Posts by Qacer

Qacer

21 Jul 2007

Love / I'm upset - you encourage foreigners to take the Polish women away [94]

This is my theory on the original poster's issue.

If you look closely in the early 80s and up till the early 90s, Poland had a very high spirits (i.e. liquor) consumption compared to certain countries in Europe. It is also describe by Moskalewicz in 1993,

"As a predominantly spirits drinking country, Poland is characterized by infrequent, but heavy, drinking with high levels of intoxication among males, leading to high rates of acute problems associated with alcohol consumption, and a lower prevalence of chronic problems."

I don't have any data regarding spousal abuse, but based on other data that I've seen, alcohol consumption had a significant affect on the rates of domestic violence cases. These episodes of domestic abuse had a traumatic effect on the wives and daughters of many men, and thus, made it more convincing to the female population in the later years that maybe marrying a foreigner would not be a bad idea -- if that will get them away from an environment laced with domestic abuse.

Just my $0.02.

Qacer

18 Jul 2007

Food / Are there any 24 hour establishments (stores, restaurants) in Poland? [12]

Czesce, Wroclaw! Are those stores 24 hours?

Qacer

18 Jul 2007

Food / Are there any 24 hour establishments (stores, restaurants) in Poland? [12]

Do restaurants or stores like Denny's, Walmart, etc. exist in Poland? I would assume that in Warsaw they would have something like that, but I'm not too sure about other areas like Krakow or Gdansk.

Qacer

18 Jul 2007

Life / Catholic Church services in Poland [10]

Thanks! If I don't learn any prayers in Polish any time soon, I'll just do what I do here. I'll just move my mouth without saying anything. It works every time. :)

Qacer

16 Jul 2007

Life / Catholic Church services in Poland [10]

Are the Catholic masses in Poland structured like the ones in America?

I've only observed Catholic masses in two countries: America and the Philippines. In the Philippines, people greet each other during the peace greeting portion by looking at each other and bowing their heads. In the US, people greet each other by shaking their hands.

Also, when I go for communion I normally say "amen" after receiving the bread. Is there a Polish word for this?

Another thing, when the "Our Father" part comes, all parishioners hold hands. In the Philippines, I remember people just sticking their hands out as if they were receiving the Holy Spirit. I wonder what parishioners do in Poland.

Lastly, what times during Sunday are mass services shorter than usual? If I had the chance here in the US, I would go as early as possible to avoid extra songs normally injected during midday services.

Thanks!

Qacer

16 Jul 2007

Travel / I need budgeting assistance for a vacation [10]

Dziekuje!

By the way, do I need to get temporary health insurance while in Poland? I'm not sure what the health coverage is for tourists.

Qacer

15 Jul 2007

Travel / I need budgeting assistance for a vacation [10]

Dzien dobry! I will be traveling to Poland this August. I am planning my basic budget for a day's worth of necessities. I'll be visiting Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Eblag, and Frombork. Lodging will not be an issue because I will be staying with friends.

How much should I budget for food per person per day? Since I get free lodging, I figured I'd pay for my hosts meals when we go out.

For a Polish beer or a not-so fancy mixed drink, what should be the expected price range? For some places, we may go out to the bar or club for drinks.

I'm also interested in figuring out the average cost for these services:
- hair stylist / barber shop
- spa / massage
- dental cleaning / possibly wisdom teeth removal
- pedicure / manicure

I've already read about kantors for currency exchange. I plan on carrying some US dollars with me for exchange, but I suppose I'll have to withdraw the rest at the bank as to avoid carrying too much cash.

Thank you so much in advance!

Also, for other visitors, I found this nifty website:
frommers.com/articles/2599.html "VAT Chance: How to Cut Your Vacation Costs with Tax Refunds"

Qacer

9 Jul 2007

Law / Shipping port hubs in Poland? [9]

I've heard that Gdansk is a major shipping town. Is it a safe assumption that any city bordering the Baltic Sea has excellent shipping facilities?

Also, is there a website that I can go to find out about export/import laws, tariffs, etc. in Poland?

I am entertaining the idea of exporting furniture to Poland, but I haven't fully researched this market, yet. I know the Swedish Ikea brand is known in Europe, so I guess I'll have to find something different from them.

Thanks!

Qacer

9 Jul 2007

Real Estate / How to get direction-am into Real Estate Investing [8]

There is a good show about "flipping" (buying houses, renovating them, and selling them for profit) on The Learning Channel (TLC). The show is called "Flip that House." If you don't have access to this channel in Europe, try going to The Piratebay (piratebay.org) and search for "flip that house".

Basically, the show profiles different real estate investors and follows them in the whole process of renovating the house to selling it in the end. It's quite an interesting third person perspective. You'll get to learn from other investors mistakes and other things that you need to take into account.

Qacer

9 Jul 2007

News / Grumpy diplomacy hurts Poland [43]

Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twins who are the country's president and prime minister, are outraged that the European Union is treating Poland as a new member of a club. Of course Poland won't meet all the EU's standards (and, the Kaczynskis note, many old members break them too). But does not western Europe owe it a huge moral debt? The twins almost brought a recent EU summit to a standstill by insisting that a new treaty give smaller countries greater voting rights, rather than have such rights determined directly by population size.

economist/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9431900