Genealogy / Struski/Malek - Can Anyone help me find out my ethnicity? [8]


Gotta love anti-semitic Polonia.

But basically, you're just another one in a big long line of people that we call "pawel".

Genealogy / Struski/Malek - Can Anyone help me find out my ethnicity? [8]


The worst kind.

Work / Poland teaching contract withdrawn at last minute, thoughts? [10]


If you can afford to come over for two weeks and just hit the streets, you might get lucky. I'd recommend Wroclaw or Warsaw - there are many, many schools in both cities, yet there isn't an overwhelming amount of native "teachers" like in Krakow driving down prices. I think if you're determined and stubborn enough, you should be definitely able to put together a full time package of hours from different schools in either of those two cities.

(by the way - you should register on here, we could do with more sensible teachers who know the difference between "your" and "you're"!)

Work / Poland teaching contract withdrawn at last minute, thoughts? [10]

Well, the first thing you should do is name and shame them - Dave's ESL is notorious for moderating out bad comments about schools (Regent School is one particular name that always censors what's said about them on there), but there's no such restriction here.

If you send your contract to office@lindenia, I can give you my opinion - but sadly, I suspect that you've been given such a contract that allows them to break it at their leisure. Teaching contracts in Poland tend to be heavily one-sided in favour of the employer.


No, it's not normal practice. There are many examples of schools being greedy or not paying what's owed, but this sort of thing is very rare as far as I know.

What can be done? It depends on the contract. But - unfortunately - there's not likely that much can be done. It's worth sending the contract to me, just in case - I might be able to advise you on how you can put some pressure on them to refund the flight costs at least.


Don't look for jobs from overseas is my recommendation when it comes to Poland - very few schools bother to look abroad, and the ones that do are usually doing it for a reason. There are the occasional good schools that hire from abroad, but many of the bad ones do it simply because they can't get anyone in-country.

It sounds very odd that they've lost a contractor at the start of the year - it sounds like someone has tried to hire lots of teachers in the hope that they'd need them - of course, now that they've found out that they don't need them, they've let you down at the very last second.

It's sad that you've had this happen to you - I'd like to know the school so I can tell people to avoid them in future. It could be that they've simply agreed a far-too-generous package with you that they can't afford, as well.

History / What was better in Poland under communism? [67]


And this is why the government eventually came down on Solidarity with the iron fist - the demands were unreasonable and not possible to implement.

The economic situation was dire in 1980 - and to this day, Solidarity have absolutely no idea what is realistic when it comes to work. Retirement at 55 for men? I mean - come on! Many of the problems Poland has today is to do with such over-generous practices.

Travel / Share Your Travel Experiences in Poland [16]

No problems on EIC trains.

Bear in mind that if you enter a train that has already been going for 6-7 hours with no air conditioning, of course it's going to smell.

Travel / Holiday in Poland - do I need to learn Polish? [26]

Depends where you try and with who.

No different to me having a nightmare in Frankfurt (Oder) train station because of not speaking German.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


I think it's exactly the same for Polish citizens who want to start businesses in America - they need to return, get the right visa and then come back. As I understand it though, the general idea is that you can't "upgrade" a visa from within a country - you need to leave and then reapply for the right one.

I've never understood the logic behind this, but the world seems to work that way.

HOWEVER - what you could do is simply hand back the Karta Pobytu and begin your 90 days on the tourist stamp. It's perfectly allowed to start a business while the 90 day clock is ticking - it's the normal process for Americans without work permits here.


Forget it. EU funds are in very short supply at the minute for profit making businesses.

Travel / Holiday in Poland - do I need to learn Polish? [26]

They speak English just fine in Poznań Głowny.

Law / Non-EU country citizen on tourist visa - could anyone help me with Karta Pobytu? [63]


It is, technically speaking, a piece of paper that confirms your right to stay as a European Union citizen. It's not a Karta Pobytu, but it functions as one to all practical extents. The only irritating part is that it's a piece of paper rather than a card, but that's a minor grumble.

For the 5 year zameldowanie, go back to the Urząd Miasta, de-register and re-register - the EU residence card gives you the right to 5 years registration of address. And once they give you the 5 year zameldowanie, the PESEL (make sure to ask) will follow in a couple of weeks - you just go back in 2 weeks and they'll stamp the 5 year zameldowanie with the PESEL.

Love / Polish girls fall for Indian guys ? [217]


Might just have been a rival business owner rather than any sort of racism. No-one is particularly bothered here by non-Poles opening restaurants - the vast majority of them fail anyway.

