Posts by StaryDom

StaryDom

15 Jan 2008

Language / Polish Soaps? & They Really do use Rosetta Stone [13]

I saw my cousin over the Christmas break and all of a sudden the guy is fluent in Spanish!!! (Who's to say what "fluent" is, but my native Spanish speaking family memebers are very impressed!) He's in the military and they put him through six months of language school. Six hours a day! Then they sent him to live with a family for two months in some South American country. Very curious about language learning I had lots of questions. First of all, the U.S. military does use The Rosetta Stone, just like thier website claims! Of course they were in class, but the Stone was used a lot. The next thing he mentioned was that there was a "Soap Opera," or "Novella" that they watched. It was written for teaching language and started out with very basic vocabulary. As the months went by, the dialog became more challenging. Has anyone ever heard of such product for learning Polish? If not, anyone know of a good "Soap" to watch?

Six months of intensive language school seems like the norm. I have a friend who is going to Romania as a missonary and she speaks no Romanian. The organization she is working with (Greater European Missions) is putting her through six months of language school when she arrives in Romania. I'm getting the feeling that if I want to speak Polish during this lifetime that I might have to dedicate myself to study for six hours a day for six months. Too bad I have a day job :-(

StaryDom

15 Jan 2008

Life / Must See Movies in Polish? [65]

Any Polish TV shows or movies that are "must sees." I don't speak Polish, but I'm trying to learn and watching a good show helps (I hope). I've seen a few movies, and the series Dekalog which was AMAZING!!!! I've also seen the classic Ulica Graniczna, and Sami Swoi. More recent fils I saw were Tato (it was good), Żurek, Przypadek (Blind Chance... it was really good too!), Zróbmy sobie wnuka (Let's Make a Grandson... made me laugh :-) and Emergency Exit (don't recall the title in Polish, but I only watched it because it was filmed near the little town of Skokowa which I visited last summer). Does anyone have any recommendations?

StaryDom

12 Jan 2008

Language / Petition for Pimsleur Polish II and III? [10]

Calling custome service might help too, but I think their marketing people really look at how well the first set sells to determine if there will be a II or III. Bottom line is that if they predict a good return on the investment, it will get made. I really like the series and think it is a valuable tool!

StaryDom

18 Nov 2007

Language / If The Polish Language Is Too Hard >>> Sing Instead [18]

especially when I tried Bob Dylan :)

LOL... I'm a native speaker of English and I can't even understand him most of the time.

What about children's music? Is there anything for the alphabet for example. I spoke to a Polish friend of mine and she said they had Sesame Street in Poland. I wonder what kind of songs they use.

StaryDom

17 Nov 2007

Language / If The Polish Language Is Too Hard >>> Sing Instead [18]

i can sing along to most kasia kowalska songs as i have 7 albums of hers ...

Well reading that just cost me 75 bucks! I found some of her stuff on YouTube and liked it, so in a week or so her 5 CD set should arrive :-)

StaryDom

24 Oct 2007

Language / Pimsleur language learning system, is it any good? [33]

I just bought the Pimsleur Polish Comprehensive CD set... 30 lessons. I borrowed the first ten lessons from the library and it seems to be working for me. I did the "torrent" thing, but there is a problems with that! Not only is it, well, stealing, but we vote with our dollars, and I'd like to see the publisher issue the second and third sets (for a total of 90 lessons). I think they will only do that if the first thirty lessons sell well. If we all download the stuff, it might hurt our chances of seeing more advanced sets.

StaryDom

21 Oct 2007

News / The Maluch Car [34]

I am working on buying one here and taking to the US. I used to drive a VW bug and miss it dealry...

I brought a VW Bug into the US a few years ago. Not an easy thing to do. While researching I think I came across a law that said someone immigrating to the US is allowed to bring one car. They can only do this once. So even if the car doesn't meet Federal Safety Laws, or emissions, you might be able to bring you Maluch... I think??? Back when I was in college (1989 yikes) someone had a brand new Citreon, the little one that kind of looks like a VW bug. Thinking back, that person must have immigrated into the US and taken advantage of the law I'm thinking of.

