Food / Looking for a recipe for a cottage/farm cheese that my great grandmother made [6]

This sounds an awful lot like homemade yogurt cheese, with caraway seeds added to flavor it. No cooking, no rennet, and you strain it with cheesecloth (or paper coffee filters).

I have seen people using it unflavored, as a spread for bread & bagels.

Basically, you use a starter from the old batch of yogurt, to make the new one.

This recipe, using purchased plain, unflavored yogurt with live cultures in it, makes the yogurt cheese I know. But you could make your own live culture yogurt by adding fermented milk to fresh whole milk and heating it first, then using that mixture to later start the yogurt cheese. Does that make sense?

Good pics of the process/explanation:

cleanerplateclub.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/eating-my-curds-and-whey-making-yogurt-cheese/

Is this the type of cheese you mean? Perhaps the "milk with acid or culture added to it" that they remember is the making of the yogurt, or the fermenting of the milk using other fermented milk? I do know some people use vinegar to start the fermenting process. Would that fit with their understanding of the process?

Good luck finding this recipe, if this is not it!

Food / Foreign foods in Krakow - where to buy kangaroo meat, Vegemite? [28]

Bomi delikatesy in Solvay Park Mall on Zakopianska often has refried beans, as well as tortillas, spicy chilis, seasoning packets, etc, for making Tex-Mex food. We make Mexican steak tacos in a crockpot and get our stuff to make them, there. Excellent wine selection there, too.

Heard there is an organic food shop on Karmelicka Street that sells difficult to find herbs and spices and also has corn shell tacos and okra, but the stuff is expensive.

Life / Smokers in Poland..... price rise. [47]

I have only lived here 9 months and do not smoke anymore (quit back in the US 5+ years ago). But I have a question:

Will Poland add what we call a special "sin tax" to smoking and alcohol products (to help pay for the care people require after overusing these over their lifetime), or is there one already included in the price of these items now?

I am still getting used to the tax structure here and was surprised to see that these were not lots more expensive here already.

I think at home they are $5.00 US per pack now in most places (about $6.50 per pack in machines), and they all have 20 cigs per pack.

Life / Anti-spanking law in Poland? [76]

Oh, wow. This one really riled me up. And I am home sick today, so I have all the time in the world to tell you why.

Someone pointed to Sweden, as if the lack of spanking in kids there means they have an ideal society, where all children are cherished and rainbows and marshmallows come out of their rears instead of poo.

Sorry.

Sweden may not have psychotic serial killer-babies running around in diapers, but Sweden DOES have serious societal issues of its own, many of those problems coming from their own youth:

nationmaster.com/country/sw-sweden/cri-crime

Swedes commit suicide more often than Americans (and Aussies and Brits) and have higher rates of extreme alcoholism, too. Is their practice of not spanking the kids creating those problems later on? Is the lack of physical discipline creating behavioral monsters?

Stupid questions, right? But since there has been no conclusive or properly scientific study done there, that shows that NOT spanking kids prevents their youth from creating the types of probems they are already having (nor has there been such a study done anywhere), I can't advocate the Swedish way.

Swedes are ranked much higher on the UN scale of total crime (meaning that across the board, more Swedish citizens are victims of crime than, say, people in the US or Austria).

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_vic-crime-total-victims

Is all crime in Sweden perpetrated by non-Swedes? Some is but not all. Or by those over the age of, say, 18? Most is committed by those under age 24, I think the UN figures said. Who commits all those crimes? Who are the victims? Where, when and how does a criminal in Sweden begin their life of crime?

I also need to say this: studies in the USA do NOT prove that spanking begets abuse nor that spanked children become violent, or in turn abuse their own children. Those studies clearly differentiated between spanking and abuse--and spanking was not defined as abuse for those studies. So to say that studies have proven that spanking causes abuse in kids, is incorrect. To say that abuse causes abuse, yes. But spanking has not been proven to.

Many kids who are bullies have been spanked, that's true,. But those same kids are often exposed to severe, disabling punches, slaps, verbal abuses, even torture at home. And no one ever separated out the spanking from the torture in that study--to be able to say that kids that are spanked (versus those who are abused) are more often bullies than not.

