MrBubbles
1 Jun 2008
News / Polish teachers on Strike. [62]
CELTA course - 1 month. Nobody fails.
Some language teacher must have thrown an irate skunk in your knickers.
CELTA course - 1 month. Nobody fails.
MrBubbles
1 Jun 2008
Law / Citizenship problems - my dad's name has Polish letters. Help! [12]
I am a British citizen by birth but with a Polish father. I recently (finally) got my Polish citizenship through and become an officially zamelded Polish citizen in Poland - if you cut me in half you will see 'Poland' written all the way through me in red and white letters.
Now, my Dad's name begins with a crossed L, and that is what's written on my (Polish) marriage certificate. Unfortunately, my (British) birth certificate has him as a 'normal' uncrossed L, because the British system doesn't accommodate Polish characters.
I say unfortunately because I'm trying to get a Dowod and a PESEL number. The local USC (Urzad stanu cywilnego) don't want to process me because my father appears to have two names, or rather that I have two fathers.
What do I do? Has anyone had experience with this before? I can't really change the documents (certainly not the birth cert) and the USC won't budge.
Also, do I need a PESEL anyway? Is it really that important? I have a NIP and that's enough to identify me to the other urzads...
I am a British citizen by birth but with a Polish father. I recently (finally) got my Polish citizenship through and become an officially zamelded Polish citizen in Poland - if you cut me in half you will see 'Poland' written all the way through me in red and white letters.
Now, my Dad's name begins with a crossed L, and that is what's written on my (Polish) marriage certificate. Unfortunately, my (British) birth certificate has him as a 'normal' uncrossed L, because the British system doesn't accommodate Polish characters.
I say unfortunately because I'm trying to get a Dowod and a PESEL number. The local USC (Urzad stanu cywilnego) don't want to process me because my father appears to have two names, or rather that I have two fathers.
What do I do? Has anyone had experience with this before? I can't really change the documents (certainly not the birth cert) and the USC won't budge.
Also, do I need a PESEL anyway? Is it really that important? I have a NIP and that's enough to identify me to the other urzads...
MrBubbles
1 Jun 2008
News / Polish teachers on Strike. [62]
It can be if you let it. State school teaching has been dumbed down to the point where teachers are not really teaching, but ticking boxes, marking work and 'administering syllabi'. They fulfill the function of didactic McDonald's employees, handing over junk food courses prepared miles away by people equally unqualified to do so.
With patience, a car battery and a photocopier, not to mention a few bunches of bananas, any monkey can be taught to teach a foreign language. That's why they don't have decent conditions.
No, being a teacher is not an unskilled job but being a teacher of English overseas such as TESOL is an unskilled job.
It can be if you let it. State school teaching has been dumbed down to the point where teachers are not really teaching, but ticking boxes, marking work and 'administering syllabi'. They fulfill the function of didactic McDonald's employees, handing over junk food courses prepared miles away by people equally unqualified to do so.
With patience, a car battery and a photocopier, not to mention a few bunches of bananas, any monkey can be taught to teach a foreign language. That's why they don't have decent conditions.
MrBubbles
20 Apr 2008
Language / Czas Teraźniejszy ( Present Tense) [5]
Isn't it more ergative than reflexive?
"to laugh" is reflexive in Polish, so "śmieję się", "śmiejesz się" etc
Isn't it more ergative than reflexive?
MrBubbles
19 Apr 2008
Life / My girlfriend wants to go back to Poland as she thinks lifes better there [36]
Good point. If you buy 'larger things' like cars and TVs then you will pay more or less the same as the UK, sometimes even more because you can get more bargains and promotions in the UK. Otherwise, daily life is certainly cheaper - the wife and I could get by on a little over 1000 zloty a month including house, bills, transport and food. It's only when you factor in petrol for the car and clothes shopping the cost goes up. I reckon 3000 zloty a month is pretty comfortable. How does that compare with the UK?
Remember though, if you get a good position with a foreign firm you could be on well over 10,000 a month...
Is the cost of living in Poland that much cheaper though? I'm no expert but when I've been there lots of things actually seemed more expensive e.g. clothes, electrical goods, second hand cars. My brother in law has just bought a second hand Skoda Fabia for the equivelant of 8-10 months salary.
