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Posts by Sparks11  

Joined: 31 Jan 2013 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 25 Oct 2018
Threads: -
Posts: Total: 333 / In This Archive: 244 		From: Warsaw
Speaks Polish?: Yes

Displayed posts: 244 / page 7 of 9
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Sparks11   
12 Aug 2014
Study / How good is Politechnika Warszawska? [33]

I agree with Monitor. I teach English to numerous I.T. people, many of them never even finished university or studied programming in any sort of formal setting. They all got their jobs based on skill. I think that with I.T. the type of degree doesn't really matter, so much as knowing what you're doing.
Sparks11   
20 Jul 2014
Food / Where to buy "yerba mate" in Poland? [20]

We get the one that says Pipore or some such on it. You can reseal it and it costs 20 some zl. It lasts a while and we fill the cups at least half full, like you're supposed to, so I hear. We drink it sporadically though, sometimes everyday, sometimes we don't even think about it for weeks.
Sparks11   
20 Jul 2014
Food / Where to buy "yerba mate" in Poland? [20]

Any of the Kuchnia Swiat stores. Many different kinds/different prices. There is one in the center as you are entering Zloty Tarasy from the train station in Warsaw.
Sparks11   
1 Jul 2014
Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

In one - I don't know what planet Sparks is on but Poles like to think it's a one way street

Just because you guys can't negotiate... :)

I just offered my experiece, of course you can go to Germany yourself, maybe save a little bit after hunting around for a few days. For someone who isn't a dealer or trying to make a profit buying and selling cars, I believe that the Polish ryneks and small car lots in smaller towns offer decent quality for decent price. Of course, you can get ripped off, as you can in America, Europe or anywhere else, if you're a bit savvy you can make it work though. If someone refuses to negotiate or accept you best offer, walk away, it's also important to know how to approach people, if you come across as aggressive and cheap, trying to squeeze every grosz you can from the deal, the seller may shut down, if you can talk a bit and beat up the car, you should be able to knock something off the price. That's why it's called "the art of negotiation."
Sparks11   
30 Jun 2014
Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

You could check out the rynek on Sunday morning in Lodz Widzew. Lots of cars there, you really should know your stuff though or bring someone you can trust, lots of hustlers. They will negotiate, one guy once knocked 1000 zl off of the price of some old Audi we were looking at before we even said anything, he probably would have knocked another thousand off without much effort, maybe given it away :) Of course the car was most likely, shi* but it only would have cost a few thousand zl.
Sparks11   
29 Jun 2014
Law / DEALERS Control the markets - Used Vehicles - Cars, Bikes, etc in Poland [22]

I think you can get some decent cars for really good deals here. Of course, the people who advertise aren't the people to go to. Most small towns have car dealers, guys who go to Germany and bring back fairly good Volkswagens, Astras and the like. Of course you have to know who you're dealing with and not be a complete twit when it comes to cars. You should be able to get a fairly nice used car for 10,000 zl. or so.
Sparks11   
27 Jun 2014
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

I would guess pretty slim. Not that you're English isn't good enough, just that there are pretty many Polish people with master's degrees in English who teach. You could try teaching Dutch in Warsaw, I believe that there is a bit of a market for it. Perhaps start there and see if you could land some other work. It never hurts to try.
Sparks11   
31 May 2014
Work / Finding English teaching jobs in Poland [19]

Again with the negative views of teaching English here. Warsaw has more work than there are DECENT native speaker teachers. If you're a drunk, have no idea about teaching methodology and have no character whatsoever, you may find it difficult to find work. If you have at least a B.A. and CELTA and take an interest in your job instead of thinking of it as just something to do before you go back to the pub, you'll be fine. You can expect to work early mornings and late afternoons/evenings. Going either the Nativespeaker.pl route for privates or the private school route should give you more than enough cash.
Sparks11   
31 May 2014
News / Poland could emerge as new European and world power. If? [116]

I think that Poland is, technically a "European power" just like all countries in the EU. I suppose it hopes to continue to gain wealth, power and prominence on the world stage, just like all countries.
Sparks11   
29 May 2014
Work / Any Speed School of English in Poland? [54]

I totally agree Jon, the way these two posters portray the schools seems to indicate that they really know nothing about the efl world, or perhaps, know it quite well and would like to manipulate would-be teachers into coming to the school. Unpaid efl work is unheard of in a professional school. Unpaid workshops and events with students? If you have to be there, it's work. We have workshops where I work too, we get paid our hourly rate plus a premium to conduct them. For level-checking potential students we also get paid. Are you a volunteer? Why would you give your time for free? Borrowing money from secretaries? What's wrong with you? Really, It seems best to give this school a miss.
Sparks11   
22 May 2014
Real Estate / Where can foreigners get financing in Poland? I will be purchasing a small home. [12]

Something is strange about your plan. You have most of the money, you earn twice as much as the property's value. If you earn as much as you say you do, you should be able to get a bank loan, if you're from the U.S. for 20,000 dollars or from the U.K. for 12,000 pounds without any problem and repay it in a year or whatever. Why fiddle with Polish banks and mortgages?
Sparks11   
24 Apr 2014
Work / Irish guy moving to Warsaw looking for work ( currently in Marketing sector ) [18]

