Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My First Days in Zory

So much has happened in the past few days, I don't even know where to begin. But here are a few things I have learned so far...

1) While at the bank, if you don't drink coffee while waiting for all the paperwork....they offer you beer.

2) It is tradition to have a house-warming party.

3) The washing machine has "flaps" you have to close before you can close the top lid.

and 4) I don't think I will ever be able to remember how to say "thank you" in Polish.

Of course I will eventually learn. Every time I hear it....I can repeat it back perfectly. I just can't remember it 10 minutes later. I do have the equivalent of "thanks" down though. So now I don't have to appear as a deaf mute when I go purchase a bottle of water or a piwo (beer) at the local shop. I used to just smile at her. Now I can say thanks. I was told that if I said "thank you" in English that almost everyone will understand that. But I WILL remember how to say it.

As for the beer at the bank....that was a special circumstance. The bank manager is good friends with Paul and Agnieszka (one of my new bosses and his wife) and it was a social visit as well as me becoming a new client of the bank.

So far I have: opened a bank account, registered at city hall, have a cell phone number (but still need to actually buy the phone), have the internet hooked up, and gone grocery shopping. A few more things I still have to do though...but thanks to Agnieszka I have a translator for everything and she knows what we need to do. She even taught me how to use the washing machine in my apartment. Who knew there were "flaps" that close down over the clothes. I get it now though....it is for the spin cycle. Since the basin of the machine is so small it spins more like a Ferris Wheel and not around in a circle.

 My overall impressions of Zory (there is a dot over the Z to give it a Jah sound....but I am not able to make that symbol on my American laptop....or if I can, I don't know how to do it) are great. I love it. It is clean and super cute. The people are very friendly....even though I can't communicate with them. (There are more pictures on Facebook, and more coming soon.) I love all the beer gardens and pubs on the main square and the cobble-stone streets.

My apartment is great. It is close to the city center/market square and work (well, the school is on the main square). The bathroom is lime green. At first I thought it was going to be a little bright....but I love it. I love how bright it is. It is small, but it has everything I need. The rest of the apartment is very open, light, bright, and airy. It is small (only 356 sq ft), but has everything I need. The mattress is on the floor...but I will be getting a frame soon. The feature wall is bright yellow with some zebra squares (they are panels that had a peel off backing and are arranged on the wall). The zebra squares are not my favorite...but are growing on me. But the big windows, morning sun, and balcony more than compensate for any decorating flaws.





Also, as I expected, no garbage disposal. I will have to get used to not putting the rest of dinner down the sink. The dumpster is also a bit of a hike....so taking out the trash in the winter won't be much fun, but I'll survive.

As I get settled I will update with more specific stories and experiences. So much has been happening it is hard to get my head around everything. I do have a journal going...so I am making note of it all. But I wanted to get something going to let everyone know I am here and doing well!

And I will let you know about a house-warming party......

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are settling in beautifully!

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  2. It really has been a pretty smooth transition. Everything has met or exceeded my expectations. I hope Seoul goes as well for you!

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  3. Hi..czesc Jana..so happy to see that you are settling into your new location and teaching job. I can' wait to hear about your classes! Anne

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  4. The only way I've learned to write Polish letters is cutting and pasting from Wikipedia or Google. I imagine people smarter than me can tell you short cuts for getting characters, but I'm pretty useless at these things. It's why I chose a place to live that doesn't have any of those letters... John.

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