I started my summer exchange from mid February until June at University of Gdansk, Poland. It has been a great journey here. In Poland, honestly, you can expect the unexpected things happened to you.
When I just arrived in Gdansk, my impression was quite negative since not so many people speaks English here. It seems so hard to ask for help because I did not know any words in Polish back then. If anyone plan to visit Poland in future, my honest advice is to learn some basic Polish, it will make your life easier 🙂 However, my negative impression quickly faded away when I realized that Poles do not speak English but they are very friendly and helpful. One day, I got lost at the train station and I didn’t have 3G. I was so scared and about to have nerve-breakdown since I was alone but then a local stopped his car next to me and he gave me a free ride to my dorm. Another time, I was on my way to home, and I was really tired but then a friendly Poles passed by me and said ” Don’t worry, be happy” 🙂 and probably it is the only sentence in English that he knew. Later, I asked my Polish friends about Polish culture, they explained to me that Polish like to show affection or care towards other people.
Before I came to Gdansk, I was hoping that the weather here will be warmer than in Finland. But again, I was surprised with the weather condition here 🙂 Since Gdansk is close to the sea, the weather is unpredictable. It can be chilly and windy in the morning and then rainny in the afternoon. Fortunately, I was still able to enjoy Gdansk in sunny day. It is absolutely amazing.
From Gdansk, you can travel to many interesting cities for example: Gdynia, Sopot, Malbork, etc with really fast and cheap train. Old buildings and castle are very beautiful here.
If I have another chance, definitely I will go back to Poland. Poland at first, it would not offer as comfortable life as I have in Finland but good food, nice company, beautiful surroundings and interesting history are enough to capture my heart 🙂
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