Good point. If you buy 'larger things' like cars and TVs then you will pay more or less the same as the UK, sometimes even more because you can get more bargains and promotions in the UK. Otherwise, daily life is certainly cheaper - the wife and I could get by on a little over 1000 zloty a month including house, bills, transport and food. It's only when you factor in petrol for the car and clothes shopping the cost goes up. I reckon 3000 zloty a month is pretty comfortable. How does that compare with the UK?
Remember though, if you get a good position with a foreign firm you could be on well over 10,000 a month...
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Love / Why Polish girls are awesome? [141]
Dude, MrBubbles can read between the lines. He understands. Don't worry - you want to look good on the chck thread. That's cool with MrBubbles.
I didn't mean it like that.
Dude, MrBubbles can read between the lines. He understands. Don't worry - you want to look good on the chck thread. That's cool with MrBubbles.
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / My Views Of Poles Working in the UK [169]
why thanks! Northern it shall be. Have a cool weekend :)
Bizzarly I agree with you far more often than you may think B...but please,its Northern Monkey :)
why thanks! Northern it shall be. Have a cool weekend :)
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Love / Why Polish girls are awesome? [141]
Good. As long as they don't do it when they're 30. That just looks sad
Gotcha there :)
Not at all. I consider it a celebration of Polish womanhood
at least our english girls live their lives in their younger years
Good. As long as they don't do it when they're 30. That just looks sad
and some cute sqeals when they get excited about something :)
Gotcha there :)
OK, this is a buls**t thread anyways
Not at all. I consider it a celebration of Polish womanhood
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / My Views Of Poles Working in the UK [169]
Indeed. And Britain will learn to adapt.
Time will tell.
Indeed. And Britain will learn to adapt.
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Love / Why Polish girls are awesome? [141]
Sure - English girls are great if you fancy going to a real ale festival and doing some arm wrestling. I yearn for the days when I could listen to a girl burp the first line of the national anthem. Unfortunately we don't get that in Poland (wipes tear from eye)
I've got female English friends that I get on with more than I would with anybody, more so than my male mates. They're fantastic.
Sure - English girls are great if you fancy going to a real ale festival and doing some arm wrestling. I yearn for the days when I could listen to a girl burp the first line of the national anthem. Unfortunately we don't get that in Poland (wipes tear from eye)
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Love / Why Polish girls are awesome? [141]
No, read my post. All nationalities are fantastic apart from English and American who are not
Compared to your English equivalent you probably are
Hey angel, you seem like a tough sort but I'd still smoke a joint and give you a massage and stuff like that (if I ddin't have a woman of course)
I am so tired of all the guys who come here and appearently are so happy with their Polish women, yet they still feel the need to put down other nationalities.
No, read my post. All nationalities are fantastic apart from English and American who are not
I can't cook and I don't really like children... Am I not Polish or am I not a girl?
Compared to your English equivalent you probably are
Perhaps something is wrong with you.
Hey angel, you seem like a tough sort but I'd still smoke a joint and give you a massage and stuff like that (if I ddin't have a woman of course)
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / My Views Of Poles Working in the UK [169]
The monkey makes an excellent point here. Britain has simply got to get used to the reality of life in the 21st century and that's that. Maybe they can introduce immigration quotas and visas to control the flow of migration to certain sectors but ******** and whingeing about 'foreigners stealing our jobs' and threatening to vote for the BNP will not do no one no good. Nice one isthatu2
the only other alternative is to jump in a nice time machine where cricket is played on the village greeen and Britannia ruled the waves....
The monkey makes an excellent point here. Britain has simply got to get used to the reality of life in the 21st century and that's that. Maybe they can introduce immigration quotas and visas to control the flow of migration to certain sectors but ******** and whingeing about 'foreigners stealing our jobs' and threatening to vote for the BNP will not do no one no good. Nice one isthatu2
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Life / My girlfriend wants to go back to Poland as she thinks lifes better there [36]
I was thinking about this.
