October 26, 2009

Happy Birthday, Baby Okro!

Last weekend held a special significance in the history of the tent. I had planned to attend the opening party ever since I heard the news about the possibility of a second bar showing up in the back yard of the tent that wrote history. Then I saw it under construction and my heart filled with joy when, that one night, I finally got a sneak peak inside. Later, my fellow bartenders made fun of me for so desperately wanting to work there. It wasn't really that funny, as I felt from the beginning that, to an extent, Baby Okro was my baby too, so it was a matter of the obvious I wanted to work there. The tent has a history of 10 years now, and I've been part of it only in the past year. With the new one, now that was a different story. It was practically born under my eyes. For the past two months, whenever I called Pan Janek, whenever I showed up in Kato, the first question I popped was "So, when are we having the opening party?". Eventually, we did. On Friday. Of course I was in Warsaw.
In the end, it's not just the tent. The fact that I know there's a room waiting for me whenever I go back, the warmth and coziness only a family can give you (who would've thought that working in a bar can provide you, as a bonus, with a wonderful adoptive family?), the rainy mornings when I seem to have all the time in the world, the late night shifts behind the bar, they're all parts of the story. The more I miss them, the more I feel the need to fill the void with something that will give me the impression I still belong, even if I'm not there anymore, on a daily basis. And since all my life I've been filling voids with books, I can't think of a better moment to start learning the Silesian dialect. In Polish, I'm more than happy to have a distinct accent. It's like part of my expat identity. If I ever manage to say at least the very basics po slasku, I'll do my best to hide any traces of my foreign accent.
I've never been a fan of driving. Nor did I ever want to have a car of my own. Now I'm beginning to think it maybe isn't such a bad idea. If I did, I wouldn't be here, doing my best not to burst into tears, chain smoking and writing cheesy-over-emotional posts. Instead, I'd be on the road. I'm beginning to hate my lack of stability. Last year, back in Kato, i wept for Warsaw. Now I'm here. Weeping for Kato. Looking forward to adding another city to the list...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm..Thought that the unofficial Baby Okro opening party was held already just one month ago, somewhen in September..As far as I know, there was a one- cause I was there:-) Yes, this is that sort of typicall ´I dont know what I want´ Women behauviour-style:-)First of all that gorgeous little person is complaining and making critical statements about Ligota(, while weeping for Warsaw, but later on, she suddenly misses the old place and complains a bit about the new one...:-):-) By the way, I miss that old one too...

Ruxandra said...

You may have been there, but surely not for the (un)official opening :) Anyway, the party's now history, I'll be in Kato next week to check out the new bar. As far as behaviour is concerned, I never claimed I was anything else than a typical woman ;)