all. I did see some of the remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall, particularly the section known as the “East Side Gallery,” with all its cool drawings and works of art giving the wall a special effect. I mostly just relaxed in Berlin and soaked in the atmosphere, preparing myself for the real adventure about to come my way.

So that is that in a nutshell. Tonight I am headed to Cairo, where I will be spending a few days, before heading off to Dubai. I will try to post another blog entry after Dubai, just before arriving in Uganda. I wish you all well and look forward to hearing what all of you have been up to as well. See you in Africa!

Pictures of my Christmas trip in Italy, and also pics of Warsaw and Berlin, can be viewed at

http://www.photoworks.com/members/Nathan_Owens

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a very nice and joyful Christmas and got to share it with the people that matter most to you. I hope Santa also brought you everything that was on your Christmas lists. I spent my Christmas in Torino, Italy. It was nice seeing some places in Italy that I had never visited before, but it was definitely not a normal Christmas for me. This year, without my family and those I care about around me, the 25^th of December was just another day. I spent the day walking around Torino taking pictures. The weather was beautiful, so that made walking pretty pleasant. I definitely had a cool experience on Christmas Eve. The friend I was staying with drove me up to a small village in the Alps, on the Italian-French border. At this village, we followed a live nativity scene, as it ascended up the mountain, through the old village. I think every person living in that village (probably about 200) was following the procession, and there was singing and dancing the entire way. We all stopped frequently for some mulled wine, punch, and other goodies being distributed by “innkeepers” and other people from the village. At midnight, we arrived at a small church high up the mountain, where we attended mass. It was really special and an experience I will never forget.

After Torino, I traveled to Aosta, where I spent a few days. Aosta is a unique region that borders France, Italy, and Switzerland, and is probably most famous for being in the shadow of Mont Blanc. The area is beautiful and there are castles everywhere you look. I visited three castles while I was there and also visited the ski village of Courmayeur, which was really nice, but also made me a little homesick.

After Aosta, I went back to Torino and spent New Year's Eve there. Unfortunately, I got sick a few days before that and didn't really feel like celebrating too much, so I mostly just reflected on the last year. This last year has been a year of firsts for me. Right before last New Year’s, I caught malaria for the first time (and hopefully the last!), I had to fly for almost 34 straight hours back to the U.S. from Madagascar, but then I got to spend Christmas at home, which is all I could ever want. I traveled to Poland for the first time and spent an extended period in Europe for the first time. I learned my first words in Polish, German, Czech, Norwegian, and Austrian. I fell deeply in love for the first time (and hopefully not the last time!), but then had my heart completely broken for the first time also (hopefully the last time, but I doubt it!). I met the wonderful people at Holy Cross Ministries and got the incredible opportunity to work as a teacher over the summer with the cute (most of the time) Hispanic children in Park City. I received my first recognition of “Scary Story Master” (sorry Mark, maybe next time:). I saw Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Prague, Vienna, Torino, and Aosta for the first time. I went hiking in the awesome Tatra Mountains for the first time and also had my first wolf reply to one of my howls! On a lighter side, I did my laundry in a cereal bowl for the first time (it took a looooong time), opened my first wine bottle with an axe (don’t ask me how, because I don’t know, and definitely don't ask me to try it again), and bought my first $12 beer (thanks Oslo). I saw my first live performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in a 12^th century church in Stockholm (I get chills just thinking about it!), ate rabbit for the first time in a Prague restaurant, visited my first European Christmas markets in Vienna, where I also tasted mulled wine for the first time. I drank coffee with honey in it for the first time (those crazy Italians!), bought and wore my first scarf (I am still unsure of how I look in it), saw Mont Blanc for the first time, and spent my first Christmas away from my family. I saw my brother move away from home for the first time and become the first member of our family to kick butt in the San Francisco Police Academy.

I met some incredible people this last year: the people at HCM, including Sister Mary Ann, Alma, Magali, Jesus, Miriam, Laura, and Molly, the biologists I have been working with in Poland, Robert and Sabina, my ex-girlfriend Ania (I know, but I was still lucky to have met her), Krystyna and Łucaś, whose home I normally stay in while working in Poland, Michael in Stockholm, Magnus and his roommates in Oslo, Kevin and Bashar in Bergen, Andrew on the train in Norway, Claude in Geneva, Alicja and Sabina in Krakow, Slaven in Prague, Lija in Vienna, and Andrea in Torino. Thinking back on it, I guess quite a bit happened this last year. Some times were incredibly happy, and other times were incredibly sad. But without sadness, we wouldn’t know what happiness is. Those sad times help us to really appreciate and savor those happy times.

So what do I hope for this next year? Well, I think it will be hard to top this last year, but it may happen. I would like to see my first wolf in Poland, but unfortunately time is running out. I would like to see my brother in a SFPD uniform. I would like to meet my new cousin (Congrats Tim and Alli!). I would like to visit Raphelle and Tim in their new house, reinforce my position as the “Scary Story Master,” finally graduate with my master's degree, visit Yellowstone numerous times, where my soul is renewed and my spirit is at peace, fall in love again, see everyone in my family filled with happiness, maintain and strengthen the relationships I have made this last year, and constantly be reminded of how lucky I am and of what is truly important in life. If all of those things happen, I will be one very happy guy. In fact, I will be very happy if just those last three things come true. I know I am forgetting a few things, but they will remind me in their own good time.

I wish all of you the happiest year imaginable, and may all that you wish and hope for come to pass. Thank you for making this last year one that I will never forget and that I will always look back on fondly.