Cold and mysterious Poland

The first thing people say to you when they find out your next destination in Poland is that it's a sad, cold place where you'll die of disgust. Well, it's nothing like that. In fact, in just a little more than nine months, it has become my favourite country. Here are some tips for you about my Erasmus city: Lódz.

-To begin...

Lódz is found 140km away from Warsaw, Poland's capital. Because of this, Modlin airport is the best bet when it comes to booking a flight. Lódz also has its own airport but it's smaller and the flights are more expensive. Furthermore, when I was there, it didn't have direct flights to Spain. Ryanair is the Lord King of Modlin airport (you have flights to Cologne, London, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris... ) so you'll get bored of travelling those 140 kilometres every time you want to catch a flight without having to sell a kidney. To get to said airport, which is located quite a distance outside of Warsaw (40 minutes by taxi from the Palace of Culture, which costs 50 euros), the Modlinbus business is at your service. Yes, there are buses that will take you straight to Lódz. If you're a bit of a hustler and buy the tickets in advance they might not cost you more than three euros. The bus journey takes about 3 hours and anything can happen in Poland, so LEAVE ENOUGH TIME.

- Private flat or student halls?

Obviously, every city and every person is different, but I - an only child who favours the quiet life - shared a room with another person for 9 months without any problems. Erasmus is a period of time to get to know yourself so there's nothing better than pushing yourself to the limit.

For the University of Lódz (not the Polytechnic, don't get involved there) the student halls assigned to you are located in Lumumby. On this campus there are 13, there is also a 14th (a newer hall) a 5-minute walk from the others. As such it's very easy to find accommodation because the university itself asks you when you enroll if you want a place or not. I reiterate, everyone can do what they want, but I strongly recommend trying to get into student halls because it's very cheap (about 80 euros a month) and you make a lot of friends. At first you'll have no fridge, no toilet paper, no dishes, no clothesline, but then you scam, steal and shop, and in a couple of weeks it will become your home. Home sweet home.

How on earth do I get internet there?

My biggest concern before arriving was not if I was going to make friends, but INTERNET. Arriving in an unknown country at 11 p. m., not knowing anyone, there's no wifi, what do I do? Well, there's a Polish company called PLAY, which you'll hate at first but you'll miss it like a brother in the end. The best thing to do is to buy a prepaid card from that company and get money every month. It seems like hassle, and in fact I didn't learn how to do it well until April, but it does save you a lot of money. When I arrived they launched an offer of 10GB-10zl. Yes, 10GB a month for just over two euros. When I told people in Spain they didn't believe me. Later on, when that deal ended, I continued with 6GB-20zl, a little more expensive but still a crazy deal. I recommend that the morning after you arrive you approach a store in the city center or ask your mentor. If they're nice, they'll help you with this as well as a thousand other questions.

- Is it honestly that cold in winter?

NO. I was so scared, but the Polish insist that winters aren't as cold as they used to be. It reaches -27 degrees, but it was the middle of Christmas and they are perfectly prepared for the cold there. The student halls don't turn off the heating at all during the course (DON'T bring a dressing gown or those much-loved pyjamas from Primark like I did, because it was so hot I always slept in my pants), and the shopping centres are huge. Furthermore, once it gets to -5 degrees, you don't notice the difference. A degree warmer, a degree colder, it's still cold. I'm not particularly sensitive to the cold I have to admit, but I had enough with the feathers and fluffy boots. Although there were people who bought special snow coats.

- What do I do for leisure and in my free time? Or, where do I get drunk?

Lódz is a city full of culture. You'll notice that it is full of hipsters when the sun comes up and weird people when it snows, but something is always moving at night. Erasmus students look for ANY excuse to get out and have a well-organised weekly calendar of places to go that everyone knows. Mondays (when people had enough energy) were for KLINIKA (Piotrkowska 79). A bar-karaoke where Spaniards in particular let their imaginations run free and sung along to polygon music from 10 years ago, which the Poles enjoyed a lot. On Tuesdays, people went out in the polytechnic university campus, a place which is miles away but never disappoints: FUTURYSTA (Al. Politechniki 7). It's free to enter if you're a student and the drinks aren't too expensive, the crowd is more diverse and there's a very funny man who organizes ridiculous games to get people drinking shots. On the most lively of Wednesday nights, we went to CZEKOLADA (Piotrkowska 55), a club that reeks of sweat and everyone hates but they still go anyway. Thursday was the main day of the week, it was almost a sin to miss a Thusday night in LORDIS (Piotrkowska 102). Everyone went there, and although it was quite expensive and the bouncers were stupid, if you missed it you would miss out on the weekkly gossip. If you still want more, ESN parties are often organized on Friday and Saturday: Cabaret, Soda, Bedroom, Dom, Scenography... There are many more clubs and thousands of themed parties. If you want more than a quiet beer, don't think twice about going to Hell's Kitchen or the Magic in Lumumby (where you will always find someone you know) or Niebostan or Pijalnia in Piotrkowska.

- What should I know about Polish culture?

The Polish are VERY WEIRD. Many of them hate foreigners and will look to pick a fight to fight with you. In fact, most likely, you will see one of those big night time fights where the police don't do anything, it's almost as if it's considered normal over there. But there are also very friendly people, as is the case everywhere. They greatly appreciate your interest in learning their language and customs. It's a country that, due to its history, has been influenced by many nations and wants to highlight its own culture. Try to soak up what they give you (although sometimes it might be difficult). The hot girls won't smile at you, they won't thank you, you're not in Spain. You have to be flexible. Learn Polish, try their food, travel around their country and ask as many questions as you can, because they will appreciate it. The milk bars are very typical Polish restaurants where you won't speak any English but the food is very good and very cheap. These restaurants are well hidden, so you'll have to ask the locals where they are but it's well worth it. If in doubt, go with a Polish person who will recommend the best dishes: personally I loved zurek (a typical soup) and boiled cheese and potato pierogis. You won't find many of the things you are used to seeing in Spain in the supermarkets, but everything is a matter of getting used to things. Also in many cases it's better to eat out because for 5 euros you have a plate of succulent food from a restaurants without having to cook: hamburgers, pizzas, Vietnamese food, the Philology Faculty's food... Try it all out and get fat, that's what Erasmus is for.

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