Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (my picture) [375]

I wonder why it is that I have been asked for directions on the street from Arhus to Istanbul, and from Madrid to Moscow. True, there are Russian men who really do have that missing link look, e.g. KGB Colonel Putin, but Poles are a nicely mixed bunch, and there are all sorts of shapes and sizes. I'd say RVD could come from pretty much anywhere in Northern Europe.

Study / Studying in University of Lower Silesia in Wroclaw (3d animation and visual effects) [6]


No, but Polański and Wajda did.

Study / Studying in University of Lower Silesia in Wroclaw (3d animation and visual effects) [6]

This must be the place to study animation in Poland.

filmschool.lodz.pl/en/studia/stacjonarne/2

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]

Trucker, in Europe we have moved on a bit from dog eat dog capitalism.

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]

I think I've told this story on here before, but here it is. A few years ago I needed a minor nose operation (excess turbinate). The doctor, no doubt sensing that I wasn't poor, invited me to his private consulting room to see if he could help me get it done quicker. This was just a ruse to get money. I went to the appointed place in town (a room without any medical equipment), where he looked up my nose for two seconds and said that he could move me up the list. I, and 22 other people, had paid the receptionist 70PLN for, on average a four-minute 'consultation'. That's 1610PLN for a couple of hours' 'work'. When he told me I'd have to spend three days in hospital, I said that I couldn't spare that time, being at that time wholly self-employed. OK, he said, I can do it at my private clinic. Which is what happened. I paid 900PLN and the procedure took under five minutes.

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]


If only that were so. I have been in the position of being offered priority treatment (queue jumping) in return for payment. It was corruption, pure and simple, and I know lots of people who have similar stories. There have been one or two stings by TV but it still goes on.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

And Tusk knew there would be fog two days later;-)

Life / Funeral Traditions in Poland [68]

Cardno, you are a gentleman.

Life / Funeral Traditions in Poland [68]

If the cememtery is near the church, they walk behind the hearse. If it's more than a mile, they drive. If they drive in town, it's considered very bad form to overtake the cortege, although I've seen this happen several times.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

Did I deny anything? Please don't put words into my mouth. I know the situation is not ideal. Google strawman argument and think about your rhetoric.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

Polish women use the pill in large numbers and do not have a problem getting it.

News / Abortion still under control in Poland [2986]

If Poles don't use contraception, how is it that most couples have exactly two kids?

History / Good enough for British - Joseph Conrad? Poland-born novelist. [30]


I'm not surprised she keeps quiet about that. Dreadful rubbish.

History / Good enough for British - Joseph Conrad? Poland-born novelist. [30]

Good enough for this limey. Conrad/Korzeniowski was a master of English, and we are fortunate to have his novels in the English canon. I'm not sure I accept the sincerity of his view that his writing was "worthless twaddle". He knew he was a great writer.

Love / Are Polish men shy and take things slow? [123]


I don't find that acceptable behaviour.
He sounds terrified. The age and status differences don't help, either. I feel sorry for you, but you might have to be satisfied with having him as just a colleague. There are plenty more fish in the sea.

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]


Is this a fact?

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

I guess that would make you a racially pure and superior human, Crow. I also guess you haven't been keeping up with genomic research.

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [305]


Very friendly, but Cristal is a little down at heel these days. Try Hotel Branicki, a 'boutique' hotel on Zamenhofa. All the rooms are individually designed, including the so-called "twisted room", in which everything except the toilet and the bed is, well, twisted.

I once left a shirt at Cristal. When I went to pick it up it had been laundered and pressed.


Done that a hundred times.

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [305]


How about this. A pal recently went to the restaurant attached to Hotel Esperanto in Białystok. His medium-rare steak was served cold so he sent it back. He asked the waitress to get the kitchen to give it another minute in the pan, and that he didn't mind that it would then be medium. The waitress came back from the kitchen and said that the chef would cook him another steak, medium-rare, and threw in two free desserts along with his apologies. My friend, who once worked in a classy restaurant in Miami, nearly fell off his chair. So, things are, sloooowly, changing.

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [305]


My biggest fear when living in Russia was that I would slip on ice and knock myself out. People assume (rightly in most cases) that unconscious people are drunks, and walk on by. Russians have two sides: public and private. If they are your friends, they'll be fiercely loyal. If you're a stranger, they'll let you die on the street.

ok, back to the topic please

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


Not worth a damn for anyone except backpackers, slackers and EFL drunks. Avoid. It won't look good on your CV; quite the opposite.


You said you were pulling in 4K Net in a small town. Champagne habit?
While you are waiting to move to a city, you could profitably use your time reading. The following are a few EFL staples:

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Jack Richards and Theodore Rodgers ('Richards and Rodgers' is number one on any good CELTA booklist. Steal a march on your future CELTA course participants and impress your trainers.

The Lexical Approach, Michael Lewis.
English Phonetics and Phonology, Peter Roach.
Testing for Language Teachers, Arthur Hughes.

If you read only one, read the first one.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


Just imagine a good school in a big city, where your colleagues will be experienced Polish teachers with Masters degrees in Philology and Linguistics, or CELTA/DELTA-trained native speakers.


Compare that with highly motivated students, many of whom will have a thorough grounding in English grammar. You will have to be ready for some tricky and highly specific questions from them.


Exactly.
CMC, you should use some of the money you've earned to do the CELTA. You might be surprised by what you don't know. I was.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


Presumably it worked, but you are vastly more experienced than CMC, who doesn't realise how well off s/he is at the moment. And you know your market. I keep my prices pretty low, but I have a constant supply of work. It's a balancing act. That said, my pricing structure is very wide. The lowest I work for is 50 PLN/hour for some, up to well over twice that for corporate fat cats.

Work / What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland? [124]


That's quite a workload, even for a very experienced teacher. Do you prepare much?


Then you should stay there. This is great money for someone of your experience. You could move to a city and find yourself moving all over town, spending time and money getting to clients who cancel at the last minute, or who make you wait ages for payment. At the moment you work in one locus. Think about it. I once worked for a school in Prague which sent me to corporate clients everywhere in the city. I worked out that I used 49 separate public transport vehicles per week to get to them. You have it good now. I'd stay there and rack up more experience.

Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]


Never in real life. Only on this forum, and usually from people with terrible English. Like Pigsy.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


I am not a member of a sect, and Poland is a secular democracy. Where I live over 50% of the people are not Roman Catholic.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


Because they need a martyr. Their whole belief system is predicated on divine sacrifice, and so by elevating this inadequate they redeem him. They were given further 'proof' of their claims when brother duck went a bit crazy after the crash. His insane mutterings somehow gave credence to the conspiracy in their minds. Why PiS doesn't get rid of Jarek K, I'll never know. He's electoral poison, and their base is literally dying out.

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]

Jon, you forgot the excruciatingly embarassing moment he giggled like a village idiot as Tusk read a few words of welcome to Condaleza Rice in English. It's on YT if anyone can face watching it again.

Crow, would there be any point whatsoever in sharing my thoughts with a loon like you?

News / Polish final report on Smoleńsk aircrash [870]


No, that's just a figment of your sick imagination. Isn't there a Serbian forum you could troll for a change?

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


Do you have a residence permit issued by the European Union which enables you to reside in any of the EU countries?