This past semester was Matthew’s first foray into the world of teaching English as a second language. It’s not just a means to a visa, but a great way to meet new people and collect some funny / awkward stories along the way. Arguably, the hardest part of teaching is not laughing when you want… Read More ESL Adventures
We’ve learned to be cautiously optimistic when Polish office workers use words like “promise” and “guarantee”. Instead we expect flexibility. We were promised a decision about our temporary residency applications by June 15th. If by decision they meant bumping their decision date back a month and asking for more documents from us, then yes we… Read More Zobaczymy jak to będzie
In the run-up to EURO 2012, host nations Poland and Ukraine have been working hard to put their best foot forward. There are several coats of fresh paint on everything in Warsaw and not a single skyscraper has been left naked as banners hang from towers around the downtown core. Meanwhile, the BBC has put… Read More Stadiums of Hate?
We tip our hats to Norse culture for giving us the word “saga” – a long story involving dramatic events…sounds just like our journey towards obtaining temporary residency. On Monday Matthew went with a lawyer to Urząd Wojewódzki in Bydgoszcz, the state capital of Kujwasko-Pomorskie, to submit his application for Karta Pobytu (temporary residency). Last… Read More No Temporary Residency = Temporarily Unwelcome
Sticking with our Bambi vs. Godzilla analogy, it’s safe to say that Bambi is on the ropes and Godzilla is working the torso. Feeling like we’d done all we could, we met with a firm that specializes in Polish hoop jumping for foreigners (otherwise known as paperwork). Bringing in the big guns got us more… Read More Bambi’s on the Ropes
In the world of hoops to jump through, I’s to dot, T’s to cross and forms to fill-out in triplicate, Poland’s bureaucratic machine is a predator like none other. We’ve stepped into the ring as a contender and have been knocked around trying to register our car (score one for Poland), get Zameldowanie (score one… Read More Bambi vs. Godzilla
“Some things you just have to experience” is one of the most unsatisfying answers in the history of sub-par responses and yet it is true. There are life experiences that are nearly impossible to convey in words to those who have yet to share that experience. It’s quite an extensive list actually: the haunting (in… Read More What’s with the Parenting References?
Canadians try to out-polite one another. In the Middle East, people see who can offer the longest, most poetic greeting. In Poland, maintaining a certain level of discontentment seems to be a national past-time and there are some real experts out there. “Ale” is the worst and most over-used word in the Polish language. It… Read More You Can’t Pronounce it, but Włocławek is Apathetic About that Too
“I know where you live” is never a statement you want to hear while sitting in a stranger’s car, but we get it semi-regularly. In a flat country subject to the brisk Baltic blast where cab fare is more than affordable, taxis are a lovely alternative on cold Polish days. Not being on any tourist… Read More City Mouse / Medium-Sized Industrial Town Mouse
Parenthood welcomes you like one giant, exhilarating, stupendous punch in the face. On December 20th at 08:42 we joined the ranks of parents. In just a few moments an entire piece of our identity changed when we welcomed Daxon Reid Price into the world. Despite the lack of sleep, we’re bonding with the little human.… Read More The Welcome to Parenthood List
the price post 