So I am heading home in 20 days. I thought I would share my views on life in Poland and any advice I can give to fellow Scots heading over here in the long term.
I have loved my time here. The people are so friendly and so helpful. The highlight being my trip to Rabka for Christmas. My friend knew I was going to be alone and so invited me off to the mountains where I was welcomed into the family and made to feel right at home. Even though I was struggling with the language and the customs were so different to me (not only being non-Polish, but non-catholic as well) I was helped and offered all sorts of delicious items. If anyone gets the chance of attending a good family Christmas then I would reccommend it!
Another highlight (although also low point) has been my work. A place where I met all sorts of people who were so friendly and eager to help me when things didn't go quite right, or if I needed advice about anything.
I found Krakow to be a great city for a foreigner as it is very tourist prepared. It means that when I run out of Polish I can apologise and people can speak english to me. Also the beauty of the city is incredible. I love just walking when it gets dark through the ancient city just looking at all the buildings. Couple that with a great transport system. Coming from the UK it's very strange that when my tram says it will leave at 1452 that it will...near enough to the second every day. Which is handy when planning days and nights.
All in all I will definately come back to this city to work and live, I have really felt at home here. However in future I will keep in mind a few things that I have learned that will be mistakes not to be repeated. For example I will be more organised on arrival. Instead of making sure I had permanent accommodation and all my paperwork (NIP, Bank Account, etc) fully sorted within the first few days. I decided to treat it like a holiday and spend time with some girl. Meaning that when I got down to work and she dissapeared I had the struggle of doing it all myself with no help from this girl and with limited time due to work commitments. I would also make more of an effort before I leave to get my TEFL course and stuff in order to get something a bit better paid. Instead of taking a risk and changing career I stuck with what I knew and ended up with something which has inevitably been my downfall. Struggling to pay rent, going out after work meaning not being able to eat until your next set of decent tips. So go out there, don't be worried about being out of place, go for the best you can and don't just settle for what you know.
So, basically I just wanted to say to all the people who spout abuse about Poland and it's people that they have obviously just had a bad experience or have not been open. I have had 3 really good months, sure it was a struggle for money, I sometimes had language troubles and sometimes wasn't all that happy. But all in all I am glad I came. I have learned a lot and, when I return, I will no doubt be in a position to stay a lot longer.
I have loved my time here. The people are so friendly and so helpful. The highlight being my trip to Rabka for Christmas. My friend knew I was going to be alone and so invited me off to the mountains where I was welcomed into the family and made to feel right at home. Even though I was struggling with the language and the customs were so different to me (not only being non-Polish, but non-catholic as well) I was helped and offered all sorts of delicious items. If anyone gets the chance of attending a good family Christmas then I would reccommend it!
Another highlight (although also low point) has been my work. A place where I met all sorts of people who were so friendly and eager to help me when things didn't go quite right, or if I needed advice about anything.
I found Krakow to be a great city for a foreigner as it is very tourist prepared. It means that when I run out of Polish I can apologise and people can speak english to me. Also the beauty of the city is incredible. I love just walking when it gets dark through the ancient city just looking at all the buildings. Couple that with a great transport system. Coming from the UK it's very strange that when my tram says it will leave at 1452 that it will...near enough to the second every day. Which is handy when planning days and nights.
All in all I will definately come back to this city to work and live, I have really felt at home here. However in future I will keep in mind a few things that I have learned that will be mistakes not to be repeated. For example I will be more organised on arrival. Instead of making sure I had permanent accommodation and all my paperwork (NIP, Bank Account, etc) fully sorted within the first few days. I decided to treat it like a holiday and spend time with some girl. Meaning that when I got down to work and she dissapeared I had the struggle of doing it all myself with no help from this girl and with limited time due to work commitments. I would also make more of an effort before I leave to get my TEFL course and stuff in order to get something a bit better paid. Instead of taking a risk and changing career I stuck with what I knew and ended up with something which has inevitably been my downfall. Struggling to pay rent, going out after work meaning not being able to eat until your next set of decent tips. So go out there, don't be worried about being out of place, go for the best you can and don't just settle for what you know.
So, basically I just wanted to say to all the people who spout abuse about Poland and it's people that they have obviously just had a bad experience or have not been open. I have had 3 really good months, sure it was a struggle for money, I sometimes had language troubles and sometimes wasn't all that happy. But all in all I am glad I came. I have learned a lot and, when I return, I will no doubt be in a position to stay a lot longer.