Life / Where to buy Kinesio tapes and ice bags in Poland? [4]

Ice bag? Do you mean a bag to carry frozen things? If so, in all hypermarkets (Carrefour, Tesco, Auchan, Leclerc, Piotr & Paweł...). Except for Piotr & Paweł, they are all outside of city centers (normal ;))

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

Yes, Polsyr, is right ;).

Good olive oil is expensive in Poland and more and more Poles start using olive oïl rather than their Kujawski at 3zl something ;).

A few years ago, a Tunisian brought me 3 bottles (nicely wrapped since gilt) of olive oïl and I could tell a huge difference with what I buy here.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Daytona: Cool! if it's very bad, you'll just leave. Do come to let us know in a few months!

Most probably, that school can find/keep teachers...

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Daytona: is it normal to work, to receive a salary and to have to rely on one's savings????

News / Have PO (Platforma) operatives in Poland fallen into a panic? [332]

This morning I was reading (French paper for expats) exactly the opposite, according to which PiS is to win.

Although 98% of the people I meet (through work) are pro PO, I personally believe that PiS corresponds better to Poland. Most Poles are poor, conservative, religious...

After electing a PiS president, it's logical that a few months later, a PiS parliament is elected.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Dominic: yes, it is! Of course, if one stick to potatoes, cabbage, onions and greasy sausage, it's cheap but if one wants to eat a variety of good food, it is not. And what about the rest? A bus ticket is already over 1 euro. Clothes are minimum at the same prices as in Western Europe (we can checl prices on labels). Medical bills are also expensive.

That's why a salary of 1,800 ZL (gross or clear?) is peanuts. What about emergencies? 2 weeks ago, I had to replace a filling I had lost the day before and I paid 237zl. What about if the guy breaks a tooth and needs a crown? On Monday, I was at my dentist and checked the price since I mean to have some and prices go from 780 to 1,800. What about medication? Most of it is not reimbursed now by NFZ. Often I leave 2 or 300 zl at the pharmacy. Young kids coming to Poland to teach English think they'll live in on a couple of grozy ;). Poles can get by better because they have their family network and also because they are used to poor life quality.

Life is rough when not the right kind of money ;)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

@Ayoub: personally I would love to receive a Tajine or a mint tea set from someone coming from Morocco. As said, they'll use them as decorating objects.

Yes, buy good tea!

Of course, one does not arrive empty handed but most important is the athmosphere

Just dress up a tiny bit, be polite, smiling, eat at least a bit of everthing they serve (in case you don't like their food) and all shall be alright! :)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

@Wulkan: sorry, I thought you meant to be smart with the Muslim religion ;)

@Ayoub: maybe you could bring a few different types of spices bought on the market...(if the mother likes to cook).

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

@Wulkan: I don't know how to understand your comments ;). Even though Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol, their countries do produce wine and other alcohols. I remember about good date and fig liquors in Tunisia and of good wine in ... Egypt.

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Smurf: I agree with you except for food. Food in Poland is also expensive if you don't want to eat potatoes, cabbage, onions, pork and greasy sausage.

I agree with you too that schools start looking towards the end of August. They must think that they have found an idiot and they are happy ;).

Considering how generous they are, I doubt that the accommodation is a castle ;)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

Re Moroccan thing, just get something decorative and small. What about a small "tajine" dish with its lid or a mint tea set (tee pot + small glasses)? They won't use them but keep them on a shefl as souvenir ;). Also get great tea or chocolate or flowers. Yes, important that tea and chocolates are nicely wrapped so go to fancy shops and not to Biedronka ;)

Don't bring 50 gifts because you'd look ridiculous and they could be embarrassed. So, what I would do: smalll thing from Morocco + chocolates OR tea OR flowers (or may be : chocolates OR tea PLUS flowers).

@Ayoub: I don't know how the word is transcripted in English but this is waht I mean with "tajine":



cfmradio.fr/emissions/tajine

don't get one too big! ;)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

@Fstop: is the guy from Morocco? If so, yes, he can bring something typical (including some sweets)...

If he's from Morocco so most probably Muslim + they are from Poland = NO wine ;)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

@Ayou; Poland has no wine culture and unless they are used to foreign travelling, they won't appreciate it.

Yes, like Harry says, tea could do the thing since Poles drink a lot of tea. If you buy tea, go to those fancy shops and buy top quality tea nicely wrapped. I don't know the name but in shopping malls, there is a chain selling good tea including for gifts.

If chocolates, also to go to fancy chocolate places (preferably foreign since they know Polish things). You know, if such places, they sell small boxes nicely wrapped and in fact, even if she is on a diet, it'll be ok (my mistake) as you won't bring kilos of chocolates.

If they are typical things such as sweets, small decorative objects from your country and that you can get hold of, go ahead as an small additional gift.

The best I suppose is to ask your girlfriend ;).

Good luck! :)

Love / Want kind of Present my Polish girlfriend's Mom would appreciate? [19]

A bottle of wine????? Do women in your country get bottles of wine as presents????

More seriously, just get nice chocolates (expensive brand nicely wrapped not a Polish brand bought at Carrefour or Biedronka for 13zl;)) but if she is on a diet ;), or some flowers. You may also bring her something typical from your country (not food, but a small item that she would keep as a souvenir). Personally, if I were you, I would bring something typical from where I am from + some flowers...

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Daytona: 20 hours a week is a lot especially since different levels. What about paper work? Some schools expect a lot from their teachers.

To give you an idea, 18 hours a week are considered full time in Poland.

