Job Discussion Forums

Tbird · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Warsaw, PL

Hello All,
As the title says, I'm new to Warsaw. So, I thought I'd dash off a note to introduce myself to others on this forum and join the discussions at hand.

I'm a CELTA certified teacher. I've taught in the US and Netherlands in the past, most recently working as a PR consultant in the States. Having lurked around this forum for a bit I think I have some of the basic questions answered: expected pay, visa questions etc... thanks for making such a nice place for folks to come and gather info.

So far Warsaw has been great. Nice city. Great arts/music scenes. Seems like a friendly ESL teaching community as well. I hope to have some insightful conversations with some of the folks on here.

Anyway, like I said, this is just a note to say 'hello'.

See you around the forum Smile

Jack Walker · Joined: 23 Oct 2008 Posts: 412

Enjoy your stay in Poland sir!

While I'm no longer living there,I was a resident of that crazy place for 7 years and know a thing or two about life there, so if you have any questions or concerns,feel free to ask me at anytime Smile

Na Zdrowie!
Jack

Phil_K · Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own

Have to say I envy you, Tbird. Having just returned from Warsaw, I was hugely impressed and would love to have a crack at living there. Good luck, though, with that inpenetrable language! (And I'm pretty good at learning languages). I'll read this thread with a lot of interest.

Tbird · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Warsaw, PL

Thanks guys.
I'm really excited to be here. Actually I'm very impressed with the hospitality which has been extended so far by common strangers and the average waitress.
So far, if the past 2 weeks are an accurate barometer, I'd say the Poles are among of the friendliest people I've encountered.

justflyingin · Joined: 30 Apr 2009 Posts: 100

Tbird · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Warsaw, PL

Actually what I meant by " they are friendly.." is that most folks are tolerant of my broken attempts at using Polish. ( Sorry, I'd quaffed several Piwa by the time I typed my reply on Friday) Certainly, I'm far from fluent, but I do have some basics down. Of course declination and vocabulary are a long road in this language, but I make the effort to use Polish until it fails me. It seems Poles respect this, even if it's not perfect.
Today I had to resort to "Czy pani mowi po Anglielsku?" when a clerk asked a rapid series of questions. "N'ie" was the answer, but it was given with a smile. To me that's friendly.
I've heard from several folks that things have changed rapidly over the last decade. I can imagine there would've been some cold and lonely times in the past and quite possibly in the future. I'm just happy I haven't had them, yet. Smile