Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Citizens are doing a very good job of sweeping the snow away. It's a major operation, not only for businesses but for private citizens. The company I work at have drafted in professionals with specialised equipment to get the snow off of the roof of their plant.

Also, private citizens are doing their bit to clear the pavement and make it easier to get around. Poland has taken a responsible approach here. Bravo!

Love / Scottish & Polish relationships [229]

I met her here in this city. I didn't go for her because she was Polish, no. Living here was the factor.

Any cultural gaps have been bridged. I'd like to have the baby here but for it to have dual nationality. It will be a bilingual baby, none of this one-sided crap.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

What do tanks weigh?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

This is the Polish way, yes. We don't do that in Scotland. Some louts come racing up and push you away from the side of the pavement. Citizens could learn to respect the rights of pavement/sidewalk users and not drive on up like a moron.

Love / Scottish & Polish relationships [229]

Not married and no kid on the way yet. We are planning both though.

Love / Scottish & Polish relationships [229]

A redheaded Polish baby is in the offing. I'm Scottish born and bred though I have Irish blood too. I'll be sure to show you the pictures of my kid in the next couple of years.

Relationships have to be worked on constantly, to make sure that it is moving in the right direction. I met my Polish fiancee here. We didn't live together at first but now we are making it work.

What else would you like to know?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Exactly, Arien. Influence people but don't dominate them. Life is not about that. Humour in healthy doses, just like wine, works wonders :)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]

The last one, dated 28/12/08, look like efficiently delivered (though late) Xmas presents. I waited til 8/1/09 to get mine. They were sent on 19/11/08. WTF?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

WB, better go with the devil you know. Preaching moral virtues is all well and good but people live by different codes. You seem to be doing just fine, keep it up.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

I can agree with that too. Although it's not my function to do that, turning people's heads around sometimes helps in the long run.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

You got me wrong, Randal. I taught virtually nothing. I gave them handouts to discuss and monitored.

I see both sides of the argument. I am not there to be a preacher to them, nor do I want to be. Frankly, I don't give a toss what a lot of people say half the time.

I believe much more in your approach, give them the info and let them form their own opinions. People have the internet these days, they can learn virtually anything. Teaching could be more redundant in the future as learning aids take over.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

I really can't comment on the lying of Polish women as I'm not in a position to catch them when they do (not that I care for doing so). Some need to lie to get ahead.

Cultural dilution, I was doing that today in class. I was pleasantly surprised, the young ones were highly tolerant and willing to embrace newcomers from far afield. It all goes pear shaped when they get older. I was lucky to have an eager group of 15 year olds discuss various facets of multiculturalism. If this generation maintains that level of open-mindedness, it augurs/bodes well for the future.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Polish culture is compromised to accommodate them? In what ways?

As long as true Americans maintain their values and way of life, I don't see a big problem. It was America who welcomed foreigners after all. 'Bring all your tired and weary' etc etc.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Better is a highly subjective term but I know what you are saying, Randal. Btw, what's wrong with liberal views? Some people here could benefit from certain more liberal ways.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Does Poland have anything akin to a neighbourhood watch scheme? We tried this idea in Scotland and it wasn't really as effective as some had hoped. The idea is fine but its application is impractical. No meetings were held to discuss shady characters or potential threats to the area in question. Crime continued unabated.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Exactly, WB. What goes around, comes around. There may be better chances in the future. It's always that way that they get people to do the donkey work (sorry Osioł) and others steal in and cream the profits. Anyway, you kept your integrity, good man!

Just out of interest, can you draw any parallels with real estate in England or is your pool of experience drawn only from Poland?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

That's better, WB. Yeah, you have to be bona fide these days. No wonder we see so many signs saying 'no time wasters'. Why didn't you just shun them and push the tempo more with your 3 clients? It may have looked bad for you when all 3 of your clients were in the race and it fell through.

3 million EURO, holy smoke! Did this Polish agency (national chain) somehow have power over you? Why didn't you tell them to get to France and mind their own business?

What would your cut have been from a 3mill EURO sale?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

I think the Kaczyński's made that their lifetime's work. Blame others more for what, Sokrates? Yes, WB, this is discussion, don't you see?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Nah, I just felt that it was on topic. Ah well, fair enough.

Working conditions would seem to be one area that could improve though I'll allow Poles to answer that. I only say this as so many Poles left. They left largely because they felt that they didn't get enough money here. Many missed Poland during their stints in the UK. Other than money, what conditions would Polish citizens change to make their work more enjoyable?

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

So, care to share any stories of where Polish businessmen went wrong, WB?

Given that this is about moral integrity, I'll accept a no answer for it being a private question ;)

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Yeah, that's another thing. The queues at Plus, Lidl or Biedronka. Let people come and go more naturally and you will help minimise frustration.