If 20 hours a week, + preparing lessons + school's bureaucracy + travelling from one client to another = MINIMUM 40 hours (and most probably it'll be more) for 1,800 (gross or clear?)!!!! --- 11.25 ZL/hour (1,800 divided by 160) ;). To give you an idea, I pay my cleaning lady 100zl (clear) for 3 hours of work and in Warsaw the normal rate now is 20/25 ZL...

I am not even sure such job can be a "+" on a cv if you mean to move ahead.

If you accept said job, just see it as a trip out of England ;)

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

Also how many hours per week? How many different levels? It can be for instance 5 clients with similar level (so same lesson more or less ;)) or 6 clients with different levels (= 6 completely different lessons). How much bureaucracy to do for the school?

Yes, re NFZ. What type of contract? What about holidays?

The OP is very young and has no experience with teaching or with Poland so he signed without knowing much ;)

Law / Jobs and Economic Status in Poland [64]

Yes, most people I know are this way. They get quickly dissatisfied with their jobs. I'm not saying that we need to stay when not suitable (I don't ;)) but it seems that a lot of people are not happy at work here.

Law / Jobs and Economic Status in Poland [64]

@Polsyr! Hi! I could be for various reasons including negative ones. People are dissatistied so always looking for other jobs and also a lot of Poles working on garbage contracts so they cannot be very steady ;).

Genealogy / Rybinski surname; Seeking my Polish father 26 years later - from New Zealand [8]

Very sad situation but unfortunately it happens ....

Maybe you can give his name and suitable info (date of birth (or age), place of birth, where he is from, names of releatives...) in this forum and maybe someone can give you tips.... You know, people do it so don't be shy.

(my late husband had kind of similar situation with his half sister in Calgary (Canada) who always refused any contact and who even returned all his letters unopened).

I wish you to succeed!

PS: What about contacting Polish consulate? Maybe they could find him. In the case, they would tell him about you but of course could not force him to meet with you, it would be up to him...

Genealogy / Rybinski surname; Seeking my Polish father 26 years later - from New Zealand [8]

Hi! Since you have your sister's address in Warsaw, why can't you contact her? Of course, she could ignore your message but also she could welcome it so do get in touch with her!

Also, on your birth certificate, you have your father's name, so way to find him to.

Good luck!

News / Afera taśmowa (recordings scandal) in Poland - media coverage [17]

Although I have not really followed story at the time, I don't think it's such a big deal. Some people were heard saying that "IF x or y, they WOULD do z". In fact nothing has ever happened.

For me, much worse is the Stonoga affair because how did he get the documentation? Who sold it to him? And also, since the parliamentary election campaign has not yet officially started, how can E. Kopacz campaign through Poland on Sate's money? In western countries, it would be a huge scandal. Another scandal for me is that Kukiz with NO program whatsoever could get 20% of the votes and has imposed a referendum (cost: 100 million zl?) nobody cares about.

Most Poles don't care about the Taśmowa so called affair and I understand them.

Genealogy / Are the origins of Bernatowicz French? [23]

I don't know. They could have come also from Belgium, Switzerland;... especially as borders in the past were not the borders we have now.

But if they are named Bernat, Bernard, there must be millions of people with such names so hard to know where they come from and who could be related to you.

If you had some ideas about WHERE.....

Sorry, not easy! ;)

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

@Dayton: have you considered countries like Turkey (just to mention nearby places)? There are a lot of language (not only English) teaching jobs there and you can expect 1,500 euros (not ZL). I don't know about the other conditions but they'll be far better than what you can expect in Poland. Suppose you can get a job in Istanbul, believe me, you'll have more fun than in the sh###hole you are considering (you may be as bored as a dead rat).

Genealogy / Are the origins of Bernatowicz French? [23]

I've met people with names such as ... Chichon and the like. When "on" at end, they spell with "ń" and of course pronounce the Polish way, which has nothing to do with the original French pronounciation. It's like "Chopin" whose Polish pronouncation is something else too..

There are 2 or 3 fora like PF but for French. There is one called Beskid.com (they have a genealogy section), another one called Wirtualna Francja (or Polska, I don't remember ;) ). If you don't know French, you can write them in Polish or at worst use "Google translator" to write in French but I suppose Polish shall do it since people of Polish origin.

Good luck! :)

Genealogy / Are the origins of Bernatowicz French? [23]

I don't know about your name but in Poland there are a lot of French names, most often spelled and pronounced the Polish way. Some of Napoleon's soldiers stayed in Poland for Polish women ;). Last year, I met a (Polish) guy who had a French name because his ancestor moved from today's Belgium a couple of centuries ago together with other high skilled building workers to work on fancy buildings in Poland.

Check Bernat and more especially Bernard.

If your father says so, it's because his parents, grand-parents etc... told him so it has to be true ...

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

@Polsyr: probably, but it beats me when I hear/read so much hatred. I know I'm very naive ;)

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

@Polsyr: ;).

But seriously, such hatred is not normal.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

@Polsyr: I don't have anyone in mind ;). I just talk in general ;).

We have either the crypto or the guy/woman whose spouse left with someone of the same sex or whose kid happens to be gay/lesbian.

Hatred for a group is not a coincidence.

The only way to break that hatred is to meet and interact with others.

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

It is not so easy to acknowledge one's homosexuality (family, work, society....) even in more tolerant environments so it leads to frustration and hatred. It is always interesting to "study" the homophobes....

;)

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

"Slave driver"! Probably what he is.

1,800 ZL, gross or clear and for how many hours? Not only there is the teaching per se but also time needed to prepare lessons and also to do redtape (some schools are very bureaucratic and demand alot from teachers).

Basically: slavery in a sh@@@hole!

I bet the slave driver cannot find anybody to work for him.