Minimum wage in the UK = 5 pounds (?) = 20 (?) zloty an hour
= about 3200 zloty a month
Average salary in Poland = 2500 zloty a month (I'm told)
Taking into account the higher living costs in the UK, you might both be better off working for a foreign form in Poland....
Is this true?
I was thinking about this.
Minimum wage in the UK = 5 pounds (?) = 20 (?) zloty an hour
= about 3200 zloty a month
Average salary in Poland = 2500 zloty a month (I'm told)
Taking into account the higher living costs in the UK, you might both be better off working for a foreign form in Poland....
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / My Views Of Poles Working in the UK [169]
... and have gone home again. Most are temporary workers
well over 2 million Poles have arrived in the UK
... and have gone home again. Most are temporary workers
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Love / Why Polish girls are awesome? [141]
They are, aren't they! They can cook, they look good, they are pleasant people, they like children, they want to improve themselves... I love them too. A couple are cows but hey you always get a couple of duds in every box.
Then again, most foreign women are good too. Italian women, French women, Japanese women, Brazilian women... Perhaps there's just something funadamentally wrong with English women? And American women
Why Polish girls are awesome?
They are, aren't they! They can cook, they look good, they are pleasant people, they like children, they want to improve themselves... I love them too. A couple are cows but hey you always get a couple of duds in every box.
Then again, most foreign women are good too. Italian women, French women, Japanese women, Brazilian women... Perhaps there's just something funadamentally wrong with English women? And American women
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / What's So Great About The UK? [416]
Most of the time you do
OK for the rest of you - Poles (foreigners) come to the UK and the majority get low paying jobs like making sandwiches for supermarkets, picking fruit or assembling boxes in factories. This displaces British labour, no? I contend that the main consumer for these services will not only be the middle classes but the working classes who are being displaced by the influx, since these are price-led sectors.
Therefore, there's no use complaining that Poles etc are displacing working class labour if working class (and middle class) people are paying them to do so. QED
Most of the time you do
OK for the rest of you - Poles (foreigners) come to the UK and the majority get low paying jobs like making sandwiches for supermarkets, picking fruit or assembling boxes in factories. This displaces British labour, no? I contend that the main consumer for these services will not only be the middle classes but the working classes who are being displaced by the influx, since these are price-led sectors.
Therefore, there's no use complaining that Poles etc are displacing working class labour if working class (and middle class) people are paying them to do so. QED
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / What's So Great About The UK? [416]
Who uses this lower priced labour though? No doubt a lot of people on lower incomes. I'm sure it's very trendy to blame it all on the middle classes but at the end of the day, working class people are taking advantage of low price labour and undercutting themselves every time they buy a sandwich from the supermarket.
What is Mr Brit (lower class) labour worker supposed to do when he is being undercut by cheap immigrant labour?
Who uses this lower priced labour though? No doubt a lot of people on lower incomes. I'm sure it's very trendy to blame it all on the middle classes but at the end of the day, working class people are taking advantage of low price labour and undercutting themselves every time they buy a sandwich from the supermarket.
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / Polish citizen worked in the UK for 1 year - eligible for an UK pension? [23]
No. you need to have a number of 'qualifying years' of NI payments before you can claim a full state pension. If you have more than 5 (I think but please correct me) years where you have paid insufficient NI contributions, you don't qualify. If you sit on your arse on the dole though, the government / taxpayer pays your contributions for you for that time.
To recap - If you work for most of your working life but leave the country and miss a handful of years, you lose the pension. If you sit around for 45 years doing nothing but signing on, you get a pension.
Can a Polish citizen having worked in the UK for 1year apply for an UK pension ?
No. you need to have a number of 'qualifying years' of NI payments before you can claim a full state pension. If you have more than 5 (I think but please correct me) years where you have paid insufficient NI contributions, you don't qualify. If you sit on your arse on the dole though, the government / taxpayer pays your contributions for you for that time.
To recap - If you work for most of your working life but leave the country and miss a handful of years, you lose the pension. If you sit around for 45 years doing nothing but signing on, you get a pension.
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]
Oh sorry - I thought you were talking about language schools. Carry on.
Oh sorry - I thought you were talking about language schools. Carry on.
