Scottish Bob in Polska

Korona Kielce vs. Stal Stalowa Wola

2008-08-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

Strangely both Jochem and I were pretty excited by the start of the season. It had started in typical fashion. Jochem does not have a Karta Kibica, so we were resigned to queuing in drizzle. Armed with my bad Polish I had anticipated most problems by bringing a ticket from the previous season, so I could hand it over and just say “the same, or close” an easy phrase to manage.

As expected I was not understood, not an uncommon problem. Kasia tells me its because people don’t expect to hear someone foreign speaking English, but this is never a problem for Fergus, so I have come to the conclusion that I need to work harder at the language. However these little set backs are demoralizing. Anyway the ticket seller had the old ticket, which said Sektor C3G 20 20, she gave me Sektor C4D 5 2. It was only after I had left the queue that I realized this. My initial thought was a ‘shit, she made a mistake’. But it did cross my mind that the stadium could be full and this was as close as she could get us to our original seats.

With 2 hours before kick off, we headed back in town to get our ‘drink on’.

Suitably happy, we made our way back to the stadium. All the while I imagined this buzzing atmosphere a full stadium. It was gonna be great. It was clear, with five minutes to kick off, she must need glasses. The stadium had that feeling of emptiness that can only be described as one of those ‘American Gold rush’ towns that had been abandoned 50 years previously. In our sector there were 5 other people at kick off, and we were down at the front. Had this match been on TV we would have looked like a right bunch of ‘Billy no mates’.

So Korona came out of the tunnel to a polite ‘golf applause’. I think even the ‘Mlyn’ were in a poor voice. Jochem pointed out that the drummers were absent and the guy with the microphone was cutting out, in a style that I imagine annoys people at McDonalds drive thru’s. So which team to support, you might think this is a strange thought, however Korona’s strip had changed so drastically that at a glance around the stadium you would think that we were at the wrong match. Gone were the red and yellow stripes and umbro kit. Hummel are the new makers of Korona’s kit and there interpretation of how we should look is an all yellow top, with red shorts and red socks. Frankly it looked like we were at a Watford match.

The first half was clearly the first game of the season. 45 minutes of chase the football and passing that even I would manage better, and to those who have suffered me on their team, you know what I mean. At half time I decided to take a walk round the stadium. I really wanted to see if the shops were selling this new strip, and also if there was a chance to get a program to familiarize myself with the new line up Korona. The drop to the ’New look first league’ had precipitated selling quite a few players to ‘balance the books’. All the club shops were closed, not a program in sight. However I bumped into Canadian Wojtek., who has shaved off all his hair while on a Turkish holiday and he was confident that Korona would gel better. His reasoning being that the players who stepped up to fill the vacancies in the first team came from the youth team. They had had a great season last year, winning the league. This mix of youth and experience would work well he believed.

So the second half begun, and the ‘Mlyn’ fixed their electrical problems and the drummers were in full on bashing mode. Within minutes Korona went 1-0 up. Pawel Sobolewski scored a peach, a great goal. Then for the turning point of the match, Robert Bednarek received his second yellow card and off he went. Korona played like a team possessed and soon added another goal, however I did not see who it was, one of the new boys I think. Had I had a program!!!!, well anyway, a few minutes later the Stal goalkeeper, clearly out of his box, punched the ball away from the oncoming Edi. What would the ref do? Surely a card? Nothing!!! He just gave Korona a free kick. The refereeing was so inconsistent that it was embarrassing, even the Stal fans smelt a rat! Edi took the free kick and it bounced off the crossbar on to the line and somehow the Stal keeper got it away. In the space of two minutes Stal had a corner, it was well delivered and the Korona goalkeeper, who looked like a schoolboy, came for the ball only to have Wilk head it almost out of his hands. Where was the communication? Come on goalkeeper you’re the boss, tell the players where to go. In all honesty he looked like he had never played before, or at least the nerves were showing. A few minutes later Stal get another corner and this time they knew what to do, goal. Another couple of minutes, another corner, very well delivered I might add, goal, then a few minutes later the Korona goalkeeper went for a simple catch dropped it at the feet of a Stal player who calmly slotted it home. In the space of fifteen minutes we had gone from 2-0 up, to 2-3 down. The Stal players and fans were having a party. An all the while the ‘Mlyn’ never changed their tune. Jochem just walked past me and left the stadium. There was still eight minutes to play. But he was right it was over. The Korona players looked at each other, it might have been the first time in the whole match that they communicated to each other, though mostly with out words, just accusatory glances at one another.

