When I was a little child, I became fascinated by a distant hill that looked like a mountain and dreamed of reaching it. Years later, I organized a small expedition with knives, binoculars, a Russian monocular, and provisionsâkompot, pierogies, bacon bits called skwarkiâand set out on a long trek. Along the way I spotted mice, rabbits, deer, and wild boars; I crossed a river by leaping across a narrow spot, navigated a wheat field, and eventually reached trees I named âRain Makersâ that became my shelter and friends. The journey taught me perseverance, inspired my early learning of English and German, and even helped me develop basic programming skills on a Commodore 64. Measuring the round-trip distance with a meter gave about 2.03 miles (3.26 km), proving the adventure was indeed far but wholly worth it, as it began with that first daring stepâand perhaps a bottle of kompot.






















