Food / Is chocolate popular in Poland? [52]

More chemicals over 'ere :) :) I don't care, I love to see such things as a treat :) PP, try Belcanto choco ice cream from Biedronka. I haven't tried Ben&Jerry's but I have tried Haagen-Dazs and I can tell you that Belcanto tasted every bit as good, if not better. I simply adore the stuff. Augusto and Belcanto are two very good Polish ice cream brands. Zielona Budka and Grycian are slightly more expensive but heavenly. Zielona Budka actually guarantee the quality of Belcanto so you are getting sth really special for 10PLN per 900ml. A big thumbs up here!

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

Companies here are the same as everywhere else in that they have carved out a corporate image, part of which is to think you are sth when you are just another human being and only ever will be (you means the company workers btw, just to avoid ambiguity). Still, you have to play the game and delph was spot on to say that they are looking for professionalism. There are also disgruntled gits who want to trip you up so be careful not to give them any cause to catch you out.

Food / Is chocolate popular in Poland? [52]

I think I've tried them before. Very tasty :)

Poland has all types of flavours of chocolate. I once got hold of Cadbury's Orange and it was fantastic. The main bars are here such as Mars, Snickers and Twix. Oh, and Bounty too for coconut lovers.

Food / Is chocolate popular in Poland? [52]

There is quite a lot of chocolate here, yes. Wedel, Wawel, Milka, Alpen Gold etc etc. Desserts? Different flavours from Zott or Bakoma. You needn't worry about any lack of goods here in that respect. Wait, you're American ;)

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

PWEI, don't get me wrong, I love Subway. I first discovered it on Namiki-dori in Hiroshima. I fell in love with the place. I then tried it in my home city of Aberdeen, then in Prague. Good every time! It doesn't have to be calorific but it does very much tend to be. The ones I had in Hiroshima were full of mayo-filled tuna and seafood :) Hiroshima is the seafood capital of Asia so I enjoyed what they had.

However, it doesn't change the fact that people who want to be cool go there and pack on the calories quite freely.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

Not prepared to contribute and give sth back? What do you mean? They teach, isn't that enough? I don't criticise Polish people for sending their money home from the UK as they likely pay taxes and make their contribution in the UK by developing the cause of industry.

How about commenting on the lack of a contribution from some locals, Wedle? I see many aimlessly wandering around and the only thing they appear to contribute is noise pollution in the shops. Hopefully not air pollution too ;)

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

Good post, Barney. That's the danger! They befriend you and what could have been a lesson becomes a chit-chat.

Teflcat, I'm dead serious. It was the same in Japan. Freedom of association has no place where ruthless capitalism applies :(

Aphro, it's been that way since I've been here. You can socialise on school nights out but not beyond that.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

Ah, that's not hard to do ;) They are homely when you get to know some of them. They take pride in their region and will like you if you do the same.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

The people are friendly? Some are but quite a few aren't.

I imagine there is a ban on meeting students of the school outside of school. The key is to get a good rep early days. It is then up to you to maintain it.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

Teflcat, LOL. Your average Pole is still a good bit prettier than your average European IMHO. Still, fast food is unquestionably taking its toll. More phones, more calls made, more commitments, more rushing around like a headless chicken and more fast food as a result. I had Subway and a McD's chicken burger on the weekend for the first in a long time. I could actually feel myself getting bigger. Not my thing!

PWEI, LOL. Yeah, and the Americans adding extra oomph behind them ;)

Thread question already answered.

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

What peterweg said :) :)

I would have moved to see the country anyway, yes. Life is about experience and I've never been one for chasing tail, never. For me, the women are a small part of the overall picture here. For example, I didn't see many young hotties in Kraków but I saw plenty of sweathogs.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

Jack, I know the street you are referring to. It's not far from the train station, as you'd expect. There should be enough accommodation but you might have to settle for a poorer district, depending on how many privates you can clock up. Life is all about timing and being in the right place at the right time.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Warka Strong ranks amongst the worst beers I have ever tried. Just not for me at all.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

What's a gun doin in yer trousers? It's for protection. Protection from wut? Zee Germans? ;) ;)

Good luck, Jack. It may be a rough ride but that's life. Let me know if you get to meet Jeff, a cool American that lives in K-town :)

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

Jack, this is a forum where anyone who plays within the rules is entitled to contribute.

