So it's hit me too, isolation in Poland

emm ... you know what i meant to say.

Sitting in the pub is always a favourite.

Although now summer is here, sitting in the old town having a beer and watching people go by is also a damn good option. As is propping up the bar in Essense trying Danny's latest concoction, or doing the same in Sense necking your own body weight in Ginger Rose vodka. And it's Bar Below's fourth birthday party soon too!

I suppose you could always try the traditional expat cliches too: Hash House Harriers, International Women's Group, Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.

I dont think you can cure homesickness by hanging out with other expats. I think you are better off trying to meet some Polish friends and get to know the city through them. Otherwise you might end up drowning your sorrows with other expats.

To answer your question: I'm in a tiny village outside of Zamosc. I lived in Warsaw and in Siedlce. I'm liking the country life. Excited to get chickens tomorrow:) he he he.

The thing is, what is 'normal' homesickness? In these cases you were amongst people who were roughly the same culture 9can I use the words 'culture' and 'Birmingham' in the same sentence?) and probably operated on the same wavelength a lot.

I've lived abroad, in varying levels of isolation, and one of the tings I miss isn't food, people, TV etc... it's the chance to talk rubbish. Many of my Polish friends think I always have wonderful, intelligent conversation (or at least that's what they tell me) but what I really want to do is talk utter rubbish and stupid, pointless conversation.

Hard to do in another language or with folk who don't necessarily get it in a second language. Some jokes or comments just don't work.

Also, there is the point that you can't always find someone to off-load on (ah, the joy of the internet!) and if you try it with your local colleagues they might think something is wrong, that they've done something, when it is not necessarily anything big.

This is all very true Trevek.

Esp the point about Birmingham.

So here are a couple of things. I have memorised my new mobile number and can say it in Polish. I'm starting to understand now what people might be saying (not always perfectly but enough to start to get by). And TVP Info seems familiar and comforting, at least a little :)

My Hero! I can never remember mine... as I tell folk, "sorry, I never ring myself!"

It's a miracle :) I only know it cos of work, really. lol

Where exactly are you go find an expat hangout.

Warsaw - that's not why I posted here tho SRK. Even in my first post I mentioned getting over "the hump" - what is actually helping more is going to the gym and accepting that there is no longer a clear and obvious path of progression (i.e. that the relationship I was in is now definitely over, because I made this choice to come do what I am doing, and it was the right choice for sure). This is called being alive :) If I meet only expats then I am not REALLY living here but I might actually do that from time to time when I need to share my sense of British humour, lol.

I think it was "Auf Wiedersehn, Pet" where they end up working amongst ex-pats in Spain. One character, Oz, I think, says ,"Typical ex-pats... spend all their time trying to escape the misery of home and when they do they spend all their time trying to recreate it!"

Well, if your British humour wants to challenge my French sense of humour in Warsaw, well, I'm your man ! By the way what are you doing in Warsaw ?

What are half the people doing here? Teaching English :)

OK you're on :) My French is terrible though.

I took the weeds route and I ran back home to Ireland when I got homesick, biggest mistake of my life.

Thats a shame revorisimo...any chance you can reverse the decision and come back..

I dunno really bc we just bought home here in Dublin. Im going for one week to Krakow in October and usually go several times year to Warsaw but we intend to build house in Poland near my gf family home, but we are waiting for paperwork to come through, as soon as it does we were thinking to move there for a year to oversea the build, when this will be I dont know, maybe next few years. Where you from VN Dunne?