Poland as paradise
When she's living in Poland, Poland is obvious and pleasant, but normal. When she leaves, she realizes in memories and flashbacks how beautiful Poland really was to her, and how much she loved her life there. She pictures Poland as paradise, realizing that she might never return to the life that shaped her, the one she came to love once it was gone. Poland's imagery is a signal to the reader that, to Hoffman, Poland is a lost Eden.
Canadian life and imagery
Canada is described in beautiful writing, but Hoffman's experience there was transitory and stressful. She had to learn a new language (one of the most difficult ones to learn, by the way), and Canada is the backdrop for that process. She engages Canada as a half-formed person, still adjusting and growing, getting used to her new normal. She is not Canadian, so to her, Canada is a kind of purgatory where she is safe, but often very challenged by life.
Houston and its imagery
The imagery of Houston is huge buildings spread across more land than most visitors would believe. To travel from one side of the city to another is an all day kind of process, and the city is stuffed with diversity. She begins to feel at home, understanding the cultural blending to be a welcoming one, but still—Houston is sometimes excruciatingly hot and humid, and she doesn't know what to do next. Houston is so very different than anywhere she lived, but she starts to feel at home.
Education, literature, and words
The imagery of the book focuses on the aesthetic experience Hoffman had with language throughout her life. The sounds of language were well-trained in her ears, because she had to hear Polish, French, English, German. She has to approach English to learn it, and she describes the scenery attached to that journey. Her journey of words and language helps her decide on a future in Boston, at Harvard. She is accepted, which is a picture of her limited, youthful mastery.
