Work / Poland teaching contract withdrawn at last minute, thoughts?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

Dziekuje, registered. What would the average hourly rate be if I were to do things that way? I assume I'd get a slightly better rate than taking one of these advertised-online jobs? I converted 900 zl as insurance for my first few weeks assuming this job was going to go ahead, do you think this would be enough to keep me going if I were to come over to Poland and look?

Work / Poland or Hungary - which one for my scholarship? [26]

Hungary and Poland are difficult to choose between. If your judgement were to be based purely on women, I'd agree with the Polish recommendations. Practically speaking though (having spent some time in Hungary), I'm very fond of it and would be inclined to lean that way purely because I have more experience of things functioning fairly over there. Personally I have more of an interest in Polish culture than Hungarian though.

Work / Poland or Hungary - which one for my scholarship? [26]

As far as I am aware, Hungary is a very popular location for Medicine study, generally held in very high regard (especially the academies in Pecs and Szeged, which seem to be especially popular with Norwegians and Israelis). I have no idea about the quality of this field in Poland.

Love / Polish Girl Doesn't Want To Touch. [240]


Greatest quote ever. I'll remember this tactic, thanks.

Work / Poland or Hungary - which one for my scholarship? [26]

Slovakia...

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]


Got it, cheers ;)


OK, przyjaciel :)


How should I go about doing that? What constitutes "being ripped off"? I need to know what to watch out for.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]


Will do. I think that's more of an American thing than British though. We have the pharmaceuticals available, sure, but we don't have quite the same culture of heavy usage most Americans I've met do. At least, the only thing I ever take is the occasional paracetamol (usually alcohol-related).


Got it, plenty of food (well the basics, herbs/spices, jam and the like, to avoid too much expenditure). Actually gonna close my account as soon as I get my tax rebate, so the credit card tip is appreciated, but not necessary. Will take driving license (a lot of jobs here would like one anyway, and I might well stay on after this contract finishes to find another). Cheers.


You mean... I'll either love Poland or hate it? ;)


Wow, thanks for the tips. I've already changed some money (because of the job I was supposed to start 2 weeks ago), but I'll get more when i go over there. I've travelled around East Slavia before, on occasions alone, in the late hours of the night/early hours of the morning, and not seen anything approaching that you would see in the UK, so I'm not really worried about crime (but I am used to pickpocketing/train dangers). Thanks for the tip regarding change-checking, hadn't thought of that, and cheers, hope it goes well too.

UK, Ireland / Interest in Polish language grows in Britain [19]


Definitely. It doesn't help that 95% of Brits (at least the English) have no interest whatsoever in learning a foreign language. It's a strange mindset, but it is justifiable to some extent (mainly because the language learning flow is definitely towards, rather than away from, English at the moment). Fairly fundamental grammatical differences and a natural English awkwardness just add to it.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

I have no idea about Poland, all the Poles I've met have been pretty switched on and indifferent to the modern technology addiction that's virtually zombified Britain. Over here we probably are experiencing our "dumbest generation" though.

EDIT: I also agree with Southern that IQ is a valid concept, while remaining agnostic about IQ testing methods.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]


Definitely, but when I was in Hungary it was surprisingly easy to find curry pastes and the like. Is it a different matter in Poland?

UK, Ireland / English Films..What Do Poles Think of Them? [33]


Woaaaaah, I kinda disagree with music (and comedy). In terms of guitar music, we're mainly just rehashing old themes over here. Radiohead pioneered, sure, but bands like Mogwai (Scottish) and My Bloody Valentine (Northern Irish) pioneered just as much in my opinion, without being as widely recognised. Electronic music was a British thing in the 90s, but nowadays it's moving more over to the continent (Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France, Netherlands) and Iceland. It's all about the commercial side really, our music industry just has more money to promote their stuff with, hence giving you the impression we're cutting edge.

As for comedy, most of my favourite comedians are pretty evenly spread throughout the British Isles, but yeah, our little archipelago sure trumps anywhere else.

And movie-wise, we're hit and miss (mainly the latter). Thank God we had Monty Python and Chris Morris though. I think the main positive of English culture is its ability to throw out perceptive eccentrics pretty regularly.

UK, Ireland / English Films..What Do Poles Think of Them? [33]

You're quite right about British culture generally in the last half of the 20th C, but my point is that it's moving elsewhere at the moment. I still think the comedy monopoly will remain British though. We also make excellent documentaries, and the BBC is a fine institution that invests a lot into pretty much every type of media possible, so it's not going to die anytime soon.

I completely agree with what you say about comedy too, we have a great comic tradition (in addition to Python; Nt9ocN, Peep Show and Alan Partridge are personal favourites).

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]


That's exactly what I was trying to say, but I can't be sure whether they don't, only that there is no conclusive proof (and hence it is best to take it with a pinch of salt).

