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Posts by Switezianka  

Joined: 17 Jun 2008 / Female ♀
Last Post: 15 Jul 2009
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Posts: Total: 463 / In This Archive: 403

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Switezianka   
31 Jul 2008
Life / Money - a taboo subject in Poland [25]

How much did you pay for that car?
How much rent do you pay?
What do you earn a month?

You can ask your close friend about it.

In case of complaining that something is expensive, I think that many people are ashamed of not being able to afford something. Many people buy brand clothes to seem richer than they are, many kids think calling their parents poor is the worst insult of all. If you complain about the price, it means that the price is a problem to you, therefore you've got no money.

It's silly, because most people in Poland do in fact earn very little, including well-educted ones.

It's funny, when I go to a shop and I say: "I'd like the cheapest mineral water that you have, please.", the seller usually looks at me as if I were an idiot or some kind of tramp.
Switezianka   
31 Jul 2008
Life / Cyganski Music [10]

i am sure polish,russian,ukrainian also has some but not as much

Any examples, please?
Switezianka   
31 Jul 2008
Language / nice things to say to a girl in polish [103]

fajna dupa (f-eye-na-doo-pa) < Need this.

Do you want to get a slap on your face or something?
It means: a nice piece of ass

Dziewuszka is a patronizing word for a little girl. Nothing a woman would like to be called.
Switezianka   
31 Jul 2008
Life / Polish Train Travel - Scary? [101]

The scariest thing on Polish trains are the toilets...

I travel by trains a lot and most often I am alone and I sleep. What's more, I am a young, slightly built female with no chance to protect myself against physical attack. And somehow, I'm still alive and have never got robbed ;-)

I usually either put my documents and money to my bag and use this bag as a pillow when I sleep - it's not possible put one's hand inside it or pull it from under my head without waking me up. Or I put my precious stuff into an inner hidden pockets of my combat trousers (if I wear them) - it's also very unlikely that someone would steal them. I lay down on the seat, fall asleep and set my alarm clock to wake me up before I arrive at my destination. The only problem I've ever had were loutish passengers I travelled with.

The other thing is that usually when I sleep on a train, I look in a way that most Poles find scary, so maybe that's why nobody has ever dared to rob me ;-)
Switezianka   
1 Aug 2008
Life / Money - a taboo subject in Poland [25]

Most people are feeling the pressure of the cost of living these days - whether they admit it or not. There is no shame in not having a lot of money

If you explain it to young Polish kids who mock other kids for not having brand clothes, you're my idol.
Most people who lack money, don't admit it. When I worked in a clothes factory, my work-mates (poor manual workers' marriage, mind you) were discussing buying home cinema but they planned to go for one week's camping for holidays - because having expensive stuff to show your guests is more important than having good time. Knowing them a little, I'm sure that was their intention.
Switezianka   
1 Aug 2008
News / Superstitions about chimney sweepers and snake in Polish gardens [52]

I've heard the cold months are better, but I don't know how truthful that is.

It's probably true because in summer there are more people on the beaches who look for amber ;-)

bramkaz, thanks for the link. I just learnt about the bats reserve - that's so cool. I must go there one day.
Switezianka   
1 Aug 2008
Life / Polish Shelf Toilets [32]

That's one thing they might tell you to check (to see if you're digesting fats properly? IANAD) , but back in the day I was told to monitor consistency/texture and check for minute traces of blood. [...] And let's not even talk about taking poop samples to the lab ;)

You need either a shelf toilet or a potty for this. I think a self toilet is better... nobody forces you to look when not necessary.
Switezianka   
3 Aug 2008
Language / Basic words to say to a Polish girl? [40]

charris0n, don't worry.
At this age children do not LEARN language but ACQUIRE it in a more natural way similar to that of acquiring their mother tongue. Therefore, they learn it fast and relatively effortlessly. I think you should help her by non-verbal communication rather than trying to speak Polish.

I've never met anyone who would like to sent his/her child to english school without any knowledge about this language. It may appear very difficult for you to start. Actually it's almost impossible to learn this child english without any basics.

If you knew some psycholinguistics basics, that wouldn't seem so scary. I even heard an opinion (from a specialist), that if you want your children to speak English better (especially in terms of pronunciation) and you're a foreigner, you should not speak English at home at all lest your children take up your foreigner errors and accent.
Switezianka   
4 Aug 2008
Language / Polish verbs are conjugated with a separate ending for all six persons: I, you, he, she, it, we, you [29]

Achilles, sorry to say that but your 'essay' contains a lot of errors:

Polish verbs are conjugated with a separate ending for all six persons: I, you, he, she, it, we, you and they.

Errr... there are only 3 persons in most languages...

