So I’m going to Warsaw

It’s been so long since I learned I’m going to Warsaw, it almost seems like a dream. So many things have happened since then and so many times I’ve said I wouldn’t go, that I almost stopped planning my stay there.

My colleague has made some phone calls to the college and it turns out things are in order and I will leave at the end of September. It’s like I won a second scholarship really, because I had given up the first time.

The truth is I’m terrified. It’s not the distance frightening me, I’ve travelled many times before, but the idea of speaking another language for five months and not understanding people in the street is .. well… frightening!

I’m starting to worry about exams there and I’m shopping for a laptop: I’m surfing the net actually looking for a good offer.

I’ve been told the Polish are hospitable but reluctant to speak in English. So I shouldn’t expect a very warm welcome from my colleagues. I hope that’s not true, I’m actually hoping for a socially rewarding experience: many people to meet, many places to see, many things to do… I want to see the country and try new things, scary things even.
I hope I’ll find an apartment to rent, it’s difficult to imagine myself not having my personal bathroom for a few months; comfort matters especially considering I will have a lot of things on my mind being far away from home. Of course I will be fine staying in the dorm as well, but I’d rather have more privacy and the conditions to invite some friends over for pancakes and a cup of tea (in the dorm there are no fridges or ovens) and enough space to throw my things all over the place.

I guess those months will pass like minutes. The first one will probablly be over before I get the chance to unpack, since there are so many things to do on arrival: paper work mostly. God, I hope I’ll feel fine there. I’m going to spend Christmas in Poland! It’s going to be the first one away from home.