Study / master in tourism - Wroclaw [5]

I think you should ask your embassy in Warsaw (or consulate, probably in Kraków) or even better - at the Italian Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione - if they recognize your studies as a "laurea specialistica/magistrale".

According to the Uniwersity of Wrocław:
"All degrees awarded by UWr are recognized all over the world.", but it's better to be sure.

You may also check this site:
buwiwm.edu.pl/eu/public/eng/index.htm Accademic and Professional Recognition in EU

Another (hopefully useful) site:
enic-naric.net
btw, are you talking about this school (Uniwersytet Wrocławski)?

international.uni.wroc.pl/en/master/tourism

(from the webpage of Uniwersytet Wrocławski):
international.uni.wroc.pl/en/study-english/programs-english/master-programs Study in English › Programs in English › Master Programs

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in area related to the proposed field of study. The program is composed of obligatory and optional subjects and a specialist course. In the first semester students are assigned to a specialty/seminar according to their preferences stated during enrollment (provided that they meet the entry requirements for the selected specialty/seminar) In the first semester students must attend all classes, and one specialty seminar. In subsequent semesters students can choose from optional classes and electives. The list of subjects for each specialty depends on its profile. Students may choose from the offer of electives subjects. The program lasts 2 years (4 semesters). To obtain a Master Degree, students must write and defend a Master thesis.

That's what they say international.uni.wroc.pl/en/study-english

The University of Wrocław offers degrees at the bachelor, masters and doctoral level. All Faculties at the University of Wrocław provide at least one master program in English, some of the bachelor level in addition to the extensive number of programs offered in the Polish language.

All courses have three stages, according to the Bologna process: a three-year Bachelor program, a two-year Master program and an optional 4-year doctoral program. There is also a wide range of continuing education programs.

At the doctoral level students may study in English in any area they choose. All degrees awarded by UWr are recognized all over the world.

Food / Food you would not want to try [7]


Not sure, maybe from the German "Fahrt"? The word "fart" doesn't sound too Polish (or Slavic).

Language / Instrumental form in Polish [65]


It's not what I meant. I only wanted to say that it had the most typical word order for English in everyday speach.

And "you should learn Latin" was just my high school maths teacher's mantra, I wasn't serious (although 3 years after high school I indeed started learning Latin, because it was obligatory for 2 years at my university).

Language / Instrumental form in Polish [65]

Just another approach (without Polish grammar):
You should learn Latin :)
Look at the English sentence first.
The biggest obstacle was the Church. (Największą przeszkodą był Kościoł.)
vs.
The Church was the biggest obstacle. (Kościoł był największą przeszkodą.)

The 2nd sentence has, IMHO, the natural order, for the English language, of Subject + Verb + ? (dunno how to call it in English).
You can say "Paul was an electrician", but "An electrician was Paul" doesn't sound good to me.
The Church/obstacle combination gives you the possibility to switch the order, but the Church remains the logical subject of the sentence.
You can say for example "the Church was acting as the main/biggest obstacle"
or "the role of the biggest obstacle was played by the Church"
- using passive voice you can clearly see which part is active (Church - logical subject) and which is passive (the biggest obstacle - grammatical subject)

Language / "Pomagac", "robic" - I know this is wrong can anyone help me? [29]


You're asking many questions in this thread, and you seem a beginner, so reading my post is going to be confusing, but I'd only like to point out one thing - nouns with numbers.

Search the forums, there have been some discussions about it, unfortunatelly in Polish different numbers require different cases, example:
1 miesiąc (singular, Nominative)
2/3/4 miesiące (plural, Nominative)
5 (or more) miesięcy (plural, Genitive), unfortunatelly not always, the bigger numbers ending in 2/3/4 follow the 2/3/4 rule (so 22/34/43/52/.../102/1004 miesiące)

Now, this is some extra information, but don't try to remember it at once, it would be useless, just keep in mind there are many traps for a beginning student of Polish, and also for an advanced one :)

1/ In Genitive plural (but also in other cases) you can see something typical for Polish (but also other languages, not only Slavic, but also for example German) - the vowel change inside a word (something that's very limited in English: foot - feet, goose - geese): miesiące (pl., Nom) - miesięcy (pl., Gen.).

2/ We also have lots of consonant changes (near the end of the word), for example "(ja) pomogę", "(my) pomożemy"
3/ Btw, these are the forms you were asking for in your first post, what polishtxgirl gave you was conjugation of the verb "pomagać", which means the same thing as "pomóc", but the first one is imperfective, the second one is perfective.

