Sleep, jobs

Trip Start Jan 10, 2005

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Poland Kraków, Poland
Monday, January 24, 2005

After eating our first square meal (which included actual vegetables) since leaving Canada, we finally have energy to update this travelpod. We have found ourselves some jobs, much to our relief. They are in Debica, a town of around 50,000 people about 1.5 hours east of Kraków by train. It is near the Bieszczady mountains, supposedly the wildest in Poland. Our travel guide claims that hikers return from the mountains with stories of encounters with wolves and brown bears and discoveries of skeletons in the underbrush.

Since accepting these positions we have received several phone calls from employers in Kraków wishing to hire us, but we're quite happy about the jobs we've taken. They will hopefully give us the experience to come back here and find good jobs in the fall.

On the way back from Debica we had trouble with our tickets, but not understanding why the ticket collector (who spoke only Polish) wanted us to pay extra money he found a passenger who spoke English to explain to us that we'd gotten on the wrong train

Christmas Lights in the Square

. The train having already left the station, we had no real choice but to pay him. Thankfully it was also going to Krakow, it was just a more direct train. Despite having to pay extra, and having to stand in the aisle because it was so full, we were glad we'd gotten on that train because we ended up spending the entire ride talking to the passenger who'd translated for us. He was a 22 year old Polish guy who was living in England to make some money and was home visiting his family and his girlfriend. He couldn't believe that we were traveling in Poland, let alone here to find work (an understandably common reaction here). He also had a different perspective on his country than most people we've talked to here, which made for an interesting discussion.

The next evening we hit the main square (Rynek Glówny) to be touristy and take some pictures. In the square there are usually horse drawn carriages set up to take people on rides around the old town. This night was no different, except that the people taking rides in the carriages were talking into megaphones. There were police vans throughout the square, and we would have thought it was a protest of sorts, except the people were dressed in strange costumes (some like royalty, others wearing umbrella hats, and still others with ski goggles) and everyone appeared to be having fun. It seemed that they had hijacked tourists carriages, and then enlisted them to shout things at people as the horses drove

Horses in the square

.

There was also a stage set with a papier maché dragon and a mannequin, naked except for a translucent shawl, as well as more costumed people and many children. This was hitched to the back of a truck. We finally found out that this was a production of a poem by Konstanty Ildefons Galczynsky called "Straszna ballada wielkanocna o zatopionej szynce". It seemed to make sense for a while. We thought the megaphone people must have been advertising for the production, but in retrospect I think they were reading the poem. Then the truck with the set started driving around the square too as the production on the stage began. It was a completely surreal experience.

So we have one more week to enjoy Kraków (and maybe do a bit of travelling around if we can) before we move to Debica and have to start teaching.