Work / Teaching English in Gliwice. Schools? Can I start after September? [28]


Yes, I read that. Since it does nothing to enhance your qualifications to teach English, I didn't comment on it.

Yes, I speak Polish. Not well, but it's improving every day. So what? You asked about teaching English.


How is this relevant? I'll let my original response stand as it is.


I'm sure that will impress someone in an interview when you have to explain why you don't have a degree.

Work / Teaching English in Gliwice. Schools? Can I start after September? [28]

It's Callan, not Callum. I may be wrong, but I think you need to have your degree before schools that offer CELTA will accept you.

Please pardon me for being so blunt, but the last thing Poland needs is a disillusioned, disgruntled, unqualified American who wants to come here because he's dissatisfied with the US and got dumped by some woman, regardless of her nationality. With that displayed level of immaturity, how can you possibly think that you'd have any credibility in a room full of adult Poles who have experienced more adversity in their lifetimes than you can imagine? They'll tune you out faster than you can channels with your remote.

Do us all a favor. Stay home until you grow up.

Life / Cost of living in Gdansk [16]


I just reread this thread. I don't anybody who spends this much on food every month. On piwo, maybe.

So, did you move to Gdansk? If so, how's it going?

Travel / Now Gdansk is tipped as a hot spot for 2009 [24]

It's not expensive for tourists. Those of us who live here just go to places most tourists never find.

Work / Do I Need To Speak Polish To Get Around for 5 Weeks in Krakow [23]

I had two years of Latin in high school, thank God. It certainly helps me understand the declensions of nouns in Polish. I lived in Japan and speak some Japanese. I never learned the written characters but I did learn their phonetic alphabet. I have a degree in French, speak it well, had a year of Italian at university, and have some Southern California street Spanish. Polish is by far the most difficult language I have ever tried to learn, but it's not impossible. Compared to Polish, French is a piece of cake.

Just smile and say piwo!

Work / Do I Need To Speak Polish To Get Around for 5 Weeks in Krakow [23]

Two years ago I came to Poland to do my CELTA in Warsaw. I didn't have any money, no job, no friends, and next to no Polish. I still don't have any money but I have a job which I love and I have lots of friends, most of them Polish. Now I know three words in Polish: piwo, but I've forgotten the other two.

You'll be fine. Just remember that the weather in Poland is slightly different from that in Thailand. You'll need warm clothes very soon.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

Thanks. I had forgotten the name as well. Did you ever go to Pannikan?

PM isa Profile picture
Member
Threads: 12
Posts: 47
Joined: Oct 22, 08[/quote]

Travel / Tour guide in Gdansk [4]

I've been living in Gdansk for two years. That sounds like a very good tour to me.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

After my first trip to France in 1986 I wanted to live and work in Europe. I shelved the idea for many years until I met a woman who had taught English in Prague for two years. She loved it but said the winters were cold. When you live in San Diego, that's true for almost everywhere, so I wasn't concerned about that.

I began researching teaching English and found that as a US citizen, not EU, it was hard to find a job teaching legally in countries like France, Spain or Italy so I began to look at Eastern Europe.

I've been interested in Poland and its history since I was about 11 years old (that was a LONG time ago) and decided to come here to experience it for myself. I love being in a country which is still in transition from the communist era to the capitalist mode, and I love wrestling with the Polish language. It's a bear.

My story is much longer than that, but that's the gist of it. I love it here and I think I've finally tossed out my anchor. I plan to stay here for the rest of my life unless something truly amazing happens.

BTW, I know the record shop you mentioned and the Mexican place south of it. In Leucadia on the coast highway? Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Oh, as an aside, I wonder if anyone besides me knows what BFE stands for.

You've got me thinking about Mexican food again. Garcia's is on State Street in Cbad. It's been there for at least two generations. Everything's made on site. Small and little in the way of decor. Awesome place. Then there's Fidel's Norte. There was a place on the Coast Highway between San Clemente and Dana Point that served the best carne asado burritos I've ever eaten. And carnitas in Old Town Mexican Cafe in SD? Out of this world.

And unfortunately not available in Poland.

