Law / Marriage Procedure in Poland [56]

What are the vows exactly. I hope to get married next year bu might as well get a head start:)

Study / Schools to learn Polish in Warsaw [29]

delphiandomine has made some very good points above. I think the main thing is to shop around and not just sign up for something 'to force yourself' to learn the language. I definitely think language exchange with someone you find here or on gumtree is good for starters. Ok, people might not show up, etc. but if you read carefully into what people are looking for such free language exchanges then you'll easily rule out the tossers. For example, ex-pat guys seeking girls only to have a language exchange with may not have learning or teaching a language as their main priority. Look out for people who are doing Matura, FCE, CAE, CPE courses - they will be serious about improving their fluency in English and will have a sufficiently good grasp of grammar structures to explain the basics in Polish.

Livalg, on a scale from 1 to 10 I dunno. In terms of official language levels I did A1 (Elementary), A2 (Pre-Intermediate), B1 (Intermediate) and B2 (Upper Intermediate) with IKO. I did A2 with Klub Dialogu using Hurra A2 book. I found them classes a waste of money. Before I came to Poland in Dec. 2005 I did maybe 30 hours of AO (Beginners) in Dublin's Trinity College. I spent the summer of 2006 and 2007 out of Poland and left again in July 2008 returning to Warsaw after a 14 month break just recently.

If you know about language levels, then B2 is about FCE standard in English. Though most of the students I have in FCE are way better in English than I am at Polish.

So I guess I am about Intermediate stage. The news is too hard for me too understand alhough I can pick up what they say in soap operas here. Radio discussions that involve more than 2 people are hard for me to follow. It really depends on who I am talking to and the subject matter. Sometimes I feel like I'm flying it, other times like I am 'glupi jak boot!'

Quite plain and simple, if you get to A2/B1 level refuse to speak English unless of course your house is burning down and you have to explain something something to a fireman who understands English.

Necessity is the mother of all invention. My fiancee went to the Urzad to enquire about the formalities of us getting married. She was told I would need an official translator in my dealings with them at their office and for me to say my vows unless they could communicate with me in Polish. I'm thinking, 'no bloody way', so gotta get cracking. I'm getting married here next year and don't want our kids to be better than their Da at Polish when they are 3 years old.

Sometimes I even think our cat is better than me sometimes!

There is no shortage of Polish language resources online either for those who like to self-learn or don't have the cash to get a tutor.

Check this out: polishforums.com/general-polish-language-17/collection-learning-resources-learning-polish-language-31442/

I hope I don't come across on this thread as someone who is promoting free, self-learning over receiving tuition from a trained professional. I think doing courses are good once you can find a reputable school with qualified teachers or a private tutor.

It's nice to meet other people also learning Polish and I really enjoyed my time at IKO.

I'm not a disciplined learner and can go for ages without picking up a book but I guess the key is to appreciate tv, radio, newspaper browsing, advertisement/flyer reading and spoken interactions, no matter how short, as part of the language development process.

I'd suggest bringing round a pocket size Polish-English, English-Polish dictionary with you and a small notebook wherever you go. When you see 'that word' (let's say it's' 'zapach') for the fourth time this week on the metro news screen you can just quickly look it up and note it down so it sticks in your head, rather than travelling on the metro again the following week, seeing 'that word' (zapach) and still not know what the hell it means!

Love / Ring Size - Polish - British conversion [8]

I jokingly measured my girlfriend's ring finger with a ring (size L) I got in a barnbrack last Halloween (Irish trad is if you get the slice of cake with the ring you gotta marry within a year). When I got the size L engagement ring from credjewellery.com in the UK it was as big as a hula hoop. Not their fault, he ring was a perfect size L and really beautiful (one of few fair trade rings ya can buy).

Moral of the story, never trust a barnbrack ring if you are trying to buy the real job!

Usually there would also be a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin and a toy ring. If ya got a slice with the pea you would not marry that year; the stick was "to beat one's wife with" (hmmmm, interesting tradition), the person would be unhappily married; the cloth recipient meant bad luck or poverty; the coin meant wealth was coming your way; the ring, as mentioned above, signified that you would be wed within the year.

So if you are Polish and waiting for your Irish loved one to pop the question then make sure ya stock up on barnbrack cakes and load them with rings for October 31st.