OMG. Again with the no English teaching work in Poland. Get a Celta, come to Warsaw and drop your C.V. at schools, or just send them via email. I can almost guarantee you will have more work than you can deal with, especially with a background in marketing, people are looking for this kind of teacher. I don't know where this "no EFL work in Poland" comes from. Do the Celta and get over here. It will be fine.
Sparks11   
16 Mar 2014
Language / How can i teach my child Polish language? (I'm Russian, my wife is Polish) [35]

As has been pointed out, It is consistency which is key. You need to stop listening to your wife, you speak Russian, she Polish, English at school. Year after year, you can not switch it up. This is one of the biggest problems with education in general. A new idea comes along and kids become lab rats for some new idea on how to teach reading, math etc. They need structure and consistency. If you want your child to speak German, get a German speaking nanny or something.
Sparks11   
16 Mar 2014
Life / I'm English, but I really like some Polish names. Can I use them for my baby girl? [25]

I totally agree with Smurf. The lynching scenario is most likely. Your child is the center of the world and many people will be looking to it for guidance in these troubled times. Choosing the perfect name, one which reflects both your creativity and the child's uniqueness is of absolute importance to the human race. It is also paramount that you balance this with the traditions of your homeland and deference to respected social norms. Tread carerfully, the future depends on this...
Sparks11   
11 Feb 2014
Study / Multilingual School in Warsaw (English / Polish) [26]

The American school has amazing facilities on the edge of town, also the school trips and extras are pretty amazing from what I've heard. I don't know if the British school offers the indoor swimming pool and skiing in Austria. International American School is a cheap knock off of the real American school, many of the teachers there do not actually come from the U.S. I think that IAS is trying to capitalize on name similarity :)
Sparks11   
26 Jan 2014
Law / Pakistani married to Polish Girl in Sweden [40]

It's really strange that small people need to come on here and criticize someone who has worked hard, got the education and made a real effort in life to get where they want to be. I don't support illegal immigrants or people who just want to take advantage of a society but this guy seems to have really made it, the right way. Khan, good for you, if you are working and living legally in Sweden. You will be able to get Polish residency through marriage, no problem. Don't worry about the people who are jealous and would like to earn half of what you make. Really,
Sparks11   
12 Jan 2014
Australia / Australian citizen wanting to go to Poland for as long as possible - needs Polish Visa [49]

There are quite a few people from New Zealand teaching English in Warsaw, I've met a few Aussies too. It's really not that hard and not so dire you can earn enough to live, travel a bit etc. work doesn't dry up for seven months of the year. I even had some classes the days right before and after Christmas and New Years. If you teach in company and are decent at it, they will want to have English lessons with you most of the year. Come on a tourist visa and take a look around, some schools sponsor visas. It's especially easy in Warsaw where there are many, many companies paying for English lessons with Native Speakers. Get a CELTA first though.
Sparks11   
3 Jan 2014
Law / French guy living in Poznan, needs information on theory and test for Polish driving licence [8]

Just use Google. I found this one in 0.29 seconds: oskarkadia.pl. There are, of course many more. They do charge few hundred zl. more for the English course but come on... You're in Poland and getting driving instruction in a foreign language, I think they deserve a bit more money for that :) As far as getting credit for passing the theoretical portion in France, I doubt it. I switched my American license years ago but still had to pass the theoretical test in Polish. They don't make you take the practical portion (thank God) if you already have a license from a different country. If you can't read Polish very well, you will need a certified translator to go with you to take the theoretical test. Honestly, it's not that difficult though, I got a study packet with a CD which had all of the questions on it, just go through it a couple times and you should be able to pass, if you know a bit of the language.
Sparks11   
1 Dec 2013
News / Poland to sign FATCA, USA will get information about bank accounts [67]

Your statement is true however I was talking about Poland doing a tit for tat diplomacy here and perhaps make a few hundred bucks on every Yank that's rejected.

That won't happen until the spineless band of croneys in charge of this place decide that Poland needs to do more than sell its highly-educated workforce as more than back-office workers for large Western companies. Someone with some cajones.
Sparks11   
30 Nov 2013
News / Poland to sign FATCA, USA will get information about bank accounts [67]

Totally. This is obviously just the government grasping at any way to fill its coffers as it plummets to its doom. Watch for more such acts of desperation as the titan falls. Interestingly enough didn't the Urzad Skarbowy recently get rejected when it tried to make it legal to check into everyone's bank accounts. I talked to a doradca at my bank and he wasn't even remotely concerned that this would become law as it's not constitutional to share info like that. Seems like it is going to be though.
Sparks11   
20 Nov 2013
Language / Learning Polish and Russian simultaneously, Is this a good idea? [10]

The Cyrillic alphabet should take you about 90 min. to learn. Certainly just memorizing the characters (some of which are the same as the English alphabet) isn't a massive undertaking. It may take you a bit to get used to sounding out the words but it gets easier. As for the endings, yes, in a lot of cases they have the same or similar sounds, fine for speaking a bit messily but a disaster if you want to learn to translate precisely. You find yourself wondering if it's the same or different than the other. I think the Russian accent is a bit more difficult to master (not that my Polish accent is anywhere near perfect). The "soft sign", for instance, changes some of the sounds.