Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Good Bye!
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5
 
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Poland
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
there's no bad weather, only bad clothes. I agree.


I GOTTA comment on that one. the best clothes in the world while living in Siberia can't compare to a warm sunny day in San Diego. weather changes culture, lifestyles, how often you can do things outside that you enjoy (excluding maybe skiing and snowshoeing)....the list goes on and on. me personally, one of my biggest reasons for having to eventually leave Poland is because I don't want to live somewhere with only 4 months of warm weather (May-June-July-August).

Quote:
although I'm looking forward to spring.


i bet you are. Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scottie1113



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk

PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dynow, like dude, I totally understand that (I think you'll know why I wrote it like that). I chose to live in San Diego because I loved to sail, bodysurf, run and ride my bike, and I could do that almost every day of the year. It was fantastic.

But times and priorities change. If I were younger I probably wouldn't have chosen Gdansk, but who knows? Nah, when I was younger Poland was still a part of the Eastern Bloc and I wouldn't have dreamed of living here. Now I do, and you know how I feel about it.

I don't know where you're from or where you live now, but maybe we'll meet one day and swap stories. I'll buy the beer.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I don't know where you're from or where you live now, but maybe we'll meet one day and swap stories. I'll buy the beer.


I'm in Wroclaw (quite a hike from Gdansk) but if I'm ever in town, you'll be sure to get a PM from me! I've actually never been to Gdansk.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sgt Bilko



Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 136
Location: POLAND

PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I've actually never been to Gdansk.


You should have gone last Friday night. My wife and I took the night train to go to a Christening in Gdynia. The train was packed (and I'm talking solid) with Wroclaw football supporters going to see the match against Lech Gdansk. We were in the sleepers (or my wife would have had us straight back on a train to Opole) but we could hear the singing most of the way. Anyone who had bought a normal ticket must have had a great time!

And then we shared the night train back with them on Saturday night although they were a little more subdued on the way home....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i did the long haul to the Baltic Sea from Wroclaw, via train, and it was the first and last for me. arguably the worst experience I've ever had in Poland.

the train was so overbooked that not only were all the seats taken in all the rooms, but all the corridors as well were filled with people to the point where if you wanted to leave your seat, you couldn't. oh, and if you managed to step over all the people and wanted to go to the bathroom, forget that too.......the bathrooms were full of passengers who couldn't find a spot to stand in the corridors.

we paid for "1st class", which meant nothing. same as any other seat on the train. basically, it was 8 hours of hell.

on the return ride, soccer hooligans. the train was full of police to keep them under control.........till the police all got off the train. after that, mayhem ensued. walking up and down the train cars, screaming and swearing, drinking beer, opening and slamming the sliding doors to our rooms including yelling obscenities as they did it. i guess enough people complained and another group of policemen had to get back on the train at the next train stop. what a joke.

i wasn't too impressed with the Baltic Sea in general, but if i were to ever return for a visit/vacation, I'd rather walk there with all my bags strapped to my back than take the train.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blasphemer



Joined: 03 Dec 2008
Posts: 199
Location: NYC/Warszawa

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sgt Bilko wrote:
Quote:
no career development


How about this:

Two years as a basic teacher. Stay in the same school so you end up as the most experienced native speaker. Show willing, do unpaid training sessions for new teachers, offer to organise the tests or something.
Third year take on a paid reponsibility post.
Get the DELTA
Fourth year move into an ADOS position at a reputable (low paying) school (IH/Bell)
Fifth year be willing to move (if necessary) to take on a DoS position.
Do lots of networking at conferences.
Become a CELTA trainer.
Sixth / Seventh year. DoS during the school year, two CELTA courses each summer. Write articles for journals and do training at IATEFL and other conferences. More networking.
Become a DELTA trainer.
Eighth year. Start writing books. Stop teaching. Spend half your time at home writing, the other half doing CELTA/DELTA courses all over the world.

Eight years from starting out to having a pretty well paid, interesting life. You may need to move city/country to get promotion but that's the same in a lot of careers. The career path above is not that difficult to achieve if you really try.


I love you...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blasphemer



Joined: 03 Dec 2008
Posts: 199
Location: NYC/Warszawa

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

richard_1-1 wrote:
Quote:
Most of us entered this profession with eyes wide open and accept a lower income for the advantages/benefits that working as a teacher in a different country provide.


Hmmm...

Not sure what benefit or advantage there is to working in a foreign country riddled with poverty and corruption while earning a low wage provides.


you are right, working in the States is pretty pointless.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

man, i sure hope you're on this forum in about......oh.......3 years.....to see how your tune will change.

i just had a 60 minute session with a group of guys at a company contract with my school, they wanted my 2 cents about Poland, i reluctantly replied, and they followed up with the next 58 minutes being, and i'm paraphrasing, "basically we feel that this country will forever be a mess till all the communist age Poles die.....so, maybe in 40 years, things will change."

if i only had 10 groszy for every time I've heard that.

everywhere is corrupt Blasphemer, it's man's nature, but don't think you've escaped any of it fleeing to Poland.

Quote:
you are right, working in the States is pretty pointless.


that's a bold statement coming from someone who has never worked in Poland.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blasphemer



Joined: 03 Dec 2008
Posts: 199
Location: NYC/Warszawa

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dynow wrote:


everywhere is corrupt Blasphemer, it's man's nature, but don't think you've escaped any of it fleeing to Poland.



I've never said that, but the above quote could apply to pretty much anywhere and everywhere, that's the point that I was trying to make. Anyway Dynow, it's quite obvious that you were the one oblivious of what you were getting yourself into, you were the one running and now you are the one stuck somewhere, where you are obviously pretty damn miserable. I am sorry (honestly) that you found yourself in this situation, but you live and you learn... right?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dynow



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 1080

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Blasphemer wrote:

"I've never said that, but the above quote could apply to pretty much anywhere and everywhere, that's the point that I was trying to make. Anyway Dynow, it's quite obvious that you were the one oblivious of what you were getting yourself into, you were the one running and now you are the one stuck somewhere, where you are obviously pretty damn miserable. I am sorry (honestly) that you found yourself in this situation, but you live and you learn... right?"

for starters, anyone that is moving to a country, even continent they've never lived in before is always going to be oblivious to what they're getting themselves into. I don't regret nor will I ever regret coming to Poland. I dig Poland, it has a certain something, but I'm not going to stay here.

what continually bothers me about your posts is that they're all based on speculation. I grew up in America and I have lived and worked in Poland for over 2 years now, which gives me the liberty to comment about what it's like to be here, especially as a foreigner. your comments about how bad things are in America, how "pointless" it is to be there.......just plain old silliness. you know nothing about working in Poland besides what your friends and relatives have told you, all of which have probably never lived and worked in America let alone set food on its soil, so hold the comments till you actually are able to build yourself a soapbox to stand on.

secondly, I'm not "stuck" anywhere, nor miserable. I am just now able to see Poland for what it really is and I'm not afraid to write about it.

like I originally said, along with Jack Walker, talk to us once the honeymoon starts to fade.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Harry from NWE



Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Posts: 283

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dynow wrote:
talk to us once the honeymoon starts to fade.
Better still, don't then or now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Poland All times are GMT
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Page 5 of 5

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Teaching Jobs in China
Teaching Jobs in China