Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]

One lesson for Poland - never assume anything. Schools are notorious for signing contracts for x amount of hours, only to then turn round at Christmas and say "uh...actually...we don't have enough work for you".

Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]


You might have some issues with people not wanting to be taught by you on the private level - there is an undercurrent of opinion that black teachers are inferior and have inferior accents. Unfortunately, those views are also held by the people who can afford private lessons! But on the school level - the worst you can expect is the occasional idiot making complaints about your teaching ability - but that happens to every native speaker due to some students only wanting to have the teacher with the short skirt/large breasts/whatever.

Really, in Wroclaw, you'll be fine - just use common sense and people won't bat an eyelid.

(and if needs be, just make sure you can beat the crap out of a drunk punk)

Life / Cost of Utilities in Warsaw. [23]

Lindenia, but I've given up with the business for now - teaching is just much, much more profitable in terms of effort vs reward. It's maybe not sustainable in the long run, but for the time being? Might as well do what earns the most ;)

(but I'm still helping people for free where it concerns injustice)

Life / Cost of Utilities in Warsaw. [23]


They are.

Give me an e-mail at office@lindenia - I've had a friend with the exact same circumstance, and funnily enough, they refused to provide copies of the originals too.

My advice in this situation is simple - pay nothing until you receive original documents.

USA, Canada / Poles in America: How do you pronounce your Polish surname? [128]


Yet they claim to be Polish. Riiight.


Just don't claim that it's a Polish name if you pronounce it completely wrongly!

Travel / Hard Candy - Krakow, Poland - reviews? [131]

A touristic bar in a cellar away from the main Rynek? Hahahahaha. Of course you didn't go there because some girls approached you in the street, no, not at all. The fact that they were in relationships makes even more sense - many men in long term relationships like the fact that they appear to be still attractive to girls!

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]


Sure, you can call her what you want. But it's not the right word for "Grandmother", no matter what you call her. And certainly don't attempt to tell people that it is the right Polish word - because it's not.


It's the dialect of uneducated peasants who had no ability to succeed in the 2nd Polish Republic. It's no surprise that many of the American-Polish words are from people who lived in the Russian part of occupied Poland - essentially, peasants.


It more than likely came from some dialect in the East that was heavily influenced by Russian and somehow "stuck" among the Polish immigrant community in America.

However, if you ask me, shame on the immigrants for not even using their own language correctly. You certainly won't find "Busha" among the works of Mickiewicz!

Travel / Hard Candy - Krakow, Poland - reviews? [131]


Hahahahahaha. No, of course not, it's not like the UK has plenty of clip joints still operating in London!

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8175510.stm

Hmmmmm... In fact, I'd suggest that they got the idea from London!

Prices shown on the wall? Maybe in old-style boozers, but apart from that? I don't think so sunshine...

And yes, I hope the UK leaves too, just to read all the whining Brits that will only be allowed to take 200 cigarettes and a litre of vodka home after their not-so-cheap flight to Spain.

Life / What is Nowy Sacz like? [26]

It's your average non-descript small Polish town, really. There will be some life there, but I wouldn't bet on finding any other natives around.

The one big advantage is that you'll be close to Bieszczady. It wouldn't be my first choice for a job though - that part of the world is very insular and...well..backwards.

Life / What's the story with Nergal? (Singer from Behemoth) [40]


Well, Varg was very articulate when he stuck that knife into the poor bugger!

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]


I try my best to make people aware of the differences - many people are actually surprised to learn that there is actually a definitive American English dictionary, for instance.


Swiss German?

History / Polish history is 100% glorious [297]

MediaWatch is a plastic pole who is also anti-Russia, anti-EU and anti-semtic. What a suprise!

Travel / Bieszczady or Zakopane? [23]


The problem is that the wildness of Bieszczady is becoming no more. I was there this summer - and the amount of unregulated building in places like Wetlina is completely destroying the area. Polanczyk is nothing more than a seaside resort now, and even places within the park such as Wolosate are now becoming clogged with tourists. The national park appears to be completely unable to respond to the problems except by increasing fees - but let's be honest, 6zl per person isn't going to break anyone's bank.

However, apparently the Ukranian side is absolutely beautiful and wild.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]


But you know nothing about it, therefore, you aren't qualified to talk about it.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]


Wrong for the third time.

Clearly your exposure to Scottish Standard English is incredibly limited - you've never been there, and I doubt you know much more than the stereotypical Groundskeeper Willie accent.


