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Posts by aligator_s  

Joined: 7 Jan 2008 / Male ♂
Last Post: 28 Jul 2010
Threads: -
Posts: Total: 77 / Live: 41 / Archived: 36
From: UK
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 41 / page 1 of 2
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aligator_s   
22 Jan 2008
Travel / Fishing in Poland - where to go, what to catch? [74]

they call it trout tickling in England. i caught quite a few trout that way as a kid. now we have american turtles in a lot of waters in the UK, so I would not like to do it now. a turtle can bite your finger off. they have decimated the wild duck populations in many areas
aligator_s   
23 Jan 2008
Travel / Fishing in Poland - where to go, what to catch? [74]

when the otters started to die out in the UK in the 1950s. it was the members of the otter hounds who alerted the ministry of agriculture to the fact that otters were becoming scarce. the hunt master would always leave a number of breeding pairs undisturbed to ensure that they would be able to hunt their offspring. it transpired that DDT a chemical pesticide was killing off the otters. had it not been for the huntsmen the government would have not known there was a problem caused by mass pollution by big business.

i do not condone otter hunting but for every animal that a hunter kills, industry kills off a thousand- what is more hunters leave habitat uncleared to provide cover for game. big industry poisons hundreds of hectares every year so that nothing will grow there.

it kind of puts things into perspective
aligator_s   
5 Feb 2009
Real Estate / House prices in Poland to drop more or rise again? [228]

does anybody know the average price of a dwelling in Poland?
this information exists in the UK, where the official 'average' house price is quoted almost on a daily basis, however is there such a thing in Poland?
aligator_s   
1 Feb 2010
Law / LOOKING FOR HELP AND INFORMATION TO OPEN INDIAN RESTAURANT IN POLAND..... [80]

I'm from India (Punjab)I live in Rzeszow (Podkarpackie) i am looking to open INDIAN RESTAURANT in this city.

think about offering catering services for business meetings/conferences. you do not need to have any premises other than your home kitchen. that way you get the business people of Rzeszow to sample your food without you having to fork out renting restaurant space.

see if you cannot do a deal with a hotel where you use their kitchen space to reheat the food you have earlier prepared, as long as the hotel is providing the conference space, they may be agreeable as hotels as they are not so busy for lunch.

remember you are cooking for the Polish market but don't take out all the spices from the dishes and expect to receive racist comments.

alternatively find a pub and offer to run some curry nights for them. test the market well before sinking all your life savings into a restaurant. Rzeszow might not be ready for Indian food yet.

good luck
aligator_s   
1 Feb 2010
Law / LOOKING FOR HELP AND INFORMATION TO OPEN INDIAN RESTAURANT IN POLAND..... [80]

Unfortunately this is absolutely not true.

I stand corrected. thank you for the comment

what I do not understand is when I have attended large dinner parties, the caterers have used the host's oven and kitchen. these caterers came from top class hotels and restaurants. I assume that they were breaking the law.

the pub idea would work better

sinking all your money into a niche restaurant without testing the local market is madness
aligator_s   
23 Feb 2010
Study / Is there a lot of racism in Warsaw (Brazilian student's question) [83]

there is so much interest in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Warsaw at the moment, that it would be very cool to be seen to hang out with a Brazilian guy if you are a Polish hard nut.

i would play up the Brazilian angle as much as possible wearing Brazilian football shirts as much as possible. if you speak Spanish there are a lot of Spanish speakers in Warsaw and they used to throw really good parties.

as for racism, it is quite bad. if you were african, indian or vietnamese you would have a lot to worry about particularly in small towns however the Poles tend to have a good vibe about Brazilians, so you will be OK. call the Brazilian embassy in Warsaw and ask them for their advice
aligator_s   
10 Mar 2010
History / Polish armored trains form I and II World War [32]

I wonder if such trains were important and in real use during wars. I thought that not, cause of limited raillroads, but in this article they say that armored trains were popular. So I'm a little confused.

they were intended to be used as mobile bunkers however their high profile meant that they could be seen from miles away and avoided.

