The story of Daniele from Krakow to Lisbon

Vicenza, the last days of 2012. I work with a "project" contract, which at the time was unfortunately in fashion. Long distance story, started 5 years earlier in Erasmus, with a Polish girl. I am sending my resume to multinationals in Krakow at your suggestion. A recruitment with four interviews in a row between phone and Skype, hired! I receive the 6-month contract as customer service in Italian by e-mail. A smile escapes me when I leave the language school where I worked full time. On January 4th 2013 I was in Krakow.

Getting to a place when you have someone waiting for you is easier. It has another flavor. Especially because you already find an apartment ready and the job waiting for you.

In Poland, both out in the evening and at work, I met many Italians - and a few Italians. I think that in order to end up in such a cold place, the Latins who go there must have a warm heart. To tell the truth, most of the Italians I've met are there for a woman. Some for women, and in the latter case we make ourselves recognized all too well. I will always remember the speech of two Italians who have just arrived in Krakow. If they weren't talking about women, they were talking about bars with cheap alcohol (“one euro per beer!”) Or disco-bars. I pretended to be a foreigner.

Emigrating to Eastern Europe (or Central Europe, where Poles are sure to be), beyond these fleeting attractions, means encountering a harsh climate. How rigid are the customs often when compared to Southern Europe. Passing more than thirty days without seeing the sun makes one almost doubt that it exists; this must be the reason why the furnishings of some bars are often very colorful.

I spent three years in Krakow, always working in the same multinational. Anyone wishing to change has a wide choice, but it is always a question of call centers or accounting. It is enough to speak Italian and a minimum of English and the salary will not be too bad when compared to the cost of living. For those interested, I also created a blog (http://lezionidipolacco.blogspot.it/) where I collected my experiences and small discoveries in Krakow, which I hope will serve as advice to other Italians. For anyone wishing to move, I highly recommend a good read.It is also true that for those wishing to make friends before emigrating there are several Facebook groups, such as Italy-Poland (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/714510208607800/). There is now at least one per state of the world. People are often kind and helpful, just don't pretend or ask useless questions.

When I emigrated I tried to adapt, even learning to speak Polish, but the exalted nationalism of many Poles, combined with the rigidity of the system and the climate, are not for me.

From 4 April 2016 I took advantage of the move of the project where I was working to move to Lisbon too. Here too there are many Italians and many multinationals looking for natives. If you like the sun and the sea - sorry, the ocean! - even here in Portugal it is enough to speak Italian and a little English and you will end up in a call center or in an accounting office.

The average Italian in Lisbon is different from the one found in Poland: he is not looking so much for women as for the good life. There are as many Italians as there are Italians. Those who come to Lisbon from Italy do it for walks in the open air in the breathtaking views, they do it for the food, for the people who at least first hand are very hospitable. Usually here the average Italian also has a few more years, more experiences behind him, and has chosen Lisbon to relax a bit. The Italian from Lisbon tends to have his hobbies, some even take sides politically and others come up with something to spend the days in company.

Seeing two countries at the extreme ends of Europe, spending time with fellow countrymen in both countries made me discover that it makes no sense to talk about Italians abroad because, in the end, country you go, Italians you find!