It finished 2-3. I meet Jochem outside the stadium, most of what he said was in ‘Dutch’, but I have become aware of the swear words he likes to use, so I got the gist of it. I guess his main problem, and in a way I understood, was the ‘Mlyn’ they never stopped singing, chanting, banging and taunting. It was clear that they did not give a toss about what happened on the pitch. As for the rest of the supporters, some 5000 who turned up out of a possible 15000, they never even voiced their anger at the team, like Hindu cows they accepted this defeat and filed out of the stadium in an orderly fashion, barely speaking.

I hope that the coach, who has an excellent record, will sit down with the team and break this habit, get them talking, have this club work as a team. I know that it is the first game of the season and there has been a lot of uncertainty because of the corruption scandal, but it doesn’t mean you should be ashamed to play.

The only plus point is that the seats were quite good, and at 12 zloty I might even think about going again in 2 weeks. That is if I don’t get my back waxed, as I can’t decide what would be the bigger torture.

An update of the past two years in mini form

2007-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

My, where to start?, I really don’t know how to begin. Guess I should just allow for a stream of consciousness. So it has been roughly two years since we last spoke to each other, you were leaving Krakow, and I was about to go through on of the strangest experiences of my life, that is to say, dealing with the Polish police force. To cut a long story very short, my hotel room was broken into in Wroclaw and I lost everything, my phone, money, Blah blah. However the 8 hours spent in the Police station will live with me for a long time. I spent the afternoon, drinking vodka, playing with guns and in the pursuit of purely male pleasures!?!. Don't ask. I never was one of the boys, in fact it was quite the eye opener, I realize that I was not missing that much while growing up and being excluded from the football team. Anyway I eventually left Wroclaw, for a train journey that had it all, fighting in the aisle, arrests and excessive drinking, none of which involved me, I was only an innocent bystander in this affair. So this was just one weekend, I had a great first year in Kielce, but that was it, it’s never the same the second time round.
In my second year I was given a large amount of hours at my school, it was building quite a reputationin Kielce for good standards, and thus I had a full timetable. The only annoying thing with this is that you never get as chance to develop or prepare any extra material, also my social life suffered, firstly because of a lot of work, but also because all my friends pared up, and they never went out. Couples night is really dull if you are single, and also I could never cope with going to Tesco on a Sunday at a set time, you know the things couples do. So I drifted apart from the friends I had made the year before, but was unable to make new ones because I was always working. I have to admit the second year was dull, only interspersed with friends coming over and family to brighten the year. I must admit it got me thinking about things, oh! And I tried to find my inner child and bought a playstation. This lasted about 3 mins as I realized I am in my 30’s. It has doubled up as a great DVD player on the plus side.

So to this year, why did I stay, well I signed a contract in a weak moment, also I knew that it was a good deal. I had been down to Krakow once a month over the last year, and although it is a great place, with the opening of all these budget airlines the atmosphere has changed considerably. It is almost impossible not to hear an English accent every 30 seconds, even in the off season. Also I spent the summer there, and the stag parties and drunken tourists really made it horrible, I remember witnessing a stag night in which all the party was dressed only in leather pants and cowboy waistcoats. They had to call the police to evict them from this restaurant, and they did not go quietly. I have also seen a battle between lads from Liverpool and Newcastle on Grodzka (excuse the spelling). Krakow just looked like any other UK city on a Friday night; I hardly met any Polish people the whole summer, which was sad. I went down last week, and I was reading in the paper, in my pigeon Polish that the city is fed up with stags and drunken tourists, Taxi drivers gave accounts of beatings, bar owners telling, and I had to check this in the dictionary:-), of groups of English lads indulging in masturbation competitions at the bar. It makes me ashamed of how some people act.

Also ther seemed to be an unhealthy price war for native speakers, I gathered that some are charging 20 an hour for private lessons, or so I heard from the few people I met down there. Also work was scarce, with only a few hours going in selected schools. So there was no loyalty, with bosses being scrupulous and not paying, or sacking for trivial matters. Now I know this can be applied to many schools, nevertheless, it seemed that I was hearing as many bad stories as I was good stories. I guess you probably already know all this. So my decision was to stay put,
I bought myself a computer and by December of last year managed to convince the owner of my flat to sign the deeds on TP Neostrada, at last I was connected. It has helped with home preparation, but I have yet again taken on too many hours, now although I am getting the financial reward, it means I give such a poor lesson. I almost feel a photocopy of a photocopy etc…

As an aside I am also bogged down with my new taxation requirements, it appears that I must submit an authors profile; it constitutes a complete run down of each level, of each year you teach so you can be eligible for a specific tax bracket. Also it has to be in Polish. This is tough. As an incentive the boss of my school decided to withhold my wages until I submit this information. I teach a lawyer, and after close examination of my contract, it appears my boss is perfectly within his rights. So I am screwed, for this month he acquiesced and paid me, though I am expecting a similar battle for this month’s money.