in the second world war, developments in air warfare made them a liability
still if you don't have anything else they are better than nothing

there was one at the Warsaw rail museum if I remember well
aligator_s   
11 Mar 2010
News / Illegal drugs in the EU - Polish gangs are top sellers [56]

apparently the going rate is in the region of 3O zlots per gram...of course i have absolutely no idea how much a gram is or if this is cheap in comparison to the uk

in that case it is about two and a half times more expensive in Poland than in the UK
aligator_s   
22 Mar 2010
History / Future of Kaliningrad Oblast - is it possible to annex by Poland or will it become an independent country? [137]

Hitler's syphallatic dream only became a reality because he could control the press and here you all are condemning freedom of speech

the irony is amusing to say the least

as for Kalingrad, I cannot see the Ruskies giving up sovereign territory

if they have any sense they will organise a public referendum, spin it off as a seperate country and apply for EU membership.
aligator_s   
3 Apr 2010
Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]

Does anyone have any idea, how much of the investment I am looking for?

it is over a million euros and the waiting list is full
aligator_s   
12 Apr 2010
News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [682]

any how our friends to the East appear to be showing a great deal of compassion

focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n216317

A quick note for the conspiracy theorists, if you were going to wipe out the Polish President and his entourage, you couldn't really pick a worse time to do it, could you?

It does rather draw attention to the murders at Katyn during the second world war.

Reports from the Independent appear to confirm that the flight recorders were working fine and that they are being carefully examined as we speak, so hopefully we will soon know whether the pilot was being forced to land against his will.
aligator_s   
2 Jun 2010
News / Decoded talks inside Poland's president's plane are released in Internet [337]

due to Kaczynski's habit of attempting to prosecute pilots who refuse to land irrespective of the circumstances, these two young pilots would have been willing to risk landing the plane in far from ideal conditions. their folly caused the deaths of the passengers on the plane along with their own. Kaczynski was instrumental in his own death and that of his wife and cabinet by choosing pilots who could be manipulated by him.

I cannot conceive a worse time to 'off' the Polish president than whilst he was commemorating the murder of thousands of Poles during WWII by the Russians.

It does rather draw worldwide attention to the antics of the Soviets during the war

naturally Grassy Knoll conspiracy theorists will be disappointed by this rather mundane interpretation of events, however, I do not believe the Russians to be stupid enough to murder a Polish President who was on the way out in any case and bring world attention to Katyn.

just my two cents worth
aligator_s   
9 Jun 2010
Travel / Pawiak Museum in Warsaw [14]

Mila 18 is simply a mound where the rubble was overgrown after the bunker containing Mordacai Anieliewicz and colleagues was blown up. I used to live just round the corner on Andersa. there is not much to see apart from a mound. For a afternoon stroll go to the Jewish cemetary and walk around. it is very moving. There used to be a really good WWII section in the history museum in the old town. haven't been there in years though
aligator_s   
28 Jun 2010
UK, Ireland / Moving from Ireland to Poland [29]

Hi

I do not want to sound unwelcoming but can your fiance and her family not explain this to you?
aligator_s   
12 Jul 2010
Work / Whats the job and school market like in Warsaw? [27]

contacts are quite important in Warsaw too. the nice thing about teaching is that you have a bid wedge of time in the middle of the day to dedicate to other things.

the warsaw voice, the warsaw insider, warsaw in your pocket all need content and you could create content for them. this is how friends of mine who work for Reuters started out. every magazine is desperate for ad sales people, all your prospective clients speak English. You would get commission only however i have met many people who started this way then landed jobs at advertising agencies.

it makes your CV look far more marketable. early hours teaching business English and afternoon/evening work teaching students will stop you from starving to death.
aligator_s   
12 Jul 2010
Work / Whats the job and school market like in Warsaw? [27]

please contact them directly. they can only say no, but as it is no win, no fee they would be silly to do so. particularly if you call from their offices and they can keep an eye on what you are saying. no publisher wants someone misrepresenting their product.

it is a great start out job in Poland, you meet loads of people and no one takes themselves too seriously. the underlying thing to remember is that not many Poles can sell. they either undersell or they try and ram the bl**dy product down your throat.

