Judging by the aura outside it seems like the summer has already come to an end. My latest vacation on the Baltic sea is already part of history. I thought I would allow myself a moment of nostalgia by talking about something typically Polish when it comes to spending time on the beach.
The peculiarity I’m talking about is parawan – an indispensable beach accessory, a gadget that everyone has to be equipped with once embarking on the beach. Originally, it was meant to block the wind, which, if it is strong enough can blow the sand into the eyes and the mouth. A secondary benefit, that seems to be the most important one these days, is to allow for some intimacy and privacy on the beach. Recently, we can say that it serves as a hygiene screen too. By marking the territory and separating one’s private zone from others, it definitely taps into the idea of social distancing during the Corona times. Can parawan become a symbol of our times, as a shield against the vicious virus? Why not, time will tell.
Some people take parawaning really seriously and use it to make a sort of a homestead. Needless to say, such enclosures are considered to be a sheer example of abuse and are usually met with despise and anger.
Poles’ attitude to parawan is definitely shaped by the love and hate dynamic. Everyone who spends vacation on the Polish seaside complains about it, that it is cumbersome, and not eye-pleasing, but at the same time, everyone brings it along. Without it, it almost feels like you’re naked on the beach.
Every season, Poles like to have their annual rant about it, with a grain of salt, of course, by covering this phenomenon in the media and referring to it as parawaning. By analogy to jogging, parawaning sounds almost like a sports activity, or like shopping, it definitely bears the mark of leisure activity. All three seem to be well established in the Polish language, as the “-ing” suffix makes it so much easier to express the meaning of an activity.
By the way, not exactly on topic, but interesting to know that we hear more and more about działking, which describes spending time on działka. Działka is a sort of a garden plot, with a little hut, where people grow plants or even vegetables. It is a place where people flee from busy city life. They barbecue there, have a beer or two, or often get totally smashed. I think that the działka concept earned its prominence during the previous political system – Komuna, probably to promote an easy and affordable way to spend a weekend in “nature”, and to re-charge the batteries before another hard-working week in the city.
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