You forgot that in present tense 3rd person singular has only one ending (the same for he she and it) but in past tense and future tense for perfective verbs 1. and 2. person singular have different endings for masculine and feminine gender and 3rd person has 3 gender endings (masc. fem. AND neuter) and in plural each person has two endings for each gender (virile and non-virile - męskoosobowy i niemęskoosobowy).

When the verb is in the future it is formed with auxiliary, which corresponds to the word: will.

Future forms of perfective verbs have no auxiliary. Imperfective verbs future forms are formed using the auxiliary but then, what corresponds to that auxiliary in English would be: will be -ing.

I will do - zrobię
I will be doing - będę robił/robiła/robić

There is no longer any Past Perfect in Polish (it disappeared in 1945), meaning that it is impossible just using a verb to say "I had eaten" or "I had lived".

Wrong. It is very rare and sounds old-fashioned but it's still in use (by old people or some academic freaks), so you can't say it disappeared.

It should also be noted that in the Present there is no distinction between "I do something" and "I am doing something".

Sometimes it depends on whether the verb is perfective or imperfective.
I go to the cinema - Chodzę do kina.
I'm going to the cinema - Idę do kina.
However, it is not possible most of the verb pairs, e.g. in case robić/zrobić (to do) because "zrobić" has no present form.

Even the state of being drunk has nothing to do with drinking in the past.

'Cause, you know, adjectives do not have an inherent concept of 'past' in them, usually. Yeah, in Polish 'He's drunk' is expressed by copula+Adj. 'On jest pijany'...

while the reflexive form is frequently used when speaking about self or others.

obejrzeć - to see/watch something
obejrzeć się - to look back
nosić - to wear
nosić się - to dress (in a certain way); e.g. nosić się elegancko - to dress elegant
Polish reflexives are more complicated...

The verbs fall into three conjugations, so there are three grammatical sets of rules to be learnt in order to decline verbs in their tenses.

A bit more (click on Classical tables of the Polish conjugation.)
grzegorj.w.interia.pl/gram/gram00.html
Switezianka   
4 Aug 2008
Life / Cyganski Music [10]

Oh, that means that we can also talk about African, Australian or Tibetan influences in Polish music. It's enough to listen to Karpaty Magiczne discography.
Switezianka   
4 Aug 2008
Work / Moving to Poland in 3 weeks to study! [30]

I will get a student loan arounde 1130 USD each month to live of.

I wish I could live on 1130 zlotys per month, not to mention dollars.
That's enough for food, accomodation (if you share an appartment or live in a campus), photocopies and alcohol.

Are people friendly to foreigners in Poland? Do many poles speak english?

I think they're quite friendly. Most students speak English.

What can you expect to use for a night out in a city like Poznan?

0,5 of vodka and a pack of cigarettes. Student life...
Switezianka   
5 Aug 2008
Work / Moving to Poland in 3 weeks to study! [30]

And from what I understand I must prepear myself to work my ass off, not trying to argue with the professors even though I might think I am beeing treated wrong or something like that and to be very efficiant when it comes to planning my reading...

Don't take it too seriously. Of course, you'll have to work your ass off, because this is medicine. But about those unfair evil professors - these are things usually said by students who are either too lazy or not intelligent enough to be prepared properly to classes and exams. Many students think they shoul f*ck around for 5 or 6 years and get a paper in the end, and they don't understand how a professor dares to demand some work from them (to be honest, this is the attitude of most Polish students I know). And yes, the professor aren't too nice for them... But if you work hard and get good grades, you are treated well by your teachers. And if some 'accident' happens so you are not prepared, they'll turn a blind eye to it because you're a good student.

I am hardworking, and I actually enjoy reading about subjects that interests me (medicine in general), so I hope I can use those things to my advantage...

Then you should be OK and get on well with the profs. In Poland students aren't treated equally - you can earn some privileges by good academic performance.
Switezianka   
5 Aug 2008
Work / Moving to Poland in 3 weeks to study! [30]

there are some who will say that if you actually understand what it is you are learning, rather than just remembering it, you will be one step ahead of your polish course mates

Yes, that's the good way. It guarantees better grades and less work (than those who get worse ones).
Switezianka   
5 Aug 2008
Language / Verb patterns 'BYC' [29]

I'm only trying to familiarise myself with the different verb patterns

Here are Polish verb conjugation patterns. Click on 'Conjugation tables' in the right window and have fun! grzegorj.w.interia.pl/gram/gram00.html
Switezianka   
5 Aug 2008
Love / Attending a Polish wedding on my own (I'm English) [25]

Don't worry, it's going to be fun. Just be assertive, or people will get you drunk to make fun of you.

