Shortly after I finished graduate school, I decided to expand my horizons and travel. Since I had neither job nor family, there was little to tie me down and Ryan, a close friend of mine, kept writing to tell me to come to Poland. He was working as an English teacher in a small town in the country's southwestern corner and often wrote to tell me how much I would enjoy life in central Europe. Ryan's e mails always included details about much fun he was having and how beautiful Polish women were. He told me that he had a spare room and, once I was there, finding a job would be easy. So I packed some clothes and some books in an army surplus duffle bag and set off for Europe.
I arrived in Poland tired and hungry and after eating a quick dinner and talking to Ryan for a bit, I hastily fell asleep in my new bed. Because of my exhaustion after the long flight I slept like the proverbial baby and did not rouse even when Ryan left to go to work the next morning. I awoke in Poland groggy, jet lagged, and to an unidentifiable loud metallic buzzing sound. I was momentarily confused and quickly took stock of my surroundings in order to remember where I was and how I had gotten here. I checked my watch and discovered that it was 9am and I had slept nearly 12 hours before awakening.
I arose from the disheveled bed and lumbered towards the bathroom where I hoped to relieve myself before finding something to eat. As I ambled closer to the apartment's facilities, I noticed that the buzzing sound was growing louder, but my hazy state and need for urinary relief forced me to push such thoughts into my mind's deeper recesses. I quickly used the bathroom, washed my hands, and started to make my way towards the kitchen.
After exiting the bathroom, I turned the hallway corner and was immediately startled as I came face to face with a diminutive young woman who was vacuuming the carpet. The unexplained buzzing sound now made sense, but the tiny vacuum operator's presence did not. I looked down at the arresting young lady and estimated that she was about 5'2 and maybe 100 pounds with striking red hair and sensually pale skin. At 6'1 and 175 pounds, I felt like I towered over her and could not help but stare at her small sexy body. She was dressed in a tight grey tank top that nicely displayed her highly toned physique. Her small breasts sensually pressed again the shirt's fabric and her pale eyes and even paler skin were so mesmerizing that I had difficulty focusing on the situation at hand. Social conventions dictated that I introduce myself, find out who she was, and engage her in conversation, but a combination of surprise and lust has rendered my higher level cognitive abilities nearly useless.
Fortunately, she apparently did not suffer the same malady and abruptly inquired, "Who are you?"
I stared at her pouty lips as she voiced the question. Her words were deeply accented, aggressive, and sharp and her voice was surprisingly authoritative for someone so small, fragile-looking, and beautiful. I could already tell that her jagged words could quickly become weapons with even a hint of provocation.
Regaining my faculties, I replied, "I'm Steven. I'm living here with Ryan now and you are?"
"I am Magda. I clean apartment," she answered while blatantly looking me over. Her penetrating stare appeared to be almost territorial and her face revealed no hint of affability.
"I just got here from the U.S. and you are the first Polish person I've met," I ventured, hoping to turn the conversation into a pleasant direction.
She looked at me with seemingly little interest and replied, "Ok, I finishing cleaning."
She then turned around and continued vacuuming the rug. I stared at her back for a moment as I tried to reconcile my feelings of bewilderment and slight anger.
Did she really have no interest in speaking to me whatsoever? How could I have failed to make even the smallest impression on her and why did it bother me? I had just met her but I wanted to know her. Rarely does one awaken to a beautiful young stranger in his apartment and I was determined to take advantage of this situation. So, I helped her finish cleaning the apartment and used the opportunity to make small talk and learn about her. I found out that she was 18 years old and a senior in high school. (I was 31 and had attended my ten year high school reunion when she was 15.) She was hoping to go to college in Krakow and wanted to travel the world. We talked about her taste in music, films, and books, as I took every possible opportunity to flirt. Magda had a boyfriend who had left the previous year to attend a university in Warsaw; the distance had cooled the relationship and was making her rethink what she wanted. The stunning young beauty was cleaning Ryan's apartment because she needed the money to travel to Croatia for a summer vacation.