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]


True, I'll look into bringing some spicy stuff over with me then.

Also, whats the best way of taking out contents insurance? Is that kind of thing even necessary, or is that typically over-cautious Anglo-Saxon thinking? ;)

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

Natasa, I know what you're saying, but there's a huge difference between saying that no such thing as "intelligence quota" exists, and saying that such a thing does exist but that it is beyond human capability to absolutely measure it accurately and fairly.

Following your rationale, it can actually be broken down far more than just to age categories, in theory it would depend upon an almost infinite number of variables. The whole concept of age as an indicator of social mores, scientific truths et cetera, is an artificial human construct of loose reliability too, since it ignores natural variation. It's basically a human way of understanding and controlling ourselves, serving a worthy purpose, but ultimately not standing 100% to truth.

Um, yeah, a bit of a tangent, but while I'm being skeptical about the absolute reliability of IQ tests, I might as well apply it to your version of the test too.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

Yeah, that's true, but just semantics really. If we're to define "IQ" as "logical problem solving ability", or whatever, it's still (in my opinion) near impossible to quantify.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

Yep, Natasa, I agree with you, and that's basically in line with what I was trying to say, it's like basing intelligence measurement on the standard of one particular cultural background, it's impossible to seperate from cultural influence, and very difficult to get to testing innate intelligence.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

If you consider IQ tests as being built upon a certain "language" - which they are, it's impossible for it to be any other way - this "language" is improved by practice and experience, the subject becoming more and more familiar with the "syntax" (i.e. the rules). Physiologically, it's exercising certain areas of the brain, we know that if we exercise something in the right way, it becomes more developed and more able to achieve its potential.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]


And existentially what benefit becomes of this extra intelligence (assuming you are right)? We Europeans seem to have an obsession with intelligence rather than sagacity, which is a far more important concept in my opinion.

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

Intelligence has to be reflexive, it has to be aware of its self and develop a wisdom that nurtures it in the best way. As long as this reflexivity is there, I agree with you. However I don't think that all these Civilised values you mentioned are necessarily good in themselves, it's how we react to and incorporate them that matters.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]

Much appreciated, I've been in the area before (well not Masovia, but Poland), familiar with (and positive towards) the culture and so on, so thankfully I'm not going into it completely blind. Some bureaucratic/financial things might take a while to adapt to I guess, but... it'll be an experience, and therefore worthwhile.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

To be honest, the effects of these designer drugs are mild in comparison to that of alcohol, the only difference being that we've had an intimate relationship with the latter for many thousands of years. The main worry with designer drugs is indeed the lack of purity, given that it's in the hands of some rather dodgy black-market entrepeneurs. However, it's almost impossible to control because as soon as one chemical is banned, another pops up in replacement with a minor alteration to the same formula. Ad infinitum. I have no idea how to respond to it though, it's a catch-22.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

Hahaha, mystery solved ;)

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


These drugs are generally more similar to stimulants and psychedelics (i.e. ecstasy and LSD respectively), so it's difficult to compare really. My point was really just that we're so used to the effects of alcohol, that we're really unaware of just how strong it is. Sure, I would agree that psychedelics have more of a "mind-altering" effect on a user than alcohol, but that the negative social consequences are almost certainly much less, as are addictive levels and personal physical danger. It just depends on what you value most basically.

Regarding mephedrone specifically, it's like a weak ecstasy/cocaine hybrid, or a strong caffeine buzz. I wouldn't personally consider it to be dangerous at all, but stupid things/injuries are naturally going to result from its consumption at some time, just as they do from that of alcohol.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

Yeah, although I may have come across as pro-drug legalisation, I'm actually not at all, I'm just pro-facts. The problem is not so much the drugs, as it is human disposition and the psychological effects of drug culture. I do think some drugs could be useful to people though, but there's always a potential for abuse and gratification.

I find it creepy that you have smart shops there. The concept is just weird to me, over here we have a pretty solid "DON'T DO DRUGS. AT ALL" policy.


Yeah, speed, cocaine, ecstasy, they're all somewhere pretty high on the stimulants spectrum....

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


England (but moving to Poland soon), and I know because - in addition to the fact that I've never seen one - if they did exist, going out at night here would probably be a hell of a lot safer. As it is, drug-related crime is a major problem, and a big part of this is probably the fact that a lot of these minor drugs are illegal.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]


Ahh thanks Varsovian, I'll make a note of that :)

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

@Teffle Ahh, I see what you mean, I thought you meant slightly more serious stuff. The only time I've ever seen anything like what you described anywhere other than the internet was at T in the Park some time ago, where mushrooms seemed to be the big seller.


A very good post, I completely agree.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]

Cheers Seanus, sound advice, I'll bear it in mind.

Same to you agugu, can you elaborate on your input please? I'm intrigued.