Work / Salary for Teaching EFL in Krakow [120]


Don't believe it. I found summer work i paid than my Polish work in backwoods Olsztyn.

Work / Salary for Teaching EFL in Krakow [120]

Notbad wages, i suppose (not sure of krakow ones but it is ok for where i am up north). You might be surprised how many daytime privates/business offers you might get.

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]

I have no problems with Jews at all. For as many b@st@rds who are jewish there are probably just as many or more who aren't.

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]


ah, the same story everywhere, my friend. I like that phrase.

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]

I don't know what else he said, Jola. he made the quote in reference to Gross's book about Kielce etc. I think he was focussing more on the point that the so-called pogroms were more about money and less about ethnicity/religion.

Somewhere I have a reference that points out the Post-war Jewish culture in Poland actually thrived for some time, with a rise in Jewish literature, Yiddish press etc.

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]

Interesting quote on the almighty wikipedia page for Jan T Gross:

Marek Edelman, one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising said in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, "Postwar violence against Jews was mostly not about anti-Semitism, murdering Jews was pure banditry."

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]


I've just read Laurence Rees's book on Auschwitz and the Holocaust. One of the things which keeps cropping up is how Jewish prisoners were made/expected to assist with the 'processing' of prisoners for transportation, selection and eventual murder. Some of the (Jewish) people he interviewed worked with the Sonderkommando or cut the hair of prisoners about to be gassed. They were often asked by the prisoners themselves, "How can you do this... how can you help them?" They admit that all that drove them was a desire to survive.

Likewise, ghetto police (Jewish) or such people as Rumkowski, the 'king' of the £odż ghetto saying "Give me your children!".

Interesting how when gentiles do such things it is because they are 'anti-semitic' but when Jews do it they are trying to survive.

Another point which Rees brings up, through interviews, is the handling and 'theft' of the property of gassed prisoners, not only by the Nazis but by the camp inmates themselves (Jewish and gentile). Once more, the case is made that it was about survival. And who can blame them... but this is a matter of human nature, not a matter of whether or not someone is Jewish, gentile or whatever.

It reminds me of a scene in the film "Defiance", where a peasant (Polish, I believe) is shot because he allegedly allowed his cart to be used to transport Jews. Can you imagine the ideal scene of what he should have done...?

Nazi officer: "We need your cart to transport Jews to Sobibor to be gassed!"

Poor Polish Peasant: "nay, foul nazi, begone, I will not aid thee in thy anti-semitic ways!"

Nazi: "Oh, OK, we'll ask someone else, we respect you views..." (exit nazi).

Errrm, somehow I don't think the scene would have worked too well.

History / Have Poles blood on their hands? :) [496]


Why build a house when you can go to germany and steal a German van ;-)

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [267]

Must be an Olsztyn thing. I've seen girls breast-feeding in church with no complaints

Life / Russian Language - is it offensive if I speak it to Polish people? [69]

I'd try English first, especially with younger people, simply because a lot of youngsters don't know Russian. Perhaps the older people will be happy to use Russian, particularly if they don't speak English. I find it with German, many older people automatically speak to me in german, even if I try speaking Polish to them.


Haha, yes. My boss at the language school (He's Polish) complained to me that he'd been to France and asked for a menu in English and found the waiter unhelpful. I cringed at his story. I had to explain that the French are pretty proud of their language and there are only three ways to converse with them... NEVER just ask if they speak English.

1) Speak fluent French,

2) Speak such bad French that it hurts their ears. They will suddenly develop great English. They are more likely to reveal their English if they feel you are trying to respect that they are French and speak French (fair enough, really)

3) Speak any other language (except maybe German) and make it clear you don't speak French. They might then ask if you speak English.

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [267]


Hmm, not sure I agree there. Many of the foreigners (Germans, Americans, Canadians, Brits, French) I know in Poland are (or were) married to locals.

UK, Ireland / Polish people in the UK using the English version of their name? [56]

It cracks me up when some of the girls try to use anglicised versions of their names, particularly when in English it is quite an old-fashioned name.

I remember a couple of young girl scouts telling me their names were 'Agnes and Martha'. I told them not to do it because they sounded like a couple of 90 year old maiden aunts.

Agnieszka sounds cute... Agnes sounds old. Agata sounds good... as opposed to Agatha, which makes Miss Marples spring to mind.

Funny thing, tho', my wife's name is Aneta and nobody can get it right... Annette, Anita...

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [267]

I've been present when Black people have been brought to some small villages in recent years. Like you say, they are like tourist attractions. In one village we heard people from neighbouring villages were dressing up in their sunday best and taking a walk to see if they could see any Black people.

On the same occassion we had to warn the group of young British Blacks, who came as part of an arts/social project, that they would be entering a place where few people had seen or met a Black person face-to-face. It was necessary because these lads had never been in a place where there were no other Blacks, and the constant attention from passers-by (even in the town) was irritating them. Funnily enough, I'm from Britain and grew up in a very mixed area, but even I look if I see a Black person in town, it being rather uncommon.

Life / Polish stereotypes of other nationalities!? [472]


Aye, but in Kelvinside, they iron it too!