Travel / Share Your Travel Experiences in Poland [16]

You haven't seen the amount of homeless people that are sleeping around the station at the minute - it's a complete disaster. Why Wrocław hasn't done something about the homeless problem there is a mystery to me - there's no homeless people in/around Poznań Głowny!

Anyway, train experiences in Poland for me are very meritocratic. Travel solely by EIC and you'll have a nice time, travel by TLK or IR at busy holiday times and you'll have a nightmare. The old saying "you get what you pay for" usually rings true in Polish trains.

Life / Homes and businesses in Poland have no letter boxes? [23]

Because when you compare German villages to Polish villages - there's just no comparison, the big fences in Poland are ugly. Very, very ugly - and are frankly an eyesore.

There's nothing wrong with a well designed, well implemented fence - but the metal monsters in Poland just make villages and towns seem oppressive.

Law / Does Karta Pobytu allow me to stay in Poland for 2 years and work in any job? [5]


You can work for anyone you want, but you'll need a valid work permit for the work that you do. Very odd that they gave you a two year card for a one year contract, though.


If it's just for a short holiday, no problem.

Life / Homes and businesses in Poland have no letter boxes? [23]


Why? I suspect that it's to do with the same way that there are massive ugly fences everywhere in Poland - because people don't want ANYONE accessing their property. Of course, big fences just mean that there's something worth stealing inside, but Poles don't get this ;)

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]

If you don't even know how the pedals are lined up, I doubt you are qualified to comment on driving an RHD car in a LHD country or vice versa. For what it's worth, I did a fair amount of kilometres with dnz on this forum on an RHD car and never saw one dangerous moment - except where other drivers were concerned, and they would be a danger, RHD or LHD.

If you can't change gears with the opposing hand, you shouldn't be in a car. I can drive both easily without even thinking.

Then again, I'm not surprised some dumb yank can't comprehend driving an RHD car in an LHD country.

Life / Gypies/Indian-looking women with kids beg for money in Poland [143]

And?

I keep being approached in the street by Slavic-looking guys looking for beer money.

Study / Student from Nepal travelling to Poland with dependent for further studies. Any job? [87]


Good luck. You'll need 5 years of residency to apply for the permanent resident status. That means finding someone willing to give you a job - and I can tell you now that jobs for poor English speakers in Poland (who don't speak Polish) are very thin on the ground.

No-one is going to give you a work permit for mundane labour, either.

Real Estate / Is this a bad time to buy an apartment in Poland? [142]


property.com.ua/property.php?id=183

That gives you an idea - works out about $1900 for a square metre in the main square.

Investing in Ukraine is probably like investing in Poland in the mid 1990's, I'd say.

Travel / Cheapest and quickest route from Wales to Poland by car? [11]

The best bet is Harwich-Hoek van Holland overnight. It's then a straight run across Holland and Germany, and you can make the Polish border in one straight run. From there, the best advice is to stop for the night either in Frankfurt-Oder or Slubice - you can easily make the Polish border in a day from Hoek van Holland - but I wouldn't recommend that they take on Polish roads without a good night's sleep first.

Only tolls on either the route from Calais or the Hoek is 33zl for the Polish section of A2 between Nowy Tomsyl and Lodz.

Real Estate / Is this a bad time to buy an apartment in Poland? [142]


The truth is that very few properties were going for that price - yes, it did happen, but that was the going price for a place on or right next to the Rynek - and the price was almost certainly bumped up by idiot foreigners willing to pay a fortune to be there. People buying those flats weren't going to be put off by paying around 3,500 EUR per square metre - the location was everything and the supply was and is very, very limited.

Right now, buying a Kamenica in Lviv's Ploschta Rynok would be a fantastic investment.

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]


Pride comes before a fall and all that.

News / RHD cars in Poland - my campaign to change the rules in Poland [128]


Buyer beware and all that.

Travel / Traveling on a TLK (Tanie Linie Kolejowe) - where to buy tickets? [13]


intercity.pl

Law / Problems with Polish Bureaucracy, residency [17]


I can't help but think that you really do know nothing about life in Poland today. Bureaucracy doesn't make my life a nightmare - in fact, it's safe to say that whenever I've encountered it, the most painfree way to deal with things is to do what they ask.

Many, many problems that people have in Poland are caused by not complying with requests (no matter how idiotic they might be). And if the request is outside the law - well, going armed with the law usually yields results.


