Life / Satellite type connections in flat in Poland [18]


I connected each of these 2 satellite type connections in turn and performed a full scan across all frequencies. Strange to note that this TV also covered VHF and UHF, in fact it scanned the amateur radio 2m band too! But, no signals received from either socker.

Next I reconnected to the old style connection and got one good signal and 2 poor. I suspect this is due to the cable supplying this socket throughout the building picking up some signals and there is no antenna connected. I suspect this mainly because if i disconnect the cable from the wall, there is only a little degradation in signal.

So, looks like I'll need to track down the admins and purchase cable.

Tony

I am considering purchasing a set top antenna today. If I am lucky enough to get a decent reception, are there many channels? Ideally I need children's television to support my study of Polish.

thanks again

T
hmm, or is that childrens' television...

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]

I think he was more likely trying to hide his face so as to not be recognised

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]

yeah some do... and they are usually driving a fiat cinqu-cantspellit which is like 1 meter wide and they need to take up the entire road - the last one i was stuck behind kept wandering over the white line.

"Polish drivers" are infamous in England for being complete maniacs with heavy left feet. After being driving in Poland for 6 months I now see that if you don't drive like that, you get nowhere! Seriously, just to get from one major city to the next, if you obey the limits, you'll take a week to get anywhere... of course, the suspension is about totalled now!

T

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]

I drove from Gdansk! You can do it in about 10 hours on clear roads. (if you *ahem* don't always obey the speed limits)

T

Travel / Poland/Ukraine Border at Medyka - Parking? [14]

They had plenty of gas last week too! :) Seems they were clever and stored reserves.

I had a great time. There were a few surprises, like walking along railway tracks to get to a destination and the way people 'say' excause me by simply pushing you out of their way!

I got shit on by a bird though, so it wasn't all bad! :)

Seriously though, I'm looking forward to seeing Ukraine again in spring! :)
Good food, good people, great beer and more!

T

News / Poles, get ready for mass migration from Russia ! [50]


Being a fellow British Expat, I totally agree. I came here to escape the UK and try a new world and new life. I miss a couple of things from the UK, but not much.

It's interesting reading about migration to Poland after it being a 'problem' in the UK. I say 'problem' because the only people who seemed to have a problem with it were the media and the lazy unemployed who blamed the Polish for them being out of work for the last 10 years. I suppose it's the fault of the Polish that they prefer to drink beer all day instead of job hunting too?

As for the smuggling, nothing new there. In England there are many places where you can buy Polish cigarettes and alcohol 'under the counter'. And I mean quite literally, they are kept under the counter and only served to Polish people when nobody is looking.

T

Language / Rosetta Stone program - couple of clarifications requested [15]

Bondi,
I hear what you are saying, but grammar is no good without vocab. Therefore, I would continue my learning with grammar and such after the total emmersion. Just as we do as native speakers, we learn to speak our language then go to school to learn to write it and speak it properly.

My professional opinion as a language teacher is that it's better to have many words and dogy grammar than to have perfect grammar and not enough words to put in place.

Imagine going to a restaurant and asking, "Please would you be so kind as to bring me a adsflasdklfue".
When another person says "Please, sausages".
The later will get what they want, the former will get nothing.

It's swings an roundabouts really, it's all important, but at my low level, having the words is my pain priority because only then can I really make any use of the grammar. And returning to the first reason for joining this thread, my opinion of Rosetta Stone is that it's not much good for learning anything other than 3rd person, unless they have totally rewritten it since the version I have. I didn't even learn the word "I", or "I would like", or "please" or "thank you". Nonetheless, it has been very useful for building lexis, not least because the pictures were so damned hard to figure out they have been permanently etched into my memory!

good luck all!

Tony

Language / Rosetta Stone program - couple of clarifications requested [15]

The best way, for me, would be to be in a village somewhere with no English speakers, no computer, nothing English whatsoever, only Polish. Just 3 months of this if I was speaking all day, every day and I'm sure I'd be advanced.

I'm in 2 minds as to if I would benefit from having a dictionary or not. I think not.

Language / Rosetta Stone program - couple of clarifications requested [15]

Nope, far from a bad example. I read the first part of a book called "The Third Ear" and this guy became advanced in Chinese in a matter of a few months by doing just that. Afterall, as he says, we come into this world with an empty mind and learn our native tongue just by experiencing and copying. He even goes as far as to say that schooling is maybe the worst way to learn a language.

So, practice, practice, practice is what I shall have to do, with somehow trying to remember words with self study to speed up the process. I'm not yet at the level where watching movies is anything more than the perfect way to become very frustrated with not understanding.

Language / Rosetta Stone program - couple of clarifications requested [15]

I don't like Rosetta Stone much. It has been useful for helping me remember some lexis but all verbs are given in 3rd person singular, sometimes plural. Therefore, at least the version I have, isn't much good for really learning the language.

There is also BYKI (Before You Know It) which seems very good for learning words, but so far the only real way to learn the language has been to go out and speak it.

