Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]


Nasty bullshlt too - motivated by a strong dislike of something, probably humanity.

Life / Young Poles say: Hurray for decay? [35]


Fortunately private gun ownership is highly restricted in most of Europe, including Poland, but carrying knives in PL is regarded a little differently, especially away from big cities.

Life / Young Poles say: Hurray for decay? [35]

That link seems to be from some religious extremist site, unconnected with Poland.

Perhaps the original poster thinks that people in Poland should be somehow frozen in time, as if in a scene from a wojciech kossak painting, all in villages wearing headscarves and never watching tv or traveling more than a few kilometres from their home.

Life / Calendar of Polish Name Days [36]


Some do - due in part to changing fashions and also to the problem of too many people having the same name day.

Po polsku / Trzymajcie się ciepło! :) [25]


Po prostu zniknąl - ale chyba szybko wroci :-(

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]


@ Polonius3

You do seem to mention this topic rather a lot - much more than anybody else. Why does it occupy your mind so much? Perhaps you have something you want to come to terms with...

UK, Ireland / Britain's youngest mum gave birth at 12 [70]


Yes. I used to have a council flat in Leeds (very nice, newly refurbished, three bedrooms) and in the block of maybe 100 flats, I doubt that even ten of them were actually being paid for by the occupants; everybody else was on benefits.


I know what you mean. I don't think asylum seekers get very much money though, and most would prefer to work. Nevertheless, our welfare services are very stretched, and it's a shame when cuts are made to services for people born and raised in the UK in order to fund asylum detention centres etc.

UK, Ireland / Britain's youngest mum gave birth at 12 [70]


This is true - they used to be administratively the same.

UK, Ireland / Britain's youngest mum gave birth at 12 [70]

A lot of people think that way. The reasoning behind not doing it is child poverty. Even if the parents who claim the money are pond life, the children still need feeding and clothing. Though dole claimants always seem to have huge televisions and often cars.


It used to be borough-based, until (I think) the 1930s or late '40s. In the C19 it was parish based, since the Speenhamland system in the early C19. There was always great stigma attached to claiming, except in times of economic depression, which the old system could never cope with.

UK, Ireland / Britain's youngest mum gave birth at 12 [70]


We had a form of welfare 60 years ago - even 160 years ago. It was just harder to get.

Life / My own thoughts about life in Poland (have lived here for two years) [133]


Tesco Polska were insisting on this for female middle-managers shortly after 2000. Hopefully they've stopped.

UK, Ireland / Britain's youngest mum gave birth at 12 [70]


Chavs too.

And the annoying thing is that the UK has first-class facilities for terminating pregnancies, but she obviously prefers social housing and benefits.

Love / Is it possible for Filipino gay like me to have a Polish lover? [13]


It's more than that - fewer people feel the need to repress their own sexuality, and meeting like-minded people is easier.


Fortunately gay people in PL and elsewhere do not need to care two hoots about what you do or do not prefer.

Food / Looking for a Pickle Soup Recipe - Polish ogórkowa [28]

Yes. I've always had it with pickles and potato except when it's made by a Polish guy I know who makes it with both - his own kiszony and always a couple of fresh ones when in season, also his own. I think it's very much a family recipe, and is delicious.

Law / How do you set up a company in Poland? [46]

Hi - you'll need an address - accountants can sort this for you.

I suggest using the search function though - there's already been hundreds of posts about setting up companies, and you'll find that everything you need has already been written.

Love / Maintenance for child born between Irish/Polish parents. [60]

Child mainainance is taken very seriously in Poland - if the court award an amount and the father doesn't pay it, it is enforced by the courts and the penalty for non-payment is jail. The thing about going after the parents happens when they can't find the guy in question, under the raison d'etre that the child is part of that family. You should find a good lawyer quickly.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]


Very very very bad. Less than the average wage for a Pole (about 2500). Even fresh from a CELTA you should be able to get much more than that. Warsaw schools were paying 3-4000 for newbies ten years ago. I'd go a bit further and say it isn't really liveable unless you scrimp and count every last zloty and shop only at second-hand shops and discount food shops. Forget a taxi home or a meal in a half-decent restaurant.

Furthermore, I'd be suspicious of any language school that would offer that - it is a sign that they are a bad employer and there are likely to be further problems. You do realise though that Polish salaries (and EFL salaries everywhere) are always for negotiation and you shouldn't just accept without haggling. Though that is an exceptionally low starting point for negotiation.

PM me if you're interested in some work in Saudi that pays many times more than that and sometimes accepts people straight from the course.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]


Are you actually serious about Goolman, or just joking? Most tramps in Poland would beg for a few minutes longer in order to buy something better.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Zywiec is exported a lot, but opinions differ as to its merits - I find it fizzy, characterless and chemical tasting. Ciechan is sometimes exported; if you find it, try it.

