Work / Italian girl moving to Poland, where I can ask for a job? [60]

Hey W-Wa,

if I were you, I'd make a quick teaching course in whatever school (even little) and apply for a teaching job. Get yourself a book on teaching, learn some classroom techniques and apply. You can get a well- or reasonably-paid job in private or language schools, at universities (native speakers are a necessity there) or you can try to give private classes, just advertise yourself on the internet.

It would be a good idea to make friends with some Polish, through internet or over there, in Italy (there are many). Then they'll give you advice on job search websites, cities you may go to (Warsaw is not the only option and remember that in other places there is less competition) ect.

The best of luck!

Work / Italian girl moving to Poland, where I can ask for a job? [60]

Wwa,

I see you know exactly what you want, or at least where to go. Go for it then! The more determination you have, the more chances to acheve your goals.

Decide what you want to do for living during your stay there, find some accommodation, even temporary, and go! Just make sure you won't need any silly permits to work ect.

Good luck!

b

Life / Whats gay life in Poland? [140]

Janek,

if I may have a word - probably one of the first posts made most sense in this whole discussion. Tolerance is higher in cities than in small places, higher among younger people. If we exclude the criminal incidents (track-suiters, neo nazis ect.), you will be safe. City centres (except railway stations) are probably the best choice (look for other safety tips on this website).

As long as you're not exaggerated (female-gay), you'll probably draw little attention, hence few negative comments, looks ect. So for your own comfort (rather than safety as such) you may prefer not to demonstrate your preferences to the wide public. Most people still can't tell a gay from a straight guy just by the way he looks or dresses (unless it's very tight or colorful). Because coming out of the closet has begun relatively recently, the society is still not used to gays. It's human nature to be afraid or agressive with what you don't know, and you must forgive ignorance of many. Those who have gay friends are mostly understanding and nice. Those who don't (or don't know about it) will probably be more careful or perhaps hostile. By the way - if someone has gay friends, they're most likely to have met them abroad, myself for example.

When you come to Poland, go where you want to go, meet your relatives if you're planning that but to say "I'm gay" you'll probably need to be talking to friends. Visit gay pubs if you feel like but don't expect London-like or Amsterdam-like freedom. Enjoy yourself and go back home where you can be with your dad and feel more yourself than over here. Best wishes.

b

Work / Thinking of spending time teaching in Poland! [38]

Andy,

if you're thinking of teaching seriously, take a course before coming to Poland. Perhaps ten or twenty years ago being a native speaker was enough to get a job, but now the employers are more picky (they have more choice, too, as more and more foreigners come over) so be careful.

Good luck anyway!

b

USA, Canada / Acquire a job in Poland being in the US? [6]

About Americans teaching English in Poland - according to the law you don't need a work permit if you yeach your mother tongue, in all other cases you do. So it's easier for them than it may be for you.

You may want to look for a job in multinationals, speaking a foreign language is a standard there so Polish becomes less important than your core skills.

Good luck!

b

Genealogy / TRACING the Zajac FAMILY [9]

I agree, both surnames you mention are very common. I wouldn'c count on aristocracy to be helpful either. Good luck anyway.

Life / Polish time zone question [9]

Actually whole continental Europe is in the same time zone, for practicality I suppose, from Poland to Portugal. Except for Great Britain & Ireland, which are different in many ways and where continental six o'clock is actually five.

Winter/summer time change is coordinated though throughout Europe.

News / English vs. Polish hostility [323]

According to the law, you can only claim benefit of any kind having worked in the UK continuously for 12 months. This means that anyone going there and claiming anything straight away is just impossible, regardless of nationality.

To be precise: comparing Poles to Mexicans has little reason as all Poles are perfectly legal in the UK, not only staying, but also working - and this being a decision of the government chosen by the British public.

About some moaners: there will always be someone unhappy about changes, claiming same old stuff about job taking and social system abuse. Obviously not everyone going to UK is well behaved and highly educated, but neither are the ones complaining. It is worth noting that actually the inflow of labour force has helped boost British economy.

Saying that English language is threatened by Polish is ridiculous, given its difficulty and the proportions of immigrants against English-speaking inhabitants.

I guess the British lady (#14) is quite right - I haven't ever heard women complain. Moreover, I know of many friendships between Poles and locals. Perhaps it hurts some single men to see happy Polish-English couples?

Internet gives opportunity for some cowards to waffle around, don't let them fool you - the reality is better than it may seem judging by some of these angry posts.

Food / Poland's Summertime! Let's BBQ [79]

The most common meat barbecued in Poland is sausage, one of the medium thickness kind (aroung an inch in diameter) and not the "dry" type (lean meat gets dry, a bit of grease is essential for proper cooking) usually cut in some kind of pattern to allow fat drop as it melts. Often seasoned with herbs, pepper ect. (no salt though, agree). Served with fresh (or bbq toasted) crunchy Polish bread, mustard, ketchup, veg of some kind (cucumbers, tomatoes, mixed veg salad, anything) and often beer or wine.