Study / Schools to learn Polish in Warsaw [29]

I'd agree with you re. Skype. The most pressing issue for me as regards readysteadypolish is who are their teachers and what qualifications do they have. I couldn't care 2 lumps of sugar whether the receptionist licked my h*** which is what the founders are complaining of - poor customer service. They mentioned lessons cancelled at the last minute. I never had that experience. The other way round is a 100 times more common in my opinion, flaky students ringing at the last minute to cancel. Thankfully my fixed contract with the school I work with pays me for no shows by the students and of course they don't get an additional lesson or anything. If they cancel 24 hours before then a new lesson is arranged.

For 75zł I'd expect the teacher to come to my home with a nice box of biscuits, make the tea and do the laundry. If they would only provide the lesson, 50 zł max. unless they have good qualifications and they know their stuff inside out.

Study / Schools to learn Polish in Warsaw [29]

Somebody on another thread recommended them already although I find 60 zł an hour for skype or 75zł for one on one very steep. I did Polish lessons with a Polish teacher of English from my school. She had a great grasp of grammar structures and I knew she was a nice, punctual, organised and dedicated teacher. She charged 50 zł an hour which I think was fair price. That was 2 years ago.

LondonChick, if you are in Warsaw I'd contact IKO on ul. Chmielna. I'm pretty sure they also conduct individual lessons and my experiences with their teachers are very good. They also facilitate certified exams in Polish. What's more, threads on this site and dave's esl cafe have Poles looking for language exchange classes one to one or via skype. Of course some guys might prefer to have a girl as a language exchangee for a whole host of reasons but I'm pretty sure if you shop around you would get good and free skype lessons with a Polish person.

Not trying to dissuade you from this readysteadypolish.eu but it does seem like a new set up so I would ask for contact with other students they have to see if you can get some feedback about them. I'll have a look for that thread where the guy wrote he took classes with them. Will let you know if I find it.

That article on ReadySteadyPolish self-promoting can be found here.

They sound genuine and it's an interesting business concept. I would not sign up for a full course without having a demo lesson. Too risky as they do not give any info. about the qualifications or experience of their teachers.

They mention that their experiences with language schools here have been bad but as I've written I found the teachers and staff at IKO very friendly and helpful when I studied there.

Iko used to organise or aid in organising free social evenings where a teacher would go out with students for a drink and everybody would speak in Polish. I was only at it twice, didn't drink and yet found it great fun.

Is there any conversation club like that which can be found here, for example through public libraries or ?????

yeah, it's good. I did 3 courses there. Klub Dialogu was not good 3 years ago. Try language exhange for free via skype or just meet somebody in town a few times a week. Cost you less money and will be more effective if you combine this with a one on one teacher to do intense grammar work. I'd pay no more than 50 zł an hour.

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]

yip, the retailer doesn't have the right to call any of their produce 'Fairtrade' cause it's a brand mark.

To delphiandomine:

Retailers may claim to have 'Fair Trade' products but you will just have to judge that by asking them questions about the source, conditions of work, etc. I think retailers mark up their products with a standard percentage of the wholesale price, so don't think they are making a higher percentage profit per item of 250g 'Fairtrade' coffee compared to Nescafe Gold Blend. Also, many retailers, or at least the shop assistants, who stock Fairtrade in Poland don't have a clue what it is. It's just another brand of organic coffee too many and thus the price is not inflated compared to other goods.

Fairtrade is independently certified and the chain of custody is available for anybody who bothers to look. Delphiandomine, I wouldn't rule it out for the reasons you outlined. It's a charity-producer initiative and market-driven response to solve or at least alleviate a grave problem for farmers who sometimes experience crippling downward price fluctuations of their cash crops.

I'd encourage you to have a look at the Fairtrade Poland website if you are interested in following up the topic more.

Study / Schools to learn Polish in Warsaw [29]

'Polish in 4 weeks' is a good basic book alright. I noticed recently that there are a lot of books available for Polish language learning a few years ago. I think them youtube videos by Magauchsein are a great resource to have. Władysław Miodunka has some interesting books. I did the A0/A1 'Cześć, jak się masz?' and although I wasn't very disciplined I'd recommend it. There is a whole series of books by him up to B2 level, I think.

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]

Fair trade coffee is still really expensive here, whereas in the UK, Germany and Ireland it's fairly on par with other good coffees.

OR, I'm not surprised she was complaining about the cost and quality of the coffee. The prices in places like Coffee Heaven are f@*^ing ridiculous.

Better off bringing an aul flask to work!