My kid is being bullied at school nearly every day here in Poland, teased and picked on by a kid twice his age and his younger sister, who's a few years older than my kid. We have a meeting, which I asked for, at his school tomorrow. I observed and I asked and those kids do not ever get spanked. They aren't even told, when caught at it, to stop. Neither do most of the children at this school. And you should see what they're like, as a rule, as a result of that lack of discipline.

Back-talkers, pushers, shovers, tongue-sticker-outers, nasty words flung around all over the place, poking, teasing, not sharing, open defiance of bus drivers, teachers, and even their own parents. It's sickening.

Now, can you say well, they aren't spanked, so it's the lack of spanking that
is causing their bullying? No you can't. No more than you could say, if they were spanked, that it was the spanking that caused the bullying.

(I suspect it's a generalized lack of discipline in any form in that home that is at the real heart of this; that and some anger at their upheaval to be here in the first place and also, perhaps, the constant absence of one parent and maybe too much money thrown at them to "make them behave").

A recent study, not longitudinal, not repeated and widely criticized, says that kids who were spanked often have sexual dysfunctions as young adults or are more likely to coerce sex from their current sexual partners. It is being criticized because they surveyed college students already engaging in the noted behaviors/having the problems, and relied on the students (who were paid to be in the study and many of whom were enrolled as students in the department in which the study came from, ie: were dependent for their grades on the professors asking the questions) to self-report. Ie: the professors asked the students face to face certain questions and expected the kids to respond honestly and openly about spanking done to them as children, which in some cases, took place decades before being asked to answer the questions.

They did not look into childhood sexual abuse in the kids who reported having engaged in these behaviors (which many experts believe is at the root of problems like these).

They did not look into their backgrounds over time, interview their parents or guardians, doctors, teachers, etc. They also did not differentiate between spanking and abuse. Nor did they verify or attempt to verify that spanking actually occured in the homes of these college kids early on in their lives, nor determine where, how, how often, etc, as the students reported that it did.

The respondents (the students answering the questionaires) included in their responses that "spanking" included abuse like punching, striking the face with a backhand slap, using objects to beat the entire body with, etc---and also included the fact that the reported "spanking" occured to them up to and over age 13.

So, I have more than few problems with that so-called scientific "study" that is really more of a survey or poll, with loaded questions and very little scientific method being applied. I'd say at best, it's anecdotal evidence--and that's if you can believe the students and their motivations for answering the questions as they did.

I don't.

Studies in the US (and around the world) show that extraordinary punishments, those that are extremely violent and abusive, and that occur frequently over time, do tend to create dysfunctional kids who go on to abuse others and their own kids in future.

We're not talking about hand slaps and butt spanks, here, we're talking about extreme cruelty to kids.

Also, I do need to point this out: I have seen a lot of virulent (and sometimes, virulent to the point of abject hysteria) posts online about being anti-spanking. The posts sometimes--surprisingly often, it seems to me, come from people who reveal, only after they've passionately defended the no-spank idea, that they themselves were horrifically abused as children and are now on a worldwide crusade to outlaw spanking and teach everyone alive the perils of spanking their kids. I can see why they would be the ones most ardently supporting the no-spank idea. I get where they are coming from.

To them, any physical discipline is too much, a bad idea, wrong, damaging, etc. I totally get that. Same thing with people who were never abused themselves, but have witnessed the effect of horrific abuse on kids they know, who now fear that telling any one it's ok to discipline their kid means that it gives parents and others the license to beat their kid unmercifully.

But their confusion over what a spanking is, versus what abuse is, and their fears should not take precedence over my need to teach my child when he gets seriously out of line, or requires more than a "now now, Johnny, don't do that". Over society's need to have productive, responsible citizens surrounding them, using their superpowers for good, not evil, instead of out- of- control wild animals with no understanding of what correct or civilizing behavior is.

We use the time outs, too, and we take away toys when he won't share them; we also do a lot of positive reinforcement, but I am telling you, some kids DO need more than that. One of your kids may be a goody-two shoes who never acts up (well, maybe not when you are watching them they don't), and another may be a tasmanian devil. Different kids require different approaches.

Someone asked, how do you define mild punishment, versus abusive punishment? Who makes that call? Isn't it better to outlaw ALL physical discipline, rather than use judgment and differentiate between the two types?