Getting over the nerves has been the hardest part for that!

Work / Voluntary charity work (Englsih teaching) - Gdansk [5]

Hi Eda,
I'm really sorry, I'm not in such a position to be able to directly offer this lad the help that he needs. I am also new to Poland so I don't really know what to advise. Hearing that the church turned him away comes as no surprise to me and frankly sickens me that such an institution turns away people in genuine need.

I'll ask a few friends about where this boy might be able to find help but please don't rely on this happening quickly, if I can even find the information.

An update on this thread from my own original plea; I moved to Gdansk and some of my friends are members of a local volunteer organisation for disadvantaged children. Therefore, taking into account the new found free time I have with my new job starting in January, I can finally get back into volunteering myself and go teach these kids English and join in other activities to try to improve their lives just a little bit.

regards

Tony

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]


oh trust me... if you saw her, you'd see that i was not thinking with *that* part. She really seemed a guinely nice girl at first... but don't they all...

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]

A friend, a psychologist, advised me to regard this threat as a last ditch attempt at some sort of defense by a person who knows their battle is lost. She knows know that I'm legally entitled to throw her out. She heard me on the phone to the landlady when I was offered the appropriate documents to do this all legally and she knows her threats of telling the police that I "Threatened to kill her" will not hold water without evidence; that she clearly does not have.

So, with that, I started to smile again and realised that the end is nigh. Even better when this afternoon she arrived with a friend, packed some bags and started her move! So, looks like the battle is won and the field is being cleared. With a bit of luck it will be clear by the weekend, but I don't think I'll get it that lucky just yet.

The spoils of war? Well, I've learned a bit about Polish law and have most certainly become a stronger character! Not to mention that I now won't touch a Polish woman with a barge pole! Is it just me, or are the more-than-firey?

regards
Tony

Law / umowa o dzielo z prawami autorskimi [10]

My next job is with a localIT company starting on Jan 1st (ish). This guy has also become a friend so I know he wont take me for a ride. OR maybe I'm being naive once again. I'm going to suggest something that works well for both of us. Maybe the zlecenie.

thanks again

Tony

Law / umowa o dzielo z prawami autorskimi [10]

I've been in Poland 4.5 months, 2 of which in Gdansk. You are certainly right, this is beginners assertiveness training. I was always the sensitve kind, just roll over and play dead to keep everybody happy and avoid conflicts, but oh boy and I changing! The ex doesn't know what's hit her, I've suddenly gone from Mr nice guy to having the legal advice and assistance to evict her! :)

Also, the job offers have been flooding in this week so I feel a little safer if standing up to a manager goes pear shaped. Thankfully, in my new job in Tczew, the boss is more like a friend and appreciates the straight talk. My goodness, does this mean I can mix honesty and business?

Real Estate / What is the Best way to find a rental apartment in Trojmiasto? [3]

There is a local newspaper that has a large accommodation sectin each Wednesday, I'm told that most of the good places are gone by 10am. Finding accommodation here does seem to be tricky but if you can hold out a few weeks you can often get a great place!

Watch out for agencies, I'm told that in addition to a month's rent in advance, a month's rent (or 1.5 months) as deposit, many also charge the tennant a month's rent commission that you don't get back. How's that for twisted, the customer pays the commission for the sales guy!

Finally, one more hint; I was with friends last week looking at a flat with them and the landlady explained, via another friend interpreting, that the deposit is "non-returnable" and claimed this was "standard practice". Thinking she could pull the wool over the eyes of foreign students she was maybe a little miffed when they quite clearly said "sod off!". So, I assure you that retaining of deposits is not standard practice, if anybody tells you this, walk away.

Whatever you do... don't volunteer free accommodation for an ex for 2 months... :)

T

Law / umowa o dzielo z prawami autorskimi [10]

Hi delphiandomine,

I actually did something a little unusual for me, I stood up to the manager, ok, by email and said that as my contract for for a guaranteed amount then I require them to pay this amount and if this is not possible then I will seek some alternative income with immediate effect. Back came an email giving me the full amount saying "but you'll have to work the full amount of hours", er, well yeah, that's obvious!

but, I have a feeling she might have taken hours off the other teachers to do this and these teachers are paid less than native speakers so I'm not willing to do that to my friends. So, maybe stupidly, I've mailed back saying that if she took these hours off my friends - give them back! I'll find another way to make up the money rather than take it off my friends.

We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I've read the main post in this thread and I'll be speaking to my new boss, who has also become a good friend, to decide which is the better contract allround. I'm thinking zlacenie is worth a try, provided I have some written agreement about paid holidays in there. Hours won't matter, I'll consider myself 'salaried' and work the hours required to meet the needs of the business, which so far looks to include European travel! 3 days in Germany already booked. Obviously, this isn't teaching, I'm leaving that snake pit behind to return to IT. I'll teach part time and for friends only - but only because I love teaching!!

thanks again

T

Law / umowa o dzielo z prawami autorskimi [10]

Hi,

I'm on the nasty o dzielo and my school just told me that they will not honour the guaranteed mininum 60 hours & therefore the guaranteed minimum payment this month. In effect I have a forced holiday and the contract is to be ignored.

