Job Discussion Forums

[Brooks]

In response to what the original poster asked,
there is air pollution in Poland. It may be there in Warsaw, or probably in industrial places like around Katowice.
But it isn`t as bad as in Casablanca, Bangkok, or Mexico City.
I used to like walking in Warsaw (like on ul. Jana Pawla, or on ul. Grojecka, or around Plac Narutowicza).

In terms of teaching, I felt that when I was in Warsaw. they just want someone who is educated and can teach. Obviously if you have a good personality, that helps. Poles are generally better at English, because, while Polish and English are different, there are not as different as English and Japanese are. And in general Poles are more motivated than Japanese are.
So in Poland I would say teachers are more likely to teach higher level students. So that means the teacher must know what he/she is teaching.

Compared to Japan, I found teaching in Poland easier.
Sometimes I think in Japan they just want a pretty face, but not always.
In Japan you need an incredible amount of patience.
In Poland, you can be yourself.
In Japan I teach teenagers only. And that can be a drag at times, because the focus is on oral skills. I have to think of how to teach speaking on a weekly basis (i.e. what kind of topic can make them talk). And sometimes, even the good topics don`t work because some people are shy, introverted, etc.
But that is Tokyo. So what I think is that working in Japan is like running in a marathon, and teaching in Poland is like a walk in a park.
Yes, you will make less money than in Japan, but you will have more free time, vacation, and a better quality of life.
And you won`t be as tired. Working in Japan is very tiring.

[Brooks]

well Zakopane is a nice place. Skiing is a nice hobby, but in general football is the favorite sport.
I like the Tatras. It is a nice place to be.
Slovakia is also nice, and cheaper, which is why some Poles like to take vacations there.

In regard to French, well some Poles know it but I didn`t find French useful. In Poland, I found Russian to be far more useful. I would speak Russian to Poles, and they would reply in Polish. But they don`t like Russian, so it means you have to learn Polish.
German is more useful than French, probably in western Poland.

Well I guess compared to Germans, Poles are under-achieving but compared to other Slavs, like Ukrainians, Poland is doing well. But of course, Poland has benefitted from a lot of investment and will join the EU.
But Poland was a victim of the Soviet empire for over 40 years.

In Poland, there are Russian jokes. Russians are portrayed as dumb, but there aren`t any German jokes.

[Chris]

Hi there,

Had fun reading all those messages, and want to chime in with my own experiences.

I've been living in Sosnowiec, next to Katowice, for the past 5 1/2 years and have found it to be a wonderful experience. Despite the pollution, which has gone down quite a lot since 97, mostly due to cutbacks and closings of the mines, the people and students here are incredible.

The mountains/ski resorts are an easy 1 1/2 hours away by train (these are the Beskid mountains). Zakopane is about 4 hours (by car--2 1/2). Many Poles from this region go skiing on the weekends. It's a very easy daytrip from here. The couple of Americans who like to ski here LOVE that they are so close to the skiing resorts.

Re: Warsaw. I've personally only been there for 1 day, and that was plenty for me. I don't like huge cities. There are a lot of people here, but it doesn't feel like it really. There is also plenty to do here--nothing compared to Warsaw or Krakow, but quite a bit nontheless. (Krakow is 1 1/2 hours by train). Costs are very cheap here (my apartment--600pln/month, in the center and furnished) compared to the larger cities of Krakow and Warsaw.

Expats: Actually, there aren't that many here in Sosnowiec (5 this year--9 last year), many more but still not huge numbers in Katowice(15 min bus ride from Sosnowiec). I like it because I've hung out with many Poles over the years and have had great times with them. Not to say that I don't like speaking American once in a while without giving thought to whether the listener understands, but I truely enjoy the non-expat atmosphere of this region.