In the US our laws are clear. Social service workers, and police, teachers, doctors, firemen, etc, are all taught what abuse is (and that kind of manual, which I have seen, does NOT include spanking)

They are required by law to inform authorities when they believe abuse is occurring. So are nurses, physician assistants, dentists, day care providers, etc. They can lose their license to practice their profession for life, go to jail or pay very heavy fines, be sued in criminal or civil court, etc, if they see what they suspect could be abuse and don't do what's right.

Those laws are newer and weren't in place when we were kids. More protections exist for kids now than ever before. Fewer people are resorting to habitually spanking their kids, even once, even just a hand slap.

Some studies say 90% of Americans spank their kids. Others say that is a very misleading number, and I agree, because the most famous of those studies was a poll done over the phone and it asked one question: have you ever spanked your child? Not whether or not the person answering the question routinely or regularly did so, nor how they did so, nor did it even define the word "spanking". It was actually a survey or poll, not a study.

I was born in the US and lived there until age 40; I now live in Poland and have for almost 9 months. I have spanked my five year old and will continue to do so, as and when required. If that metters to anyone reading this or causes you to think my views stem from my background and experiences. I was spanked as a child and so was my husband.

Having seen a new generation of ever-bolder, defiant, angrier and less honest kids being born and "raised" over there, I have to wonder why no one has ever studied the LACK of spanking or the LACK of discipline on kids. If they have actually studied it, where are the results?

I again admit that studies (since about the 1970s) in the US and elsewhere ,have shown a correlation between violent, abusive and aggressive discipline and kids who later are violent and abusive themselves.

That's why pediatricians back home say that for most parents, it might be better to try other forms of discipline before resorting to physical punishment. They do not know the past home life of a parent who brings their kid in to see them for care. If they say it's okay to spank and the parent happens to be an abuser, or to have been abused as a kid, they could be legally liable for having advocated harsh disipline against the child--that they never even knew was taking place.

So I get why a few years ago, the pediatric physician's association in the US gave a statement that physical punishment is not the first recourse of a parent in disciplining their kids.

I agree with that message. But I also know how to read and think, and I understand what that message says and means.

BTW, I saw the types of things they were talking about in those studies that showed a correlation between physical punishment and later bad behavior in kids:

severe and injurious spanking with belts, and fists; forcing kids into dark closets and locking the door on them for long periods of time, sometimes days; incest or violent sexual assault used as punishment; humiliating namecalling/verbal abuse/shaming; forcing other kids in the house to torture the scapegoated child; witholding food and water, or oversalting their food and forcing them to regurgitate till they collapse; forcing them to kneel on broomsticks or plastic pvc pipes and pray for hours on end, etc.

The studies suggest that there is a correlation between the two things, abuse and later violence in kids. I tend to agree that extreme violence in childhood does make some kids violent towards others and does make some kids grow up to be abusive to their own kids.

But the same studies, IIRC, could not rule out that some of the dysfunction in the kids both present-day and as they studied them over time, came from periodic homelessness, lack of a bond since infancy with either parent, extended alcoholism or drug use in the home, verbal and physical abuse directed toward the mother figure in the house, mental disease or defect in the kids being studied, bullying directed toward the kid by other kids, learning disabilities/serious educational deficiencies that weren't addressed when young, physical disabilities which were not corrected and later caused socilaization problems, etc.

In other words, no direct correlative study that has stood up to any sort of scientific scrutiny has EVER said that normal discipline makes for warped, messed up or violent/aggressive kids.

Only that among kids who are horrifically abused, a few do go on and do that, too.

Other studies have shown that it is a combination of psychological abuse plus the physical beatings in habitually abused kids, that really makes for messed up kids, harmed for life.

I tend to agree with that one, too.

But to across the board say, that a parent who spanks risks creating a sad, depressed, violent, badly behaved kid, who can't play well with others, or is harmed for life? Are you kidding me? That's as crazy an idea as advocating never spanking your kid!

Even California, known to us in the USA as a state which has many rebels, new agers and stoners, who tend to be extremely tolerant in all things good and bad, has legislation pending that states that age-appropriate spanking in young children should not be part of a state-wide ban against abuse against children. ie: spanking kids is not abuse and will not be on the ballot listed as behavior that we need to ban.

NO state in the US has ever successfully passed legislation banning spanking. Some municipalities (towns, cities or townships) have tried, however.