Work / 5 months looking for a job in PL and nothing! suggestions? [22]

You find 4000 a month an embarrasing offer? Do you know how much most Poles make? I think with that attitude that you should relocate immediately.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

Chipmunk, before I moved to Carlsbad I lived in Oceanside. I had a condo near the DMV off College, 3463 Seabreeze to be exact, then a house on Temple Heights farther inland just off Oceanside Blvd. And yes, I was a Marine at the time.

When I dis pizza in Poland it's because I think about Pizza Port and the microbrewery beers available there, not to mention Roberto's and Alberto's and all the other great Mexican places in the area. Did you ever go to Garcia's in Carlsbad? You won't find that here. More's the pity.

I talked to another American tonight who's been living in Warsaw for 6 years and he's been to all the so called Mexican restaurants in Warsaw. They're marginally OK but certainly not up to SoCal standards.

Don't let that influence your decision. I miss Mexican food but I've learned to live without it, and Poland offers so much to replace it but in a different way. I love this place.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

Chipmunk, not exactly San Diego but Carlsbad. Didn't think anyone here would know it so I used SD instead.

I doubt that I'll be in Warsaw anytime soon but when I am I'll try the places Harry recommends. It's worth a shot.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

frd
I ate at Anker the day I wrote what I did about pizza here. I stand by my original statement. I haven't found good pizza in the trojmiasto.

Law / Temporary Residence requirements in Poland [12]

This is Poland and every office asks for different things. I'm also American and have gone through the residency card thing twice. PM me for details if you want them.

Life / What to bring, ship, pack for our move to Warsaw [67]

Cornstarch still eludes me, but I'll try looking again. Brown sugar is available in BOMI Krevetka in Gdansk and I'm sure elsewhere.

I've been in Gdansk for two years (from San Diego although I went to U Dub) and I have yet to find a decent pizza. Mexican food is terrible here so I just cook my own at home. What passes for a burrito in El Paso in Gdansk comes with cabbage on the side. I know we're in Poland but that's just wrong.

Maybe things are better in Warsaw.

Don't get me wrong. I love this place but some things I just can't find.

Travel / Help with travel to Gdansk [30]


Not true in Gdansk. This week I went to three shops looking for a mug which they didn't have. After I left my Polish friend Gosia, who was with me the whole time, commented that every time I spoke Polish, they answered in English.

I usually have to ask the shop assistants to speak to me in Polish.

Granted, it was in the old town, but that's been my experience almost everywhere in the trojmiasto. Speaking some Polish helps but it's not always necessary.

Travel / Travel to Poland on a one way ticket [3]

I came here on a one way ticket from the US two years ago and I've been here legally ever since. No problem.

Work / Salary of 3500 pln without tax deduction [8]

mithra, I live in Gdansk. 3500 nett is pretty good. You won't live like a king, but you'll be comfortable. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Travel / hotels Gdansk [14]

The Holiday Inn is now Scandic. My friends who have stayed here tell me that Wolne Miasto is the best for price and ambiance. Check their website.

Travel / Help with travel to Gdansk [30]

Fly to Frankfurt and then to Gdansk. You won't need a car. Buses, trams, trains and taxis will get you anywhere you want to go for a whole lot less money. Don't worry about the language. Many people here speak English, but a few Polish words will go a long way.

I've lived here for two years and I love it. When are you coming? I'll help you as much as I can. Just one Yank to another.Email or pm me.

Law / How do Americans go about getting a work visa in Poland? [21]


I didn't need a work visa because it wasn't reququired not required for native speakers of the US, etc, but that may have changed after the Schengen thing. I really don't know.

To get my residency card (valid for one year) I had to provide a copy of my university degree, my teaching "credentials"-copy of my CELTA, contract from my school, copy of my lease, and a copy of my birth certificate. They wanted a copy of my bank statement but I still don't have an account so they accepted a form where I told them how much money I had. I said $5000, which was way more than I had, but it did the trick. They also wanted a copy of a police report, which I also didn't have, and they accepted another form in which I said I wasn't an axe murderer. They wanted some tax documents but accepted another form instead.

