Disappointment

As Łódź and the studies here were mainly described as very good, I prefered not to browse much myself about this place, because I expected for surprises - Good ones. Being the student of the University of Georgia (UG), I applied for an exchange program to Łódź with mobility direct program. It's sort of the same as Erasmus, but you don't get any money on this program. You have a right to work, though. Having spent 4 months in Łódź already, this exchange is about to end and it was catastrophic. I will write all the reasons below.

1. Accomodation

Before coming here, UL administration asked me if what kind of room I prefer, a single room that costs 120 € a month, or a double room that costs 100 € a month. I applied for first one. I shortly got their answer: You will be stationed in dormitory N5. Soon as I arrived to dormitory N5, I discovered that employees at the reception do not speak English, Russian, or any other language except Polish in the dormitory which is full of foreigners, so cute. This was not the main part, though - I paid around 70 € for a month, being surprised because I expected that I would have to pay 120 € per month. After payment, I walked up to my room, discovering that I'm actually in triple-room, I didn't even know that these kinds of rooms existed here. What is more, there are 32 triple-rooms like mine on the floor, having same common toilet and shower for both sexes. In theory, there are 5 toilet bowls, out of which 2 are broken. There's much more about the accomodation, and I will speak about the living standards here below as well.

2. Uncertainity

Whenever you ask something to someone, the most common answer will be either "Nie razumyem (I do not understand)" or "I do not know". Well-knowing 2 most wide-spread languages which is English and Russian, I still found very hard time communicating with people here, as majority doesn't speak any language but Polish. Finding someone who knows anything about this place AND speaks English, is a Jackpot here. Holding a map and walking around for first days, I finally managed to study the geography of this place so that I would know where to do grocery shopping, how to get to the university and main streets.

3. Service

When I came here, main card of my telephone died for some reason. I was left without a phone. I went to the service where they said they would fix it in 3 days for 25 €. I left my phone, checked on them in 3 days and that's what they said - "Your telephone has mainboard problem and we must order a new one from its home factory, that will be another 20 €. " I paid this additional 20 €, they told me to check on them again in 1 week. It was not ready after a week. Fixing it took 41 days overall... Thinking that at least I have a new main card for the phone, I shortly discovered that there was nothing ordered from the factory, In fact they replaced my dead mainboard with other used problematic mainboard of some Polish girl. How do I know that it was a Polish girl? - They didn't even delete the data from that mainboard. I just opened the galery file and saw all the pictures and videos this girl had taken, even her email was left on. I did not return back to them or go to judge, I'm not that kind of man... But I have to tell you more about the service:

Thinking that I would get a job without problems and fulfil my wish to drive back all the way to Georgia, I bought a car here. Car had a broken door, for which the price was dropped down very well. The car was Hyundai Coupe II, 2. 0FX, year of 2002, Bought it for 1 850 zł, which is around 470 $. People who are familliar with cars, will know how cheap it is if it has valid insurance and technical check certificate. I drove to the service for changing this door, and this is what they say: With repaint, we will do it for 5 000 zł. Without repaint, We will do it for 4 000 zł. This guys thought I was a dumb rich guy, how come a door of the car is two times more expensive than the car itself? So i asked: OK, and what if I bring the door here myself? - Man did not expect for that question. He got confused, saying - Hmm... that way, 2 000 zł. So he asks a price of the car +150 zł for changing the door, which is beyond logic for the service fees. I finally found decent people from who I bought and replaced door + couple other parts for 350 zł and saved myself from major rip-off, but it was seriously a big effort to find them.

4. LIARS! : Coming from the country where people do not lie about serious stuff, I simply signed all the documents that were only in Polish when I bought this car. Seller claimed that these papers are for Insurance and technical check. Turns out, the papers had no sense. Man lied to me, the car had none of the two abovementioned. Soon as I drove off, he blocked me and even changed the number, leaving me no opportunities to find him again.

5. Job

I bought a car with my money for living during the exchange period. Now I have to refund my living here. I asked people here about the jobs before even coming here, even sent my CV to some of them to have a look and tell me how real my opportunities were here. Whoever cared, even told me about the concrete companies that could employ me and my approximate salary. Overall, they ensured me that I'd at least find some work in bad case, as "even a fool gets the job here". When I came here, this thought of mine quickly got undermined: If it's so easy to start working in one of these major employer companies in Łódź, than why does none of you work there? If even a fool finds a job here, than why do I see so many beggars in the streets? Having rich working experience, recommendations and more than dozen certificates, Here's what I tried to get the job:

• I sent CV to every company that is known to be a major employer in Łódź, only to get no answer from any of them...
• I tried major employment agency in Łódź, but here's the story: they called me, told me that one of the companies is interested in employing me and asked a couple of questions. They said they like me and will contact me in two weeks. Coming from the country where "we will contact you in two weeks" means that they will SURE contact you in two weeks, I got confident, just waiting for their call. Although NOPE - nobody called. I went there after waiting period, asked if what's going on, and here's their answer - "sorry, we don't have you in our database". Seriously?....
• Ok, there's almost no money left... Soon I'll be a hobo in a foreign country. I had to go for the factory, which I had considered for the worst situation, as it was underpaid and pressuring. All the Ukrainian and Polish people had told me that everyone can simply apply there. Though, here's what they tell me - "Sorry but we only have Ukrainian and Polish departments, you either have to be Ukrainian or speak Polish in order for us to accept you. "

The same day they turned me down in Factory, I managed to find a job in the kitchen of Italian cafe in the shopping center, where I was treated as some low-level priceless humanoid, Making me feel like a discriminated African migrant who HAS TO do the job for existing.

