Job Discussion Forums

[McBride]

Hi there,

Anyone got any advice on these places? Anything you know v useful!

Cheers.

[anospi]

I'm working in Opole at the moment. Great little city, small, but with a handful of nice restaurants and pubs. Good if you like quiet, small cities. Not good if you like big cities. Very central for travel in the region.

There's an entry and some photos on my blog if you're interested - www.travelpod.com/members/will[/url]

[rjmacks]

I know of 5 (FIVE) teachers that have quit jobs in Opole so far this year (quite an impressive number). I can't pass judgement due to contractual obligation but I'm sure this figure tells you something about the schools/city.

[anospi]

It is a small city, and I guess it depends on your taste. Personally, I prefer smaller cities well off the tourist trail. PM me for more details.

[dtomchek]

Hello:
I cannot say anything about Opole but I can say something about Olsztyn. That too is a great little city. Big enough but small enough. Has a good kino, cheap hotels, decent rail connections, and McDonalds and KFC to boot . It is definitely one of my favorite places in all Poland. It is not too far from Keztyn (Wolf's Lair) and Gdansk. Hope this helps.

Dave

[Rusty77]

Hey "Enospi",
I read about your experiences in Opole--and about the contrasts between Poland, Ukraine, etc. on your blog--both excerpts were really interesting, thanks for the colourful info!
I too lived in a smaller city (Kalisz) during my first year in Poland, and found it had some advantages--was "the REAL" Poland, sure, for ex.: learned how to speak some Polish, felt isolated (a little too much at times!), met some really nice people, got plenty of sleep (the town shut down by 10pm most weeknights) and easily explored interesting historic sites in the area with native -Polish friends.
However, now I live in a big Polish city, and must say, on the whole, like it better: native-speaker community (one of my best friends here is Australian, by the way) is comforting, nice social atmosphere, better entertainment options, many employment opportunities, more open-minded and well-educated people, and easier travel, among other things...plus, you can still practise stepping around the" doggy-doo surprise" everyday, and deal with the occasional loud "skin-head jerk" if you miss those things about small-city Polish life...
Anyway, I have a couple of questions: how big is your school (in Opole)? Are they hiring any natives for next year? How close is Opole to winter-time downhill skiing? And, about the trip to Ukraine: is it true that you STILL need a visa for travel there if you're from outside the E.U., is it easy to get (I'm Canadian)and was is really THAT much "scarier" than Poland? Also, how did you find the ladies there?
OK, would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
Rusty

[newnnadventuress]

You are very wise to be doing some homework. I have just returned home from Opole (and am one of the notorious 5 mentioned by rjmacks)... I thought it would be a good bet for me, an arts and culture-travel-languages nut because

1) It is home to the largest German speaking minority in Poland.
2) There is a philharmonia in the city.
3) There is a university in the city.
4) It is a city.
5) It is conveniently located between Wroclaw and Krakow, on a river (I like my water and scenery) and a train ride from Berlin or Prague or Vienna.

Re the above I discovered:

1) Do not try German after failing to communicate in English. People, especially older people may even try to spit on you. (I think wounds are still fresh.)

2) I was teaching during the evenings when the philharmonia gave its concerts. For me culture is a lifeblood. When I pointed this out to my DOS she just shrugged. I also did not find other musicians with whom to play. (At home I am an amateur violist and play in quartets and local orchestras.)

3) The university is a very young uni. Something like the converted polytechnics in the UK (only this one was a teacher's college). I cannot say anything about the institution, but did not find a scholar-student community which I have come to expect from university towns (incl Wroclaw).

4) It may be a city, but I looked for 2 days to find hairslides (yes, incl in Astor AND Rossmans), you can't buy bagels and no-one quite gets that there are white Africans... But I guess this can happen anywhere. You can get a great mullet haircut, buy chleb and be told constantly what a difficult language Polish is to learn and understand.

5) It is conveniently located if you want to travel on a train for and hour and a half to get a latte. The river is pretty, but I really need mountains around me.

Yes, I am bitter!! Yes, one makes one's life experiences! I learnt a lot, met interesting people (Polish and others) and realised that where I come from actually aint that third world. I also realised I am a horrible snob, and probably have a lot to learn from life.

Please note, these are only my experiences of the town. (Where I worked warrants another posting.) If you do land up in Opole, get to know Drake, a daily dose of duze Zywiec and late night visits to the world's largest Tesco (that's when the queues are shortest).

Peace, strength and seize the adventures!

[newnnadventuress]

If you're a city person, Wroclaw might be a better bet.
If you ARE a small town person, Brzeg might be worth looking into. Yes, it's tiny, but quite a vibey place (there's even Argentinean Tango...) AND it's only 15 mins by train from Wroclaw. (Which, despite my ambiguity above, is a more cosmopolitan, bustling, studenty, vibey kindof place. Still small, but it has a soft spot and a Coffee Heaven.)

