Tuesday, September 26, 2006
IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER
Okay. So it's not a van but I will be living near the river! Very psyched. Maja and I talked to the directors at school and they said that we'll be moving to a new flat that's much better than the one we're at now (which is not bad). We'll be living with Carrie and we'll be farther away but it's supposedly a really nice. Went to Nutricia today to have interviews with new business English students. That was interesting since I have no experience interviewing for placement. It was good though. I had a few people that were really nervous and I felt so bad. I tried my best to make them comfortable but I know how I am when I get like that. Forget it. Then Maja and I headed out to get my sim lock removed on my phone and grab lunch. On our way back we met a young guy advertising for English tutoring. He's Polish but his English is ridiculously good. He's studying to be an interpreter. We talked with him for a while and now we're about to head back and make some dinner. I'm so ready to just relax and not walk/stand for a while.
Monday, September 25, 2006
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
So I'm finally here but I'm not fully settled in. I can't wait till I am though. Things are good. I'm starting to hyperventilate that I'm actually a teacher. Maja and I saw the rooms today and I can't believe I'm going to be at the front of one next week. I have to come up with some killer plans. Just breathe. Keep reminding myself.
Saw my apartment, well kinda. Maja picked me up from the train station last night and I just stayed in the extra room in her flat. I'm not sure if that's going to be my room for the long run though.
So yesterday. (Or was it yesterday and the day before as well??) I'm going into grave detail regarding my trip so I can see just how much time I spent doing whatever yesterday. I think of it as therapy, or like breaking up with a boyfriend - I think I need to relive it one more time to really let it go.
First off, my flight. I left Rochester at 2:30 on Saturday. Headed into DC at 4ish and then left there at 5:45. There was a buzz around the airline that they overbooked but luckily, I was not affected. Then it was on to the 8 or so hour flight from DC to Vienna where I was praying I didn't need a transit VISA. I didn't get much sleep at all because I stupidly crashed on the flight from Rochester and was unable to sleep again after that. I finally arrived to Vienna at 9 or so in the morning on Sunday. From there, I had to sit in the airport until 1:30 when my flight left to Krakow. I was starting to get hungry and thirsty but I'd already gone through baggage check and didn't know if I should go back. I thought twice about it and was about to gather my bags to go when I realized I didn't have any Austria $$ (Euros??) and didn't want to exchange the only US $$ I had ($50 bills) for a bottle of water. So I opted to sit at the gate (benches, not padded seats like the US) and wait for my flight.
So I flew into Krakow at 2:30 and luckily, you don't have to pay for those little wheelie things to put your luggage on. I grabbed one of those bad boys and carted my stuff to the nearest taxi. The guy spoke as much English as I did Polish and I finally figured out that he was asking me if I wanted to just have a taxi ride to Opole rather than to the train station. He quoted me 150 zl which would have been a great deal had I known someone to call when I got here and had I known he was going to charge me 90 zl just to go to the train station anyhow. Well, that didn't work out so to the train station I went with ALL my bags which was a feat in itself. Luckily, my friend Maria gave me explicit directions as to what train to take and when. I bought my ticket after not being able to understand the woman at the ticket booth (I later figured out she was trying to tell me what time the train left) and then got so frustrated that when I tried to do the little kick that I do to grab all my bags and cart them around, I broke my heel on my boots. So, I changed shoes and sat around, ate some weird hot dog and waited around some more for the train. It finally came and as I was throwing my bags onto the train (literally), a gentleman came off the train to help me with my last monstrous bag that was nearly impossible for me to throw on there. At that point, I just threw it all into the nearby cubby hole and just sat in there. It was like a little closet area on the passageway between train cars. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy but what could I do? I wasn't about to attempt bringing all my bags around just to see that there weren't any seats available.
