Life / Warsaw - most boring capital in Europe, after Brussels - comments? [78]

I love it here. End of :)

Food / Where to buy Cheddar in Warsaw? [57]

Red Leicester is available in Carrefour Arkadia.

Life / Medical board in Poland - is there a centralized list of doctors? [5]

Avalon, this is the same as myself - would you be kind enough to share your Dr's details please?

Life / How can I get my mobile phone unlocked in Warsaw? [6]

Thanks! However several shops were unable to unlock my phone - seems like the dire prediction from O2 were correct: it can't be unlocked for a year is their official line. I'm now the not so proud owner of an older model Sony Ericsson, but at least it was cheap!

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

Nah, stick with Marcin. English people are SO lazy with names - I used to get my first name spelled incorrectly because people were so freaked out by the czyk at the end of my surname that they forgot to look at how many e's in Beverley. LOL.

My dad changed the family name when I was a baby, he always regretted it and was very proud when I got to 18 and changed it back to the one on my birth certificate, his birth certificate etc ... be proud of who you are!

Life / Life in Bydgoszcz [39]

This thread made me laugh. I just came here from Leamington Spa. Fleeing Warwickshire FTW!!!!!!! (I'm in Warsaw though)

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

My (now definitely) ex in the UK took it badly that I wanted to come teach English after years in a miserable but well paid job came to an end when I was made redundant, so given how much he has been unpleasant (with a range of things from threats of suicide, threats to kill me if I ever went back and getting himself into a situation seeing not one but two girls behind each other's backs - not his normal, he was trying to make me jealous so I will come back) I'd say my bridges are pretty burned in the UK. Knowing that was pretty scary, and I am worried about money but overall the advice given is good. The Polish way is very different and very defined: learn to live Polish :)

Life / How can I get my mobile phone unlocked in Warsaw? [6]

Sony Ericsson T303. I was sceptical at first but seems no one could get round the encoding.

I would like to unlock it and then maybe keep the other one as a spare because the new phone is a lot nicer to use!

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

I was about to say this too. There are light boxes available which you can use every morning when you get up for about half an hour if you sit close to them. They are safe and don't have any side effects except you don't want to sleep all day and eat three loaves of bread all the time like a hibernating bear!

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

I was initially looking at going from home in the UK to Chicago, that was based on a relationship which has at best had an interruption and may not be recoverable. However, I found AMERICA a culture shock, even given the (sometimes arguable) same language. I wasn't there for long, and if I'd gone for a holiday and been a tourist it would have been great but I was already viewing it with the eye of "could I live here".

I have empathy for mazzy, I'm starting to wonder if any expats actually meet up (in Warsaw, anyway). Would love some female friends, my English friends here are all guys and even the gay one can't really empathise with girly mindset requirements :)

I hit a slump last week when my mother was sent to hospital (she's quite frail, she's back home now). However, there's no point dwelling, the key really IS to keep yourself busy and to throw yourself into things wholeheartedly. It's my birthday today so I am looking forward to the (not mean) streets of Foksal and Nowy Swiat tonight :)

PS look up Homesickness on Wikipedia if you are feeling low (I adapted this article for a lesson the other day). Read that - think "hey this is normal!" and feel better about yourself. :)

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

I don't think people are saying that - they're talking about the same experience as you had yourself in my opinion. I *LOVE* Poland, I am constantly surprised at what I find here etc etc - however, I do miss some things - when I went back to the UK to pack up my stuff I missed Polish things. And actually I kind of wish I'd left everything back in the UK and started over because my belongings made me feel weird, like they were ties to something I wasn't any more.

The thread was started by someone in the throes of a culture shock, you can't berate someone for a perfectly natural human reaction. We're all different - it wasn't a culture shock for me here in Poland at all as I am half Polish and find it quite comforting to be in the culture my Father taught me when he was still alive. Even so, this is the first time I've been out of the country of my origin for a period of time and there is no real "going back" to the life you had because travel and experience have broadened your mind and made you a different (and I'd say probably better for it) person. The people you leave behind can't understand that.

Anyway what I miss atm is a healthy breakfast cereal that's not loaded with sugar - anyone seen Bran Flakes anywhere? :)

(Life IS what you make it)

Life / Decently priced gym or health club in Warsaw? [17]

Thanks esek :) Wow that first site has some eye-watering webpage offerings (putting on my glasses and reaching for the dictionary :) )

Life / Decently priced gym or health club in Warsaw? [17]

I'm using Poltran (I'm too lazy to use an actual dictionary today!)

