Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

Poles are very family oriented, more so than the Scots who tend to be too. They have more special days spent with them and occasions with cakes and meats.

Neighbours? Well, there can be a communal feel but too many are lone wolves and are growing to be jealous of their neighbours and what they have (in Poland). This is very noticeable in my home city of Aberdeen but I hope that Poland doesn't move more in this direction. Poles are aware of the need to be modest but some struggle with it, wanting to be flashy.

Poles are quite outspoken critics of the state. They will often launch into wild debates on the main policies that affect them. This tends to be a family thing but Poles often duck such discussions when 1-2-1, preferring to play down politics in casual talk. Alcohol is the great trigger.

Foreigners? Well, many are aware of the need to come across as welcoming and many indeed are. However, I fear that a few may have two faces but this is just natural for some, regardless of nationality. If the foreigner puts effort into social engagements then the Poles will likely reciprocate. I have found this in many places. I am well received by most Poles.

Boy, this post has been hard as there are too many generalisations. However, one thing I really feel about Poles is that there is much potential for them to be more open. It's like they are indifferent and maybe testing the water sometimes but can really come out of their shells when you get to know them. They are a curious bunch when they want to be.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

Thanks, BB. I promise that there'll be no more German rants about Geischner ;) ;) I'm gonna try and go back to my uni style on the forum, i.e so and so said this whilst so and so said that. I was reading some older posts, mine very much included, and the level of presumption is incredible. Some people write as if they are whipping out facts and truths with every statement.

As for the thread, well, some can and some can't. Come on, resident Poles, test our understanding.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

Most Poles would openly admit and realise that. However, paying for priveleges is not an exclusively Polish phenomenon.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

That needs L4 treatment even though there is nothing bad going to come of it ;) ;)

L4 is their sick form btw. Gotta love those mystic warts :)

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

I often ask this of Poles but they often can't put their finger on quite what it is that they want to ask. Such enigmatic qualities can be in anyone and I don't find Poles to be that enigmatic for the most part.

Stubborness as resistance to hard times, I think most people can understand that aspect.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

I'll let the resident Poles answer that one. There is an element of black magic in that one for me too, I'll be honest. Hard done by is more for the Polish psyche thread ;) ;)

Please explain to me how Saudi Arabia is a 3rd world country while being considerably richer than Poland. See above for the answer.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

Dirty money? What, from legit foreign firms with valid business concerns? Ever heard of the CIA setting up money laundering accounts in NYC? Now that's dirty business. You could say the same about many countries, adopting your logic.

High unemployment, oh really? 11.4% is really not that high when layoffs are commonplace.

And the Brits never escape to France to evade tax payments? Tax evasion is rife in Poland? Prove it! Smuggling? Prove it!

For the reasons I outlined above, Poland is securely above the line of 2nd/3rd world.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

Some seem that way and some don't, Exiled. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the smartest individuals here in Poland and the displeasure of listening to some of the stupidist.

SeanBM, LOL. I hope your wife didn't come to know ;) ;)

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

Why would I use stereotypes when I have been living here for the past 5 years? A typical Scot? That doesn't mean much to me.

Remember, I have drank with quite a few Poles in my time so the value of that far outweighs any dated stereotypes.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

In general, I generally don't believe in generalisations ;) ;) ;) But that's just a general thing :)

British psyche is just ridiculous. The English are different from the Scots who are, in turn, different from the Welsh. Sorry, it makes no sense to talk of the British psyche to me. There are huge differences within a country.

The Poles are more rugged which more broadly aligns them with the Scots. I care not to find commonalities beyond that as I'd just be going into stereotypes.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

First off, Ironside, thanks for the welcome back :)

Secondly, I'm a big fan of judging individuals and not whole countries. I think I can quite clearly, yes. Maybe begin by asking me specifics about the Polish psyche and I'll let you know my thoughts. I don't believe such issues should be shrouded in mystique as all it uncovered last time was the Polish psyche consisted only of anti-Russian sentiment and, in reality, it goes a bit deeper than that.

What is there to understand that might fox people, Ironside? Let's systematically flesh out the issue rather than see things that may not be there.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

Well, I wasn't on Uranus ;) ;) I figured that 16,000+ posts was way too much so I have to throttle back and be more selective when I post.

