CAN NON-POLISH UNDERSTAND POLAND?

Heya, had a disagreement with GF about 'NOT knowing what is going on in Poland'

That the news is not enough (even though were talking about political scandals and the fact that poland is not alone in this department!)

I believe it IS possible to know what is going on in a country by reading up on, meeting the people and researching about it (like I have) and by following the news!

Then she said the news i would get would be different!!!!

Hey Daffy, it our Polish mentaliity that what news you hear there's never any truth to it about Poland. I get that from my parents all the time. When they watch their Polish station and the news it is always compare to the American news and how they leave everything out.

how would it be different though?

but im talking about english verisons OF polish sourced news!

topix.net/world/poland
warsawvoice.pl
poland.pl
etc


thats my point like! :/ she is still not accepting it and im accused of acting like i know everything (i dont - i never talk about things i dont know about)

My point exactly. Poles feel that somehow the news get distorted and people don't know what they are talking about when it comes to our country.

ridiculous. sorry. but i think that is so ridiculous.

political scandel is political scandel.

secret police, corruption, catholic church abusing power - nothing unique to poland at all!

nah it takes some time but being a foreigner living in poland and being very happy with that i think youre girl is wrong.
maybe its for us non-poles even better to see the lil oddity's then they themselves.
i live with poles ,i work with poles ,i read the polish papers aswell as the dutch papers .
ok i confess i dont share their antipathy for the russians i do understand the reason for it but i dont follow that lead blindly .

ofcourse my girl then say's they are evil and i say yea wutever my mother in law is evil too.
foreigners can understand very well what plays here given that they are willing to inform themselves and open their eyes .

Daffy, unfortunately, you will know what you learn, there is way to much to soak
up, lots of things are not said, and lots of things are hidden from the public, just
like in all countries, they only let you see what they want you to see. so I am going
to have to agree with your GF on the news is not enough.

The media shows what they want, to grab the watchers eye, and then down play
it like it is nothing to be concerned about. least that is what I percieve , so I dont
believe everything. and what is said, I would question. are the full facts placed
out there? did you get the whole story, or half? look at the war for instance.

do we really know whats going on, no I am sure there is much more we are not
getting to hear about, or see on television or in the newspapers because it would
send the public into a frenzy if we really knew the truths. <~we only hear what
they will allow the media to show. other then that, I am sure all the edited stuff
gets tossed aside into some private tape. not for public viewing.

but, I do also agree with you, what you learn , you can know about that, it sounds
like your having a spat over nothing because you both can be right :)

so just hug and forget it :)

but thats apart of my point, that she gets the SAME news so i know no more OR less then she does (which is her arguement - that i cannot understand the corruption and scandel, as if Ireland had none :))

We will hug, we always do :)

yea grunn, i agree with you - but then, i think you knew i woudl :)

Daffy,

I think maybe she must mean WITHIN Poland, otherwise its a bizzare comment and Poland is not that important a country to warrant the effort it would require.

My partner sometimes says things similar to this, because in a lot of ways Poland is still a very backward country and the vatican/catholic church have such a strong influence on media and public affairs. (Poland is like a replica of ireland except 20 years in the past)

Sometimes there can be bizzare loopholes in the stores that are reported in the press.
The BBC usually report the big events wheter the Polish government like it or not, but obviously they are not going to report the small events because Poland is not that important on a world stage compared to the US/China etc. (again similar to Ireland)

Take for example the recent scandal with kaczinski.
It was reported all over the Irish and English media that kaczinski had said:
A) Homosexuals are a threat to the existence of the human race
B) Polish people who work in Ireland or the UK are 'Feckless' or 'Born Losers'

My girlfriend took personal offence to his second comment (as the majority of the Poles over here did) so she went looking through the Polish Media to see what people were saying.

Guess what???
In the Polish media they said everything went smoothly, everyone was impressed, LOL.

They never mentioned anything about all the Irish ministers who were saying he was uncivilised and backward and damaging the good reputation the polish people had established in Ireland.

rte.ie/news/2007/0220/gay.html
drakkart.com/eire2/category/polish-comm/
dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=4 15147&in_page_id=1770

Hi there,

I'm considering to go Poland with Erasmus Programme to "Wroclaw University of Technology" from Turkey.

I've searched on internet and heard good about the university,but i think the best way is asking someone for an objective description. I have some questions and could you help me while i'm looking for answers. Here there are:

Will English be competent to adapt the city and country?
How many percent of Polish speak English as a foreign language?
Is the school well-known in the country?
And finally Are there anybody here from this university to give me detailed information personally?

Thank You,
Gökhan

but your saying and quoting everything i have done!

we agree on this 100%

she doesn't seem to comprehend that.


yes i know, She didnt even hear of this, only from me :) LOL

UFFF ... That would be extremally hard !!! To do that someone would have to spend most of ones life in Poland , go through entire history of the nation and understand mentality of Poles.

I recently worked with an Indian doctor, graduated from Warsaw Uni, speaks fluent Polish, eager to care for Polish patients, appears to understand the Polish psyche from my discussions with him and can't wait to return. A pleasure to work with.

Daffy and Dannyboy, oi, what condescension in you towards Poland and the Poles. It saddens me to read your statements. - Dannyboy, the Polish President's last name spells 'Kaczynski,' not 'kaczinski.' He's never said: 'A) Homosexuals are a threat to the existence of the human race

B) Polish people who work in Ireland or the UK are 'Feckless' or 'Born Losers''

Never-ever has he made those remarks. (The hacks, first in England, took his words out of context and repeated in a misrepresented form.)

So if, according to you, all the Irish and English press has reported he did made them, what would it tell about those hacks? The Kaczynski government is perhaps the most besmirched by hacks government in Europe. Not only in Ireland and England, but across the press in Europe, including also a large chunk of the press in Poland. The reasons for this hatred, however, are not those that the hacks in your countries present to you, but different ones. We can discuss them here.

In Poland, we have scores of Polish-language media that are, actually, Polonophobic. Is it the same case in Ireland, i.e. that you have losts of media in your native tongue that are, actually, anti-Irish?

The 'main' BBC is one of the most Polonophobic media in the English language.

Daffy, Warsaw Voice isn't an auhoritative source on Polish subjects.

Yes, folks, your media hacks present an extremely distorted picture of things Polish to you. Hence I don't blame you for your attitude exhibited here, but, ata the same time, I'd expect you being a bit more skeptic towards the media reports, not only on Poland, but on any subject at all. the system of the media is such that it attracts to it scores of psychopaths- compulsive liars, and make psychopaths out of decent folks. :)

we're not the ones you've got to convince, its his translators not the media


again, its his translators up with him doing the translation and the media is ighting it down. i saw the news clip that night! i heard the words he said and the translator and the poles i know agreed the translation. im merely saying, you didnt see it, we did.


noted, so what can you recommend please


we are, thats why we are here, that is why ive been to poland several times, and why i always talk to my polish friends, colleagues and GF on forming any opinion about Poland


groovy :)

The correct word is authoritative.