Food / Is there McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc in Poland? Food survey. [222]

I agree, a lot of what people mistakenly label as "American" or "American junk food" is pretty bad for you. But a lot of it does taste pretty good. Most of it comes from other cultures and is changed due to not getting the right ingredients that they were used to back home. Then from there, it gets adulterated into the fast-food versions. But almost none of it is actually American in origin.

I wish Polakowski in Kazimierz would become a chain--cheap, good food. A lot of of simple Polish food.

Best pizza I have had here in Krakow is Pizzeria Rewolucja in the Borek Falecki area, the one in the streets back behind Solvay Park Mall off Zakopianka. They have a website:

pizzeriarewolucja.pl/index.php?mod=promocje

Best "fast food" Polish food I have had is from a little mini-bar on Kosciukowski Street, back in the same area, off Zakopianka. Their bigos, golabki, lasanki, krokieti and uszka z miesem are good--and fairly cheap. Good deserts, too and everything made fresh daily. You can dine in or carry out. (Sorry--I don't have the Polish letters for the correct characters for the l).

USA, Canada / Rationing food in some US-based stores [32]

They are NOT rationing food in the US. The quote is snipped (not being shown in its entirety) and is being taken out of context.

Sams Club, and only Sams Club (which is like a Makro here, I guess--Sam's is a kind of wholesale club, and is open only to members who pay an annual fee to shop there), is restricting its commerical customers from purchasing all the rice and flour on a shelf at one time. They are not allowing them to purchase more than the 2-3, 20 pound bag limit, per visit. 20 POUNDS. 2-3 bags at a time, folks.

They can leave the store, walk back in and get 2-3 more bags, because leaving and coming in makes it a separate visit, technically.

Standard shoppers like you and me at normal grocery stores all over the US can still buy all the rice and any other food you want, in any amount. You can still buy as many smaller bags of rice or flour as you want at Sams Club, too. They come in 10 pound, 5 pound and 1 pound bags and boxes there, but flour is usually sold in 5 pound bags in grocery stores and rice in 1-2 pound bags or boxes.

You just cannot buy more than the 2-3, 20 lb bags, at Sam's Club, if you are a commercial customer/wholesaler/restaurateur.

That's completely different than food rationing. Come on!

Life / English Magazines in Poland [3]

I have all of mine sent from the US, in with our regular shipments of personal mail. It's cheaper because the rate by subscription is so much less. even if bought from the newstand/book store, it'd be less as sales tax in our city in the US is only 6.5% (no other tax applies on these or most other purchases).

I'd think it would work out less for you, too, if purchased from the newstand and sent over to you here from the UK.

But that depends on what you pay to ship things here, as our employer/company back in the states pays for personal mail shipments---and magazines by subscription are considered personal mail.

Travel / Pets on a plane to Poland? [16]

General guidelines:

To take them into the plane with you, it varies by airline, bu it costs about $100-$200 per pet and 1 pet per ticketed passenger is allowed.

If they fit the size and weight guidelines, you may put them in a carry- on bag that is airline approved for transporting pets (typically, the soft-sided version of a large tote bag by a brand called Pet Taxi is used, or those pet "purses" with drop-down mesh sides).

Most of the airlines say as long as with the pet in it, the carry-on fits under the seat in front of you, you're good to go. But I have seen what I'd call BIG dogs come out of those things while on flites to and from the US/Poland.

People walk them up and down the aisles without muzzles on and in general, do not trank or subdue them in any way. The cats are generally too scared to come out while on the plane.

They do have to have all their shots and the rabies vax, plus have had a vet cert them as safe to travel--and you must have proof of that with you on the day of travel, and in some cases the cert must be dated within 48 hours of your flight, so the airline knows the animal did not get sick between the day the vet saw them and the day they fly.

Good luck!

Real Estate / Why are homes in Poland more expensive than in the USA? [27]

Clothes, furnture and linens cost more here than in the states, as do computers/Tvs/appliances/electronics. We have found them to be up to 40% more (when you count the tax of 22% plus the higher cost) than back home.

Selection is often rudimentary at best (and given that you pay a lot to ship from the Uk or Germany and high duties negate any savings you may have gained by order over the border, it is seldom worth going this route).

A dyson vacuum (least expensive model, the c19 I think) costs $250 US at home. Here it's 800 to 999 zloty, or approx $380-$475.

My HP dv2000, loaded, was $750 US back home, here the same thing costs approx 2000 zloty.