Tired of the same old sausage, Poles now barbecue all sorts of meat, often pre-marinated in vinegar-seasoning mixture. Whatever is too soft (e.g. fish) is packed in aluminium foil. Polishness demonstrates itself in salads, spices used and serving customs, after all how many sorts of meat can there be? :)

Often instead of a typical grill or bbq (which have been popular only recently) Polish organize a fire. Then you can bury potatoes in hot ashes, roast a sausage held on a long stick (making sure it doesn't break and fall into the fire), or make quick toasts using hte same method. Unlike with the bbq, you can stay late into the night, warming up your hands and feet by the fire, playing the guitar and enjoying the atmosphere its light creates. I guess that's the most Polish thing of all.

News / World-wide and famous brands from Poland [41]

If you live in the UK, or in London at least, you must know some Polish products. Myself, I've seen Polish beer, vodka, ham, bread, pierogis, sausages, carrot juice (mostly Kubus), and many other products.

I guess it's not only trademarks as such that count. There are several cars for example made on Poland only, Fiat seicento being just one of them.

UK, Ireland / for polish people in uk-do u find it easy to live in this country? [19]

I guess the key to your feeling good is that Brits are not disrespectful towards foreigners, while Germans and Italians often are.

Also, there are numerous similarities in cuisine, city lifestyle, interests and music.

I cannot agree that all Poles go to UK and try to earn as much as they can before they decide to go back. We must not forget that if earnings are quadruple, the cost of living is at least triple so their actual profits are not so astonishing. Besides I met many who declare that they wish to stay forever, that they only came to learn the language properly or experience something new before they settle down back in Poland.

Love / What is expected of a man who wishes to propose to a lady in Poland? [35]

Getting down on your knee? I know many Polish married women and none of them actually experienced such performance. All of them got married recently and for all of them the proposal happened between the two with announcing the happy news to the family.

About "holy day", only in very religious families, which are in extinction now (at least among those Poles I know, most of them from cities in western Poland).

Flowers, ring, romance - choose what matches your personality and the character of your relationship. If you come up with something original, she'll surely appreciate it.

Make her happy, that's all that really matters!

USA, Canada / Polish people view of the United States [54]

Spell check on this thing? I thought you wanted to raise educational standards?

Study / Cost for a moderate student life in Poland? [29]

Hey, you Matthew-searcher!

Your case is rather hopeless, there are thousands of Matthews all over the place, it's like looking for a Matthew in London or Glasgow. As long as you have no more details, give yourself a break...

Language / The Longest Polish word?? [23]

It's piecdziesieciogroszowka, marki.

But the Constantinople girl is the longest known example. Known to everyone, almost famous :)

Food / I would like to see more recipes from Poland please [5]

I can tell you about barshch.

Slice or grate 3 medium size beetroots, 2 carrots, 2 parsley roots, slice some leek and cook it all with some meat base or stock cube. Remember to start with the beetroots as they take longer to cook. With the soup or separately (both ways are popular) cook some potatoes (cubed if in the soup). Spice it up with some ground pepper and add parsley leaves if you like.

This is just the basic version, upgrade it if you feel like it.

Unfortunately I cannot add any family story to this recipe as I only learnt how to make barshch as an adult. I only remember eating it once at my friend's house and being very careful not to stain anything purple...

Enjoy the food and good luch with more recipes!

b

Food / Can't remember the name of the Poland-style soup? [21]

There are two white soups, zurek and barszcz bialy (white barshch), that are very similar. Zurek os more spicy and more sour, white barshch is milder.

Z with a dot is like "ge" in garage [garaz] not [geridz]. You may also try saying "sh" just voiced.

Welcome to the sour soups lovers club!

Life / Retire in Poland - Good or Bad Idea? [74]

Just as the initial post suggests, it depends on your situationand preferences whether or not retiring in Poland is for you.

I know that many people love coming back home for the autumn of their lives. On the other hand I know examples of Poles coming back to Poland and then leaving again because they couldn't stand the red tape, the way the country is governed, the brainwashing of the media, lack of culture and other things you get used to living in the West.

Anyway, the decision is yours, hope you're happy with it, whatever you bet on.

Life / Level of English among the Poles? [64]

Most Poles speak English with mistakes of word use, word order and grammar, and with poor pronunciation. Even those who studied English at university or have lived in th UK for ages often fail to produce fluent speech. You may be lucky though as there are some Polish people who thanks to their musical abilities can actually learn to speak perfect English.