I have had some great experiences, and I will look back very fondly on my time in Poland, but this must be my last year here. I miss choice and availability, I miss Scottish cheddar, and I miss sandwiches in triangles. But the Britain I left has changed. When I went back at Christmas, I was astounded at how many Polish people there were, even how many Polish food shops there were. Everywhere I went people were speaking in Polish. I was in a changing room in a shop and all the other cubicles were filled with Polish people. I am a little worried about a return to the UK. What job would I do, at 32 I would have to move in with my folks again, and they don’t live in a big town, they live miles from anywhere, all this to consider. I do know one thing; I need a break from teaching.

Bobus

The Joys of Polish winter

2007-02-14T03:43:00.000-08:00

So last year it was -32 oc, now its only 6 oc, I love that the press gets so much milage out of one season variance. Now I now that global warming is happening, and I know that humans are largley responsible, however a change like this does not occur in the space of 8 months.

So stop insulting our intelligence and try to find a story that is worth reporting....

Will this work

2005-08-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

The trouble I am having with this blog should be resolved. Lets post

So Wroclaw

2005-07-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Never did continue about that story.

Well returned to room to find that, low and behold we had been broken into. A brief inspection of the room, looked like nothing had been touched. However after an inspection of the safe hiding places in our luggage, well I had lost my phone and my wallet. It is strange that the room was imaculate. The rucksack was all zipped up and everything neatly put back into place. Its like they knew where to look. Calm descended over me. I used Beniots phone to call my sleepy mother to cancel my cards. What a saint, at 2pm her time she did the necessary as the security guard arrives to ask what all the trouble was. Thankfully he spoke German so Benoit explained to him our predicament."Do you want me to call the Police?" he asks. Of course I do, I explain in Polish, with a few choice swear words in English.

Give them their due, the Police arrived in about 5 mins, took our statements then which was my best acting/Polish display ever under the influence of drink. We made an hour long statement. We where then offered another room and told that a detective would come early tomorrow to complete the rest of the paperwork. at 5am I passed out.

Wroclaw and Daylight Robbery (teaser)

2005-02-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so those in the know, well, erh! know that I had the Polish winter break for the last two weeks. Yup I spent the first week relaxing, or drinking however you see it, in Krakow. For the second week my freind Benoit and I went to Wroclaw, pronounced Vratslav. After a few senic days we decided to stay an extra night at the Hotel Monopol. We returned to our room after a night out to find the room open.......!!!!!

Hannahs Hairstyles

2005-02-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

So a few days spent in Krakow, kind of quite nice, thought the weather is awful. Not that I am bothered. The definable seasons is a new thing for me, so I am kind of enjoying the constant snow.

Had planned to go to Eygpt over the mini holiday, but in reality, I looked at the room-mate when we went to book it, and realised that I needed a holiday from her. Even though Eygpt would be my dream destination, as soon as she got close to booking the holiday she started to show her demanding side. So I just said no. Boy! is she pissed. Anyway, I know I am bad, and yes I know I should have been honest. I really had been trying to improve that. Just say NO!!!!!

Plus side to Krakow is that I got to see Hannah before she left to go to Lublin, and then the return to Wales. She will be back, but I guess she needs the rest. She is such a cool person to hang around with, and as characterises our friendship she had just had a haircut. Typical.

Right, I am off to venture out into the wild.

Bloody Cold

2005-01-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

It is the middle of winter in Poland, It has not stopped snowing and I have had enough of cabbage. Coupled with that, It is exam week at school. I have had to deal with people who, well there is no other way to put it, CHEAT!

It comes from the Polish habit of not wanting to learn Russian, so they would do anything to make the compulsory exams easier. Writing on hands, inside pencil cases and on the back of postage stamps. Quite incredible to see, I confiscated one, and the writing on it was so tiny i could barely read it.

I wish I could go for a heated bath and massage like my friend Katie. Spare a thought for me next time you get a massage, what I would give.

Anyway, what awaits me now is the endless marking of papers, papers.............