Heck, a decent pair of leather casual shoes here is almost $100 US, where I can get the same thing, with more sizes available, for half that at home.

Where does the "not really" come in?

European pricing is the same-- or more-- than Polish pricing, so I get it if you come from Germany or elsewhere, you'd think it's cheap to live here.

Homes and rents are VERY high here, too, versus US prices--even vs US prices of a few years ago, when the housing market there was much better.

You pay a lot, for even the smallest, most basic spaces, with tiny, tiny yards, even many miles from major city centers. We chose to live away form the typical expat areas for that reason. Which I now regret, to some degree.

Believe me, I am still having sticker shock!

Life / School for 6 year olds an obligation in Poland soon? [19]

I am not as impressed with homeschooling in the US, as some people there are.

I was born and raised in the States and lived my whole life there 'til we recently moved to Poland.

I unfortunately saw quite a bit of poor quality homeschooling, in the state of PA.

Cheating appeared to be rampant in the homeschooling system where I am from, because the checks and balances just are not where they should be yet.

Older sibs--or mom, for goodness sake--wrote the homework or papers, kids plagiarized from the internet, there were no trips to the city or visits to the library, or field trips of any kind, during an entire school year!

Some of these people barely ever left the house.

That's fine for hermits or closed religious societies like the Amish, but not for growing children, who will be required to fit into the larger society they are a part of, someday.

I take issue with the notion that "the state is evil or Godless", which is a concept you often see being taught in many homeschool environments in the US.

I also particularly disliked the "we must start homeschooling, to protect our kids from the lower class scum out there" attitude, that many homeschooling families in our area seemed to have. We lived in an affluent area and that was absurd, to me.

I understand the concept that a parent may want something they see as better for their kids, or moms and dads having concerns about violence, drugs, etc.

But by isolating their kids from all their peers and removing them completely from situations where judgement comes into play when they're younger, what they end up teaching the kids is that "different" is always "dangerous", that the absence of tempation is the same thing as virtue, and that "their" way is the "only" way of life and learning.

A lot of these kids simply do not mix well with others, can't handle peer pressure when it does come at the college level, and in my own personal experience, make some of the worst employees. They simply would not show up on time, complete a task through to the end, follow the rules, or make even a minor attempt to change bad behavior when it was brought to their attention.

3 of 5 I had over a 2 year period, I had to fire within a month. The other 2 quit within 3 months because the work was "too hard". Too hard? A part-time, white-collar, office job that paid $8.00 US per hour?

My other "normal" kids from the local high school (almost) never argued back--and certainly never to my face.

Why would they? I was their boss's boss.

They recognized there was a line they should not cross in an office enviroment/power heirarchy. I didn't have to teach them how to behave like an adult, or how to conduct themselves in an office.

But the homeschooled kids? No problem questioning authority, at all. They spoke to me in the same way I imagine they spoke to mom and dad when they were raging about something they got grounded for. Funny at home, maybe, but not in the real world. Which is where these kids ultimately end up.

This may not be the case where you live or lived, celinski and lesser, and for that you should be grateful. I am glad your experiences/brushes with homeschooling have been so positive.

Personally, my opinion is that it's a good idea in theory, but that in practice, homeschooling in the US leaves a lot to be desired.

Food / What is the meat or cold cut called Szynka Guliwer? [4]

Thanks, Krysia!

I thought turkey was "indyk"? And what does Gulliwer mean?

We just moved here and I am still learning the basics of shopping.

Life / international singned for post to poland-tracing delivery HELP [28]

I have the same thing with US mail. A month or more for small packages to arrive here to me in Krakow. I have also had my letters come from the US within 5 days of posting, so I think it is a crapshoot, as to whether it will be fast or slow.

And it depends, also, on the contents and perhaps in how you fill out the declarations papers which accompany the items. Both times we were sent legal papers in a padded envelope, the manifest said "legal documents" and they came within 5 days. These were not legal papers, but were forwarded personal mail sent by my mom.

The padded envelopes, also sent by my mom, marked "personal mail" took 2-3 weeks and the one with "miscellaneous" marked on it took 35 days.

Same method of mailing (US global priority mail), same cost, same start city in the US and same end city (Krakow).

Just depends on how they handle it once it gets here.

I am glad they finally received it.