Genealogy / Genetic difference between Poles and selected others. [83]

Considering Poland must have shagged a fair bit of Europe in its history, and likewise been involved in some homeland inter-ethnic shagging (Scots, Dutch, Germans, Swedes, Lithuanians, Old Prussians, Mongolians, Gypsies etc), how do you actually define a genetically ethnic Pole (as opposed to a culturally ethnic Pole)?

Insert (ooer!) any other nationality in that question.

Oh, and aren't Aryans supposed to have come from India? Bloody foreigners!

Work / TEFL Jobs in Poland - your success story? [16]

I just cold called and just walked into several schools. Got a job with the best in town (even as unqualified newbie), did a year and got CELTA. Been with them ever since.

Cold calling (or even ringing for an interview) gives both you and them the chance to meet and make a few impressions first).

Language / Polish or any Slavic language key to any other Slavic languages? [126]

Having studied some Macedonian before I came to Poland I found some vocab was easier to learn/understand BUT there were also a lot of "false friends".

Example "utro" in Macedonian is "morning". "Godina" is "year". When I started with polish I kept these mixing up with "jutro" and "godzina". People got a bit puzzled when they asked me how long I'd lived in Poland and I said "jedna godzina", or being asked when I had arrived somewhere, I'd answer "jutro".

News / GERMANS WANT TO GERMANIZE KOPERNIK (COPERNICUS)! OUTRAGE! [1016]

Of course, the word 'brat' in English means a (horrible) child.

The first couple of minutes of this film show a possible etymology for another kind of brat-wurst.

youtube.com/watch?v=mHpPKwRMDPk

News / GERMANS WANT TO GERMANIZE KOPERNIK (COPERNICUS)! OUTRAGE! [1016]


One world, one people, one sausage!

News / GERMANS WANT TO GERMANIZE KOPERNIK (COPERNICUS)! OUTRAGE! [1016]

If we had a cross cultural sausage it might clear things up. As "brat" is Polish for brother and wurst is German for sausage, we could call a Brat-wurst a "brother sausage" and usher in a new era of cross-cultural understanding.

Although the Germans might complain they had the wurst end of the deal (joke might only work in English)

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Just a thought, we had a Canadian working at the school where I work in Poland. He had taken some kind of correspondence course, however it turned out not to be as well recognised as he thought (it wasn't CELTA). The firm I work for are affiliated to an organisation called PASE (Polish Association for Standards in English). They did not recognise his certificate.

Whichever course you take, DO check it's international standing.

For many schools it might not be a problem, but some better ones might be more choosy.


Agreed. I did my CELTA in Warsaw alongside a girl who'd been guaranteed a job in a Bell school if and when she passed her CELTA (also at the Bell school).

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


Obviously you have done such a good job that Ireland looked so appealing to all those damn foreigners that they decided not only to visit but to stay ;D


I'll second that.

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


That line says it all.

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


So it's OK for foreigners to come and work as long as they get less than the Irish. And then you wonder why people leech?


Then complain to Bord Failte, they sponsored and organised the course.

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]

Incidentally, revokenice, here's one to tickle your fancy...

A few years ago (before Poland joined EU) I was employed to teach English to a training course in north Poland. It was a training course for hotel staff, where young Poles were trained in a kind of 10 weeks boot camp to be hotel workers, kitchen staff, waiters and barstaff.

They then got a guaranteed year's work in Irish hotels and restaurants (with option to renew their contract). Funnily enough, they were paid less than Irish minimum wage.

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


Oh, did Santa bring you that nice blue shirt?

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


Exactly where in your previous post did you mention numbers?


So, when you do what everyone else does, it's OK but when everyone does it to you it's different? You weren't part of US and plenty of Irish still go there and have been throughout the 20th century. What difference does it make if you speak the language. Plenty of Irish emigres during 19th Century didn't speak English either.


What, during the 1950's? I may just be a stupid tan but I seem to remember that the 26 counties left UK in the 1920's.

Just a footnote, I have absolutely no problem with Irish emigration/immigration (other than some of the reasons many of them had to do it prior to the Republic). I'm trying to show you how flawed your own remarks are.

News / GERMANS WANT TO GERMANIZE KOPERNIK (COPERNICUS)! OUTRAGE! [1016]

He did enjoy watching moons.

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


Funny, I met a number of Irish emigres in Germany in the 1980's and Finland in the 1990's. Not places where English is the national language... idiot.

Two wrongs certainly don't make a right but it also makes someone hypocritical to tar everyone with the same brush.

So, the people who bleed the benefits (and it's not something I approve of, we agree there) are the ones who persuaded the Irish goverment to shaft it's own people and waste it's own money? How do they have a stronger voice than you do?

A genuine question; when Dell came to Ireland (instead of employing lots of Texans), did they just roll up and say, "Gee, this looks a nice place for a factory?" or did they get a few tax incentives, rent deals etc from the Irish Government (knowing how Thatcher's government attracted the Asian companies to Britain) and the knowledge there was a cheap workforce?

UK, Ireland / Poland continues to milk Ireland dry. [129]


It sent the Irish all over the world.

Just remember, Ireland got a LOT of money from Europe for being a poor, underdeveloped, underpopulated country. Plenty of Irish (quite understandably) emigrated. When the economy began to boom, of course foreigners were going to flock there... it's just what happens when you become a success.


Yeah, there used to be a lot of Irish doing it in Britain. Some of them were my mates.


Hmmm, so the Irish vote in a government which squanders its money... and that is the fault of the Polish people?