What We Were Thinking a Week Ago

So this job hunt thing is really tougher than we thought. Well, perhaps I should rephrase that; finding available jobs is easy but actually getting hired is very difficult due to our present legal standing in this country. Much like the early settlers of the west who were told that the California streets were paved with gold, we were told by most everyone that finding a job and working in Italy would be a breeze, even with less than legal status. I suppose, they were right about the availability of jobs, I mean, we literally had a women come to our house and offer us two jobs on silver platters. You’re asking what’s the problem, right? Well, we would have had jobs right then and there if it weren’t for one little (or huge) hang up. To the locals it’s known as the Permisso di Soggiorno, translated as “permission to stay”, and in order for a foreigner to stay longer than three months, work, or open a bank account, this little piece of paper is a necessity. This little piece of paper is not easy to get. We even went to our embassy searching for a friendly face with helpful information, but what we got was shot down. Without even a hint of hope we were told that we cannot legally stay in this country, and that, in fact, our looking for work while here as a tourist is illegal in itself.

So? What’s the problem with being illegal, right? Well, for us there are a few problems:

1. We don’t like the idea of keeping our money under our mattress since we can’t have a bank account.
2. There’s no telling when and if we could get caught and be asked to leave the country (in which case we would be coming home with our tails between our legs, and we are not ready to come home).
3. If asked to leave the country we may be slapped with a hefty fine, or even asked never to come back.
4. If we get kicked out of the country it will likely hurt our chances of being able to reenter with a permesso on a legal basis sometime in the future.
5. There are currently openings for teachers in other countries that are much easier for foreigners to legally acquire, and those openings may not be there a month from now if we were to get kicked out of Italy.

These are just a few of the problems we have with being an illegal resident in a country we love, and for these reasons and for our own sanity we are accepting teaching jobs in Poland.

Take a minute, compose yourself….there, it’s not so bad is it? Poland is a country desperate to learn English, their teachers are paid well and given great benefits, and the country is a great central location for all of our traveling adventures (so don’t cancel your flights yet). Plus, we figure that while we are in Poland (getting TEFL teaching experience to add to our resumes) we can research the Italy VISA situation and try and get ourselves back in under a legal standing for next fall’s hiring boom.