Polonia / Looking for Polish Protestant churches outside Poland [12]

You kind of know me and I am a Protestant in Poland. Most expats are not Catholics in my experience and there are lots of us living here for long term assignments now.

The Hussites and Moravians had a rather large following here for a time, too, in Poland's past (I am a Moravian from the US), so it has not always been 100% Roman Catholic. And, of course, Poland once had a large Jewish population and in its most recent past, some of its leadership was atheistic or agnostic. Then there are the Mariavites and the Polish Orthodox, the Russian and Ukranian Orthodox here, who are not Roman Catholic, either. But you know all that!

There are currently several large Evangelical churches from Europe and the US, which are making inroads into (mainly) Western and Southern Poland right now.

The LDS church has a recently strengthened ministry via its missionaries that were sent on "student visas" here, as well as do Jehovah's Witnesses and lately, the Baptists.

We ran into a group of my fellow Americans on our way to Krakow, coming thru Chicago, that were "English teachers", but whose message was actually conversion of Polish Catholics to Protestantism. While waiting to board the plane, they were discussing ways to insert the message of "born again" doctrine and adult baptism into the English lessons for their Polish students. So, apparently there is a movement in the US to send students and faith groups here for such a purpose.

No disrespect to Jerry Dean, as he seems to be straightforward.

Be aboveboard when spreading the message and I have no problem with that, as it's up to the hearer to choose to accept that message, or not.

But masquerading as a student, an aid agency or helping group, then slipping the Poles a kind of religious mickey, should be outlawed. So should coming here on "student visas" or "charity worker" papers, when the real job they have in mind here is conversion of Poles to LDS or other faiths.

Sorry for ranting, but this kind of thing irks me no end. I was ashamed of those people on the plane and couldn't say so at the time. I guess it came out wrong here.

Life / -30F Rated Snow Boots, Pants, Gloves for kids--where to buy in Krakow? [3]

Found a lot of these items at Carrefour recently, now that we are living here, but unfortunately, after the first wash in the washing machine, seams and zippers ripped or broke! y Tesco Polar fleece jacket already has ripped seams in the sleeveand pockets, too.

I was afraid of that as the prices were high and quality seemed poor.

Went to the children's store near the Meble furniture store, next to/in same parking lot as the Carrefour Zakopianska in Borek-Kliny area; found a decent pair of snow pants with zippered ankles and detachable suspenders.

Those are great and weren't too expensive. Well, expensive is relative. Higher than US prices, but decent quality. The brand was called Cool Club. So far so good.

Life / Poland's Craft Stores, Yarn Shops and Sewing/Fabric / Clothes Stores - in or near Krakow? [21]

I agree with Natalka, bring your glue guns and glue sticks, and other high-strength glues with you.

There are plenty of places where DMC and Anchor embroidery thread and Aida cross stitch cloth is sold and Kreinik thread and blending filament, too. Prices are higher, but they do have them.

They have wonderful Italian, Polish, German and a few UK sewing and craft magazines at the Galeria Krakowska Empik store, as well as a few decoupage, beading and painting supplies.

The yarns in the small pasmenterie stores in the city center and surrounding areas, as well as in little areas like Borek Falecki and Skawina, are of lovely quality and come in beautiful colors and shades, but most is wool or wool blend and not necessarily washable, as our Wool Ease and similar brands at home are. No Red Heart acrylic for kids crafts can be found in the entire country, I fear! Fur yarn can be found in small quantity, but it's pricey, as are cross stitch, crewel, cutwork and hardanger kits, when you can find them.

Singer machines can be found at chains such as Tesco and Carrefour, but I would suggest going to a pasmenterie store that specializes in sewing supplies and machines to buy one there. I saw some good Pfaff machines at the pasmenterie at Galeria Krakowska recently. Again, they are pricier than at home, but you can get them.

I brought along my knifty knitter circle and rake looms, some small hand looms (ezee knitter, daisy wheel, doodle looms, etc) but cannot find vast quantities of washable yarn to use with them. I have not seen Jamie or Simply Soft yarns, two of my favorites for washable and soft baby items.

I wish I would have brought my bulky/manual knitting machine and enough yarn for several large, ongoing projects, my sewing machine and my entire filet crochet and cross stitch/embroidery thread collection, in hindsight.

They have plenty of thread for filet and lace crochet and some great magazines for this craft, too, but each ball of thread costs approximately double what I paid in the states.

