Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

Try telling that to the doctors :) I met my doctor, Witold, today. He didn't seem to be too glad that he was working. We met in Żabka and I felt like buying him a beer :)

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

So many restaurants going out of business then? ;) ;)

The scene in Warsaw is impressive, right enough. I went to a Thai place there and it was impressive. Having been in Thailand and sampled the local cuisine, I can say that their copy was not too wide of the mark.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

I see what Magda is saying here too. I don't see the connection like she doesn't. It still doesn't change the fact that Catholics have chosen to operate that way. I was joking before but being serious now. Wouldn't Jesus want us to buy fish, bread and wine given their pride of place in the Bible? After all, celebrating an army is celebrating those that go to war, i.e government sanctioned murderers. What would Jesus have preferred?

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

Poles like these acquired tastes. Look at lard with bread :)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Yeah, a Polish valley girl :) Those that gibber at the rate of knots and forget their manners.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

youtube.com/watch?v=eu7OK3xyLMw
be observant ;)

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

Tricked from within this time ;) ;)

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

You don't have to block out the word 'good' :)

We also believe that Sunday is the day of rest, jeden. There are no chippies here so I don't eat chips ;)

So, not glued to your screen, jeden? Enjoy the ceremony? Was it action packed?

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]

LOL, I'd be surprised if it was a not-for-profit organisation that created that game ;) ;)

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

Maybe they should sever all ties with the outside world and only stock vinegar and, from time to time, toilet paper as a rare treat? Did the progress to Pewex tip you over? ;)

Why not close the shops forever and go on a permanent holiday?

What does Polish army day have to do with shops? Maybe they should close the shops for name days? What do you think?

Well, America has nukes. Their nukes so they can.....

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

True, if you haven't learned basic manners like those, we can't expect you to apply them, enkidu. Fair point! You just do it differently :)

Does Poland really have the 'o-kari' system of indebtedness like in Japan? Do Poles really feel that they must return the favour?

You seem to be describing Japanese people more than Poles here, enkidu. In more than one respect, I might say.

No flaming, enkidu, you got it!

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

Where is WB to tell his tales? Gordon Brown was so far removed from Old Labour, it's hard to believe. He was a globalist that pushed for 'world' agencies and lost sight of 'Britishness'. He talked a good game on that front but perceptive people saw right through him.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

Never been into mullets much myself ;) You seem to have a good selection there :)

I wonder, if Poles had a street like they have in Minnesota where you have restaurants from all over, how popular would they be? It would depend on wealth but the pierogi joint would come out tops every time.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

It tells me that the economic situation is different and that you need the right pricing strategy to put it right.

What types of fish do you have? Poland has access to some nice fish but it doesn't have the benefit of being an island culture like Britain. My home city has some tasty stuff :)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Very well said, war :) There is an element of a Scottish approach here. Too many cling to their jobs without them being the best person anymore. Too many old people occupy positions in service industries and are SOOOO slow. Tusk is going to compound the problem as he is proposing the raising of the age of retirement to 70 :( :(

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Warszawski, they are not accustomed to free thinking enough yet. Procedures are to be followed and that's that in their eyes. There is a real lack of grasping practicalities and it's all too black&white.

If it's not in the job specification, don't expect anything ;)

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

True, it is MUCH better in Greece, she said. As for Greece having the best fish in Europe, that's a bold statement. Much of Europe has good fish. This is where Poles experiment a little. They try herring and mackerel which are quite flavoursome. The problem is that Poles see anything they eat as their own ;) ;)

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

I couldn't agree more. That's the way it works here.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

One sure bet is gas stations. You just have to have one close.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

My wife certainly likes Greek Salad, southern. She had it in Cyprus and in Rhodes and couldn't get enough of it. She makes it here too :)

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

I think communism hardened many into being rugged begrudgers. If that is so, we should remember that it was imposed on them and that the West played its part in that process. We have to try and understand the role it played.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

I think her whisky consumption 'shot' up after that. Arguably, Maggie had it much harder as, despite her landslide majority, the tide turned and Labour began chipping away and clawing back many voters. She had to contend with a vociferous Scargill and rising working class. In Poland now, PO don't have such an immediate challenge but PiS showed their grit and determination. Their problem will be that they will need to keep incentives in place for businesspeople to thrive. If they don't, they will lose critical voters and there are many here that could switch to PiS over tax disillusionment and loss of earnings etc.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

Oh, they take it to new levels. Almost like the Japanese in that way. About as open as a closed book.

Poles show some hope amongst the younger generation. The old ones, well, they grunt more than Monica Seles did.

Food / Why is it that some Polish people refuse to eat anything that is not Polish? [120]

I think it also stems from tradition and homogeneity. Bigos and gołąbki are elevated into an exalted position and the dearth of other options in some places just highlights that more. Foreign restaurants have gone under here and that's a telling sign.

Poles tend not to experiment. For example, spicy food. I need to ask for extra extra chilli here as they just put in the smallest amount. I can't imagine jalapeno or habanero peppers being popular here.

Life / Polish people and Politeness [84]

You are welcome! Now, where were we? I was amazed at the abruptness of a doctor here. It's just as well that I learned 'go enryo', the noble Japanese concept of restraint. She was spitting venom and her younger male colleague wasn't much better. I should've just spoken English to them :) The arrogance in some people is incredible! I saw it quite often when I taught at companies. False people :(

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]

She also introduced the poll tax against the advice of her senior ministers. She lied over the Falklands and was taken to task by a housewife (one Mrs Gould). She introduced General Management into teaching in the NHS, a grossly incompatible step. She limited the scope of Aneurin Bevan's 'from cradle to grave' vision to those who could afford it. She moved so far away from the Scandinavian model of public services that it was laughable.

As I said, I liked her stance on Europe as she simply made us aware of relinquishing power, ceding it to Brussels. However, she was a domestic disaster on many counts.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

I'm interested to know where Jesus said that shops should close ;) After all, he put himself on the cross for all of us. Shouldn't he be the ultimate authority? ;)

I'm sure Jesus would have approved of people going the shops and buying fish, bread and wine. I could be wrong, though :)

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

You are lucky to have such a receptive audience. I have accepted that my wife's parents just aren't interested in English but I definitely don't hold it against them. They are bilingual so I respect them for that.

Life / Why Aren't The Shops in Poland Open on Sundays? [82]

Richfilth and FUZZY are right here. Jeden, what's with the 'should be'? That's such a typically Catholic attitude. Should be this, should be that. Nobody has addressed the question. A random whim?

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

True, FUZZY. This is not a syllabarised language (now maybe that's not English, LOL). What I mean is that it is not Japanese where you have hiragana and katakana (kanji is another animal). For example, hiragana tells you it's tori and katakana, being the assimilation of foreign words, has it as chikinu (chicken).

However, Poglish is a different entity. In Japanese, there is modification. They make it work within their syllabary. Happening just has no Polish qualities to it. Maybe they hammer the G more ;) ;)