Cultural desert

Cultural desert. That's what my city seemed to be for me after my arrival. And you should know it's considered as very cultural by Poles. Oh, it was hard too. I came back from place when even on holidays one could visit more than 20 exhibitions or one of four movie theaters showing noncommercial artistic movies. The next day after my arrival I learnt that the only movie theater playing such movies in Toruń was closed down two days earlier.

No interesting, beautiful people, no movies nor cultural life in general, no recreation. Do you see any reason to keep living here?

I was keeping trace of cultural events in Brussels. I still do! Klarafestival was (and is) coming at the end of August. Last year Il Giardino Armonico had its concert on that festival. I love them, I've never had opportunity to listen to their music live.



The concert of Ornette Coleman was announced to take place in October. I wanted to get to know about it one of my friends who is big fun of him but I've never done it. I was so out of live. That friend of mine couldn't probably go for the concert anyway since it would be too big expense but if he stayed at my friends and found some cheap flight maybe he would. I'll never know. It doesn't matter now. What matters I couldn't let the past go and I still can't.

Keith Jarrett will give a concert this year. He's also jazz of international renown musician but I have CD with his performance of Bach's sonatas for viola da gamba and cembalo.

United in diversity vs. United in uniformity

What I miss more, however, is not comfortable, fine life, it's diversity. All people here are similar, uninteresting, ugly, ordinary, united in uniformity. In Belgium even homeless people hide some interesting stories. At least yhey look like they would. At every corner you can meet African people wearing their ethnical dresses, orthodox Jews or Muslims praying on that grass that I mentioned in my last entry. Can you imagine the situation that someone approaches you to ask what time it is and precedes the question by the other one - Do you speak polish? It happed to me once. Belgium women asked if I speak French. Diversity is a norm there. And regrettably it's exception in Poland.

Grassy grass vs. Polish grass

It's quite difficult to express why being back is so bad. The symbol which may illustrate pretty accurately the difference between living there and here is... grass. Yes, grass. And I don't mean marihuana by that. However access to the last one is also much easier in Belgium than it is in Poland.

I loved to go to Parc de Bruxelles (the one in the center) and lying on the grass in the sun. The grass was green, soft, thick and clean. Like a carpet. You really didn't need any blanket to lay on it. You will not find place like that in Poland even though we've got places which are supposed to be lawns. Usually there is no grass there, some remains of it only, which are brown, burned, full of dirt and weeds, very unpleasant and ugly. That's it. Things which could be nice and handy are not like that in Poland. Things which are supposed to be pleasant aren't like that either.

We don't have parks similar to Belgian parks. The ones we have don't look like the Belgian ones, maybe except for Łazienki Królewskie in Warsaw. One exception then, and still, I'm not sure what is the quality of the grass in there. They are dark, ugly, untended. People are rather afraid of going there since it's full of hooligans instead of being full of life, people playing, having fun and so on which is standard in Brussels.

Sad country with sad people. Not suitable for someone who prefer being cheerful.

Small phenomena

Small phenomena that Jaana shared with me. She was trying to reach higher level. She was reading, she was watching, she was listening to, trying to understand things, making afford to meet others.

Question

Polish media make so big deal of Madonna performing for the first time in Poland. Explain me, please, why they don't care about Orchestre des Champs Elysees conducted by Philippe Herreweghe performing for the first time too.