Therefore, as I'm leaving anyway for a shiney new job, can anybody tell me what minimum notice of termination I must give on this contract? And if I leave now, can they withold payment from the previous month that they just authorised? Saying that, even if they legally cannot, I know this school will try their best to do so.

Once this is over, I will be posting a full report of my experiences with this school on the approrpriate teacher forums and will also post my professional opinions about them on here for prospective students.

Tony

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]


This is more true that I could ever explain. yes, i see the Polish ways of doing things is a little strange and I wouldn't normally dream of being nasty, but now, I'm happy to have her arrested to take her away and I will be trying to contact her father who thinks she's had a room of her own all this time that he's been paying for!!

As for her reputation, she has the gossip gift really well and if she gets to people before me then they hate me. But, having been here 2 months, I've got a looong list of friends, I think about 30 now... she's made 1 that iI know of and spends weekends in the flat at night! So maybe justice finds its own way

OK, the advice I received is:

1) The contract states that I, the contract holder, have permission to allow 'her' to stay here. She has no contractural right to remain.

2) The landlady says that if I like, she can drop in a new contract with her name totally removed, enabling me to evict her immediately.

But, as she has many things packed already, it looks like she had plans, but I'll still keep the pressure on in case she's bluffing.

cheers

life is looking up!

T

OK, it gets worse... now i have threats of "accidents" happening to me... geez, you help somebody and this is the thanks... all because I gave her 2 months free accommodation and at the end of the 2 months she refuses to move... now I'm the bad guy

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]

I will be avoiding helping people in the future - this is the thanks! Whatevr i do to help her, it's all complaints, then even if I apologise she won't let it go, has to find a wound and shove a finger inside it.

I've never shouted at a woman before - tonight I snapped and shouted very loud - twice! I never ever thought I'd be driven to that... just talking with a previous partner, she's shocked that I shouted too, says she tried several times to get me angry and never could... says she could get no negative response from me, i would always talk about the problem or go quiet

I'm going to get legal advice tomorrow but I know that as soon as I put her out, she's going to call the Police with soem story that I threatened to kill her - she will try her best to take me down - this I know 10000%

Real Estate / Accommodation - Legal advice request [15]

If anybody has any serious answers I really need to hear them. At the minute, I have this girl who is point blank refusing the leave despite my being the person who pays the rent and allowed her to live here out of pure kindness with nothing in return.

Now she's refusing to leave and being very bithcy about it - even threatening to call the police and say I threatened her!

Seriously, I have to get her out, now and legally.

Thanks

Tony

Life / NHS/NFZ assistance for British expat [12]

Yes, these cards are supposed to be emergency only. But I've heard of Polish friends in England getting full non-emergency treatment including stays in hospital without even having a card, never mind showing it.

I'm sure in the case of most hospitals and doctors, they genuinely want to make people better.

Anyway, it turns out that many of my students are doctors and one gave me a prescription today so hopefully I'll be OK and can sort out a GP registration soon too.

Life / NHS/NFZ assistance for British expat [12]

A couple of beers for 95zl, my goodness, what brand do you drink?! :)
ohhh, beers/week, cover/month, I get you now :)

thanks for the advice, I'll look into that.

Life / NHS/NFZ assistance for British expat [12]

Hi,
One of my students is a doctor and says some of the specialists in her department run private practises. So, she's going to give me some details tonight and then I can get what I need.

Flaming heck, in England, I'd have just gone to the nurse at my local surgery, peed in a bottle and got a perscription if needed. Here it's going to be bloody rocket science just to find the initial contact. Failing that, I could fake some additional symptoms and get see as an emergency - which i'm not quite willing to do... yet.

Life / NHS/NFZ assistance for British expat [12]

No, I'm in Stare Przedmieście

Life / NHS/NFZ assistance for British expat [12]

Hi,

thanks for the help :) It's good to see somebody knows what's going on :))

I am EU so that's nice and easy.

The school I work for are being as 'helpful' as ever. I explained that I need a NFZ doctor who speaks English and asked them if they would be kind enough to phone around the local surgeries to find one for me. This they would not do, but, they were kind enough to find me a list of addresses and telephone numbers for NFZ doctors - which I told them twice I already had. Then they left me to visit/telephone these people myself. As with the time they sent me to get a NIP and all they gave me was a street name, they still haven't quite grasped the fact that a) I don't speak Polish and b) I have no idea how things work in this country.

oh, they also told me that it was impossible for me to get medical help here without a medical book etc.. they really have no bloody idea.

Tony

Life / Calling Emergency Services in Poland [6]


This was abolished and is now replaced by a blue plastic card that I carry. As you say, for emergency treatment only so i have to wait until I'm dying. I'll be sorting out ZUS when I can

Tony