Urm, if you are Black (from Africa, or the WIndies or USA or wherever), Muslim or different in any 'non-European' way (as it was unfortunately described under that bad old regime) I would not recommend Opole, unless you are certain you want to be like the only tulip in a grey and pasty cabbage patch. I can't recall when I was surrounded by soooo many white people, and from what I gathered, most have no experience of dealing with 'outsiders'. I felt non-European, and I didn't have to worry about 'looking different'. This is in no way meant to be a racial slur, merely an observation.

No, really, if it's what you want, check it out for yourself.

(Yes, I know I don't know how to use apostrophes...) On the flipside:-

[rjmacks]

Are you saying that Polish people are cabbages?

If you are, I think you've lost the point, which I think amounted to 'Opole sucks the big one.'

You make it sound like Opole was a nightmare because of your personality/interests/Africanity (there's a nice new word for the English language). In reality, many people hated/hate that place.

And why didn't you mention it's nickname, O-hole-ay? As in shit hole.

[Rusty77]

OK "NewAdventuress",
Thanks for the input. Pretty funny reflection on your experiences. The self-deprecating analysis reflects that you're not really BITTER, I think; you just experienced that "Polish darkness" that seems to happen more easily in the smaller centres. Sounds like you took away a lot from the experience, in spite of the overall gloom. I can relate.
Perhaps I'll re-consider re-locating to Opole--especially if it's as far from the mountains as you say. I can speak Polish reasonably well, but it sounds like it might be difficult to find a private school with a favourable teaching climate for natives, which is really the most important priority for me.

[anospi]

Rusty, my school is pretty small, with 8 native speakers. They will definitely be hiring for the next academic year.

For all the good things I can say about Opole, I won't be spending another year here. That's more to do with me being the kind of person who doesn't like to settle rather than not being happy here though. I'm not really sure what I'll be doing after the summer.

I'm not sure about the visa situation for non EU citizens in Ukraine. All I'll say is it's worth the hassle. I definitely plan on going back. It's one country that warrants further exploration! As for your question about the ladies, well

[anospi]

Oops, forgot - one hour from Opole to winter downhill skiing, in Jesenik, Czech Republic.

[lobodiego]

I work in Opole and love it here. It's a great little city, with it's own character and appeal. I am coming back for another year in 2007-2008.
To respond to newnnadventuress' comments:
why would you come to any city in Poland and start speaking German? I'll admit, people have tried speaking German to me when they discovered I wasn't Polish, but I was well aware of this country's history before coming here, and was caught quite off guard.
Looking different in Opole does not only apply to white Africans. Most Polish people can tell you aren't Polish by looking at you, and opening your mouth only confirms their assumptions. Small towns everywhere, even in your home country, are full of closed minded people. You should be prepared for a little zenophobia, especially in a country that has only gained soverignty in the last 18 years.
Unfortunately, anyone whose skin is not white will stand out here, as it will in Krakow or Warsaw, or anywhere else in Poland. This is not a culturally diverse country overall, and when you get to a small town like Opole or even the Venice of the east, Brzeg, this fact is amplified. Which brings me to my next point - Brzeg is absolutely neither cosmopolitan nor bustling, especially in comparison to Opole, even with it's Argentinian Tango night....even with 7 Tango nights a week.

Anyone considering to come to Opole to work, my advice is this: come here with an open mind, and don't expect too much. Opole is a small, Polish town, and if you've been to Poland before, it's a nice place to work for a year. If you haven't been to Poland before, it's a nice way to be thrown into Polish society. You will be stared at, and people will stop their conversations to listen to you speak English, or whatever your native tongue is. But every time I leave, be it to Gdansk, Wroclaw, Dresden....I am relieved to come back home to familiarity and simplicity.

Make sure you reserve a table when you go out, even at a pub.

[Rusty77]

Anospi,
Thanks for the feedback about Opole, and about Ukraine--did you go to the Black Sea coast in Ukraine? About Opole too,sounds like an interesting place...I didn't realize it was only 1 hour from skiing (by train/bus/or car?). I was wondering: you said that your school is SMALL, but it has 8 NATIVE SPEAKERS ? Are you sure it's THAT small (I work for a LARGE, big city school, and we have only 5 NATIVES ...did you mean: 8 "English teachers?"
Rusty

[anospi]

My school is a small school. There are 9 teachers and an academic manager who also teachers. 8 of the 9 teachers are native speakers, and one is Polish.

I only made it as far as Lviv in Ukraine, unfortunately I didn't have time to keep heading east