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]

OR - Stand in the aisle beside my Polish girlfriend tomorrow at 6pm in Żółty Cesarz and you will see somebody Polish not buying Goldblend but FairTrade coffee!

Study / Schools to learn Polish in Warsaw [29]

Klub Dialogu was 90 zł for one on one lessons 3 years ago (I don't think they do groups). If you had a partner it was 50 zł. Overpriced and crap quality of teaching. I think they hired a lot of philology students and the teachers I had were poor quality.

I did four courses in IKO (iko.com.pl) and I think they are really good up to B1 level. I didn't find the B2 course so good cause I guess I wanted more communication at this stage.

They produce their own text books ( designed not to be self-study, for obvious reasons, i.e. so people like me who have done the course can't pass on the texts and cds to you for free:-) The teachers are very good but I could never get my head around why they photocopied page after page from the book for every student for every class despite the fact that everyone had a course book (it's included in the fee). From others who have studies in Warsaw I can say it is probably the best school. I'm pretty sure it's cheaper than CJP too, but just go online as IKO's prices and course dates are all clear. Do it quick though cause I think they are due to start new courses at the end of Sept./start of Oct. If you want any more info. don't hesitate to ask. Browse the forum threads cause others have made enquiries about good text books to use. I used Hurra A2 but you really need a good teacher for it. I found the texts in the workbook pretty weird, as did the Polish teachers and friends I showed. They old me that the articles in the workbook especially had a lot of language that is not used much in everyday Polish.

As a reference book get Polish grammar by Dana Bielec (I think that's her name).

Check out lessons on youtube, especially the ones by this guy: youtube.com/user/magauchsein.

And most importantly, refuse to speak English as much as possible when you meet Polish people. If you are completely stuck and it's a life and death situation, then consider getting your point across in some foreign language. But I gotta say, after being here on and off for 3 years (and being away altogether for the past 14 months), the last few weeks here since I arrived back have been really great because I just tell everybody 'Nie rozumiem' when they speak English too me. After a couple of hardcore weeks at this your communication skills will improve rapidly. Don't let anybody do anything for you - buy your own tickets, go shopping and ask for spuds, broccoli in the local bazaar. Just force yourself to do it and believe me you will be rewarded.

Polish is such a challenging but beautiful language and despite it being obviously difficult don't let anybody convince you that it is impossible to learn. The only person who can stop you from picking up enough to communicate well in most situations is your own lack of self-belief. So peg that out the window and get cracking at it, don't guilt-trip yourself for making slow progress and if you feel you are regressing. Keep plucking away, whether it be through courses, chit-chatting with your local shop owner about what ever comes into your head or asking people for the time at bus stops (just hide your watch and mobile phone cause they'll think you are trying to pick them up).

Livalg, email the schools if you don't get the info you want on their websites, which I expect you will. Tell them what you want and they will tell you what they have. Or even better, go there in person and try to practice your Polish. Rehearse with someone first so you feel confident.

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]

The pocket financial cost of nescafe is pretty clear from the postings above. Maybe also take into consideration whether that is a fair price for the producers of the commodity. Nescafe have a fair trade option now but I haven't seen it on sale here in Warsaw. It is still hard enough to source fair trade coffee in Poland. FairTrade coffee is a better deal for both the producers - who get a more stable income and social premium to invest in health and education projects, in addition to the advantages it has for the consumer - the quality of the coffee is better (they choose the beans more carefully) and don't use fertilisers.

Nestle has been one of the longest boycotted food producing companies due to consumer concerns over their baby milk scandal. This might put you off their products.

If you wanna get FairTrade coffee in Warsaw shop at Żółty Cesarz or ask your local retailer to stock FairTrade coffee. I think there is a shop that sells it in Złoty Tarasy also.

Love / Traditional wedding rings in Poland [11]

The mining of gold and diamonds are extremely damaging to the environment and the bosses of the major corporations that own the mines exploitative of the workers. I would recommend people who are buying wedding rings for their loved ones to ensure they request information from jewellers in Poland on the chain of custody (where the mine is and what are the working conditions; how the stone/mineral was produced and by whom; where they source their gold/diamonds in Europe; whether they have an independent auditing process for their supplies, etc.). Most won't know or have this info. for you in Poland, but you may deem it important enough to show them that there is a demand not just for luxury for your Polish loved one but also that the ring your partner is going to wear reflects your values as a person.