Most non-native speakers judge their own language abilities well when they become speaking without breaks - fluently in their opinion, however not always as well as it may seem.

Try to establish what degree of fluency you actually require and bet on those who get closest. Best of luck.

b

UK, Ireland / Profile of a polish person in London [18]

I disagree to accept that all Poles live this way. I met many who often have take-aways for lunch, who work normal hours, have one job, eat healthy stuff morning and evening, especially salads ect. There are also people who don't drink unless partying on the weekend, who integrate with the locals and stay away from other Poles.

Polish people usually buy certain Polish products (bread, ham, beer), some rarely, some more frequently. Often they live with other Poles what makes communication at home easier but learning English harder.

There is some truth in what Bolo wrote, however any kind of generalisation would be a mistake.

If you need more information or want to ask some specific questions, e-mail me and I'll be ever happy to help.

b

Life / Is Sex in Polish a Dirty Word? [16]

If I may have a word - the word "sex" usually relates to the physical side of the act. Many prefer to say "make love" rather than "have sex" for the simple fact of it being milder, less biological and more human, so to say. So if you want to know about the word itself, yes, it is a bit strong and you're not likely to hear it over a family dinner table.

UK, Ireland / What do the Poles Living Abroad Think about Their Host Countries (the UK) [29]

However many there are, it's always likely that only some of those who went to UK will be happy there. My bet is that those who speak good English and got decent jobs will be the ones. Those who complain are in a worse situation and probably complained even more before they left. After all something must stop them from coming back, right? Always the most intelligent ones adapt more easily and the less gifted - well...

I agree that Poles are an ever complaining nation. I've never met any Pole saying "I'm perfectly happy". So divide what they moan about by two and you may get somewhere close to what things really are like.

Language / A Native American or a Native Pole: Who is better into which language? [116]

About tenses in Polish - at school children are taught that there are three of them, however if you consider that each tense has also the continuous form, that make it six.

About tenses in English - true, there are just two, modals and auxiliaries are to blame for the 16-tense mess.

Pronunciation in Polish is easy, as long as you manage to learn some sounds; many of them are present in other languages, e.g. Italian or French. Once you do, reading is a piece of cake.

English, on the other hand, has many sounds that do not appear in any other language, and also trying to pronounce an unfamiliar word can easily become a disaster.

Life / Stereotyping in the Polish culture: Are Polish blondes really dumb? [130]


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So are you

Life / Poland: The Things That Make Foreigners Lift a Brow [123]

About drinking in public - for some years already it is forbidden to consume alcohol in or around shops that sell it. Unemploued don't have money to drink all the time, unless the drinks they buy are really dodgy.

About drinking straight from the bottle - don't Brits do the same? Don't Americans? Don't Dutch, Germans, Spanish? No point criticising there.

What the article describes seems to be based on experience or description of low class people - blue collar employees, long term unemployed ect. If the author bothered to ask someone from a city with proper education what they do in their free time, the picture would be completely different.

The same refers to talking - people of high esteem will not chat you up just because you're there.

The stuff Poles eat? I lived in Poland for years and I've never eaten that. It's a matter of choice, just like with liver, Christmas pudding (stored for months outside fridge) or haggis.

Kissing hands? Only among olds, or perhaps in the deep province. In my life I only saw it happen a few times and it was always someone old, both kissed and kissing.

Dark parks and alleys? Please, that's elementary, wherever you go, including UK.

Travel / Traveling to Poland: Tips for First-Timers [47]

Poles, unlike Brits, don't have a hunting tradition. Fishing - yes, drinking - yes, but hunting is not perceived as a regular hobby. Going to forests is usually for mushrooms or just fresh air.

Love / Are you in a Polish-nonPolish relationship? [150]

It got quiet here... I was wondering if you have any particular experiences that other people would never imagine could happen. For example my Latin husband does everything at home, including baby care, but the moment we step out of the door, I have to push the buggie, change nappies, feed, play, ect. All that because in South America men don't do any housework, it's a female thing - for wives and maids...

Life / Poland: The Things That Make Foreigners Lift a Brow [123]

I celebrate my birthdays, and so do all my family and friends.

It may be a matter of regional customs. Many Poles are used to thinking of the country as one, whole, forgetting that regions differ more than we normally remember. One of the proofs is the fact that there are differences in calling things (ziemniaki, kartofle and pyry are all the same vegetable), the recipes are slightly different, and also other customs vary - take the dispute between beetroot soup and mushroom soup for the Christmas Eve dinner.

UK, Ireland / What do the Poles Living Abroad Think about Their Host Countries (the UK) [29]

Probably the author of the article was trying to prove some thesis and used true but selected data.

I guess that's just British point of view. They always think in terms of "strong currencies" and although they realise that costs of living are also lower, they worry about those who don't earn enough pounds annually.