Posts by Benz

Benz

7 Mar 2011

Life / Pepkowka (I will be a father in a few month) [8]

I am so lucky that I will become a father in a few months, and of course I would like to honor the nice Polish tradition of throwing a pępkówka.

Having only attended one so far, I am not fully aware of the do's and dont's in this kind of celebration. Of course I will provide the alcohol, make a toast for my newborn, and serve some snacks - but I would like to know a little bit more about what is expected by the host.

When would be the best timing for this celebration - say my baby arrives at 5 in the afternoon; do I throw the party the same evening or wait until the day after?

Thanks for your answers!

Benz

8 Mar 2011

Life / Pepkowka (I will be a father in a few month) [8]

congratulations!

But congratulations

Thank you!

usually only men attend this celebration; do you plan otherwise?

It will be a "men only" event.

„Dziecko nie opite – dziecko chorowite”

Small translation of this saying, please?

Benz

8 Mar 2011

Life / Pepkowka (I will be a father in a few month) [8]

I have to ask though about the word pępkówka? Doesn't that mean belly button? So is it about your wife's, gifriend's, etc. growing belly button?

I think it means the baby's belly button, as it is a celebration of the birth.

Benz

22 Aug 2011

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

Martin,

I am Danish and have been living and working in Krakow for the past two years, using my native language skills as the primary asset (I also have a M.Sc. but this is not very relevant in relation to what I'm hired to do). Your demands of 9.000 PLN is a little off, I started out with 7K and now has 8K (incl. medical care and other social benefits) and that is a VERY WELL PAID job. I know other Danish natives who earn a lot less doing exactly the same job. I know that the job market in Krakow for Danish natives is under-populated these days, as I frequently receive phone calls and emails from recruitment agencies trying to tempt me to change. You can send me a private message through these boards if you have any further worries.

Don't let other users scare you from coming to Poland, it is in many ways a fantastic country but has, like Denmark, also its flaws.

BR
Benz

Benz

22 Aug 2011

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

A callcenter in a big company is not a bad start for someone who is skilled and want to advance

...but then you would need to learn the Polish language. I doubt any company would hire any person with unrealistic salary demands to work on the Polish market having no Polish language skills. Many Polish people speak English well enough to beat foreigners to these jobs so unless you have some very specific qualifications for that particular job it is a long road. I have tried that myself and either turned down the job myself because of "low" salary or been turned down because of insufficient Polish language skills.

Benz

22 Aug 2011

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

They're not looking for a Danish person though - they're looking for a Danish speaker.

Indeed, a crucial difference. And one that determines if you get about 3,500zl/month or >6,500zl/month.

I know several Polish people having studied Danish philology in Gdansk or Poznan, and they get only half of what a native speaker pulls. Danish is a very difficult language to learn (let alone pronounce), and maybe the employers know this. What is more, unfortunately many Danish people do not appreciate the effort foreigners make while trying to speak Danish, if it is not flawless sometimes they even hang up or ask for a native. If you are employed in a call center/outsourcing center then you are on the phone many hours every day. I guess this is why a native speaker takes home double that of a non-native speaker...

Anyway, it is a fact that the nordic speakers are paid the most. That is a fact. We are a scarce resource :)