English native speaker without a teaching experience moved to Poland and got a job

I think he does ;)

We already had most of the permissions and with building inspectors I had a little trick as each time he came round he was staying for two or three hours and had to go home by taxi, if you get my drift.


Buggeration, that is the second time I have done that to you in as many days lol Apologies...


youtube.com/watch?v=wDl3T339718

But I wonder how many of these students actually understand him speaking that quick? After all that is elementary English as far as I can make out.

@delphiandomine HAHAHAHA. I can hear your sadness and loneliness from here. The only thing that is harsh is that you're still in the situation you are in. I get that you've moved there expecting to have fun and an easy life, you keep having endless rows time and time again and you can't adapt. You may want get on that plane. May be it's time for you to make a change in your life. You need to just let go and start seeing the glass as half full. Life is what you make of it you know. You may want to take a look at yourself within before you are on your death bed thinking of what you've accomplished in life and if your proud of it.

You are right though about not having a "fiance" as our relationship will be more official by then. I love the fact that you hang on to the small things like typos. By the way, when my girl was taking English classes in Poland, she and her friends didn't enjoy it as the teachers were not fun or interesting at all. Have you read your feedback questionnaire on how to improve the course yet? Sometimes the truth hurts but that's part of growing within. No offense to the other English instructors but you are just an English instructor. We are all just people trying to make it through life in this crazy world.

I can't wait to go hang with all those serious Pols that don't enjoy fishing and kayaking down the San or mountain biking in Lublin, watching hockey tourney's in Krynica, going to the Eurocup, hiking and snowboarding in Zakopane and kite boarding in Mazury. Those are definitely the serious people who don't mess around I hang with.

It takes only three and a half months to build a skatepark from start to finish. This I know because I've been building them in Europe and N.America for the past 10 years. Poland has 2 established skatepark construction companies. Yet another activity in Poland for the serious.

You may also want to take a look at the posting guidelines, particularly the part about personal attacks. Just remember delphiandomine, it can't rain everyday and keep your chin up son!

@pip Thanks for all the dope. I'm bringing my dh bike with me as well as my hockey gear. I've got extra hockey gear so I'm going to leave it in Poland so I don't have to always travel with it. I'm looking forward to arriving in Poland and take in it's rich history. As always it's always hard to find time to work when there is so much to do see and visit. I can't believe how cheap it is to fly to Paris! I have to really buckle down and keep learning Polish as my girls friends don't converse in English.

seriously- I think the biking thing would probably be more successful- biking is pretty popular here. The problem is that Lublin is farther east than the rest of the major cities and is still thought of as a town and not a city.

Don't be so sure about flying cheap to Paris- the add ons get you in the end. Cheaper than flying from Toronto or Calgary, hell yes- but not super cheap like the airlines make it out to be.

Poland is a great place and I am sure you will enjoy your stay here. Honestly, as a Canadian- you will do well- particularly seeing as you sound like a fun guy. I own a business in Warsaw, I speak Polish with an accent and every customer asks me if I am American. Once I tell them I am from Canada- they are so much more friendly- I am not joking. "Oh Canada, it is so beautiful, how do you like Poland.?" I answer this question at least twice a day. In Poland Canada still is thought of as almost like a haven- not like America. Canada has good connotations.

And if you are ever in Warsaw let me know--my husband has all the good biking trails mapped out and would love to show a few people the biking here. Just don't wear spandex.

Strange that, as Lublin is the 9th biggest city out of 43 in Poland with a population of 350,000 and gained its city rights in the thirteenth century and hardly thought of as a town.

By the way Bialystok is further east than Lublin :)
Have you ever been to Lublin?

You won't be the first, nor the last North American to come to Poland who will get a nasty wake up call, that's for sure.


I'm wondering why you seem to think that I'm an English instructor?

Quite amusing that you think that typos aren't a big deal as well. I guess the Polish character really will be a culture shock for you, especially when you discover that the Polish like nitpicking over small details and how it affects real life.


I'm positively enjoying the part where you think that you'll be able to do all those things on the salary of an unqualified English teacher ;)


I can really see that you know nothing about Poland apart from what you've seen on a holiday. Sure, construction might take 3.5 months, but the planning and permits will take 3.5 years.

Ah well, I look forward to reading your bitter rants on PF in a year. I mean, if you've been building skateparks, why are you even talking about "teaching English"?

Let's be serious dude - you haven't built a thing.

FGS Delph if you get your entertainment from looking forward to someone failing in their plans, you really do need a change.

What's not funny about someone getting a nasty wake up call?