As for the thread, well, I've commented above. Third world is ludicrous and is designed just to stir the hornets' nest.

I was merely stating that Russia is not 4th world, if such a thing exists.

nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm

Russia is lumped in with Poland as a 2nd world country but don't worry Sok, very wealthy Saudi Arabia is classed as a 3rd world country so don't get your frillies in a twist. I know you love economic indicators.

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

That's just a dig, nothing more. Chess is one sign of human development and Russia has always been at the top of the pile with Ukraine just behind. Poland usually hovers around 14th spot.

Life / Can foreigners really understand Poles? [136]

Some can, some can't

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

We shouldn't automatically believe witnesses at all but there must come a moment when reasonable likelihood presents itself. These allegations were largely substantiated but it's all about agenda serving. Look at those witnesses at 9/11. So many spoke out on the issue of explosions but those protecting the agenda swept them aside.

It is faulty evidence, convex, I agree.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

Eh, I think cyanide can be removed after 43 years, don't you? What kind of evidence of gassings? Anything that may have shown that could easily have been cleared up. They switched the gas off some time ago ;) ;)

That's why the Germans weren't in the rooms ;0 ;)

Autopsied????? What, do you really think that those bodies were gonna be voluntarily passed on to medical authorities? Are you insane?

Eh, they weren't all gassed. Simple! They had firing squads and executioners.

They undoubtedly profit from it which is grotesque but that's another element entirely.

My main bone of contention would be that the Allied forces were largely out of the picture so nobody really saw or could corroborate what happened. I also question how one-sided the views of Holocaust survivors are. It's a miracle in itself that they survived such a tight-knit regime.

Yehudi, I was just saying. You have to ask him as I don't want to second guess him.

Anyone can write nonsense, MixMoren. I could go and publish some pie-in-the-sky BS and make it sound really convincing. Haven't you read the writing of students? ;)

The laugh is that the US takes all the figures as given and it seems like a lifetime in compensation for sth the Americans had no hand in.

Life / Lack of Spacial Acuity in Poland [69]

That's why it's worth waiting for a clear run across. Otherwise, you could become a cropper.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

It's just playing on sentiments a lot of the time. It would have been even more complicated had the Jews sought to integrate more fully into Polish culture.

Life / Horribly cold in Krakow at the moment , how do you cope with such temperatures ? [124]

I'm sure they'll be looking for new recruits here :) Just shout Allahu Akbar in the streets and then you're sure to get a reaction :) Be careful not to get arrested. France is thinking about banning burkas and niqabs. Poland doesn't need to take a stand given the limited number of Muslims here.

Life / Horribly cold in Krakow at the moment , how do you cope with such temperatures ? [124]

-10 in Wrocław? Well, it most certainly was around -15 at 7.30am today. It was perishing without exaggeration. I felt like making my scarf into sth resembling a niqab. It was like ice was permanently on my skin and my muscles hadn't warmed up.

Life / Lack of Spacial Acuity in Poland [69]

Very perceptive, Harry, and very true. If I stand at a zebra crossing, assessing whether or not to go, they make the decision for me by speeding up and being 'decisive'. It has led to multiple accidents as the crossings have caused people to slip and not clear it. One girl broke her leg in 5 places as she felt hurried and fell horribly. They are death traps!

As for general spacial acuity, I do see a fair bit of bumping around. One of my students told me a funny story about him skiing in Wisła. He was going up the ski lift when he saw 2 snowboarders. They were the only people on the slope and thus had all the space in the world. He RdOTFL when he saw them collide at high speed. They were ferociously zigzagging across each others path when, BOOM, their luck ran out. LOL.

You can see it in shopping queues too. Sometimes, when waiting, I like to move back a bit but am met with a trolley parked right up my rear. On the streets, I don't think it's necessarily a question of spacial acuity, more that some people just don't want to get out of your way.