Oh! I forgot to mention, they do this thing in Poland called warm beer. It is a mix of herbs and spices with, well, beer. It certainly takes your mind off of being cold.

Time to brave the snow storm and get a beer, erh!! I mean mark my papers.

Will this work

2005-01-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

I have tried to publish here for sometime, but with no success. lets try again.

Christmas, Ho Ho Ho.

2004-12-15T02:01:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so all this teaching and not enough spare time. Well to be honest it is the access to a computer that is the difficult part. Anyway, I hope all is well with my friends around the world. I hope to get some pictures together of me being Santa Claus for the kids at my School. Aparently the lack of a need for a false belly precipitated my choice for this demanding role.

What people fail to realise is that Santa Suits can be quite hot. Boy, did I perspire. Anyway I did a good job, handed out the presents and did not get recognised by the kids.

I must have it written into my contract that I don't play Santa next year. Or better still I lose some weight and don't become an automatic choice for the role.

3 Days to go

2004-11-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I had hoped to be able to update this blog a little more regularly than I have. The unfortunate problem is that teaching preparation seems to take up most of my day. Not that some of the little brats appreciate it.

Figuring in my thoughts is the fact that on Saturday I will turn thirty years old. I didn't even imagine that I would make it to that age, let alone, not fulfilled any of the predictions I made for myself at this age. To put it in perspective, my dad already had a one year old son at this point and had been married for 6 years. I still have yet to get a girlfriend, let alone a child.

I know that this milestone always makes men think about their future, and what they have achieved, but I am not really that bothered. In a strange way it is the fact of being not bothered that kind of worries me. I suppose the challenge of a complete career and geographical change still keeps my mind away from pressing matters. I must face up to the fact that I will have lost a few yards playing football, I will take 2 days to recover from a serious weekend drinking binge and I am going to have to work a lot harder at the gym to keep myself in good physical shape. To those of you who know me, that will already seem like a good joke.

Anyway, It is the horrible Sroda(Wednesday) so I had better be prepared to fight them on the beaches, erhh I mean classroom. Wish me luck.

Independence Day

2004-11-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

Poland celebrates independence Day Tomorrow and we get a day off, Yippee!!!!

Plus the School now has Internet, This means I will write more, I Promise.

Happy Birthday Mum :-)

The Weekend

2004-11-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

I am only just coming to terms with Polish Life. As my body adjusts to the climate and the unusual food. I still find myself challenged with the teaching aspect of this venture. I have to be honest, a lot of the things that were promised to me, have yet to be delivered. Including an Internet access point at the School. Hence I trudge all the way to this Internet Cafe to Post. So that is the reason why I am so infrequent in my posts.

Apart from that, I am enjoying learning the language. I also like the new and invigorating social life that has opened to me. As I stare down the barrel of my 30th Birthday. It is nice to be surrounded by such fun loving and youthful people. Until I typed that, I had not really thought that in 11 days I will be thirty. Hmmm!!!!

I will comment later on that. So I must be off to teach. It is Intermediate 1 and Pre-FCE 2. They are both nice classes. Well, would I say anything else on the Internet. :-)

All Saints Day

2004-11-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

No this does not refer to a pop group from the Ninties, for which I still recieve a ribbing, No this is a Polish National Holiday. Not Only did I get a day off teaching, but I witnessed one of the most impressive visual specticals every.

This involves the graveyards of Poland being set ablaze with candles, I hope to be able to insert some pictures of this event because words don't do it justice.

Anyway this damm internet cafe is about to close. The sooner my school gets on the information superhighway the better for everone.

One Month of Teaching

2004-10-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have a blog. I only hope I can do it some justice.

To those of you that don't already know, I have just started teaching English as a foreign language in a city in Poland called Kielce. I had completed my CELTA training in Krakow a few months earlier and after a lengthy interview process I chose to accept a year contract at Language house, a School that allowed me to teach grammar. Most native speakers only have the pleasure of teaching speaking and listening, so I was, and am still excited about this. But with this comes great responsibility. So I have been desperately trying to learn the finer points of the English language so as not to have an uncomfortable silence in the class. The key get out clause this week is

" Hmmm. My Polish colleagues and I have been debating that point last week and they have a much better idea about it than I, so you should ask them in your next lesson" Only joking, I have not been in any difficult position yet.

Anyway will post more when I get the chance, will at least try to update this a regularly as possible.

Lastly, Thank you to my HTML Goddess, Katie Friesema. Without you I am, well, nothing in the field of information super highway. Thanks.

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2004-10-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

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