We're gonna be criticised for being moaning Brits, WB. But, at heart, many Poles know exactly what we are saying. Expect a story, 'well, when I was at Sainsbury's in Liverpool, blah blah blah'.

I'm not paranoid and am quite a patient shopper but when I feel that trolley being rammed up me arse, I do take offence. The aisles are very narrow which highlights the need to get people through that bit quicker.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

15 small things, usually things which have been done elsewhere too like alcohol or some fruit+veg. Under 10 and I'd send them off to the 10-article line.

Oh, yeah, invest in customer service and stop saving money. I find many businesses here much worse than Scottish ones. They fight for every grosz. I went to Tesco to pick up 10 items, as did the missus. Much to my dismay, the friggin checkout counters for 10 items or less were closed. The rest of the lines were HUGE. I was peeved at that.

This is one area where Poland shouldn't follow the West. Profits at the expense of decency and customer service.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Well, yeah, that's how it should be. I'd let her ahead of me anytime. Poles stare on in amazement when I allow somebody with about 15 small items to zap through the barcode scanner ahead of me.

I've also lost count of the number of times I've said, 'You're welcome', to people who haven't given their thanks when they blatantly should have. The most common situation being holding the door open for them.

Good manners cost nothing. When I wait beside a parked car because the pavement is too narrow for 3 of us (2 of them and me), they walk past and don't even acknowledge me. A mere 'dziękuję' would be ample. I got so pissed off with this basic lack of etiquette that I just barged on through the last time. What are they gonna do? I'm much bigger than them.

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Yeah, I've noticed that some people move your cue when you are cueing to pot a ball and that is frustrating ;) ;)

Nah, in all seriousness, WB made some really relevant points. Queuing properly would help. No going to the front of the queue under the pretense of wanting a form to fill out, then receiving a full 20-min service.

Smiling helps. Even if it's not always reciprocated, do it often enough and it may be. The Kennedy quote was golden here. Change comes from within.

WB was offering sound constructive criticism here.

Also, Poles could learn that there are many beautiful places around them and that money isn't the most important thing. 'Pieniądze to nie wszystko'.

Love / The age of consent in Poland is only 15 [147]

As I posted elsewhere, a 13 year old is entitled to have sex in Austria, provided that their partner is less than 3 years older than them. The standard age of consent there is 14.

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

I'm a little late here but here we go.

You can have collective and proper nouns which don't require a or the.

Many Poles say, the Poland. Poland doesn't need the as it's a proper noun. Much in the same way as we don't say the Greg but just Greg.

There are rules, yes, but many times you have to feel it. You can also just change the contruction of something, e.g Jamie's room or the room of Jamie's.

I can help you with this but it is a sticky issue for native speakers too.

Watch this. Cats are felines. The cats in the UK are bigger. The basic rules to start from are that a/an (the indefinite articles) are singular. These articles are general and not as specific as the.

A chair is brown, for example
The chair (which I am looking at, thus a specified object) is beige.

With individual mountains, we don't use the. Mount Everest, Gierlak, Ben Nevis and Snowdonia for example. For mountain chains, we do. Examples include The Alps, The Himalayas, the Pyrenees and The Rocky Mountains.

Also, for a collective species, we use the to signify this. The lion is a brave animal. We are not talking about one lion which we may be looking at at that moment, more about the lion as a species of big cat. Usually, we'd just say 'lions are brave'.

News / Poland's Vietnamese: A tough transition but they're surviving [31]

Good thread by Greg. I was discussing this today, albeit in small part. They represent a major ethnic group here. There was even a guy on the televised karaoke program who did pretty well. He is from Vietnam but knew Polish fluently.

News / Poland Should Beef Up Military [286]

Some provocation there. I'd doubt that somehow but it may well be superior. France is also a nuclear power thus a deterrent force.

News / Poland Should Beef Up Military [286]

What's gonna happen is that evidence is gonna be butchered again, much like the WMD's. That'll give them their pretext. If nothing changes, Israel has no real right to go in. Why hasn't it gone in before?

Iran has been compliant with many of its regulations. You have to read both sides. Israel don't have a right to speak of violations given their appalling record under the UN. No, I'm not anti-Semitic, just speaking the truth.

News / Poland Should Beef Up Military [286]

Well, the man is intelligent but very silly at the same time. He needed to keep towing the line that he likes Jews and he is open to dialogue. Why he went ahead and made an inflammatory remark is beyond me. He had the chance to build up his arsenal and keeping his trap shut.

Were he to acquire a WMD, he'd've been able to raise the argument that NK has had them for a long time. But no, the fool went ahead and gave America a golden pretext for employing the pre-emptive doctrine by talking of making states vanish.

What is on his side is the notion that Russia are behind them. America will not go into Iran unless you know otherwise. Obama would not plunder America into a broader fight.