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Posts by Trevek  

Joined: 21 May 2008 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 12 Jun 2016
Threads: Total: 25 / In This Archive: 17
Posts: Total: 1699 / In This Archive: 1176 		From: Olsztyn
Speaks Polish?: not a lot
Interests: varied

Displayed posts: 1193 / page 34 of 40
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Trevek   
20 Feb 2010
Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]

yeah, and then they wonder why you just go, "OK, open the book; grammar exercises!"

Mind you, it's not quite as annoying as that thing of asking a question and then talking in Polish to their neighbour while you try to explain the answer.
Trevek   
20 Feb 2010
Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]

I've seen them in ones where you ask questions, just showing each other the questions and ticking off the answers.
Trevek   
20 Feb 2010
Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]

I'm thinking specifically about teaching tasks which I set. I time my activities and get frustrated when they kill them so quickly without feeling the nature of the task.

Ah, yes! When you set a 30 minute task and before you turn around they've all shown each other the answers and say "We have finished!"
Trevek   
20 Feb 2010
Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]

I think some of this comes from years where Poles had no real chance to demand and little to choose. In some ways, images of a 'free west' where everyone had colour TVs and huge cadillacs created a false impression that such things were available on request.

I think that years of having nothing has led to a kind of impatience, or lack of desire to wait for anything now. Ironically, often change doesn't happen that fast because of a "Oh, it's always been like this" attitude which has also been drilled into the populace over the years.
Trevek   
20 Feb 2010
Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]

there were Vlachs in Slovakia and Poland

George Barrows used the term Wallachian

Vlachs are also numerous in the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Greece, Macedonia etc). Probably a lot spoke Slavic languages as well as Aromanian (as I believe it is called).

I have a friend in Macedonia who speaks Vlach (Aromanian) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromanian
Trevek   
17 Feb 2010
Genealogy / Are there other ways of finding records that exist further back than 1826? [22]

I wonder just how many of them actually got to the Vatican. Thing is that sometimes the records got destroyed in transit or were just lost. I have been looking for records from late 19th/ early 20th C and in some places I can only find marriage books but no birth books, or death books but nothing else. Some churches had 3 different books, whilst others just have one (the local parish residency book). Some books are in Germany. others... who knows?

One story I heard from the Nuns was that when the Russains were approaching in 1945 there was a big bonfire of records to stop the Sovs getting hold of them.

As an earlier poster suggested, there are other ways. have you tried the local civic archives? Sometimes there are things like land records, legal documents etc which might give a clue.

I think you may find similar problems with ireland. If you're abroad, start checking the shipping records.
Trevek   
17 Feb 2010
Travel / Credit / Debit Cards to use in Poland [37]

It might be an idea to tell your back you are going to Poland. I tried to use my RBS card in Warsaw and it got locked on me as it registered an 'unusual transaction'.

A bit weird, when my account address is in Poland.
Trevek   
16 Feb 2010
Genealogy / Are there other ways of finding records that exist further back than 1826? [22]

Trevek, see my post above.

Ah, sorry.

On another point, I have found trouble with more recent archives where some books exist but others don't. part of the problem might stem from destruction of books due to war etc.

Was anything happening in that region during the 'missing years'?
Trevek   
16 Feb 2010
Life / You are Polish if... [433]

Why the soccer do you keep talking about the WTF?

wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Taekwondo_Federation
Trevek   
16 Feb 2010
Love / Nigerian Girls and Polish Guys [43]

Can a real relationship work between a Nigerian Girl and a Polish Guy?

Well, I know a married couple who are Nigerian guy and Polish girl. They seem happy.
Trevek   
16 Feb 2010
Life / You are Polish if... [433]

You complaint when someone consider Poland Eastern Europe.
You scream when someone compare Poland with Russia

and then refer to Scotland and Wales as "England"

What the f**k is Soccer?

What's the big deal about 'soccer'. I was brought up in England in 1970's and we called it 'soccer'. The term was invented by an England captain, FCOL.

It's from the term 'Association' Football, rather than Rugby Football, American, Australian or Irish.
Trevek   
16 Feb 2010
Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

I know a Polish lady here in Australia who was explaining a story at a gathering, involving a hairdresser, and she did not know the word for hair dryer or hair drying. So instead she said that he gave her a blow job:) I almost choked to death on orange juice because of my outburst of laughter

I almost crashed the car recently because I saw an advert (for MediaMart, I think) with a fish saying, "Daję Glową" (maybe it was a blow-fish).

Turns out it's quite a common saying.

If you're from the EU, then when you are dealing with the Polish offices for foreigners you don't have to know Polish. Under EU regulations Poland is obliged to explain and communicate in one of the official european languages that you understand.

