Magdalena Gawronska

Life was good in Poland. In her early 20s, during her maternity leave with her first baby, she, her husband and baby boy decided to come to Mid Ulster to visit family who lived here. It was summer time, they loved being here and actually never left!

It seems like this all came as quite a surprise to Magdalena as coming to live here had not been on their radar at all. That summer she attended classes to learn English and thought they might stay a few months, then perhaps extend their stay for a year. 19 years later they are very settled and happy, own their own home and can’t imagine living anywhere else. County Tyrone is now home. Although Magdalena still sees herself very definitely as a Polish woman and is proud of her culture and country she has integrated into life here and has many friends from other countries as well as local people.

Her best friend is another Polish woman, Dagmara. Dagmara’s family came to live here at a similar time to Magdalena’s family. When Magdalena was busy at classes and working, Dagmara’s mum was her baby sitter. The women have held on to their friendship for many years and both speak about how special it is to have someone from your country who has become more like a sister than a friend. They speak Polish together and have a shared cultural heritage.

She explains how her town is a very friendly, quiet place to live. This is important to her and her family and especially as her boys have been accepted growing up in NI. The family still speak Polish at home generally, although she laughs that their language is kind of a mix of Polish and English and the boys have Tyrone accents! It is important that the family’s mother tongue is preserved and Polish is still spoken as her family and the children’s grand parents and wider family still live there. They visit regularly and although the standard of living has improved greatly in Poland, for now Magdalena and her family have no plans to return. The boys are at school and college and doing well.

She works hard juggling a full time job as a classroom assistant and mum. She loves her job and her understanding and experience of coming to live here from Poland is obviously really valuable as she tells us the primary school where she works has probably 25% children from other countries. The town she now calls home is quiet, where people from other countries are welcomed and made to feel at home. There hasn’t been discrimination or racial challenges from her point of view and experience and she is very grateful and welcomes the diversity and multi-cultural growth in the area where she lives.

She explains: “working with children has always brought me a lot of joy. What my job at school gives me is truly special, it is my passion. I love working with children. I not only support them in learning but I also try to make their days happier and more positive. I believe that when a child feels happy and safe they are more willing to learn and are able to absorb new skills much more easily.”

Customs and traditions are still very important to Magdalena and the family try to celebrate significant holidays as they would have in Poland. Christmas Eve is a highlight of the year. They wait for the first star to appear signaling the start of dinner, a 12 dish feast. The “First Star” (Gwiazdka) commemorates the Star of Bethlehem and birth of Jesus. Especially when the children were young they often watched the sky in expectation and excitement as this marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations. This reminds Magdalena of home.

When it comes to Polish traditions, Magdalena and her husband try to show and explain where they come from – “We try to create small Polish moments in our everyday life – like when we visit my parents and spend time talking and being together.”

One of the traditions she has brought from Poland is celebrating Children’s Day on 1st June. “We always try to spend this day with our children, for example by going bowling or having a meal together in our favourite restaurant. We celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in a similar way but the dates in Poland and Ireland are different, this means we celebrate twice- hurray!!”
Like many Polish families, Fat Thursday, just before Lent begins is a day worth celebrating, a day when eating donuts is a must!
When she has time, she likes to cook traditional food from scratch but it’s not always practical when you live a very busy life although the Sunday dinner is a highlight for the family!

When Magdalena isn’t juggling work and family life she loves to walk, hike and visit parks and places of natural beauty with her family and their dog.

Probably if she had stayed in Poland she would have continued to work in her family’s business. Coming to NI has opened up opportunities and experiences she could never have imagined for both her and her family. Reflecting on this has been helpful for her and reminiscing on childhood memories and her life in Poland –“Most of the time we are busy, just getting on with life and we don’t stop and take time to think just how far we have come.”

“What would I say to my younger self – don’t be afraid of change. The difficult moments won’t break you – they shape you. I know I made the right choice by choosing Ireland as my home and my place in the world. This is where I feel happy, surrounded by my loved ones and my friends.”

It is very evident Magdalena is settled, content and happy with her life here and her encourage to others would be to be brave, don’t limit yourself, stay open to change and possibility. She of course misses her family, but life is good.