So I rode the train from Krakow to Opole, which was about 3 hours, without knowing what was going to happen at the end. It was getting dark and the train stations we were passing were like something out of a bad movie. I was starting to get really nervous and think that I was going to have to sleep on top of my luggage in the station. When the train finally stopped, I threw all my stuff off it and as I gathered it up, saw Maja walking towards me. I almost cried. I was so overtired and just done with the day; it was nice to know I was going to have some place to sleep and shower.
Saw my apartment, well kinda. Maja picked me up from the train station last night and I just stayed in the extra room in her flat. I'm not sure if that's going to be my room for the long run though.
So yesterday. (Or was it yesterday and the day before as well??) I'm going into grave detail regarding my trip so I can see just how much time I spent doing whatever yesterday. I think of it as therapy, or like breaking up with a boyfriend - I think I need to relive it one more time to really let it go.
First off, my flight. I left Rochester at 2:30 on Saturday. Headed into DC at 4ish and then left there at 5:45. There was a buzz around the airline that they overbooked but luckily, I was not affected. Then it was on to the 8 or so hour flight from DC to Vienna where I was praying I didn't need a transit VISA. I didn't get much sleep at all because I stupidly crashed on the flight from Rochester and was unable to sleep again after that. I finally arrived to Vienna at 9 or so in the morning on Sunday. From there, I had to sit in the airport until 1:30 when my flight left to Krakow. I was starting to get hungry and thirsty but I'd already gone through baggage check and didn't know if I should go back. I thought twice about it and was about to gather my bags to go when I realized I didn't have any Austria $$ (Euros??) and didn't want to exchange the only US $$ I had ($50 bills) for a bottle of water. So I opted to sit at the gate (benches, not padded seats like the US) and wait for my flight.
So I flew into Krakow at 2:30 and luckily, you don't have to pay for those little wheelie things to put your luggage on. I grabbed one of those bad boys and carted my stuff to the nearest taxi. The guy spoke as much English as I did Polish and I finally figured out that he was asking me if I wanted to just have a taxi ride to Opole rather than to the train station. He quoted me 150 zl which would have been a great deal had I known someone to call when I got here and had I known he was going to charge me 90 zl just to go to the train station anyhow. Well, that didn't work out so to the train station I went with ALL my bags which was a feat in itself. Luckily, my friend Maria gave me explicit directions as to what train to take and when. I bought my ticket after not being able to understand the woman at the ticket booth (I later figured out she was trying to tell me what time the train left) and then got so frustrated that when I tried to do the little kick that I do to grab all my bags and cart them around, I broke my heel on my boots. So, I changed shoes and sat around, ate some weird hot dog and waited around some more for the train. It finally came and as I was throwing my bags onto the train (literally), a gentleman came off the train to help me with my last monstrous bag that was nearly impossible for me to throw on there. At that point, I just threw it all into the nearby cubby hole and just sat in there. It was like a little closet area on the passageway between train cars. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy but what could I do? I wasn't about to attempt bringing all my bags around just to see that there weren't any seats available.
So I rode the train from Krakow to Opole, which was about 3 hours, without knowing what was going to happen at the end. It was getting dark and the train stations we were passing were like something out of a bad movie. I was starting to get really nervous and think that I was going to have to sleep on top of my luggage in the station. When the train finally stopped, I threw all my stuff off it and as I gathered it up, saw Maja walking towards me. I almost cried. I was so overtired and just done with the day; it was nice to know I was going to have some place to sleep and shower.
Monday, September 11, 2006
VISA ISSUES
I'm waiting for my work promise certificate. As it stands now, I'm supposed to be in Opole in just a matter of weeks and I still don't have my VISA. I'm waiting to get my certificate from Poland (it was sent at the end of August) and then I have to send that, my VISA application, and my passport to the consulate in NYC. From there, it's supposed to take ten business days for me to get my VISA back in the mail. I'm waiting until I (at least) have the certificate before attempting to book any flights as I'm nervous to have to leave and not have even my passport to get on the plane.
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