So, it's largely not lack of judgement in many cases. An American here feels uncomfortable when they get too close when asking questions. They are just more forthright. I notice it as I lived in Japan where, with the exception of crowded train lines, people really keep their distance. I was told off for getting too close when I felt that I was at a fine distance. I don't encroach.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

He means the New World Order, yehudi. The Star of David has symbolic importance to Masons and other Illuminati freaks. Many have misgivings :(

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

A fair few Poles contributed to the idea that Poland is a poor country which negatively engendered a mindset amongst the masses but to call them a third world country is just a misnomer. Poland's GDP shot up as a result of substantial inward investment and would fare well on most performance indicators (PIs). 3rd world countries are often characterised by high unemployment. The FDR was an exception (1st world but high unemployment) but the social unrest lay mainly in the former East Germany (good old commies, LOL) Poland's is currently at 11.4% I think. GUS puts it right around there.

If we are to use the following as a yardstick then we can actually disprove the allegation that Poland is backward:

nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world.htm

1) Political rights and civil liberties - Well, Kaczyński has certainly over-exercised his right of free speech to hack at gays ;) Personally, I feel at liberty to do many things and living here isn't overly impositional. Polish EU lawyers will not have too many problems incorporating EU Human Rights Law into the corpus here (Constitution etc)

2) GNI as a benchmark. Hmm, Poland's GDP saw a rapid increase and was relatively unscathed by the crisis when seen as a whole. The situation just gets rosier.

3) Human Development. Although many lust after money, others stay true to themselves and further the scientific and IT sectors here. They have the great minds of tomorrow budding now and, with the help of EU programs, will come to fruition. The ones that work in science often get paid peanuts, the same as in the UK generally, but do it for the love of the discipline. Poles tend to rest on their laurels less than British people and are generally less complacent. Limited stunted development here.

4) Poverty? Short comment. Most countries have pockets of poverty. Scotland certainly has its fair share of poorer areas which are on the breadline. It's not really too much on show in Poland. I dare say if I ventured out into the desolate countryside, then yes, I'd see it. That's one noticeable difference. Scottish farmers tend to be much richer than their Polish counterparts. However, the Poles are well beyond primogeniture and subsistence farming as practised in Africa. The Poles have ways and means to mask poverty ;) ;)

5) Press Freedom? OK, look at Russia. It's not a 3rd world country but Putin really clamped down on freedom of press as we know it. Kasparov maintains that he operates a police state there with only himself and his closest advisors controlling the content of the media. Poland has no such issues. The press are governed by codes and conventions, generally pertaining to ethical concerns. I don't see Poland lagging behind here at all.

I think we can safely say that Poland is far from a 3rd world country. I wonder if Johnnie Cochrane or Barry Scheck could present a cogent case to the contrary, probably not.

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

Joe is right. I'd happily welcome Jews into my classes. They are a very diverse bunch (I mean different types) but not jumped-up Zionists. Bringing back Jews to their homeland is logical but we can see how they misbehaved in the Bible. They incurred the wrath of God many times and worshipped false gods. Also, like it or not, Palestinians occupied some of that land. Right or wrong, it was and is a reality.

Life / Horribly cold in Krakow at the moment , how do you cope with such temperatures ? [124]

I can't imagine Kraków being worse than here. I only have 7 mins to walk to work but I almost froze after just 3 or 4 mins. I had my scarf, beanie and gloves but still felt the chill. Sasha's suggestion of growing a beard may not be a bad one as my chin felt numb. My nose was the worst. The temperature must be low as I usually don't feel the cold that badly, being from the NE of Scotland where the wind chill is pretty nasty. After footie, I just wear a jumper when everyone else is dressed in heavy jackets. I'll have to give myself a good shake to warm up my muscles, that helps. At a conservative estimate, it felt like -20 whilst walking to work.

Work / Polish qualifications, what are they worth ? [137]

There has been a concerted drive to get every EU citizen on the same page with regards to the recognition of qualifications abroad. Oh, must go, my student is here.

Work / Will it be easy to find a job within 6-10 months of moving to Poland? [41]

Investments management, nice! I would imagine that there is plenty of work available in that area. Plus, you can move there more easily now due to the recent travel restrictions being eased.

It just depends who you know. I'd check for a position long before you leave for here.

Молимо Вас да пишете на енглеском. These are the rules of the forum. You can write private messages in Polish but not regular ones.

Which part of Poland are you targetting?

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

Any meaningful differences between Sunni and Shia, rock?

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

You can't say that kind of thing, BBut. It's just not on! Do you even know the difference between them?

History / Polish hatred towards Jews... [1290]

Do you follow the Sunni or Shia branch of Islam, rock?