A good place to start researching is with retailers/fair trade gold campaigners Credjewellery as they are pioneers in establishing the Association for Responsible Mining] and work alongside the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation

communitymining.org
credjewellery.com
fairtrade.net/setting_the_standards.html

In one who purchased an engagement/wedding ring from Cred recently I can vouch for their rings beauty, the efficiency of their service and the happiness my now fiancee had in finding out how much effort I put into researching this important symbol of love is as pure gold as it comes.

There is a Polish goldmine but dunno if the company that extract also manufacture and retail. Re. diamonds for Polish women, I'd say they'd be happy to know it is not only Kimberly process certified (ask the jeweller for their policy) but insist on the chain of custody.

And finally, I'd say it is traditional to shop around and barter the price down. Most jewellers will knock down he price once you show them you know what you are talking about. From my experiences in Ireland (dunno too much about Poland) jewellers can reduce the price by up to 20% if you negotiate well/plead relative poverty.

From that 20% you will be able to have an even nicer reception hall, band or honeymoon.

Life / Getting married in Polska - some advice required about mixing traditions [27]

Re. wedding band prices I've heard quotes are generally 1000-3000 zł. It's a lot of money o pay and a big risk if ya the ya haven't got some references regarding their quality of music, ability to ensure mixed trads/languages are catered for. Still hoping someone here can give more first hand account of their experiences of mixed trad wedding bands.

Life / Getting married in Polska - some advice required about mixing traditions [27]

A few people here have mentioned that they have had really good bands at their weddings. I am hoping to get married next July in Warsaw (where I live with my fiancee) so please PM me or post contact details here of the band you had at your wedding if you would like to recommend them. Note to wedding band surfers, don't self-promote by sending me your details cause I only wanna hear from people who got married, attended a wedding and have first hand experience of good party, music groups in Warsaw. Thanks.

Life / How much cash to give as a wedding gift? [25]

Seanus:


That would be if there were 90 couples, but I think there were 90 guests, approx. 45 couples?
So they got 18,000 zł. I think?

My Polish girlfriend reckons 200 zł but even she admits she doesn't really have a clue and its just a wild guess. I guess if you are only going to the ślub (ceremonial part) then even an 'aul bottle of washing up detergent should do the job. Afterall, you are not getting any grub or drink.

If I was anal, which I am not, I would take into consideration that we are both vegetarians and easily filled. I don't drink alcohol (anymore) and my girlfriend gets drunk just looking at a bottle of wine. But MareGaea has a point, a huge amount of money is generally invested by the hosts in catering for the guests needs. I guess one should try to at least cover the costs of their presence (although at this wedding it could range from 150-400 per person, I'm not sure really).

I didn't bother going to the stag cause I would have known nobody apart from the 'kawaler' (bachelor groom-to-be). My girlfriend is going to the hen party tomorrow. Each invitee has been asked o contribue 110 zł. She and her other close friend think it's really steep. But they haven't a clue what is been organised so I guess their livers will be well oiled by 6am 'za darmo' (for free).

David, I guess you meant 500 zł. as couple. That seems steep.

I'm guessing 200-250 zł is enough. I haven't earned for a year as was working abroad gratis with my partner. She just started a job with NGO that only pays 1600 per month. So she when she heard that the hen was going to be 6% of her monthly wage she was not too pleased.

Work / Salary Expectations for Language Schools in Krakow [6]

I'm working in Warsaw (have post-grad Higher Dip. in Education, TEFL cert, 5 years experience teaching EFL) and in my 3rd year working with a school I was offered 50 zł. brutto per 45 mins or 3,500zł for 28 hr wk with private med insurance and of course ZUS. The latter worked out at 31 zł. netto per hr. but is better for me in terms of financial security; regular hrs (usually I'd only work 25 hrs max.); access to great, free resources in a very professionally run school with very nice staff and management; the holidays are plentiful and all paid. Anyhow, I bargained higher and got 4,000 zł. netto per month for a max. 28 hr. week. I'm expecting I could have bargained up to max. 60 zł. brutto if I was to go the way you want.

For individual lessons (1 hr) I have charged 70zł sometimes 80 zł per hour, depending on the student's financial status, etc. Hope that helps. If I think of anyhing else I'll post here or you can PM me if you want.

Maybe you want a certain financial trail for financial reasons, but with your qualifications and experience you will make a lot more money through private lessons. Word of mouth, advertise around your area, free newspapers/portals or do in-company stuff.

Best of luck:-))