6. Fun

After the events mentioned above, you really want to have some fun, to cool down the pressures. I enjoy sports activities, such as cycling, motor-sports, Paintball, Strikeball, Bowling, etc. I assure you, there almost absolutely no events are organised in this perspective, you get only clubbing - a lot of it and even there a good DJ with a decent music is a big problem. What else would I go to the club for? I have a girlfriend back home and I chose to stay her loyal, but even if she never existed - I will never catch and make out with a drunk girl who can not even remember her name, I will not take one to the toilet for sexual stand who is not under self-control and stinks disgusting in a smell of alcohol. It is even more disgusting to see boys taking advantage of that. Asides of this "fun, " there's nothing to do here. I came here 4 months ago and this event calendar still keeps spinning around unchanged. Since the 3rd week it feels like a circle of hell for me, In which I just don't participate and only live with University-Home route. But what kind of situation do i get home?

7. People

Before coming here, I thought I would meet interesting people, sitting in the evenings together and discussing world politics, economics and basically countless interesting topics, as it is always good to talk with someone who can think and make up points. NOPE. I live in kindergarten here. People have very limited knowledge about world, lack of informations. What is more - they're not even interested and even if interested, they can not make logical points about their minds. Out of these 90 People on the floor, some always have party, giving me a hard time to sleep. But what is more disgusting, is the behavior of Polish girls: If they can NOT drink, than why do they? Everyone can drink some, but nobody should cross the lines. It is disgusting to see them unconscious, lying down in their own puke almost every time they get drunk. I will always help a human when I see one in this condition, but I'm sorry - I can never consider him or her as my equal. I will never marry this kind of woman, never will even want to talk either. At first days of being here, they would never even mind cleaning their own pukes the following days after they did it, until we forced them to. All though, situation in the toilets are still hopeless, some people don't even flush them after use. They don't build relationships on future perspectives, they live day-to-day. For example: If I share a beer with you, If I say a toast with you and for you, that means I consider you as my friend and I will have future contact with you. Locals, on the other hand, might be very friendly and open to you one day, but become a complete stranger after they walk away that day. What is more - I get the feeling like nobody from Poland likes his/her country here. Almost everyone, especially girls want to move to Germany, Holland or some more developed countries for work and living. They bring individual interests on higher level than common, national good, completely forgetting that Germans, the Dutch - they first built their country and only then focused more on individuals rights. Poland still has to go through the way that Germany, Holland, USA and other more developed countries did, on which group way of thinking is more important than individual way of thinking. If the same tendency carries on in Polish youth, this nation will die in 25-35 years.

8. Study

There's no online student profile at the University of Łódź, where you can control your marks and keep an eye out on the events of UL. Dates for the presentations and final exams are not determined by the university, they're left individually for the lecturer to decide. Quality of class depends completely on the lecturer - I study 4 subjects here. On 2 out of these 4 subjects, we get absolutely zero interactive and group works, no homeworks either. One lecturer even decided to evaluate students 100% with final test results (no midterm, no quizes, no presentation), which included 25 test questions and gave us only 20 minute time to finish it. The questions were not simple - you had to think, imagine and consider the situations. Giving 20 minute time for this kind of test - I think it is a disrespect of the class and your own self as a lecturer.

9. Driving

Do you count car as a masterpiece like I do? Do you take pleasure by driving? FORGET that pleasure here. be ready for Incredibly long red lights that are absolutely not necessary in many cases. Ironically, green lights are very short. That's not the only problem: beware of the broken roads, especially at the points where road crosses the tram line. Also beware of stupid drivers - people hate looking in mirrors here. Also, don't step on the gas and don't be aggressive driver, as other drivers get confused very easily in these situations, and they're likely to crash to someone or something.

10. Safety

There's one main street where people gather of parties, Piotrowska. Soon as the night strikes, that place gets full of drunkards, don't be surprised if you see pee and puke mixed in each other, making a terrible smell. Fights on that street are more than normal. Disrespects and swears coming from drunk Nazi-Polish ones are also more than normal. Not really a place where you would like to take a walk.

Source

Overall, This exchange program was worth it - I learned a lot about life, I noted that whatever I have, I have to value it more. I learned that not everything is better in EU, and we Georgians are faaaaar ahead in development than Poland for instance.... But, How many exchange programs do you get in life? This could be the only one for me, and I picked up the worst possible destination. I wasted it.

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