as for commission, I am not sure but I would have thought 12,5% would be acceptable.
you are never going to get rich doing this but it is a proven stepping stone in building a career in Poland
aligator_s   
13 Jul 2010
USA, Canada / A Canadian citizen overstayed Visa in Poland [35]

what are your options in Canada?
what were you studying in Poland?
would you be able to get a year's practical experience in your field of study?

lots of students take courses with a gap year where they have to work in industry in order to get some practical experience before completing their studies

if you treat the next 12 months as an opportunity to develop your career and knowledge rather than berating yourself for screwing up, the time will just fly by

Eye of the tiger, Mr Ruff Ryder, eye of the tiger
aligator_s   
13 Jul 2010
Study / Medicine study - good Polish University for international students; study in English? [38]

is polish degree accepted worldwide?

You will need to check to see which country you want to work in once qualified. many non Poles study medicine in English in Polish medical universities, the going rate is about 9000 euros per year in course fees.

there is a certain amount of jealousy from Polish students studying medicine but this usually revolves around foreign students being given the freshest corpses during pathology

because you are Indian, you may still have to take PLAB before practicing medicine in the UK. again, you are better off checking this before starting the course

good luck
aligator_s   
13 Jul 2010
Life / Barking Dogs in Poland [57]

Call the guy up, disguise your voice,

he said that he does not speak Polish. might this not rather give the game away?

it is infuriating.
short of poisoning the dog, there is not much else you can do I am afraid.
however if you kill the dog, the owner will just get another one so you are in the same position as you are at the moment

I have one alternative which will not result in the death of the dog nor any physical injury to the owner or his propery but you will have to PM me for details as I will not discuss this on a public forum

what gets on my nerves is when you have yuppies who move out to houses around cities and let their dogs out to roam around the fields until they come home from work. you end up with packs of dogs running around the countryside completely unchecked.
aligator_s   
14 Jul 2010
USA, Canada / A Canadian citizen overstayed Visa in Poland [35]

i study dentistry, and i will probably end up volunteering for a canadian clinic.

I would much rather light a candle than curse at the darkness

how are you going to support yourself whilst volunteering at a dental clinic?

have you thought about repping for a year?
you can detail dental clinics and pimp pharmaceutical products
it is well paid and you get the chance to meet lots of people
you could do it part time and still volunteer at a clinic

much better than leaning on a broom in a dental clinic for an entire year kicking yourself for screwing up

I have to admire you for flaunting the rules so brazenly for such a long time and not getting caught earlier. in fact my concern is how on earth can a medical university let you study without checking to see that you were entitled to stay in Poland legally. they probably don't give a hoot at the end of the day though
aligator_s   
14 Jul 2010
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

I'd actually say the opposite - it's often very easy to find work in small cities

a good point. I have a friend setting up a school in Krosno where there is not much competition. I spent a weekend with the American dude who set up the schools in Nowy Targ and he was doing quite well.

not only is it easier to find work but you become some sort of local celeb. what is more business people seek you out and ask you for your advice, which is rather flattering however once they find out that you are not related to royalty and do not know dozens of would-be strategic investors then the novelty wears off

' it is big fish in a little puddle' syndrome so milk it for all you can
aligator_s   
14 Jul 2010
Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]

And if not, does anyone have any experiences with CELTA at IH Wroclaw?

it is rather unrelated but still amusing

back in 94 there was a guy from New Zealand who was the DOS over at IH in Wroclaw. nice enough guy but dyslexic.
He ordered several thousand leaflets to promote the school and took responsibility for proof reading them

they all said International Horse

how I laughed
aligator_s   
14 Jul 2010
Life / Children in Krakow Apartment Playgrounds [21]

I live in a complex of flats in Krakow that has a playground for the children of the tenants

is there sand on the floor of the playground?
aligator_s   
15 Jul 2010
Life / Children in Krakow Apartment Playgrounds [21]

the forum has been very valuable for you to gauge what would be the opinion of your neighbours should you complain. they will not give a damn and they will laugh at you or worse still hold you in utter contempt for attempting to get their children to play more quietly.

short of burying doggie doo dah in the sandpit your options are limited