Genealogy / Origin of the name Davidovski [5]

Better wait for someone who liked history at school, but if you want my wild guess, here it is:
It seems to me as if they chose this surname, from the biblic king David (Dawid in Polish and something similar in German or Yidish, because we weren't using "v" for "w") + Polish ending (-ski).

If they were Jewish, then the names were given to them probably by Germans (Austrians or Russians) during partitions (in the 19th century).
I'm not sure, but I think Jews weren't using surnames in the today's sense, so the occupants' bureaucracies had some problem with that and decided to give them names (you can read funny stories about those in German partitions - if one was rich enough to bribe an officer, he was given a name like Goldstein or Rosenkrantz, something that sounded well - rich or beautiful, if he was poorer, then he was a simple Apfelbaum = Apple tree or other more "ordinary" surnames).

I guess some of those people probably were allowed to change their surnames after Poland had regained independence in 1918.

News / Train-accident Krakow, Prague, 10 dead many victims [14]

Evening news: 7 dead (1 Pole), about 70 injured. Most of the victims are Czechs.
The bridge (viaduct) was from the 60's. It was under re-construction (or repair), but according to the Czech railways, the company that was carrying the works didn't inform the railways of this :(

Food / Is it possible to buy Live yoghurt in Polish shops? [23]



That's not true. As I don't drink yoghurt, I'll comment only the buttermilk (maślanka), with 2 examples (of my favorite producers from the region I live):

Jogo (£ódź) - live cultures of bacteria, no powdered milk,
OSM £owicz - cultures of bacteria (the label doesn't mention "live"), no powdered milk.


I simply don't like the taste.

Food / Is it possible to buy Live yoghurt in Polish shops? [23]


then it will be "z żywymi kulturami bakteryjnymi" or "żywe kultury bakterii" or something like that (look for the words "żywe" = live, living and "bakterie" somewhere, in some grammatical form).

Unfortunatelly, I don't drink yoghurt (they use gelatin too often), but I'm almost sure that "naturalny" in Poland means, and no more no less, that it's not fruit taste.

And that Danone "Jogurt naturalny" you can see on a picture above is with powdered milk, yuck.

News / Why is Zloty called PLN? [14]


maybe they've mistaken Pounds for Euro :)

Life / Polish Shelf Toilets [32]


I saw one (and I had to use it) in Italy too, Florence main train station.

News / Superstitions about chimney sweepers and snake in Polish gardens [52]


doorway as a threshold symbolizes a division (outside-inside, room-corridor), so the popular belief is that greeting someone in a doorway will divide these 2 persons and they'll simply have a fight (quarrel). Unfottunatelly, I don't know how it all started (as most superstitions have their roots in a remote time)

Language / Help with Sentence Structure! [16]


Yep, but I don't remember who was the thread starter and what was the topic :(

EDIT:
OK, found it (I thought it was an older thread), guess who was asking .
ArcticPaul :)

Life / How often do Utility Companies send out their bills in Poland? [4]

It probably depends on the city, in my house the meters (electricity and water) are read every 2 months, they print the bill and you can pay at once (or later if you don't have cash at that moment). We don't have gas (because not every Polish city has gas pipes).

When I lived in Poznań (in a block of flats, from late communist era) the electricity and gas meters were outside - exact bill every 2 months after reading, water and heat (on central heating radiators) inside - approximate paying (based on the previous year consumption) every month, meters read once or twice a year and then you paid extra or got a refund.



This is important, if you let (or even sell) a flat/house to someone, you better go the electricity company to change/discontinue the contract with them. If the tenant/new owner is not paying the bills, you'll be the person from whom the electricity company will require to settle those bills.

Language / Confusion about genitive plural [30]

also we say Ściana Płaczu (Wailing Wall), but don't get confused, technically it should be Mur Płaczu :)
other fixed expressions:
Ściana or Mur slowniki.wp.pl/szukaj.html?szukaj=Wall

News / 7 Poles in a Fiat Uno? [38]



quite pleasant?

UK, Ireland / Polish Satellite TV in the UK - downgrade charge? [3]

I looked at their site, but couldn't find such info, isn't it included in her contract? I guess there must be a fine if she signed the contract with promotional prices and now wants to break if before it's expired (probably 17 months)

their e-mail: kontakt@cyfrowypolsat.pl

Language / Using colors to describe an object [14]

you've been warned:

Language / Using colors to describe an object [14]

LOL, I'm old enough to remember B&W TV, but I was referring to Michal's remark about the wooden/plastic case in which the TV set (tube, CRT) was enclosed (usually silver or black, but also brown and maybe gray in the past, not black and white).

