By Dominik Dabrowski

Cześć. It’s the Polish word for Hello.
It has a couple of letters in it that English doesn’t have, so it even looks foreign.
But for me, it is familiar. And even though I grew up in America, it feels like home.

When I was young and getting to know people in my church community, Cześć was a reminder that I belonged.
When I went to a foreign country to visit cousins and grandparents, Cześć told me I was welcome.

I moved to Minneapolis 15 months ago for residency. I didn’t know anyone here. I had a lot of work at the clinic. The first few months were a bit lonely. Sure, there were my co-residents, nurses, and support staff, and having my dog helped, but it wasn’t the same.

Just as Thanksgiving passed, I heard that word again, Cześć!
“You speak our language so well! Do you want to come to our church?”
Before I knew it, I was saying Cześć every week. I even met some other doctors.
The first time I went to visit Wisconsin, where I spent Christmas Eve, and then New Year’s Eve, people were saying Cześć to me.
My first winter here was hard, but Cześć made it a little warmer.

Every so often, Cześć would come in handy in the clinic too.
I had one patient who told me about how his Polish led to his job as a contractor, and subsequently his injury, leading to my meeting him.
One another occasion, a surgeon I had never met found me and asked me a favor:
‘Our patient is ready for the operating room, but we’d like to explain to him and his family what they can expect. Can you tell them Cześć or something?’ (He did not literally ask me to say that).

Then, one day, I saw an attractive woman, and I told her Cześć! But she didn’t say it back.
Instead, she said Labrit! Which I now know is Latvian for Hello.
I guess my vocabulary and that sense of belonging have gotten a little broader. That word I keep using is a big reason why.
Now, Minneapolis feels like a second home, and Cześć really helped.