Life / Legally changing my Polish name to English one? [55]

some people come into this world born as a male or female & later feel (rightly or wrongly) they need to change sex, others feel compelled to change religion (personal convictions). There are plenty of people who hate their name so much they feel belittled in the eyes of others so want to change it. But changing your name legally from Marcin or Wojtek to a trendy western equivalent (for the benefit of others??) should be seen for what it really is! It is a renounciation of your origins and a lame attempt at assimilation. All over the UK/Ireland Małgorzata becomes Margaret, Paweł becomes Paul & Marcin becomes Martin...I do sort of understand the motivation and reasoning for allowing English speakers to feel like they've pronounced your name correctly at the 1st attempt....as long as it stops short of legally changing your name by deed poll at which point you are opting out of your heritage/background - which is a decision you may later have to justify to friends of the same background as you or maybe even your own children...but I'm sure if you were happy with who you are, then even a name that's very hard to pronounce like Zbigniew Brzezinski for example wouldn't hold you back in an English speaking country!

Love / 5 months with my polish girlfriend now she's pregnant ! [21]


nice one ukpolska! i was thinking..."darling i could just stab you when you accuse me of mood swings, honestly honey"

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


Dude is right about this too.

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


Thank you PolskaDoll. I really enjoyed to-day riding around Dublin on my bike even though it's cold. I met alot of Polish people to-day some of whom earn far more money than me. On the other hand, I have a very good friend here in Dublin who is from Lódź, she is absolutely fluent in Polish (obviously), German(she has a degree in it) & English and can read/write in all 3 languages..yet she works in a post-room sorting mail. This toilet-cleaner thing is mindless. People go into the jobs market in a foreign country & often end up settling...just see how teaching English is popular with English speaking people who settle in Poland. Common sense should tell us that they wouldn't all be teachers back home, they are just dealing with the realities, being sensible in fact.

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


this thread is about Ireland...not Britain.

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


Oh my God! Don't tell me EU citizens can live & work in the EU?

Life / Please help me find this Polish song (moja droga ja Cie kocham)! [15]


...wow!

Life / Please help me find this Polish song (moja droga ja Cie kocham)! [15]

could it be that your grandma made the song up herself? lullabyes are essentially folklore/family things and my Polish mother speaks really good English but never learned any lullabyes in English..so us kids were treated to a mixture of genuine Polish lullabyes & one or two home-made ones in English. moja droga ja cię kocham (my dear i love you) is repeated twice & mixed with English - the verse you quote is a lovely way for a polish grandma who can speak english to lullabye her english speaking grand-daughter. The verse is intended for English (not Polish) speakers to understand...if your grandma didn't make it up then it's most probably of Polish-American origin.

News / Poland to Change the National Anthem? [22]

It is, of course important to have a national anthem that POLISH people can identify with, that is the most important thing. But there is a generation gap in Poland between young & old. Hide your parent's voting card...they're going to vote PiS LOL!! I have played mazurek dabrowskiego to Irish friends and they are amazed by its beauty, melody, lyrics..everything. Also it's hard to ignore Polish football fans singing it at tournaments..the passion associated with a proud nation & great anthem is there for the world to see. This forum shows me, with it's foreign interest in Poland, the culture, food, history, language that Poland is making it's final steps to being a nation amongst great nations....you can find Polonophobia throughout this forum. "bedziem Polakami". btw in Ireland the national anthem translates as "a soldier's song" and we have not been at war with the British since early 1920's!

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


can you tell us more about this? I have found that having lived almost all my life in Ireland apart from 5 years in London that the media here & UK identify with a particular ideology...so you will get a different side to every story depending on where you read/heard/watched it? this is referred to in Ireland as brown envelopes, meaning undeclared donations & unwritten agreements.

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


I'll take your word for that Osiol..you seem a particularly well-informed, eloquent & articulate donkey, if i might be so bold! Incidentally the Gaelic Irish for donkey is "asail" which is pronounced ossil. I'm no economist but the Irish budget (yesterday) spoke of borrowing/steering a steady course/sustainable growth/maintaining competitiveness/challenges ahead...v Gordon Brown! A story appeared here last week with regards to the slowdown in the housing market (& consequently the building trade)..there was some talk of Irish based Polish builders commuting between Ireland & London (monday - friday) because of the work opportunities the 2012 Olympics has brought??

UK, Ireland / Immigrants trigger Irish rethink [71]


that's right osiol. the report suggests that Ireland saw immigration as the solution to it's labour shortage without thinking through about social provisions required. just heard on the news that unemployment is up by 14,000 which means worst figures in Ireland for 4 years. the nightmare scenario is if/when the Irish economy starts to fall apart..there would be a serious problem providing social funding for health/education/welfare payments etc..when Irish & immigrants are competing against one another for work. Ireland is experiencing immigration for the 1st time ever & no one can really predict how they will re-act to non-nationals if times get hard. My nephew works in a help-centre for immigrants...he see's many people every day (african especially) but hardly ever Polish. Poles in Ireland live & work amongst the Irish, have a good command of English generally, some even try to learn Irish, LOL. they're not (proportionally speaking) criminal..there are no Polish "ghetto areas", Poles don't seek to live only in areas where everyone is Polish. But some people (in this forum)..who read a report where the word immigrant is used and try to quote the findings of the report replacing the word immigrant with the word POLISH. its time for other European countries to open labour markets..we're supposed to be partners now aren't we? I hope someone else born in Ireland (who doesn't have a Polish parent like me) posts a reply to this because i can't really speak for most Irish when it comes to this:-)

UK, Ireland / Chicken cottage staff speaking polish in East London [8]

In Ireland advertising in Polish only is commonplace..right now the nearest poster/billboard to my house reads "Sobieski....Król. Jest tylko jeden" it shows that the profile of Poland, Poles & Polish is raised in other countries when everybody knows a few words of Polish. Although we all know which Polish word is the best known throughout the world;-) Co to ----- jest? i hear you ask!

UK, Ireland / If I was to move to Poland from Ireland... [92]

Lonely, i live in Dublin. Don't jump into re-locating to Poland on a whim, without friends, family, without the language you will be lost! You will sit in an Irish pub wishing u were home. Don't get me wrong, it's not a daft idea..15 years ago people (in Dublin) said "don't buy outside Dublin, it's too different", i listened & passed up so many bargains (Kerry, Mayo etc) & watched the property market balloon in Ireland until finally i paid 10 times what i would've paid if i had gone with my instincts...now i watch interest rates rise while property values fall??!! I hope/believe the younger generation of Poles will in time create a Polish Tiger economy as per Ireland (a glance round this forum alone shows you the brains/talent to do it is there). Perhaps u crave a new start... Poland could be 4 you...u could (still) be sitting on a fortune if u sell up/invest wisely, but u need to do this dispassionately! Start with making some Polish friends, try learning the basics of the language..pointing at a beer pump with one finger in the air will get u a beer but you are talking about living day 2 day in Poland? Study the impact Poland's accession to the EU has had her domestic property market. In short if u want adventure..rent your house in Ireland out & try Poland for a few months..if u thinkin of a new life..go armed with knowledge & a plan! Best of luck!