Hahahahahahahaha! The immigration office in Olsztyn has yet to reveal to me anyone who speaks English. Not so much of a problem for me, but some new citz fresh into the country have a problem.
Trevek   
15 Feb 2010
Life / You are Polish if... [433]

The word is cleavage, Exiled. The standard is not bad at all :)

Yes, if you're a girl and wear your jeans so low we can a) see if you shave
b) it's a waste of time wearing underwear
c) spend the whole time pulling your jumper down when someone walks behind you (hence the word 'pullover', I suppose)
Trevek   
15 Feb 2010
Life / You are Polish if... [433]

you wear khaki trousers when there is no war going on ;) ;)

As opposed to camouflage ones in britain?
Trevek   
15 Feb 2010
Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

Do you think they are increasing in Poland though? Or it will never get quite as bad?

Not sure. I imagine a lot have gone to UK and been locked up (at least, my friend is a prison officer in Belfast and he says he has a lot).

I don't live in a big city, so it's perhaps not as obvious. Also, Polish kids are often a lot more polite than some Brit kids.
Trevek   
15 Feb 2010
Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

what can you find here that is better then somewhere else?

You can ask that question anywhere; the grass is often greener.

One thing I find when I go back to UK is that I remember how much I hate neds/chavs, which aren't as prevelant where I am in Poland.
Trevek   
15 Feb 2010
Life / You are Polish if... [433]

you talk about money no end, to the point of extreme irritation

Actually, I find the opposite. Usually nobody wants to talk about money until after the job is done and then seems surprised that you want some. Surely that bottle of bomba was enough....
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Language / Slovio - the international simplified Slavic language [37]

Serbs and Croats already talk the same serbocroatian language since centuries but how would you know argentinian Arab?

Since the war there has been a bit of ethnic cleansing on the Croatian side (perhaps even the Serbian side), with the language being revised in favour of more Croatian roots than Serbian roots.
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

But certainly for new teachers, it is an awful deal - and the reason why there's such a lack of talent when it comes to English teaching in schools.

Exactly, and often, in poorer towns and villages, it is only the less-able teachers who are prepared to work there, or some 90 year old maths teacher who has a leaving certificate in English from 70 years ago and doubles as the English teacher, thinks all Brits drink tea at 5pm and say "The ket set on the met".
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

As I said, life costs here. It just means that all the goods which everyone consumes are bought cheaper. State-school teachers really get a raw deal, I'm surprised that they survive.

I think a lot of them survive by taking jobs in private schools. It's a vicious circle, though, because often, the only teachers who'd take a job in such state schools are the ones who might not get a job in a more prestigious school in a bigger town. Village schools particularly are not necessarily jobs to kill for.

I didn't take the job in the end, but I did run around like mad trying to find someone. Even people who'd just lost their jobs wouldn't take it because of the location. Eventually we did find someone, so i was happy about that.

As for it being a discentive, it didn't help that it was a small rural town and it was ZSZ kids who have it in their mind that they have little future and there's no point in learning English anyway.

I understood them on this point. I finally spent a lot of time speaking to them in my dodgy Polish saying, "Yeah, I learned French at school in England and never met a French person in 20 years of living there... But you guys could leave here and get a factory job in UK which pays ok... and you'd earn more if you spoke a bit more English..."

I'd like to kid myself it had some effect but I doubt it.
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

The ones that complain, moan and whine about everything to do with Poland really surprise me - if it's so bad, why are they here? Is it because they couldn't hack it in their own country? Of course, the same individuals proudly boast about how they simply do their job and go home, rather than actually trying to change things for the better.

Is this any different from the many Poles who are on these forums moaning about UK but only too happy to take the wages?

As for trying to change things for the better, quite often some of us do try to change things and we're told not to bother. Apart from that, try to change things too much and there's always another NS just around the corner.

Personally, I'm lucky. I have open-minded bosses (who have to juggle open-mindedness with business reality) and a pretty progressive work environment, but I know of others who don't.

Trevek, do you know anything about what qualifications you need to teach in a state school in Poland? I've always been told a Masters is a minimum requirement with a teaching qualification, but do you know any better?

To be honest, I'm not sure. I think the law changed a little while ago and not only do you need a teaching cert but also a masters in your language (at least, if you were trained as a language teacher). The main problem for me was whether my CELTA was valid.

Apparently it was OK'd by the local ed authority, but perhaps it was because of the desperate situation the school was in.

Non-public schools (non-state) have a bit more leeway, I believe.
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

Because quite a few teachers are disillusioned from experiences in their own country and feel thwarted and frustrated. They should not transfer that angst to Poland. It's not the fault of the Poles that their government (Polish) doesn't have a clue about the cost of living here and pay often grossly disproportionate salaries and shrug their shoulders, 'it's Poland'.

Over december and january I worked in a small-town liceum/ZSZ school, to help out a friend whose ragular Engteach was on maternity leave. She asked me if I'd like to do the second semester as well. However, doing 18 hours a week (full etat), I'd only be getting about 1200 zlots A MONTH (and I'd have 80km round trip).

Next time I decide to whinge about my wages, I'll remember what some trained, professional Polish state-school teachers are taking home.
Trevek   
14 Feb 2010
Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]

Polish Jews understanding Hungarian Jews is a no-brainer - they both spoke yiddish and that's it

I do say that later in my post, although perhaps I didn't stress it much. But when I say "Hungarian", I'm referring to the language (which the post was about), not "Hungarian Jews."