Polonia / Are Polish people required to have tourist visa for Thailand? [32]

Yet foreign people could never buy their Polish visas on the border with the G.D.R. Yet now it is a question of playing safe. I would make the Poles pay twice!

Polonia / Are Polish people required to have tourist visa for Thailand? [32]


No, not really because when there was Communism in Eastern Europe, Russia was not one of those eastern European countries that made everybody pay for a visa and then screw the tourists for daily official currency exchanges. Have you forgotten those good old days of the Polish PEWEX shop where everybody had to queue up for decent coffee and tea? It always seems beyond me that the poles are the first to complain about paying for visas yet they were always the first to introduce them themselves when it was to their own advantage. A really funny lot the Poles if you ask me!

Language / WHAT CASE DOES BŁOGOSŁAWIĆ TAKE? [6]

'To bless' plus the genitive case or 'to give one's blessing to someone or something' plus the dative case.

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]

It is well known that the Polish Post office is full of thieves. Lots of things go missing. I have heard that it is safer to have things sent to firm's addresses as it has a higher chance of arriving but to private homes? No way, Jose!!

Study / The reputation of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow. [52]


Actually, that is still cheaper than I thought it would be. Do you know by any chance how much the longer courses are, that is, if they are still running? In the 1980's a six week course including three meals a day was about £600.

Study / The reputation of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow. [52]

Yes, but that must be a few hours a week. That certainly would not be a full time at the Jagiellonski University-it is more likely to be a small private language school.

Study / The reputation of the Jagiellonian University, Krakow. [52]


I far as I am aware, the courses in Kraków are now very expensive indeed and are not worth the money. You can buy a good course and study at home for far less. However, on these courses you can meet some interesting people, many from the United States of America either of polish extraction or other people simply interested in language and culture. To pay well over a thousand pounds (and I think these courses now cost over a thousand pounds) for a month in Kraków is simply insane. You will learn in a month almost nothing anyway.

History / "SOLIDARNOŚĆ" is just a word for Polish people? [47]

Yes, her simplified transliteration is acceptable but, like Arabic and Japanese, there is no official transliteration so you must either learn the official alphabet or not try at all.

History / "SOLIDARNOŚĆ" is just a word for Polish people? [47]


Had you read what I had wrote then you would have seen that I had written in Latin script the exact same thing. It is pjerjestroika-that is how it is written.

History / "SOLIDARNOŚĆ" is just a word for Polish people? [47]


The Russian word is pjerjestroika but the stress falls on the final dipthong so we get peristroika but the spelling is now incorrect.

History / "SOLIDARNOŚĆ" is just a word for Polish people? [47]

It is the same sort of thing as the old Russian word 'pjeristrojka' from a couple of years ago.

UK, Ireland / I have concerns over the British immigration policy so I wrote to my MP. [126]


In actual fact, very few Poles died in active service in World War 2. A few died from 'friendly fire' as the Russians had to fight their way westwards through Warsaw towards Berlin but the truth is, most died from natural causes in the labour camps from dysentery and other common diseases.

Language / Use of A/An/The ...... Articles [186]

Yes, it is a big head ache for any nationality that is not used to these words.

Language / Use of A/An/The ...... Articles [186]

There is the Polish word jakiś that is used for this purpose in both spoken and written Polish.

Language / A good place to start learning Polish? [29]


I have never seen this course but it is a complete no-no and very expensive too. It is a waste of money learning Polish just for Christmas. Try your local library-there might be a colloquial Polish course or a copy of Teach Yourself, both excellent beginners courses and free too when taken from the library!

Work / Why Poland employers are afraid of hiring any foreign nationals? [171]


Exactly, the fat Pole who was given two life sentences at my financial expense.

Work / Why Poland employers are afraid of hiring any foreign nationals? [171]


The Polish Nation is very nationalistic and will only employ similar people. Mind you, there are a lot of nasty Poles in England now. You only have to watch programmes like Crimes Watch U.K. to see the number of murderers and child abusers who are being caught by their D.N.A. and are being brought back to England and given life sentences.

Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]

The trouble is that being a teacher of English overseas is that you are expected to work when others (the students) are free so you have to work in the late afternoon and evening. A pretty crap job altogether if you ask me!

Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]

If you check on availability on the internet you could book a place and do it overseas in Barcelona in Spain or even in Prague in the Czech Republic. You may find it a little cheaper that way too and have the bonus of experiencing life overseas at the same time. Who knows, you may even get offered a job by the course provider after the course ends.

Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]


They certainly used to because once, a long time ago, I even went to London, to International House in London's Piccadilly for an interview. In those days they ran the Preparatory certificate, as it was called in those days of the Royal society of Arts. I think it has since amalgamated and is now called CELTA. I am certain that in my time International House ran TESOL courses and that if you got a grade B then you were classified as immediately employable by International House around the World.

Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]


International House is a total con and you should steer well clear of this organization. International House makes a lot of money by running English Language classes all taught by student teachers. This brings in lots of money for International House as students of English pay money for the privilege of these so called lessons and the English Language Student Teachers are also paying for the privilege. It is not good and I would not recommend either International House or a TESOL job in the first place. You can get a job teaching the English Language without any sort of training whatsoever. If you want to live in Poland and live on a hundred pounds a month so well be it but I think its just exploitation. Members of the Polish youth can be very rude in class too.

Love / I fancy a polish girl from my school! [139]

Love is blind and you can end up being very hurt indeed. if you are very wise you can see over the top of this as I always do now. I will be nice to a Polish girl but I always stay in control of my own feelings. Fall in love with a Polish girl? Who, me? Not on your life!!

Love / I fancy a polish girl from my school! [139]

Sadly, I have never gone out with a Polish guy, I have never been invited out! However, but I know polish women well from my old Moscow days. They can be very nice on their own but when they get together you see how two faced they are and my God, how klicky too!

Love / I fancy a polish girl from my school! [139]


Sometimes a lack of understanding can bring people together as well as keep them apart. I know this from personal experience. Sadly as the expression goes, as that glitters is not gold' and there will be serious issues of difference of culture. I would never suggest to anyone that it is a good idea to get too close to a Polish girl and that goes for members of my own family too.

Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]

I am not in a position to talk about Poland today. Am I expected to return there on a weekly basis to report on the comings and goings?

Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]


I must admit that sometimes I try to lool for logic in the Poles and can not find it either.

Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]

I can not answer for Polish television today as I never watch that sort of rubbish but I can tell you about twenty five years ago.

Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]


I am sure it was always the same man but what they were paid during the Communist era, who knows?

Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]


Years ago on Polish television whenever they showed foreign films they used a man who's voice was always the same, hence there could only ever be just the one, who did a talk over in Polish. It sounded really boring. I wonder if they still employ him? This was years ago though.

Travel / POLISH PKP BAD ATTITUDE [14]


You have to remember that the Poles are not used to dealing with foreigners. If you ever try to hitch hike, mainly only people who themselves in the past hitch hiked will stop for you or the very lonely who just want a chat! Poland is the same. They have lived under Communism since the war in 1945 and can not travel or speak any foreign languages. They think that everyone must be like them and they have no conception of someone coming from overseas who does not understand the language. It is very prevalent especially among the working class everywhere. To work in a ticket office is not rocket science so they are not really very well educated and after all, selling tickets is not one of the best paid or socially demanding jobs on the planet. Mind you, if you are students living in Poland for three years, can you not understand the lingo?