Hello! I know, it's been a long time. Too long. It's because, these days, when I'm not working, I'm either... working (at my other job), or trying to answer the million and one questions that come up when you're planning to move almost 5000 miles away from your home. And they're not necessarily the questions you'd think. If I had a nickel for every time I'd had this conversation (or one roughly similar to it), I wouldn't need a job in Poland:
"So, you're really moving to Poland?"
"Yep. Only 26 more days until I leave. I'm really excited!"
"So do you speak Polish?"
"I'm learning. It's a pretty tough language."
"So how are you going to talk to people?"
"Well, in a big city like Wrocław, a lot of people speak English. For the ones who don't, I'll use my limited Polish and a whole lot of pantomiming. Once I'm there, I'll learn it. I'll probably have no choice."
"So are you scared?"
"No. A little nervous. Scared of what?"
"Living alone?"
"Nope. Done that before."
"Being so far away from family?"
"Nope. I'll miss them, of course. But it's not scary."
"Being a single woman in a foreign country?"
"As opposed to being a single woman in the US?"
etc., etc.
I'm going to tell you what really keeps me up at night. Come closer, it's a secret. It's all the stupid little things. And not because I'm afraid of making the wrong decision, but because every time I make one decision, another one presents itself. They range from minor-ly important details to the completely insignificant and inane (but with the potential to make life a bit easier or harder). Such as: What kind of luggage should I take? A duffel, a regular suitcase, a giant hiking backpack? (FYI, I settled for one suitcase I already have and a ginormous rolling duffel, as pictured on the left.) What are the size and weight restrictions on my airline, and how much extra do I have to pay for the privilege of taking enough clothes to make it through the seasons? What the hell are packing cubes? Should I get packing cubes? How many books do you think I can take without exceeding the weight limit? My laptop is basically a desktop now (broken monitor), so should I drop a couple hundred bucks on a netbook to help get my work done and keep in touch with family? Which netbooks are good?
Then, there are all the Catch-22s of travel, such as: it is much much easier (and desirable, from the standpoint of choosing wisely) to get a job while actually on Polish soil, either after completing the CELTA or at least while it's in progress. But in order to get a long-term residence visa based on work, you must be in your home country, at the consulate that serves your state of residency. However, it is possible to get, once you're in Poland, a residency card at the Voivoidship Office (seriously?), if you have a Permission to Work and a zameldowanie - still trying to figure out exactly how that works. So, I have to have enough money to maybe fly back to get a visa, if I fail at the voivoidship office.
Here's another one: you can't enter Poland without health insurance, and since I'm staying there, I'd like to get the kind that costs less than American Insurance because it is going to be used primarily overseas. I am allowed to buy a policy up to 30 days prior to departing, as long as I intend to be outside of the US for at least 6 of the next 12 months. I do! Yay! But on the application form, my address of residency must be outside of the US. So, I called the insurance company, and I asked the guy, "What's up with that? Sounds to me like y'all are trying to screw people." Turns out, he was nothing like an American insurance customer service guy. He didn't give me another number to call, or tell me that was just company policy. He told me he'd call me back. And he did! Five minutes later! "This is the trick," he said, "Just put your hotel, or hostel address in there. Then, in your mailing address, put where you live now, and that's where we'll send the paperwork." Do you hear what I'm saying? An insurance company customer care representative actually helped me, a customer! Isn't that outrageous?
And then there are my cats. Despite all the other questions and worries, what I'm really scared about what's going to happen to my cats. Nobody seems interested, and I'm going to be upset no matter who I leave them with when I go, but I think it would break my heart to take them to a shelter. I told you. It's never the stuff you thought it'd be.
Anyway, I could go on about paperwork and travel plans all day. International travel is fraught with questions, answers, etc. But I'll stop. I have to. I took off work today. I'm going to spend some quality time with my mother, call some offices during business hours, go to the bank and make moving arrangements, see my doctor about updating prescriptions and making sure I'm vaccinated, maybe get a haircut, and finally, try to work on a plan for the cats. Only way to tackle your worries and fears is to...tackle them.
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