Where's Fuzzywickets when someone needs a reality check?

what is funny about being nasty?

@delphiandomine:
I hope you have a good sleep and you wake up in a better mood tomorrow morning. Thank you for the amusement though.

Yes I have. It is a nice place. It is hardly thought of as a thriving growing metropolis, nor is Bialystok. Sorry- not my rules. Polish people themselves think like this. Major cities in Poland are Warsaw, Krakow, Tricity and Poznan. Katowice is a massive conglomerate of blue collar and anything east of Warsaw is considered town.

Department of Redundancy Department says: Wrocław is a city.

I meant to add Wroclaw too. thnks

I see you have been polluted by the geographical snobbery of Warsaw regarding the stereotype of Poland B,


what a load of bollocks, maybe in your mind. This will be my 14th year of living in this country and I travel all over the country as part of my work and the funny thing about it is that I hear this type of thing more from expats than the Polish people themselves.

Personally I would hate to live in Warsaw, dirty, ugly and depressing and most people in Poland feel the same, you ask them that is you can get out of Warsaw, which you should by the way.

By the way it is Wrocław not Wraclaw.

1.Warsaw, Pop: 1,706,624
2.Kraków, Pop: 756,583
3.£ódź, Pop: 753,192
4.Wrocław, Pop: 632,930
5.Poznań, Pop: 567,932
6.Gdańsk, Pop: 458,717
7.Szczecin, Pop: 410,811
8.Bydgoszcz, Pop: 361,222
9.Lublin, Pop: 351,806
10.Katowice, Pop: 317,220

I must say - Bydgoszcz and Lodz are far worse than Lublin!

actually no. I am not a snob at all but Poles are. Personally, I would love to live in Gydnia/Sopot. It has everything and it is beautiful- however, my husbands company needs him to be in Warsaw- so I don't have a choice.

I personally think that Warsaw has the most "Poland B" in all of the country. People leave their towns to move to greener pastures. Warsaw has some nice points but there are many snobby people here that rub their money in your face that came from very humble roots. Blokersi with money are still blokersi- it is their mindset that gives them away.


thanks Dick, I know how to spell.

Blokersi? So, if someone was in poor family, you consider him inferior?
And, at the same time, you say that you are not a snob?

of which you are the queen.

"..anything east of Warsaw is considered town."

you must be surrounded by a bunch of ignorants.Lublin is prettier than majority of cities in the west of Poland,especially Śląsk.The city has 5 state run universities and private ones too , multiple theatres,galleries and is known for numerous festivals(not to ignorants).A lot of politicians and artists come from Lublin. none of my friends think of Lublin as a town

It is very "town" to have people selling stuff on the pavements, though. Mind you, I've seen the same in Warsaw.

You can see the same in any market area part of a City in Poland, and the only thing I have seen sold on the streets is sunglasses, again which is common place throughout Poland.


Really... Well there isn't much evidence of it here is there lol

When I was there, there were a load of people on the pavements near the PKS station selling all sorts out of boxes - clothes/etc. That was about the only thing that screamed "town" though - the rest was fine.

(people don't sell stuff on the street here - they stamped it all out, but there are many marketplaces with ridiculously cheap rents that they can use anyway)

Harry said it elsewhere, but Lublin is wonderfully unspoilt with stag parties/etc too.

Having said this - while it might be a great place for someone who can keep their head down and get on with it, it's not going to be such a pleasant place for someone who thinks that he can walk into Poland and build things quickly, or who thinks that the dumb Poles want a "teecher" of "conservation".

You have got some issues with Poles , have you ? Is it so hard for you to adapt to the idea that a lot of Warsawians are rich or affluent - too many BMW`s or Mercedeses on the Polish streets ? What a horror to see that Poles drive such cars at all , the pleasure of which should be reserved only for civilized nations like Canadians , is that what you wanted to say ? Poles in BMW`1s are snobbish but Canadians in exact the same cars are not , is that correct?

Polish "Dresiarz" , according to you , has no right to live in this country .
Because some People are poor and helpless does this entitle you to sneer at them?

Do you think you are much better than them ? With your attitude you are a scum not them . They respect others contrary to you , lady .

It seems you have got so many personal problems and frustrations living in Poland that I think it would be better if you left that country.

Everything you say about Poland and Warsaw is soaked with frustration and resentment .


This is pathetic remark . I `ve seen stuff sold on the pavements in all major cities in Europe, so what?

Warsaw - according to you is ugly , dirty and sad . My, my , maybe it is just a distorted reflection of your mind .
I have seen many worst parts of Canada than Poland , but I don`t put so generalized comments like you .