Mile End English, I guess? ;)

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]


That's why you'd get your ass kicked in a biker bar in America for saying that you're going to pick up some fags, while in a British biker bar (the kind that wildrover would hang out in, for instance) - you'd probably get given some money to pick up some fags for others, too.

Practically the same? Not at all.

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]


Weird, I've never had a problem getting an English speaker. Could it be because you're trying to open an account through the phone and they don't have any English speakers in that particular department? I will say - mbank does suck if you want anything beyond a basic banking service with them in English.

To be honest, mbank is not the best bank if you need English service - I don't, so it's an irrelevance. For English, citibank or Nordea would be my recommendation - they're about the only two banks that can be consistently relied on to have English speaking staff available.

Language / WISŁA or VISTULA?? [46]


Wrong, it's Wisła! Completely different word!

Anyway, it's just the way it is. Why is Milan (not difficult to say) Mediolan to the Poles? Just is.

Isn't the term "Pekin" still used in Polish too?

Travel / Changing trains in Poznan [29]

Yep. Relying on a short connection between PKP Intercity and Przewozy Regionalne is not a good idea at all - take the train with the

The crucial thing to note is that there are different fares for each class of train - the best advice is to buy the Leszno ticket in Poznan rather than onboard the Berlin train. If you let us know your planned itinery, I'll tell you what you need - the type of train is *very* important when buying tickets.

Real Estate / Poland: the building boom goes on [28]


Just because you can't get a job doesn't mean that everyone in Poland can't get a job. In fact, you might want to take a look at this -


Sorry, but it looks like you need to find another excuse for Kasia ;)


Getting those funds is nearly impossible if you aren't from a priority group. Anyone male between the age of 25 to 50 has nearly no chance, for instance. Even in Poznan, a rich city - the funds are massively oversubscribed.


What mass immigration? The only thing Poland has to fear is the way that some people sit at home and leech off their wives' contribution to ZUS, thus giving them health care.


That's because it's not true. Would this be like your claim that Komorowski isn't actually Komorowski?

Life / POLISH MYTHS - let's debunk or prove them! [140]

- Native teachers of English are always better than Polish ones - MYTH.

This forum alone shows why.

Sure, there are some truly rubbish Polish teachers of English, but there are equally dreadful native teachers.

Work / Mechanical engineer born in Poland, grew up the States. Go back to PL. How? [29]


And as I said, you aren't if you can't read or write in the language. Speaking means nothing when you're pouring over a complicated contract written in legal Polish.

Work / Mechanical engineer born in Poland, grew up the States. Go back to PL. How? [29]


Well, you're not fluent if you can't read and write in the language.

If you really want to come here and work in your field, then you need to learn Polish to a very high standard. No ifs, no buts.

Travel / Collection of dress codes in Poland - what to wear? [96]


Depends on the school. There's not one hard and fast rule, but one tendency I've noticed is for bad schools to have overly strict dress codes.

For instance - I know one school that has very high standards. They don't have a dress code - in fact, it's quite normal to see one of their teachers wearing surfing shorts, a very casual shirt and flip flops. Equally so, I know a very terrible Callan school that insists that everyone is dressed formally, even in the blazing heat.

Do you have a job sorted already here?

Real Estate / Documents requested from foreigners to rent a flat long term in Poland? Invoicing / Contract. [16]

It's not a bad idea to also ask if the owner has permission from the administration to rent the flat - it might be no surprise to people that people illegally sub-letting their flat is very common.

Law / How much does the average Pole have in cash savings? [38]


Personal experience, huh?

A typical wage in Poland is actually closer to 3000 zloty a month.

Real Estate / Documents requested from foreigners to rent a flat long term in Poland? Invoicing / Contract. [16]

Depends to what standard, I suppose - if it's a high standard, I'd be checking them out very very carefully.


It's absolutely insane and not normal practice at all.

Real Estate / Documents requested from foreigners to rent a flat long term in Poland? Invoicing / Contract. [16]


Definitely not common. Legal - sure, it's just a contract. But it's absolutely unheard of - the most I've heard of was 3 months at a time, and even that was considered to be extortionate.


Depends very much on who is letting it. But it's certainly not normal in Poland to ask for these things, apart from passport number and the contract. I know some people are now starting to ask for references, but it's still mostly unheard of.

Law / Foreign retirees taxed in Poland? [25]


What would be the sense in that? Retired people are unproductive.

Law / Foreign retirees taxed in Poland? [25]


I'm surprised too - even if the tax office advises it so, I'd be inclined to pay the 50PLN (I think?) to get an official decision on the matter.