Travel / Can I use an unlocked US mobile in Poland? [5]


Yes, providing it's a GSM phone. If there are any problems, you can buy a phone very cheaply in any one of several places in the railway station in Warsaw.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]


That would surprise most people who've seen the rosary-waving protester.


They can vote - and the internet is full of them 'expressing themselves'.


You have a short memory, if you've forgotten how dreadful PiS were.


200 years ago.


Far, far fewer than these Ciemnogrod PiS voters, shouting racist slogans in the street.

Language / Translation request: words like the / and / or / left / right / this, etc... [19]


Or i = eat

Language / Translation request: words like the / and / or / left / right / this, etc... [19]


This is a really good book. Don't let the 301 pages of grammar tables freak you out though.

"Teach yourself Polish" (most good UK bookshops have it) and "Polish in 40 days" (a bit of an optimistic title) are both good books to start with.

dict.pl/dict_iso is a very good online dictionary.

Many people recommend an audio course called "Pimsleur Polish". It's very American in style, but don't let that put you off - the American method of second language acqusition has a lot of good points. One benefit of the Pimsleur series is that you will be speaking from the very first lesson. I don't know where you can buy it in Europe, but since it works well without the accompanying coursebook, somebody unscrupulous might download it from IsoHunt or PirateBay, though obviously that might not be legal. I used their Pimsleur Arabic with some success.


There are, not there is, and yes there are dialects, but much less so than in most other major languages.


You can say OK in Polish. 'Dobrze' (remember that the 'rz' sounds a bit like the 's' in 'pleasure' (think 'pleasure' but change the 'plea..' to a 'dob...' and you're nearly there) means 'well' (as in "I did it well") but Poles often use it to mean OK. "Dobra dobra" is used by some people, but can sound sarcastic or over-jolly, and "spoko" or "spox" is popular with young people, sk8ters etc..

Remember, one less than appealing habit of some Polish people is that when a foreigner uses a Polish word, they'll pretend it's wrong and tell you an alternative. When you use that alternative to another Pole, they'll insist that one's wrong too. Not everyone in Poland does that, but some certainly do. In Polish culture, there's nothing strange about telling someone they're wrong, even if you only think they're wrong (some Polish people will argue that black is white just for the hell of it), and correcting someone's grammar isn't seen as bad manners.

History / United States of America Vs Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [74]


So is sushi - doesn't make it Polish though.


What makes you think aristocracy denotes administrative power? You're contradicting yourself, as usual, since you said twice that aristocracy can be informal rather than official. Furthermore, that statement is meaningless, since you seem to be implying that administrative power ipso facto confers aristocratic status.


Duke is not a Polish title, nor has it ever been - The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had princes; largely Gedemin-derived princes though, from the Lithuanian side..

You've lost the argument, so stop harping on and get back to the topic of the thread.

Personally I find the period of history in which Poland developed its constitution and the US was started to be fascinating - the question is, what can we learn from it?

History / United States of America Vs Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [74]


You raised it. And as you well know, I'm not telling, but asking.


Almost all of whom have no official status nowadays.


Perhaps a bit more than you.


All but three of which aren't aristocratic, and of those three, two aren't Polish.

As I mentioned before, the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was almost unique in Europe for its disdain for aristocratic titles - remarkably few existed, and the Commonwealth, in evolving into the first republic, foreshadowed Poland's centuries-old liberal tradition, which in turn inspired (and was inspired by) the Founding Fathers ofthe US.

History / United States of America Vs Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [74]


Customs are irrelevant. Titles are not legally recognised under the Polish constitution and that is an end to the matter.

Closer to the topic, there were very few aristocratic titles, barely a handful of them, recognised by either the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Royal Republic (and most of those were Gedemin titles on the Lithuanian side). Most titles were given by the partitioning powers somewhat later.

One of the Royal Republic's few redeeming features was the theoretical equality of the szlachta - an idea which persisted longer than the republic itself.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]


It tastes like crisps and could even win awards for being the cheapest in the off-licence.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]


Gayers don't drink it either.


One to avoid at all cost, unless you're interested in regurgitation.

News / New cross war in Warsaw [530]


I just got the following message sent to me:


Tempting, just to see what happens - shame I'm too far away in a place totally moherowy beret-free.

History / United States of America Vs Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth [74]


With no legal jurisdiction.


With what legal basis?


Glad you agree.


Under whose authority do they 'take care of things' in a legal jurisdiction like Poland, where titles are not recognised?

This thread is wandering off topic. Please, keep to the original subject.
Thank you.