If anyone gets over to the Korona Hotel area and checks out the craft store there, will you post here to let us all know?

USA, Canada / Buying food from Poland and have it shipped to the US? [9]

Try this place in Arizona if you live on the west coast and you--or a friendly shop owner or friend you know who will order this for you--has a business tax i.d. number. You can buy cases for reasonable prices there. Then sell what you don't want or give it to friends! Free shipping on most items, with a minimum order:

maromex.com

igourmet has a limited selection of Polish items, but they look like good quality; I have ordered things from them in the past when in the states and been happy with them:

igourmet.com/polishfood.asp

Try this place if you're on the East coast; free shipping with orders over $100 (place big orders by sharing the cost with friends):

polbook.com/sweetpoland/index.php?p=index

Good luck!

USA, Canada / Polish Bakeries, Deli, Stores, etc in Northeastern Pennsylvania. [8]

Jagodzianka Deli on Scott Street, Wilkes Barre. Check to be sure it's still open, as my last visit there was in 2004 or 5, when I attended a distant relative's wedding in the area.

USA, Canada / Canadian moving to Poland...any advice? [30]

Where will you be living?

They have a big mall in Krakow and on Zakopianska there is a small plaza with a Carrefour food/variety store, Empik for mags, books, etc, , there's a food court--with a KFC--, several clothing stores, phone stores,wine shop, sweets stand, etc--with a toy store, pet shop and movie theatre nearby. They have Costarama--like Home Depot in the states. Tesco--like Aldi or Meijer at home-- is further in toward the city and Ikea is somewhere south.

Prices are higher for everything but the food. Quality of clothing, electronics and towels, kitchenwares, etc is poor unless you're willing to pay big bucks. Rents are very high. Taxis and buses are cheap.

I've been here one week and already go shopping on foot, have ordered kebabs and pizza, been to the park with my son, have enrolled him and arranged for taxi bus service for him at ISK school, take taxis by myself all over the place, opened a bank acct in the city, etc---and I do not speak Polish and this is my first time living abroad.

Many people speak English with you when asked and if you try Polish with them first, they are very happy to try and help you.

True, my German, French and Polish neighbors don't say dobry or hello to me yet--but I am starting to get little head nods from the dog walkers I see regularly and I got a small hand wave from the older woman across the street and a nod, too. No smiles yet, though the cashier at Lewitan grocery now says "hello" and "ok, thank you" to us when we shop there. I even got a "you're welcome" from the deli counter girl yesterday.

My satellite tv--a leftover from the previous renter, a consulate employee, apparently---is some weird Austrian budget lineup, all in German---but with our residency permits coming soon, we will soon be able to sign up for something better and get a better home phone situation. I borrowed a phone from a friend, switched out the cards, loaded it up at PLAY, a phone store, and started using it the same day. A Polish friend did go with me there and I bet you can find the wife of your husband's co worker to help you, too.

Just write stuff down and show it to them in the shops if you can't be understood--many who will not try their English with you may be able to read it and understand what you want. They'll say "ah" and get it right away.

I did this when I wanted 1/2 kg of gouda cheese, sliced. I wrote "gouda, 0,5 kg" then made the motion for chopping to her. She smiled, said "ok", got it and off I went.

We bought Rosetta Stone software for Polish instruction--the home school edition---off ebay and are using that to get some familiarity with the language, but I will sign up for Polish lessons soon. I have seen signs for Glossa here and that language school seems to be popular w/foreigners.

When you get here, join IWAK or a similar group (like an int'l women's society, arts club, etc) or sign up at your child's school to be a PTA rep for his/her grade. Many expats do speak English and you should be ok.

Good luck and have a great time in Poland.

PM if you'll be in Krakow and we'll try and meet up

Language / Should I learn both Polish and German [147]

I taught English in ESL classes as a volunteer tutor.

Most adult students (mine right now are typically Asian or Indian and are professionals attempting to get licensed here, so I don't have as much experience with this) are turned off by children's books and refuse to use them; we are told in training not to use them with our adult students as it causes offense when we do so.

I have heard MUZZY makes a good program geared to young learners, but the last time I looked they didn't have Polish available--just German, French, English, Spanish, Russian and one more. Maybe Chinese?

Language / Should I learn both Polish and German [147]

Which books do you recommend, Magdalena?

