Life / The strangest things in Poland [468]

i find it strange that they stand right behind you at the kiosks, so when you turn around you actually find them under your feet... then they expect you to say sorry, even though its their fault.

they annoy me... i was pushing my bike on the path, and this old granny cycled up to me and started giving me hell for not using the cycle path... i would have understood her point if SHE were to use the cycle path herself.

ok, sorry.... this is the strangest thing thread, not the anti-granny thread :)

Language / x=a kiss sign. What's a kiss sign for the Polish? [48]


i normally use :p for either a cheeky tongue or following a :* (but then my girlfriend and i both have sony ericsson phones that have proper smileys, not the text version)

also use --<-<-@ as a rose/flower, Aska loves it :)

Language / A good learning book for Polish [44]

I bought "czesc, yak sie masz" because i heard it was quite good. However...

I cant really get used to it, because of the university-degree way of talking to you in english.
As soon as you open the book, you are given huge tutorial on pronounciation
The book starts with extensive Grammar (!)

in all, its a good book, but very difficult for home-study (even my Polish girlfriend was horrified when she first tried to help me), its more of a classroom/teacher material. I feel that a book that could start with general vocab, with some more simple grammar excersises would be more useful for people like me who have no idea about the language

I have the rosetta stone software, its quite good for picture-word association, although i think it would be better if you had some sort of target to work towards. It has its "exam" mode (if i can call it that) but i think it could be better to allow you to progress instead of jumping to different levels at the click of a button

I am going to try that website that was mentioned, but i was wondering if anyone could give me some more info on the hurra books, and if there is any great tips on word-case situations :)

Travel / Getting from Wroclaw Airport into Town [23]


Oh, you dont have that phone number for the cheap taxis, do you? only cost me 15 złoty from the airport to sokola

Life / Mobile phone reception in Poland [17]

The first thing i did when i moved to Wrocław is get hold of an era PAYG sim.... and to be honest.... i am very impressed. In the uk, on vodafone for example, you have the area info (well, the area code of where you are eg. 01637) but Era tells me exactly what street I am on, and always changes. My credit seems to have lasted forever, and i am genrally extremely happy with the polish mobile networks. Although, i broke my charger and need to get another one :(

Life / The strangest things in Poland [468]

The stragest thing i have witnessed is the train returning to Wroclaw from Krakow.
A normal journey except for the guy who was getting hassled by the conductor, and some money was passed around....

a little while later, approaching Katowice, the guy made everyone in the compartment stand up while he removed some packages (in black wraps) from under the seats. He then put them into tesco bags before throwing them out of the window to a friend before we arrived at the station.

So, it was obviously something to do with drugs/illegal goods, but very strange that he didnt care who saw him on the train


This happened in Krakow at the weekend, I was in a cafe with my girlfriend, and we had a couple of paninis, her food was cold, and didnt have any filling, and when she complained they said she could have a free meal on her next visit (didnt even offer to exchange, but wanted us to pay)... that was fun, making the waiter feel embarrassed.... but back to the point, we dont wait for bills, we walk up to the till and pay there... the strangest thing is that everywhere like that i have been to, there is no secure till... just a drawer with money sitting inside.

Law / Do you need a work / residence permit for Poland (EU national)? [9]


Icouldnt find much information there. Where is the best place to find out what i need to do to be able to work in woclaw, as i hope to be here for a long time