Work / Any non-shafty English schools in Poland to work as an English native speaker? [36]


I'm not sure what you meant by this. I'm paid cash in hand because I don't want to open a bank account. I don't need one. It's legal and I pay taxes. It's all above board. Some teachers have a direct deposit into their bank accounts. What's the big deal?

Work / Any non-shafty English schools in Poland to work as an English native speaker? [36]


As a native speaker from the US you don't need a work permit, but as I've posted before, you do need a residency card. My school helped me through that process-the first time required more documents, but the ones I didn't have weren't really necessary. I just had to sign a paper stating that I didn't owe any taxes in the US and I wasn't an axe murderer. Piece of cake, though time consuming.

I pay Polish taxes and have the documentation to prove it. My school has never been late on any payments. Why would you work for a school which does this sort of thing?

I work at Bell in Gdansk. They've got a rap for paying less, but I'm on a contract from the third week in September until the third week in June. That means that get paid for holidays, Christmas, Easter and semester breaks so it kind of evens out.

News / Poland adopting the Euro, but when? [65]

It's the constitutional change that is the real bugaboo, and the fluctuating zloty doesn't help either. I think not before 2012, and probably nut until after. My students who work in banks or economics tell me the same thing.

Work / New English 'teacher' in Poland (I have no qualifications). [119]


I told you I'd use it today, and I did. I loved the expressions on their faces and the "ahas" that I heard. I love that. It's so much more meaningful in Polish than in English. Thanks again.

Work / New English 'teacher' in Poland (I have no qualifications). [119]


Very cool. I'll use that tomorrow. Never thought about it before, but now it seems so obvious. Thanks.

I'm not intimidated by teaching upper management, because I was once there. They're just people who put their pants (trousers) on one leg at a time.

And I really agree about some of the expressions in the books. They often sound so stilted and I seldom heard them during my business career. Usually the conversations were a lot earthier, but I'm not sure I want to go there in my lessons.

Work / New English 'teacher' in Poland (I have no qualifications). [119]

What is Business English, aside from some specialized vocabulary? It's all about knowing how to communicate, and yes, I also teach business english. My background is 25 years in sales and sales management, so I have a little experience in the field.

I agree about using Polish in the classroom. I avoid it whenever I can, but sometimes it's the quickest way to explain something.

One example. We spent about 30 minutes talking about Fat Thursday/Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Ash Wednesday, etc. Poland's a Catholic country so everyone knew about fasting, but they called it "post". Of course they all know "fast", as in "my car will go 300 kph. It's fast.", but they didn't know that fast can also be a noun and a verb. So, post is fast, and Wielki Post is Lent. I love to hear "aha" when they get it. It's so Polish, and it means something a little different than it does in English. I like the Polish version better.

Life / Hot Spots / Internet / WiFI / Cable TV in Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot Area? [13]

Where do you live in Gdansk? Come to the city center and find Absinthe. It's between the LOT building and the great armory, nest to the theater. In the day, it's my office for private lessons. At night, it's my living room where I meet friends. Abs is the best place in trojmiasto. Hope to see you there. I'm the old guy with glasses and a red baseball cap when I come in the door. Just listen to conversations. You'll pick out the English speakers, but a lot of Poles speak it also. Great place.

Life / Living In Poland For The Expat [67]

Hmmm. Weather and language. I lived in San Diego for 25 years and have had no problem adjusting to the long but not so cold winters in Gdansk. Just dress warmly and you'll be fine.

But the language is difficult. My degree is in French and I speak some Italian, a little Japanese and Spanish. They were easy to learn. Polish is much more difficult, but if you try, you can learn it, although it takes a while. You'll find that in larger cities a lot of people speak English, so don't let either the weather or the language deter you from coming here. It's far from perfect-what country is?-but I love it here.

Travel / Nice place to holiday in the North of Poland? [26]

I love Old Town Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia, and Hel, and lots of other places near the trojmiasto. Malbork is definitely worth a trip. From about the third week in July until mid Agust Gdansk hosts St Dominic's Fair. Lots of free concerts, but also lots of tourists, so if you plan to come during that time, book a hotel or hostel early.