Wrong. In fact, things have massively improved - for anyone legally resident in Poland, starting a business is a very straightforward, simple process. Again - it's obvious that you aren't "on the ground".

News / Crash of Tu-154 at Smolensk-North--could it have been a bomb in the Polish plane? [233]


That's the problem. :)

I just hope that the report will be soon - I'm very, very curious to find out some details, such as the definitive chart showing where the plane was at what time.

News / Crash of Tu-154 at Smolensk-North--could it have been a bomb in the Polish plane? [233]


The problem is that you're posting links that contradict what the top brass in Poland has been saying. The fact that you, as a so-called Polish patriot, are willing to believe Germans or Belarussians over Poles is absolutely unbelievable and certainly traitorous.

I start to wonder if you aren't a member of the FSB, who is coming on here to discredit the people who want to find out THE TRUTH about Smolensk. Certainly, your tactics seem very similar to the FSB-operated Kavkaz Center!

The thing is MediaWatch, you seem completely incapable of distinguishing between quality journalism and sensationalism. Take for instance, the following from the smolensk-2010.pl website.


Now - anyone with any knowledge whatsoever would know the following -

- The Poles would damn well make sure that no aircraft was bugged. Unless of course, conspiracy theorists believe that Poland and NATO would allow one of their aircraft to be bugged!

- What ILS at Smolensk-North? Is this the legendary portable system?

And that's just two small points from one small paragraph.

News / Crash of Tu-154 at Smolensk-North--could it have been a bomb in the Polish plane? [233]


It was the rule up until very recently that Russia required a Russian navigator to be on board such flights - and anyone with an ounce of sense could see the value in taking one to an airport which was stripped bare and was really nothing more than a strip of concrete.

News / Crash of Tu-154 at Smolensk-North--could it have been a bomb in the Polish plane? [233]


It wasn't the ATC's responsibility to call out 100m. The captain, or pilot in charge - is ultimately in control of the plane. They were cleared to 100m - yet they went below it. There is really nothing else to say about it.

In so far as Smolensk-North goes, it was perfectly adequate to land a plane at. It had a runway, what more do you need? Of course, to land it safely in bad conditions, it's a whole different story - and the airport most definitely wasn't equipped to handle them in such conditions.


They were descending a bit too steeply, but speedwise, there was nothing wrong with it. But - yes, they should have formulated a strategy before reaching that point. But - maybe at the critical moment, the captain lost it? It happened before with the Moorgate crash on the tube - it's not impossible to suggest that the Captain simply messed it up and no-one took corrective action.

In regards to the actual descent, while it was steep, there was nothing wrong with it per se - it was well within the capabilities of the airplane.


Seanus - Smolensk-North was stripped bare. We know the Russians discouraged the use of it, and it was really just a runway on the edge of a city - it wasn't even functioning as a military airfield at this point.


There was no need to alarm anyone - the autopilot was set and they were descending quite willingly. It's not unusual to come in steeper than usual if you're a bit too high - remember, this was a military flight and not bound by the rules of civilian aviation.

Now - if you want a real story - why was there no Russian navigator on board?

News / Crash of Tu-154 at Smolensk-North--could it have been a bomb in the Polish plane? [233]


It's not that the Russians, or Polish don't know - it's that the public doesn't know. But - as I said - the ground equipment suggests very, very basic equipment there - after all, it was public knowledge that the Russians all but stripped Smolensk-North bare at the end of 1999.


This is literally a case of "some guy posted pictures online" without any proof that it was taken at Smolensk-North on that date. No-one else has came forward to say that they saw the act - so you have to take it with a large pinch of salt. I'm curious to see what the Polish report says about this, but it seems of dubious credibility.


Certainly no MLS, definitely no ILS and the radar, from what people have suggested, was of a very, very basic type that wouldn't update quickly enough for the controller to react.


See below about why this failed -


As far as I understand radar - it isn't updated "instantly". What the controller sees isn't one smooth movement of the plane.


They were given barometric altimeter settings, and in addition, were cleared to 100m on the barometric altimeter in accordance with Russian operations. But - either way - if they had stuck to the Tupolev minima, they would have been at least 120m above the canyon - which was more than survivable.


Touching down in clear conditions would be a piece of cake for any experienced pilot. As for earlier in the day - we already know that the Yak pilots disobeyed the Russian ATC in order to land. But - the Yak is far more manoeuvrable!


Look at the transcript when the autopilot was disengaged. Way, way too late. As for the plane? It's well documented in the TU-154M manuals that the plane will lose altitude before starting to climb. Nothing new there.