There certainly is plenty of selling things on the streets in Warsaw, including some amazingly tatty rubbish.

I'm praying that the airport that's opening soon in Lublin doesn't lead to a flood of stag weekend morons.

Although I must add that the chances of somebody who thinks that the plural of tourney is " tourney's" doing well as a teacher of English are somewhat slim.

Possibly, although there are a massive amount of students there and when I was doing conversation I never had any problems finding work. But to be fair that was seven years ago now, and students are a lot wiser and with limited budgets because of the current financial climate you may very well be right.

Thinking about it again, there was quite a lot of competition between expats for students - I remember I spent the best part of two days printing and cutting out tiny paper adverts with tear off phone numbers on them and then posted them all up around the City on the free notice boards. After I had done this I walked back home along the same route and they had all been either covered over or torn down - boy was I pizzed off and never did it again and just took students by word of mouth which worked out quite well. To be honest I only did the teaching thing for four years in a Callen School which drove me nuts and quickly left it to find bigger and better things to do. Now I only have three professors as private students and they are more friends than students and I wouldn't want to go down that road again.


Sorry but that wasn't delph that was me, just don't like the place, personal opinion :)

Dude, I don't know how old you are but it seems you're young and inexperienced, you'd do well to heed the advice/warnings of the members whom you view as being "negative." While the message may be unpalpatable (not what you want to hear), those members have largely written you the truth.

Being an entertaining jacka$$ will take you as far as the first person who sees that you have no experience nor qualifications to do the job. When that happens, and it will happen, you'll need a plan b. If it's an owner/employer then say hello to living hand to mouth in Poland. Students won't tolerate paying good money for someone attempting to be a talk show host- I know of many students who have left their old teachers for that reason.

Your decisions are your decisions but if I were in your shoes and determined to come here then it'd be best to seek out methodology teaching- that's the level you might be ready for, certainly nothing more.

No, what she's saying is that the people driving such cars still have the mentality of village peasants - boorish, loud and utterly unsophisticated.


When they're falling through tables, acting like idiots, starting fights and being utter scum, then yes - they have no right to live here.


It doesn't happen in Poznan and it's rarely seen in Wroclaw. For someone who spends most of his time in those two cities - yes - it's a shock.

Exactly - and there would have been far less expats then than now. That's why I say that if he thinks he can step off the plane and be instantly accepted as an English teaching god, he'll be in line for a hell of a shock. If you turn up prepared, knowledgable and prepared for hard work - sure, you can do well. But thinking that you'll be in huge demand as a teacher and that you'll have the free time/money to go enjoying lots of activities is just...hmm..pie-in-the-sky thinking?

And with more and more foreigners living in such places like Lublin, they'll be able to pick and choose. Acting like you're some sort of gift to Poland is certainly going to wind up Poles!

I've known a similar jackass to this guy. He came here, thought he was something special and was fortunate to land a good job by virtue of being very convincing in the interview. He lasted about 3 months, until he was fired for simply not being able to perform at the level that the students expected. The same guy had previously told me that "I don't work for less than 60zl/hour period" - yet he came begging to me for work, any work after he was fired. Last I heard, he'd gone back to Canada because he couldn't find enough work. No doubt he was blaming Poland the entire way - he certainly acted like "they don't understand me, it's their problem".

Take a look at some Americans or British, newly rich can be found anywhere and my vote for the worst goes to Americans .


They stop in Warsaw , because it is closer for them than Poznań or Wrocław , check their nationality , they mostly come from behind eastern border .


I don`t know what country you are from , bet , hey ,such idiots who drink excessively can be found in your native country too.

I think the OP doesn't realize that his is a half baked plan at best and doesn't want reality to smack him in the face. It's a Pollyanna approach to life in Poland and it seldom works for anyone. I wish him the best those of us who have been here for a while know that the best laid plans...

Attack me all you want- what I say is true. Blokersi is a way of thinking- just because somebody has made a success for themselves doesn't change their way of thinking.

thanks for writing this Delph--that is exactly what I mean.


Actually it isn't. However, Warsaw is full of the snobbiest most obnoxious people who think the world revolves around them because they have money.

I talk to everyone- I have no problems with somebody being poor- in fact that is really stupid to even say. I find that Poles treat other Poles with no money worse than anything I have ever seen.

I am lucky and I know this. I also give back to my host country- so don't lecture me. We work hard for our money- and most importantly we don't flaunt it- I am already a target because I am foreign.


No I am not and I am willing to be that all of the people that have come into my business would agree with me. Some random guy on a forum actually would have no idea- but thanks for your opinion.