Language / Verb forms and conjugation [28]


should be "opanowałem" (opanuję in future tense)
władałem - I was ruling, reigning
władam - same (ruling, reigning), but also the meaning close to what you've referred to, for example "władam trzema językami obcymi" (so you can "władać" a foreing language, but not its specific words or grammatical constructions)

Work / Do I need Permission for teach spanish in Poland? [12]

I can't help you, but maybe this thread will shed some light on your situation (I'm not sure if Americans are treated the same way by Polish laws as Bolivians, but probably):

Work permit

Language / Using colors to describe an object [14]


No, there's no need, you've totally lost it.

Language / Using colors to describe an object [14]


Then keep it at home :)


And how popular where black and white TV boxes? I haven't seen such a design (wooden or plastic) ever.

History / Jews-Officers in the Polish Armed Forces 1939-1945 [52]


That's just wrong :)
To be a jew you have to feel a jew, otherwsie you're just someone else (a Pole, an American, a Russian) with Jewish roots/heritage.

Language / Panowie, panie [4]

yes, but "Państwo" can be also used as a formal address (to a mixed group)
Ladies and Gentlemen, we gathered here - Szanowni Państwo, zebraliśmy się tu ....
How do you like (you in English as in plural) - Jak Wam się podoba / Jak się Państwu podoba?

Kowalscy / Państwo Kowalscy - (the) Smiths / Mr. and Ms. Smith

of course państwo means also "country, nation", but it's "inna para kaloszy"

Language / Swojego vs swego, and friends [6]

the short forms are simply perceived nowadays as more solemn, hence their use mostly in poetry, songs, religious texts (which usually aren't modern texts anyway).

I think I sometimes use "swych" instead of "swoich", but only this one, not the other forms (mego, twych etc.)

News / Simon Moleke Njie. [36]


I didn't do it. I only said that the current state of affairs is still a consequence of the colonialism and I meant mostly the political status of most African countries.

I'm afraid Africa would still be suffering many of its economical problems today even if it had been left alone some two-three hundreds years ago. They have a difficult climate, relatively high population (considering the big areas of desert or hardly arable land), but they would probably have better governments, formed in a natural fight for power that we have everywhere.

And I also realise the the Soviets (who formally weren't occupying any country) did their share of damage too, providing with weapons all those communist or maoistic guerillas, because they wanted to counteract the Western influence in the region.

News / Simon Moleke Njie. [36]


I can't believe it comes out of the mouth of a Pole :)
We're one of the nations with really high numbers of emigrants/asylum seekers. For the past 200 years many people from Poland have been always searching a better life in economical, political, social and vital terms (to find a better job and pay, to avoid persecutions, death included, for their politacl views, to have better chances to realize their ambitions than it was possible under partitions or in the communist era or simply to survive during the World Wars).


Naive thinking, feeding children in Africa is a great idea, but it won't solve the problem, as long as the economy of the poor countries is still in a bad shape, you'd be feeding those children ad infinitum. Educate and plant as a ruler - it would work - in the colonial era, now you can't just send a person (no matter how good and qualified he/she is) to rule a country. He/she would need to be accepted as such ruler by the nation or by its other politicians. And the regimes don't give up power that easily, the regimes care about their own good, not about the country.

And btw, Europe did invade Africa, occupied it for centuries and left it. That's when the problems started. Most African countries weren't prepared for a government European-style (be it capitalism, democracy, socialism, communism), because they didn't evoluate to it. Every society has its ways, sometimes they follow in the footsteps of other societies (like most Europe introducing gradually similar political, economic and social reforms) sometimes they go a different path (Japan, China, Middle East) with similar results on some fields and different on other.

Africa, due to colonialism, was stripped of the possibility to follow its natural path of evolution, then suddenly left alone. Its like a wild cat kept all its life in a cage, then suddenly set free to live in the nature again. Europe has overthrown the balance in that part of the world and now has to deal with the consequences.

Language / Writing Polish Formal Letters [6]


Co ma być, to będzie.

Travel / GBP Exchange rate at Polish cash machines? [15]


Yeah, silly me. Still enough for a beer :)