Becoming One of Them

The more events I attended, the more I realized that Kraków had a way of attracting people like me—those who had left home searching for something, even if they didn’t know what it was.

Through Couchsurfing meetings and language exchanges, I started meeting expats from all over—Italians, Brazilians, Germans, Turks, and Americans like Jake. Each one had a story, a reason why they ended up here. Some had come for studies, others for work, and some just never left after a spontaneous trip.

At first, I listened more than I spoke, observing how effortlessly they navigated conversations. They talked about past adventures, next destinations, and lessons learned from mistakes they didn’t regret. It made me question my own thoughts—was I still the girl who overanalyzed everything? Or was I slowly becoming one of them, someone who flowed with life instead of trying to control it?

One evening, I was at a networking event in a bar tucked away in a small alley. The kind of place you wouldn’t find unless someone showed you. The crowd was different this time—older, more experienced professionals mixed with digital nomads working on startups. I wasn’t sure if I belonged there.

That’s when Luca, an Italian expat, started talking to me. He worked remotely, hopping between countries every few months. “So, what do you do?” he asked.

I told him about my job, my blog, and how I was still figuring things out.

“You should come to our mastermind group,” he said. “It’s just a small group of people who share ideas, help each other grow.”

A few months ago, I would’ve declined. I would’ve thought, Who am I to join a group like that? But something in me had shifted. Without overthinking, I said, “Why not?”

Not every encounter was inspiring, though. Some were just… exhausting. Like the guy at one of the language exchanges who couldn’t grasp the concept that I wasn’t interested.

“I feel like we have a connection,” he said, his confidence unwavering.

I smiled, the same polite smile I had mastered by now. “I’m here to meet people, not date.”

Instead of backing off, he laughed. “That’s what they all say at first.”

There was a time when this would have made me uncomfortable, when I would have looked for an excuse to leave. But I wasn’t that girl anymore.

I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “And yet, somehow, they all still mean it.” Then I walked away.

It was a small moment, but in that instant, I knew I had grown. The old me would’ve let it slide, worried about being too direct. The new me? She had boundaries and didn’t apologize for them.

Weeks passed, and suddenly, Kraków didn’t feel foreign anymore. My circle of acquaintances had expanded. Some connections faded, others deepened. I wasn’t sure when it happened, but one night, as I sat in a café with a mix of new and old friends, talking about nothing and everything, I felt something unexpected.

I felt at home.

Maybe it wasn’t about the city itself, but about the version of myself I was becoming. The one who took chances, who joined mastermind groups, who didn’t let random guys dictate her comfort level.

I had come to Kraków searching for something. And maybe, just maybe, I had found it—not in a job, not in a person, but in myself.