Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

Im currently learning Polish... and find it to be very difficult... my wife can speak English fluently, and something comes to mind that she once told me... She said "English is very easy to learn but difficult to master." Ive been reading through these posts and my eyebrows have perked up at alot of things said here...

I agree that Polish is very different in its sentence structures/conjugations than English... And I DO find that alot of times when I ask my wife what someone said in Polish (from an email or something) that she often says "Well I think he/she is saying such and such" It always strikes me as funny that shes doesnt know exactly what that person was trying to say...

This is foreign to me... I think this doesnt happen very often in English unless someone is speaking figuratively or something...

But to say that a language is "basic" when you dont speak it is just plain dumb... Have you ever looked through a Polish dictionary?! I can speak Spanish on a middle-school level, a basic level, but I would never say that Spanish is "basic" just because I can only use it in a basic way.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

No. I MUST intervene here. This is personally something I have never quite understood. I am American and speak English quite well thank you! While I'll admit that British-English CAN sound lovely (sometimes), that there is just as much "diversity" in British-English as in American.

I heard a reference to gangster rap, Rhode Island rubes, and everyone knows about the deep South. But I have lived in England and MOST of the people I came across in my daily life butchered the English language more than any one of my friends back home, innit!? (I'm from New Jersey, and NO I don't sound like Tony Soprano) If anyone has ever heard someone from the Manchester area speak then they'll know what I'm talking about. (but you may not know what THEY are talking about).

I'm planning on moving to Poland this summer and aspire to teach English. Am I to adopt a British accent and walk in to an interview sounding like Noel Coward?? ;-)

Love / THE POLISH DISEASE, wanna marry a Polish girl ? read on... [197]

I just read this... and some of what you say rings true ... Im American, married to a Polish girl... I feel your pain.

But I cant agree with everything you say. While there are some days when EVERYTHING you posted here seems to be true (days when we are fighting)... you have to realize that everything is not lost if... IF she really loves you.

Every once in a while I have to remind my wife, when things are at their worst, that A) Im not happy like this... and B) I WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY TO BE HAPPY IN MY LIFE. i.e. - I will find another person to f#$k, travel with, laugh, listen to music etc. That although I love her and it will kill me inside... life is too short to be miserable.

This usually chills her out, maybe not right-away, but soon after.

The only flaw in this tactic is that, if she doesnt really love you, then she might tell you to f$%k off and do it. Either way, you re-affirm where your balls are.

Travel / Information on Gliwice needed [41]

Nowy Swiat is not too far from Rynek... a 5-10 min walk Id say... If you stick to Rynek and explore from there, you can find some good places to have dinner and hang out... its all very walkable and close... and dont worry, even without a knowledge of the city you should be able to walk around and find a Zabka somewhere... there is also a Biedronka on Dworcowa street (across from Qubus hotel... which you can see on Google maps... Dworcowa is in yellow)... Rynek is a disaster right now but its coming along... when is he going to be here?