Languages. I thought German would help out, but it didn't. Amazingly, there are quite a few French speakers here. I was surprised about that actually, but found out that there's a French medium high school in Katowice. Ok, history time: Sosnowiec was in the Russian part during the partitions and Katowice was in the German part. I live in Sosnowiec, so German is not really used. But the Silesian dialect is smattered with a bit of German (Tas(h)ka--handbag, as(h)enbecher-ashtray) and when I am over there, and sometimes meet older people who speak German. But now my Polish is relatively conversational, so I speak to everyone in Polish.

So, that's my little contribution. Hope it helps!

[run-jp]

Thanks so much for all the info and personal experience. for sure geting a feel for life in Poland with all these posted details. I am starting to think that Poland is a good place to work, since there are many intelligent, friendly, ex-pats working there. I often worry about this field I've chosen,...so full of backpackers (not so bad for them, but often bad for others)...but this forum shows the good sideof ESL. posters mostly polite, above the petty flaming I see throughout the web. Good info about Europe is a great thing...giving people courage to break from the well-paid but silly work routine of Asia. Still if someone wants to try Japan I'd be happen to steer them away from the bulk of Disneyness...email me for info if needed.
Am sudying Polish daily now, and hope to find a fall posting (k12 or college) to count for my planned M. Ed. practicum.
Thanks again for a great forum.
Tom

[justynak]

Crime is here just as it is present in any other cityin the world. If you go to dodgy neighbourhoods, you take your risks... Some places in towns are best avoided, didn't your mum tell you that?

[mike10]

[Alex Shulgin]

Mike10: if you are going to post something then post something. Don't just add a completely pointless emoticon to the bottom of the thread. Grow up and get a life.

[ghost]

Why are all of Harry`s posts deleted. Is he making a point or the moderator?

[dtomchek]

Hey everyone:

Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in worth. I taught in Poland for 2 years and never had any real problems. Gypsy kid tried to pickpocket me in Warsaw and I saw a fight in the train station. Guy also tried to pickpocket me in Radom. Violence is usually not their way. Deception usually works better for them.

Stay out of the "Industrial Heartland" of Poland. Kielce, Katowice, Sosnowiec, anywhere down in the SW just bites. Lublin, Krakow, Wroclaw, and the tri city areas of Gdansk, Sopot, and Gydnia are hot spots. Poznan is ok and Szczecin bites big time. Olsztyn is also great.

I am in Japan on the JET program. Cannot say much for everyone but on this program, I do half the work for 10 times the money (no exaggeration either). That all being said, Poland has much better students who speak much better english. Japan is difficult but the students are friendly in both countries. It is jus in Polish, you can mechanically substitute the words in a sentence (cannot do this in Japanese). Poland was the best experience so far and would not mind making it back there someday. I have returned for a visit there twice but cannot see returning to Japan after leaving.

Hope this helps with the decision you must make. Let the rest of us know what is decided.

[go2guy]

"mechanically substitute the words in a sentence" -- huh?! Care to elaborate on that one?

[dtomchek]

Hey:

Well, I don't think I really can "elaborate" too much. Just meant that you can mechanically substitute the words. Chialbym (I would like) pojechac (to go) do (to) szklep (the store). Word for word in exactly the same order (minus any articles). Just a matter of conjugating the verbs correctly but they have only 3 tenses so it is not that difficult. Language is phonetic as well. Granted, they have 7 declanations which makes the grammar a bitch but that is not necessary to learn to be communicative.

Now, in Japanese, its "Watashi wa mise ni ikitai des (I to would like to go) or something like that. Makes learning the language that much more difficult for us (and learning English fo them). I just returned from Korea and they seem to speak English rather well.

Be Genki

[biffinbridge]

The real thieves in Poland are the private language schools.I got ripped off by virtually everyone I ever worked for.Now,I work in Libya for an oil company and return to Poland every 9 weeks for 3 week's leave with pockets full of money.Polish bosses lie like hell and generally behave like sad despots.I love the country though,especially Poznan.In fact, I'll be there tomorrow.

[Kevin Fletcher]

Interesting