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

I have a perfect example of this for those who think others are being parochial (to be nice about it). So it's my birthday - SMS flying in from all sides, my ex tried to get hold of me on MSN when I was sleeping (whoops), I have a party tonight and I am in an excellent mood looking at the beautiful blue skies, the glowingly green grass and the flowers suddenly everywhere. Then I end up in a complete Fawlty Towers a la Communisto farce in Carrefore which was caused by their bar code scanners but was massively exacerbated by me not being able to speak Polish. 45 minutes trying to buy some sprouted seeds (I love these so much!) rather took the shine off the experience and I decided I was going to just go home and chill out, get ready. But ... it made me cry, as soon as I was away from other people's view.

Now I am a fairly tough bird, I am generally the one other people lean on for support, but something so small as that underlines the frustrations that flare. It doesn't matter, I know that the guy in the store didn't mean anything personal it just made me feel very alone in an uncaring universe for a while.

Home now and it already seems a massive over-reaction but it's just part and parcel of adapting. Only been here three weeks really, so no wonder I can't have my usual control and collectedness I'd have either at home or where I have a far better grasp of the language.


I remember every year sorting out things for Xmas present boxes to be sent to Poland. We used to go out with some extra pocket money and a little we had ourselves and buy sweets, colouring books, crayons, hair baubles etc., then make up a "surprise shoebox" with these things in them. I always used to feel really happy as a kid that someone would have a nice thing to open which one of us had made for them. :)

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

Laughing already Isa :) et merci beaucoup!!

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]


Actually I said that it was exacerbated because *I* can't speak Polish yet after three weeks. Not even remotely about them not being able to speak English, I made no complaint about that at all - mainly because it would have been totally unreasonable to expect English.

Please, read something properly before making comments which make other people out to be dicks - my complaint was with their barcode reader which, to my understanding, reads 0 and 1 in any language.

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]


Really really lazy :) After all typing Carrefore is such hard work for some people. Sorry, sum ppl.

Life / Culture Shock Since Moving to Poland - Anybody Dealt With This Before? [52]

How do they rate compared to Dominicks?

Aha ... I spot the sound of Illinois there :)


Exactly. I don't think that's the way most people are on the thread. Just settling in there's bound to be this period. The friend I came over and stayed with said after a few weeks he was desperate to get out - that was 10 years ago now and he says he'd never live anywhere else by choice because after a week or two more he woke up one day and thought "This place is WONDERFUL". Which puts him at the six week mark, about where most people seem to acclimatise if they actually are living life here and not in the UK.

Some ducklings swim like Mama easier than others :)

So give people a chance to deal with their own relocations and any associated or non-associated side issues a chance (I notice not many people picked up that the OP is disabled, trust me a medical issue to be worried about adds a new dimension to feeling that you can call a place home).

I get all obsessive about certain food items (did exactly the same in the UK and I would have done the same in a Dominicks too - I did in Walgreen). I'd use diabetes as my excuse but it's actually known as plain old piggery LOL. What I haven't said is the near ecstatic joy I experienced when I first saw Nik-Naks here as they were a rare exotica from Germany for me for years. Suffice to say, the easy availability of smoked cheese peanuts has made me go "meh".

I've found Wyke Farm Cheddar in Carrefore (recognised by their barcode reader too) so tbh in food terms I am happy. I can get good fresh veggies, pulses, grains, cheese (talking about other cheeses here) and excellent quality breads and chicken. I'm good :)

We had a very similar (and vodka fuelled) conversation last night in fact, where my friend said he found all the cultural differences difficult at first - I really had no problem with anything being strange except the lector (and the lector was well after my father sought asylum at the end of WWII or I'd have known about that too). I love everything, I just hate not being able to speak Polish yet.

However thank you ladies and gentlemen, those who have not misconstrued what I was trying to say anyway. What this thread has done for me personally is make me even MORE determined to learn this language whether I stay here a year or the rest of my natural. Dziękują bardzo! :) With that I will look forward to today's adventures, a "Sunday Best" moment as it will assuredly be!

