USA, Canada / Polish Restaurants in Montreal [15]

Did you take a photo of the castle dungeon-like staircase down to the ladies' room? It's the best part of Stash's decor.

Language / Iterative and semelfactive verbs [37]


Can't resist contributing a bit of trivia. Ted Knight's original name was Tadeusz Czesław Władysław Konopka. He loved stating it in interviews then making the interviewer repeat it until he/she got it as close to proper pronunciation as a native English speaker with no knowledge of Polish could.

Life / What really represents Polish people? What would be the symbol of Poland... [51]


When your design is complete, would you be good enough to scan it & post it here? I'd love to see it. Thx.

Life / How not to offend your Polish host who makes too much food? [18]

Pleading medical reasons saves me from overly solicitous hosts piling too much food or food I don't like on my plate. "Sorry, but my doctor has me on this strict limited diet because of my [fill in the blank w. random diagnosis] problem" & they back off. Of course you might be entertained with well-meant but unsolicited health advice throughout the meal, but it's better than overeating or having to eat something you don't like.

Life / Traditional Polish Music - Where can I find some? [25]


Not this one.....the lyrics are by Julian Tuwim. Music & performance - Niemen.

Food / The best potato pancakes? [30]

Tip: a few drops of lemon juice will prevent the batter from turning black.

USA, Canada / Work ethics in Poland vs US [66]


American Indians would agree with you

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News / Nobility / Aristocracy in Poland ? [92]

I hold with dear Samuel Johnson:
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]


When one person tells you you're a horse - get offended
When a second person tells you you're a horse - think about it
When a third person tells you you're a horse - buy a saddle.

Now count the posts on this thread - it's enough for a saddle, bridle & a horse blanket.

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]


Patience is an admirable virtue, but the situation as it stands is obviously bothering you, or you wouldn't be discussing it here.

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]


If shot, they'll never get a chance to mature.

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]


That it is...& speaking from personal experience, it also robs us of common sense. We focus on the object of our desire so intently that reality gets blurred. Only in retrospect we figuratively smack ourselves on forehead & sigh "how could I have been so stupid? why couldn't I see straight?". However this turns out, it's an experience on your life's journey. I wish you the very best.

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]

I was blessed to realize v. early in life that people will only accept advice which confirms their intentions & dismiss opinions to the contrary. You are my latest confirmation of this theory.

Read this thread waveydave! EVERY person commenting is telling you either gently or forthrightly that this relationship is not going anywhere & you're being played. Ponder it.

Love / Confused English man: is she stringing me along or is she confused? [62]

waveydave, people on this forum, as well intentioned as we are, can only give you assessments of the situation based on your posts. We cannot get into this lady's head & see what she's thinking & how she feels about you.

Before you take the drastic step of moving to Poland permanently, have a serious, decisive talk with her. Give her a time limit - either the 2 of you are going to be married on such & such date, or the relationship is over. 4.5 years is a long time to invest in a relationship in which the other person seems to be calling all the shots. It's your turn and indeed your right to be proactive & determine where this relationship is going. It's your life. Good luck.

USA, Canada / DO POL-AMS DIFFER FROM OTHER ETHNICS? [3]

They don't call US The Melting Pot for nothing. By second generation ethnic differences disappear. I think they lingered longer in the time of massive emigration from Central & Eastern Europe at the turn of 19th c. when the newly arrived immigrants settled in their own neighbourhoods with their ethnic parish church at the center of not only their spiritual but also social lives. Churches organized youth groups, social events at which young people met, which led to marriages within the ethnic group and staying on in the community. That started to dilute after WWII, and subsequent immigrants integrated into the mainstream more quickly, so there are really no discernible differences in attitudes past the first generation.

Travel / What can i do there? Going to Poland for 3 months alone, I'm 15. [7]

You won't be alone. You'll be staying with your grandparents who are established members of their community. I'm sure their friends and neighbours have children or grandchildren your age. Polish teenagers are very friendly & will invite you to join their activities. You'll have loads of fun!

USA, Canada / TORONTO OR MONTRÉAL (for a Polish person to live?) [35]


For one thing, immigrants have to learn 2 new languages, English & French. Historically the 2 language groups were called "the 2 solitudes" because they never integrated. There was the French part of town and the English part of town, with language and religion keeping them apart. Then the separatist movement erupted. One of the its' gains was making French the official language of Quebec, but for practical purposes, English is a must, since there are so many Anglophones living there. Both McGill & Concordia universities use English as primary language, a lot of international companies do too. Staff in hotels & restaurants has to know both languages. Most younger Montrealers are bilingual & use both languages intermittently.