I live in the US now, so I probably cannot get my hands on all of them in the time I have left here, but I can try.

Life / Poland's Craft Stores, Yarn Shops and Sewing/Fabric / Clothes Stores - in or near Krakow? [21]

Update/FYI

Info I recently found here:

crochetville.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-6225.html

"New store located in the Galeria Krakowska (mall) right behind the train station. (The craft store is on the lowest of the 3 levels.)

There are two really nice little "hole in the wall" shops on Karmelicka Street, just a few minutes' walk from the city center.

There is a good-sized store on the Maly Rynek, not far from the American consulate or the main square."

Language / Should I learn both Polish and German [147]

Learning and liking English lit only (only!?) teaches you how to think about the world and the people around you. To make connections between cultures and philosophies. To investigate history, to try and understand the writers and the social movements behind the works you read.

But you're right. Many native born Americans who speak English well do not read literature of any kind at all and do not discuss it or think about it. Many don't even read the daily local newspaper.

Makes them no less proficient at speaking the language, in and of itself, if they don't, but it certainly does limit them in other ways.

You can mimic, copy and internalize correct grammar forms simply by listening to someone speak a language, if you are observant enough and you do it long enough.

But that process is not truly "thinking" or "learning". That's mimicry. Or, more accurately, rote memorization.

I will try and read the literature of Poland in English first, while I am learning Polish. Then try to reread the lit in Polish later on, when I understand the language better.

I am hoping I am capable of doing that.

We'll see in September.

Real Estate / Problems with switching apartments at short notice [10]

If you absolutely MUST have a month only or only two weeks or 6 weeks--at your discretion, not the landlord's--you'd be better off choosing a weekly or holiday/vacation rental unit, hostel or B&B type guest inn.

But signing a lease contract and then bugging out whenever you want, won't work there. You will be pursued for the money.

And that could be disasterous for you, if you do not have a legal "stay visa", or other documentation/visa, allowing you to stay in the country for longer than 90 days.

And possibly may be bad for you, even if you DO have the proper documents.

Life / Kidnaping in Poland? [58]

You have a much greater chance of being the victim of a fraud or a robbery in Poland, than being kidnapped or murdered, but (not?) surprisingly, the numbers aren't as low as the official sources have stated or we were told/assured of. And these numbers are old.

As for my own country, the USA, I am ashamed of what I see here, especially for the assault numbers.

Crime stats for Poland per capita, ranked out of 57 developed and developing nations by the UN:

nationmaster.com/country/pl-poland/cri-crime

Murder Stats for Countries per capita:

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

Murders with Firearms per capita:

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir_percap-crime-murders-firearms-per-capita

Illegal Drugs:

Poland: despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, Poland is a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe

Burglaries per capita:

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_bur_percap-crime-burglaries-per-capita

Robberies:

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rob_percap-crime-robberies-per-capita

Assaults per capita:

nationmaster.com/graph/cri_ass_percap-crime-assaults-per-capita

Real Estate / How much rent do you pay in Poland? [18]

I noticed this today here at Polish Forums:

""If you are interested to rent a small flat in Krakow near the centre, or know anyone who is looking, email me at babylonnk@hotmail"".

I know nothing about these people, just saw this and wondered if you had.

Food / Polish Marinated Mushroom Recipe [8]

This looks like a lot like what I had recently in Poland, made by a Polish woman who was born and lives in Poland:

suite101.com/article.cfm/food_preservation/67275

Is this what you wanted?

Or more like this?:

russianfoods.com/recipes/item000A3/default.asp

Real Estate / How much rent do you pay in Poland? [18]

Rents are actually a lot higher than 2000 PLN in the nicer neighborhoods in Krakow.

More like 3500 to 5000 PLN for a 130 meter square, 3 bed, 1 bath, duplex with garage, terrace and small yard in Kliny, or 1500 to 2500 PLN for a 50 meter square garden flat with 1 bedroom and a very small den with no closet (that they called a second bedroom), a combined LR, Kitchen, DR and only 1 very small bath, no parking or outdoor space, located off Kapelanka.

Plus utilities. So you'll need more than 2000 PLN to live on, for sure.

Unless you will be a "starving artist" or will have a roommate.

Rents in Krakow are high in any neighborhood that is decent or convenient, or anything that is clean, well maintained and ready to move into.

See here for a sample (mieszkanie is apartment and dom is house):