Job Discussion Forums

scottie1113 · Joined: 25 Oct 2004 Posts: 375 Location: Gdansk

I didn't suggest going to Germany. It's in the zone and going there would do you no good. I said maybe Ukraine, but I really don't know. Maybe dyno does.

I've lived in a lot of places in the US but call the San Diego area. I doubt that I'll ever go back except to visit.

pila · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Cambridge, MA

oops. my apologies for the confusion!

biffinbridge · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 701 Location: Frank's Wild Years

Is getting a Green Card any easier? Just wondering....

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

scottie's tactic is absolutely useless these days regardless of how far you travel. You have to STAY OUT for 90 days. A trip to Ukraine or anywhere else won't work.

scottie1113 · Joined: 25 Oct 2004 Posts: 375 Location: Gdansk

Thanks spiral. I didn't know that but someone at my school sugested it to me as a way "beat the system". Guess it won't work. My question is why? Is Poland afraid of being inundated with folks from non EU countries? I'm afraid I just don't get it.

YakTamer · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 86 Location: Warszawa, Polska

ratsareeatingmybrain · Joined: 19 Jul 2007 Posts: 35 Location: lisbon

As I understand it, you'd have to stay out of the Schengen zone for a full 90 days for it to 'start all over'. I'm sure I read that you can't be in the zone for more than 90 out of 180 days until your stuff's sorted.

This was all dealt with a few weeks ago, so if you scroll down the Poland page you're bound to find it.

What Dynow says about variations between different offices in Poland (tax, visa, anything) is 100% true, by the by. It's a complete lottery, it's infuriating but that's just the way it has been and is. Things have been changing so fast i guess that noone's got the foggiest what's going on.

In Krakow, the visa office in the foreign affairs building used to be in a room number 103 (not quite 101, but near enough) and whenever you went there, outside you met a group of people looking just as lost and helpless as you, with no idea of when or if they would get seen, and a stream of employees going up and down the hall as fast as they could desperately trying to avoid getting captured by one of us. You could be there 5 hours and get nothing done. They've moved it all downstairs now and it's better organised than it used to be, but the information gaps are still the same.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

scottie1113 · Joined: 25 Oct 2004 Posts: 375 Location: Gdansk

Thanks for the clarifications. It's moot, as I pick up my residency card tomorrow. Finally.

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

Pila,

Not trying to scare you away, but at my school in Gdansk non-Polish female teachers didn't seem to want to stay for too long. We had three who left after less than six months. One even broke her contract to leave. Now at my old school in Gdansk we only have one Finnish female teacher (aside from the female Polish teachers).

I have a funny feeling her days may be numbered.

pila · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Cambridge, MA

mastershake-- did they give any indications of why they were leaving? hmmm..makes one wonder...

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

All of the female teachers at any of the schools that I've ever worked at all left for the same reasons... Poland is too dark, grey, drab; Polish men aren't attractive; wasting time here.

A lot of the "career teflers" left for more exotic areas like the Far East, Southern Europe or somewhere in Central America.

You said that you like it here though so you should be fine.

dynow · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080

pila · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 15 Location: Cambridge, MA

This is really interesting information. I guess the reason I asked in the first place was that I suspected this to be the case. I do love Poland, and coming from a cold, dark and oftentimes unpleasant place (Northern New England) I'm use to the weather and the vibe of that climate. That said, I've been concerned that it will be hard for me as a woman.

I don't speak Polish, I do have family in the country (whom I don't know) but the prospect of being single for however long I intend to stay there is a little disheartening (and I don't anticipate my American boyfriend wanting to make the move.) Still, there is such a draw for me. I just don't know if I should consider other places to teach as well.

And marrying rich is never going to happen to this girl Wink

sparks · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 632

You said that you've been here before, so I guess that you have some idea about what it's like. As long as you don't have unrealistic expectations it will at least be a learning experience. I think that even for guys it takes at least a few years to really find your place and feel truly comfotable here. Learning the language well helps a lot, as does getting involved in other things besides hanging out in bars.

Give it a chance,