One tip: don't dress all black. My friend once went to a wedding dressed black. Now, the couple is in conflict and they blame her - they say she brought bad luck into their marriage with those black clothes (lol)
Switezianka   
6 Aug 2008
Love / Attending a Polish wedding on my own (I'm English) [25]

polishgirltx,
Wouldn't it be funny to take some innocent, defensless foreigner, get him drunk and have a laugh?
It happened once to my friend on a train. Some people coming back from Częstochowa (a pilgrimage?) forced vodka to him and when I met him at the railway station, he could hardly walk. So, why can't they do it during a wedding?
Switezianka   
6 Aug 2008
Life / Present for Polish friends ~ is anything hard to get any more? [57]

If your friends like gardening you could buy them some fancy gardening device. I guess the choice of this stuff in England is much wider than in Poland.

If they're into books, you can bring them some books in English. English classics can be bought in any Empik, but in paperback, and modern stuff is hardly available in original version (and most Polish translations suck, sorry to say that). So maybe some book in a pretty edition?

Another thing which is probably in larger selection in UK than in Poland is old china, glassware, earthenware etc. Yet, to choose something appropriate youy have to know your friends' taste very well.

As far as children are concerned: in Poland it is hard to get toys in good quality and educational toys (when I had to buy a nice toy for a 5-years-old girl, I had a big problem finding something not stupid, not made of awful pink plastic, to say nothing about any kind of an educational toy. And I looked for it in the second biggest Polish city). But I haven't looked for any toy in UK, so I don't know if it's easier or not.
Switezianka   
6 Aug 2008
Language / Verb patterns 'BYC' [29]

You're welcome, ArcticPaul. I just love showing people scary things ;-)
Switezianka   
7 Aug 2008
Life / HEAT IN POLAND (with no air-condition) [26]

Why would opening windows help when the temperature outside is 30 C? By letting the hot air in?

I have windows directed at the West, so the sun shines to my windows directly all afternoon and in summer it's a nightmare (and I've got a kind of photofobia to make matters worse).

I have thick, heavy curtains covering all the surface the windows, space blankets \ sewed up to them and I use an electric fan. At night I open all windows wide because the temperature is acceptable.
Switezianka   
7 Aug 2008
Language / I need a good dictionary! (book) [21]

In case a pocket dictionary is not enough, I'll give my recommendations.

Students' and librarians' choice: The Great Oxford-PWN Dictionary
A big, heavy 2 volume (A3, about 1500 pages per volume) monster, also available on a CD:
Polish>English volume - merlin.pl/Wielki-slownik-polsko-angielski-PWN-Oxford/browse/product/1,508004.html
English>Polish volume - merlin.pl/Wielki-slownik-angielsko-polski-PWN-Oxford-okladka-twarda/browse/product/1,297694.html

This inconspicuous-looking little thing (A4, I can't find number of pages but no so thick) only looks very unprofessional but it is useful as hell when it comes to translation.

Collins dictionary by Fisiak - nowela.net/ksiegarnia/opt_showbook/idksiazki_22211/idkat_as

I'd recommend you to get both ;)

And what do you need it for?
Switezianka   
7 Aug 2008
Language / "Pomagac", "robic" - I know this is wrong can anyone help me? [29]

miesiący
miesiące.
Whats the difference between the two?

The first one does not exist.

Before you start looking for patterns in Polish inflection, you should be aware of one thing: there are 11 verb conjugation patterns and, like in any language, exceptions. In case of noun declension - you don't want to know.
Switezianka   
7 Aug 2008
Language / "Pomagac", "robic" - I know this is wrong can anyone help me? [29]

Does a "y" in Polish not represent what in english would be "s"?

No. Polish has very complicated inflection, English has only some remains of inflection so there is no point looking for any equivalents.

Im learning polish for two months= Uczę się polskiego od dwóch miesięcy.

Here "y" is an ending denoting plural genitive of an inanimate masculine noun, which ends with "ąc" in singular nominative and therefore follows some certain declension pattern.
Switezianka   
8 Aug 2008
Study / how much does a polish citizen pay to go to school in poland? [10]

I haven't bought a single book connected with my studies throughtout three years. I've got everything I need in my institute library. It's enough to spend some time in the reading room. However, I have to spend some 30-40 zł a month for various photocopies.

, some penalty exams

Why do you assume every students needs to re-take exams?! If you f**ck around all year and remember that you're a student 3 days before the exam - then, yes, you have to pay. But you can study regularly and pass everything on zero and first terms.

and obviously for accommodation, food etc.

You pay for food and accommodation whatever you do, not only when you study.

What's more, if you've got a high średnia (something like GPA), you get a scholarship. In my uni it varies from 250 to 400 zł, depending on your średnia. You can also give private lessons in the subject you study or foreign languages (25-35 zł per hour) and get some odd jobs while you're a full-time student, without the fear that you will be overwhelmed with too much activities.

The conclusion is: the lazier you are, the more you have to pay.