Katowice is a miserable and grey city on a par with Aberdeen, my home city. It's about as green as a smoke-filled dump.

A degree helps you with critical thinking and broadening your mind. Some teachers are good without possessing degrees but they are in the minority. Some teachers with DELTA and MSc qualifications are hopelessly over-analytical so it just goes on a case-by-case basis. A higher education is preferred, we should agree on that much.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

It is unusual, yes. They can teach Callan but not much more as they haven't really learned systematically like a degree trains you.

Let Jack learn by himself. After all, life is not a meritocracy in practice and he may be getting some good experience. It's not like politicians or business folk do things by the book so why the feck should we? You take what you can get :)

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

You cannot have a degree at 19 and you really must have one for teaching. A CELTA is an investment in teaching and should be taken seriously. You cannot just skip the queue in the way that you did. There are more qualified Polish teachers that could get the nod.

News / Poles are able to forgive their enemies - how noble. [68]

It's somehow easier to forgive your own govt than that of others.

News / Poles are able to forgive their enemies - how noble. [68]

Many Poles haven't forgiven the Germans or Russians, pawian. It's like a national obsession to harp back to past wounds inflicted. Some have moved on, yes, but many haven't and indeed won't.

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

The moodiness is hard to bear. I mean, many women are moody by nature but it really takes the biscuit here. I can't be doing with it and have been uncharacteristically speaking out more and more. They seem to think it fine to encroach into the space of others with their whims, IT'S NOT.

History / Do any Poles miss the Communist era? [35]

Southern, I like your post 12. It's pretty much the same now in parts. So much laziness, walking around and not taking responsibility for anything. As long as jibber jabber, aimless drifting and ducking of this and that are permitted, it gives off the appearance of communism.

History / I want to meet Lech Walesa, can anyone help me? [29]

I'm sure he gets in and about the people of Poland. We live in the information age, I'm sure sb can hunt him down.

News / Poles are able to forgive their enemies - how noble. [68]

Different times call for different measures. He did a good thing :)

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

OK, please talk about the availability point then. It could be salient and revealing ;)

History / Do any Poles miss the Communist era? [35]

Define the key features of the communist era if you will, Greg. Please give some unfamiliar with the manifestation of it a flavour of what it was about and how one could tangibly see it at work. Thanks!

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

Southern, come on, I thought Greeks were supposed to be good at analysing things beyond that which you choose to focus on ;)

Any more help with the OP's points, southern?

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

What can I say to that? I echo everything and give it the thumbs up, Sid. There are no agendas here and people would do well to realise what this is, a forum. I reiterate what George Galloway said in his recent Comment radio broadcast/talkshow. He was disgusted, as I was, that people walked out on Ahmedinejad for merely stating truisms. You know what? If you want to contest what we say (Sid and I), come with reasoned arguments and not half-baked, emotive defences with virtually no foundation. Superficial behaviour doesn't require Freudian/Jungian analyses ;)

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

Sidliste, as ever, is right on the money. Right on the mark. I have sth in mind when I post and, of course, there are many many decent Polish girls that don't fit the adjectives I chose to post. He read exactly what I was trying to say. Regardless of any label some may choose to affix to me for my comments, it's merely observation based on extensive looking around. I also have Scottish women as a yardstick. Here, all too many make a lunge for the pills due to a 'poor me' approach. Scottish women don't cry like little girls for the most part when a cold comes on or some inconvenience pops up. They think, 'oh, what a pis*er, better get on with it'. The vanity, for me, is the worst part. If you think being a prima donna is laudable, be my guest. The new materialists.

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

To the OP poster, you maybe never will. Be yourself, be tolerant but stand up to intrusions into your space.

History / Do any Poles miss the Communist era? [35]

Quite a few are trying to bring it back in their own way. Barroso, for example. We need to update the textbooks for school students as the polarity that formerly defined ruthless capitalism and stauch communism has paled away, totally obfuscated. Look carefully and you will see what I mean. Poland is ripe for the pickings as there are undoubtedly many commie sympathisers here. It's a bit like what I might dub as the Thatcher phenomenon. Most spoke against her yet she won a landslide victory in the elections back in the day. There are many that were comfy under communism here and for different reasons.