So, if you do get one of those little ones into the US and you are anywhere near NY, we must meet, and you must take me for a ride in it. I'll bring the VW :-)

Good Luck

Oh, yeah... last night I went to see a movie with a friend from Poland. We were talking about the Maluch and the BMW we were in. She said that in Poland they refer to the BMW as Bardzo Maluch W???? I forgot what the W was used for. Anyone here know?

StaryDom

21 Oct 2007

Love / Desperate future polish housewife (From Brasil) [7]

Gee Urszula, you could just be happy for her. Anyway, I'm using the Pimsleur audio CD's. I think using that and the Rosetta Stone at the same time would be good. You can usually find short versions of both of those programs at the library. My library had to inter-loan them, but they found them for me. The Pimsleur set from the library consists of the fist ten (of 30) lessons. Some people have recommended the BYKI (Before You Know It) software, which is basically an electronic flash card system with the benefit of audio. I personally don't like the quality of the audio... it's hard for me to distinguish the sounds. Maybe when I get more of the basics down, I'll try BYKI again.

Also, it's fun to listen to Polish radio over the internet and get yourself a Netflix account so you can rent Polish movies. I believe that exposure to the language, even when not studying, is important and fun.

I've been at it for a few months, and being "older" I think I learn slower. I don't have any natural aptitude for language but that can be made up for with motivation. Polish is hard, I think, but if you keep at it, just like anything else, you'll be successful. Have fun!

StaryDom

20 Oct 2007

News / The Maluch Car [34]

I drive a VW Bug, air cooled just like the Maluch. I live in NY, but when I visited Poland I saw that little Fiat (126p I think) and thought to myself that it is the VW of Poland!!! Millions of them made... good cheap transport. I know the guys in the VW club would get a kick out of that car. I wish I could get one here in the States, especially for 400zl !!!!

StaryDom

27 Sep 2007

Love / My friend and a married man [17]

If this guy will cheat on his wife, he will eventually cheat on your friend. And then you have to wonder why somebody would want to be involved with a person who has so little respect for marriage that he or she would have an intimate relationship with someone other than their spouse?

She shouldn't temp herself... she needs to stay far away from this guy.

StaryDom

16 Sep 2007

Travel / A Winter Visit to Poland? [4]

Hi,

I visited Poland for the first time this past summer, and now I have an opportunity to spend Christmas with a family in a small village about 1 1/2 hours (by local train) south west of Poznan. I'm wondering if there are some "winter must see's", you know things that are just way better in the winter. I don't ski (yet) so I'm not sure that would be the best use of my time. Any thoughts or suggestions on a winter visit would be appreciated.

Thanks!

StaryDom

16 Sep 2007

Travel / train Berlin to Warsaw [9]

I rode this train, it said Berlin Warsaw Express on it. I only took it from Poznan to Warsaw. It was very modern, smoothe and quiet... no fun at all!!! But the A/C worked wll:-)

StaryDom

2 Sep 2007

Love / is he married or not? [41]

I think the fact that this all began with a lie is the deal breaker. He said he was married, then acted as if he weren't. So whether or not he is married, he lied about it. By accepting him, you've already said, "It's okay to lie to me." Find an honest person, you'll be much happier in the long run.

StaryDom

11 Aug 2007

USA, Canada / Florida Polish Church excitement [33]

about church... where do our priest get the authority, or position.. from the bible? I always get confused here. Do you find anywhere in the bible about papacy or priesthood? about the Holy Father. ??

Oooh I wish I were better at this, but here goes. The Bible does outline some of the "positions" needed in a church, but it doesn't give anyone "power" over anyone else. I think your question must have been similar to what Martin Luther was thinking back in 1517 when he started "The Reformation" of the church. Basically he had a problem with man made rules and thought the message of the Bible was getting lost in ceremony. The message of the Bible is fairly simple and clear, Salvation is obtained through faith in Christ and what he accomplished for us on the cross. Luther wanted to teach what the Bible said and found he couldn't do it in the Catholic Church. I think the Catholic Church has changed a lot since the 1500's, but the last mass I attended was in Polish, so I didn't understand a word! Though I could tell what was going on because the mass was just like I remember from when I was a kid :-) BTW, the churches in Poland are absolutely beautiful!!!