MrBubbles
18 Apr 2008
UK, Ireland / Are the Poles in England hated? [450]
That sounds fair - someone says a rude word and they get their head beaten in with a baseball bat. Heaven help them if they drop any litter.
wait for them outside with your baseball bat and let rip and drive that 400 yrd ball you've always dreamed of.
That sounds fair - someone says a rude word and they get their head beaten in with a baseball bat. Heaven help them if they drop any litter.
MrBubbles
17 Apr 2008
Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]
ah! something's coming through
sorry I'm losing you
nope sorry can't understand a word. Try again without the vodka bottle in your left hand
ts probably because you have your nose so far up some Poles a r
ah! something's coming through
cted....what is it ,frik
sorry I'm losing you
f up their own a rse Pole....yer a funny man bubb
nope sorry can't understand a word. Try again without the vodka bottle in your left hand
MrBubbles
17 Apr 2008
Study / anyone with CELTA? [73]
you can have mine. Cost - 1 pint
Does anyone know if there is a way to get CELTA from Poland???
you can have mine. Cost - 1 pint
MrBubbles
17 Apr 2008
Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]
Sorry it looks like English but I don't understand a word. Have you been drinking?
Sorry it looks like English but I don't understand a word. Have you been drinking?
MrBubbles
17 Apr 2008
Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]
Well, we've established that not everyone is entitled to enjoy themselves as they wish when they go abroad. Is it not perfectly reasonable, then,to expect tourists to behave responsibly when they visit somewhere viz. not pi55ing on monuments, chundering in the streets and picking fights with locals like in Krakow?
Only the British go? Is it legal? Extreme examples dont make for rational debate!
Well, we've established that not everyone is entitled to enjoy themselves as they wish when they go abroad. Is it not perfectly reasonable, then,to expect tourists to behave responsibly when they visit somewhere viz. not pi55ing on monuments, chundering in the streets and picking fights with locals like in Krakow?
MrBubbles
17 Apr 2008
Travel / Krakow going down the toilet! [184]
So you would condone British sex tourism to places like Thailand?
The British are just as entitled to enjoy themselves abroad as anyone else. Yes, they do it differently, yes it may not be to locals tastes, yes it may offend middle class values and other social mores,
So you would condone British sex tourism to places like Thailand?
MrBubbles
16 Apr 2008
Study / Polish Language School Scams? Clarity Required! [28]
Heh! That's the thing about EFL. All the alcoholics ended up in the ex-Soviet states, the religious types went to the Middle East and the pedarasts went to the Far East...
Heh! That's the thing about EFL. All the alcoholics ended up in the ex-Soviet states, the religious types went to the Middle East and the pedarasts went to the Far East...
MrBubbles
16 Apr 2008
Study / Polish Language School Scams? Clarity Required! [28]
Well, I've met a couple, agreed, but the bad ones have generally been 22 year olds who have never had a proper job before and you can spot them a mile off. If the school owner takes more time to recruit more experienced staff and offers them something better contract-wise, I'm convinced everyone will be happier.
Well, I've met a couple, agreed, but the bad ones have generally been 22 year olds who have never had a proper job before and you can spot them a mile off. If the school owner takes more time to recruit more experienced staff and offers them something better contract-wise, I'm convinced everyone will be happier.
MrBubbles
16 Apr 2008
Study / Polish Language School Scams? Clarity Required! [28]
Oh that reminds me of a school in Lodz. They were hiring staff and insisting on 2 trial lessons (unpaid of course) from each prospective member of staff. Of course, none of them were good enough so the school had 2 free lessons off each applicant. apparently half their Summer course was taught that way....
Exactly. the schools simply don't understand that if they treat you fairly, you will treat them better in return
The trick was to see how many lessons you could get out of them before they wised up (you'd be surprised how many)
Oh that reminds me of a school in Lodz. They were hiring staff and insisting on 2 trial lessons (unpaid of course) from each prospective member of staff. Of course, none of them were good enough so the school had 2 free lessons off each applicant. apparently half their Summer course was taught that way....
wouldnt have got to that if they had jst been honest at the start
Exactly. the schools simply don't understand that if they treat you fairly, you will treat them better in return