Acceptable tattoo or cultral appropriation?

Hi all,

Just wanted your input on something, I’m and Englishman and recently visited your country on a trip with a few friends. Had a fantastic time, enjoyed the food, architecture, social and night life as well as partaking in a few other site seeing and exploring activities.

I normally try to visit a new country every year, where instead of taking a large amount of photos that get lost, I instead get a tattoo on my arm in each country and of something related or meaningful so that I can look back and remember my time and experiences on each trip.

So far I’ve gotten tattoos from Norway, Croatia, Hungary, Thailand and now Poland. A tattoo in each normally of a related symbol, animal or relevant piece of culture – as a way of expressing my appreciation toward the specific country and culture. Decided on the white tailed eagle for Poland as I love the symbolism behind it, the design and it fits nicely with my other tattoos of a similar style.

Really love the tattoo, the polish artist that did it couldn’t have been better, a genuinely beautiful part of the holiday to add. The conundrum I now have is that we were out playing cards in a local bar and a drunk lady accused me of cultural appropriation but once I explained the meaning and what I was doing with each piece seemed to back off and accept my answer. However I’m now worried that others might find it strange or offensive. What do you think?

Thank you in advance, Dziekuje!