I don't live in Montreal, but spend a lot of time there, and after few days I'm not even conscious of which language I'm speaking at the moment.

So to answer the question asked in this thread - Toronto would be a better option. It's a huge city, with a sizeable Polish population. It's also the most racially/ethnically diverse city in North America.

USA, Canada / Why are Poles still comming to the US and staying illegally? [27]

There is a legal way, a Pole can apply for immigrant visa to US, but it's more difficult though not impossible to obtain it. I know several Poles who arrived here in last several years as permanent residents. For the last 30 years or so, Poles had been coming in on tourist visas and overstaying the 6 months stay these visas granted. In the 80's it was worth their while - while Poland was in political & economic crisis the exchange rate for US $ was exorbitant, 100 zlotys to a dollar, so even enduring hardships of low-paying, menial illegal employment and often substandard living conditions made the excursion worthwhile. Chicago & New York in particular swelled with these Polish "tourists" who stayed on average 2 - 3 years, long after their visas expired. Unfortunate side effect of this was the tally US Immigration Dept. keeps of visitors by country who overstay their alotted time. Polish averages don't look very good. These days, with the EU countries allowing citizens of other member nations legal employment, and dollar to zloty exchange rate brought down to earth, the prospects of going to US to work aren't as tempting, though a certain number still comes every year to work, and I guess some still overstay their visas.

As for INS attitude to American/foreigner marriages - it's the same no matter what country the foreigner comes from. The couple always gets grilled. Thy're always assuming a "green card marriage" & have to be convinced otherwise.

USA, Canada / DO POL-AMS GIVE THEIR BABIES POLISH NAMES? [4]

I don't know if you're old enough to remember the actor Ted Knight. He was a Polish-American born in Connecticut. His birth certificate read Tadeusz Czesław Władysław Konopka. So I guess some Polish familes in USA give their children Polish names. Nother example while going down memory lane is Liberace whose mother was Polish. His given name was Władysław (Władziu) Valentino - the latter in honor of his father's Italian heritage.

Language / Mrs Kowalczyk - should it have a feminine ending ? [3]

Mrs. Kowalczyk is correct. Not all polish names have feminine version , mostly just ones ending in -ski, the feminine version of those ends in -ska.

Food / Help with Grandma's saurkraut soup recipe [10]

I just googled "polish cabbage soup" and first site that came up, cooks.com, had several recipies. Here's the link:

cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,polish_cabbage_soup,FF.html

News / Poland to ban Che Guevara image [55]

Hmmm....there's always a demand for something banned by powers that be. I see a black market in Che Guevara t-shirts....travellers smuggling them into Poland, like issues of Playboy in the old days.

Genealogy / US POLONIAN BUSHA (BUSIA) DISPUTE/DILEMMA RESOLVED [7]


Those are just colloquialisms not indicative in any way of a particular ethnic background, but more of education level and social class of the speaker.

The use of Polish honorifics is another matter. Peppering English speech with them is quite common among second generation Polish-Americans. Growing up in a family where Polish was the primary language, grandmother was "babcia", uncles were "wujki", aunts "ciocias", it's ingrained in their speech patterns to retain those relationships intact in their Polish form.

Life / Funny Polish/American movies [16]

There's "Wesołego Nowego Jorku", but it's not meant to be humorous.

Life / Saying Grace before eating in Poland's homes [10]

I've seen older people, especially in the countryside make sign of the cross before and/or after a meal.

History / MONSTERS AND DRAGONS OF POLAND...are there any...? [42]


They play practical jokes, they never refuse a drink, and even form social movements and political parties such as The Orange Alternative - link:
pomaranczowa-alternatywa.republika.pl/index-eng.html

Food / [Quiz] And you thought you knew Polish cuisine? (in Polish language) [27]

Interesting quiz. I got 6 out of 10.

Love / Polish and NON-polish... Clueless and Religious [13]


A religion should be embraced because of belief. You don't seem to have a need to believe in any. Nothing wrong with that. Be true to yourself. If it freaks you out, don't do it. It would be hypocritical for you to get baptized just to please a prospective mother-in-law, though the hypocrisy in this case travels both ways. She just wants you to get baptized, like being sprinkled w. "holy" water is going to make you a Catholic. As few others observed on this thread, Polish Catholicism is rooted in tradition and form rather than substance, so she probably does believe that - but that's her point of view, not yours. And what if this relationship doesn't work out, and somewhere down the road you'll meet a nice Muslim or Jew - are you going to convert to their religions just to conform?

History / MONSTERS AND DRAGONS OF POLAND...are there any...? [42]

Let's not forget Krasnoludki, the mischievous but charming Polish elves.