News / Dealing with constant insults against Polish [323]


Just seen this thread but this line made me smile, my dad often ran into difficulties at work because he worked way too hard and made the English guys look lazy. I had the same problem in the UK myself.

I had a delightful class a few weeks ago where this was exactly what the guys all said when encouraged to speak English. Other comments other than "I'm lazy" were "I don't like language" and "I am bad at English so I hate it and don't speak". And they really didn't either. Alrighty then, why spend all the zl on the lessons (aka their boss or their mother has paid for them, probably).

I spent years being insulted for the name my father chose to "Anglicise" the family. Unfortunately he chose "Kraft" as it has the same first letter, so I was Margarine, Dairylea etc for years. People are generally herd animals, if you are different then you must be made to pay so if you have to be different be proudly different :)

Poles don't like Jews coming over, English don't like Poles, we don't like Mexicans... will it ever end? - sadly not, krysia ... (wish you could do two quotes in a post!)

News / Dealing with constant insults against Polish [323]


I have some more careful highlighting to do maybe :)

Life / Wandering through Warsaw [6]

Maybe not but go and look at the Vistula from the Old Town.

Polish spring rocks, thanks Mike, and also for the reminder to get batteries in my camera for next Sunday's walk around the city. If I take any pictures which come out nice I will send them to you so you can use them.

Life / Nice place to buy art prints/posters in Warsaw? [5]

Dziękuja bardzo

Food / Cost of Nescafe coffee in Poland. [49]

If there is one thing you won't be short on it's good coffee. How the hell can you be a coffee purist and WANT to drink Nescafe? LMAO ... there's much better here.

Life / Thinking of moving to Warsaw - hoping to find a better lifestyle there. [8]

He's right about that, you might well find you don't make as much. Do you speak any Polish? That will probably help with a job search.

So yes, less money but then again things are cheaper here and compared to London the quality of life is great. Be aware though that what you are used to and take for granted will not be so easily to hand ... the casual buying of a magazine, familiar processed foods, the TV stations you veg out in front of. If these things define happiness for you then you need to do some soul searching, and your girlfriend can help you explore this.

However, one thing Warsaw does have in spades is a culture of it's own, lovely parks, a nicer way of life in general and also the craic ... not called that but I am sure it needs no explaining to an Irish guy :)

Oh yes redundancy. Take anything you can screw out of BT ... I worked for them once ... vile company!

Life / Nice place to buy art prints/posters in Warsaw? [5]

Thanks Isa. I'd been looking at the English version of that site.

Not sure if this is the shop mentioned above, but here's a link I found: poster.com.pl

News / Is Poland ready for the swine fever stuff? [59]

Wow caused a storm unintentionally! I'm actually more worried about my mum who was in hospital recently but Shelley is right that I am a little bit concerned. Mexico in general has a lot of people living in quite run down conditions who have this flu, looking at the footage it appears to be mainly affecting people without the benefits maybe some of us take for granted.

I didn't realise that you can buy Tamiflu, so thanks, I will have a chat with my folks. Personally I think it's godsend for the news programmes rather than a real threat.

(I do maintain good hand hygeine :) and it's not me who hawks and spits in the street outside :) )

Real Estate / Foreigners: Please don't buy Polish Land! [823]


My goodness this is specious to say the least. So the Poles who came over after World War II now have resulted in an influx of Polish people to the UK as a direct result huh? That's the implication from the way you have written things.

That's incorrect. My dad simply was not allowed back here, he went to the UK as an asylum seeker after doing his time at the Arnhem landings etc - he had no family left in Poland to send money to other than my late Grandmother from a family with 9 brothers and sisters - but he worked bloody hard every day of his working life and raised three kids all of whom also worked bloody hard and have had professional careers. I think you were being ironic to Ola (I hope so) when you were saying scrounging Poles.

I find it ironic actually - people misunderstand being stared at - you don't think you are an exotica speaking English on a bus? I get stared at all the time, bus or not, admittedly in a different way if I am actually speaking English, but I often find out afterwards that people are just curious about me in general as I clearly am not local but clearly am not causing a problem. Ola darling, I have bad news for you, Polish DO want me here (some are a bit too keen that I am here to be honest LOL).

Oh to everyone English writing here as if you are mashing the keyboard with a crayon in your fist - unless you are dyslexic you should be ashamed of yourself for your lack of ability to even express yourself in your mother tongue.