Life / Jehova's witnesses in Poland - how to deal with them? [110]

Say no thanks politely - if they persist, say it more firmly, if they still persist tell them to go away and slam the door. The exchange should take no more than 10 or 15 seconds.

Should JWs be dealt with in a different way to any other door caller selling you something you don't want?

USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]


Bloody hell! It was all so drifty & dreamy and "Diary of a philosophical objective tourist" up until now!

USA, Canada / EMPIRE STATE BUILDING IN NYC DISRESPECTS POLISH AMERICANS! [88]


Whatever the reason I highly doubt it has anything to do with it and I think it's a ridiculous comment.

Work / Moving to Poland (from the UK) to take a teaching position. Tips? [34]

Yep. This is really a habit of the British/Irish/Americans I think. Most countries are not like this from what I can see.

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]


Yes, a mistake on my part, as mentioned.

Ok since my last sugestion was obviously controversial:

"During communistic times...." I hear this quite often instead of communist.

And on the cultural side, boring I'm sure at this stage and you've heard it all before, and not intended as criticism but genuine advice, Poles, try to smile just a little, sometimes when in Ireland & the UK?

Personally I haven't encountered any anti-Polish comments here but it is often remarked upon that poles always seem so miserable.

Just saying...

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]


LOL - well it was a comment that nobody challenged or remarked upon!

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]


Seriously? Are you certain about this?

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]


Yep, as I should have above ; )

Still, find it a little odd.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


Strange. For me, that was exactly where you would get all manner of drugs - anything really. Outside of college, at that time, I wouldn't know where to go and I probably wouldn't have dared investigate either.

In fact, you were probably considered unusual if you didn't smoke, take mushies, the occasional line...etc etc

Plus as much alcohol as possible on top of it all.

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]


What - during my studies & when I was at St Andrew's university at Fife ?!

Really?

UK, Ireland / Common pitfalls for Poles learning English [187]

Another few:

Ireland only: a common greeting here is simply "Well" especially in rural areas. It's kind of short for "I wish you well" or "I hope you are well". Treat it simply as "Hi" - it isn't, as some Poles have thought (understandably), a prompt requesting information as in "Well?"

:)

Something I hear a lot which sounds odd sometimes is when Poles refer to the time they were at university/college. They tend to either say "During my studies" which sounds a little quaint to me, or, "when I was at the Jagiellonian University of Krakow..etc" which sounds a bit pompous or at the very least, unecessarily detailed. The norm in English would be simply "at college" or "at university"

I'm not being picky by the way, just deliberately concentrating on the less obvious...

Life / Disco Polo - No No No No No! [95]


Yeah, that being the operative word though :)


Do you not just mean you are not a big fan of crap music?
I mean there is good pop music and bad pop music.

Language / I want to learn Polish. Where to start? [180]


It's not perfect but it's pretty good ; )

Surprised at what you say though - yes, Polish seems to be difficult but the two positive things about it would seem to be:

1) It is reasonably logical - certainly more so than English. E.g. a "rule" works about 90% of the time unlike in English where it seems to be about 41% of the time.

2) Pronunciation - difficult, but consistent at least - again, unlike English. I speak very little Polish but I can read it aloud, albeit hesitantly, with reasonable confidence - and poles can understand me.

Life / Disco Polo - No No No No No! [95]


What is it with the bloody Germans and music ?!

Excellent at highbrow, crap at populist.

I mean, classical wise, they are phenomenal, untouchable - goes without saying.

Rock wise - very good at progressive/experimental stuff, but when it comes to basic pop they just soooo bad. It's almost as if they are unable to lower themselves.

Remember that utter git Scooter? He was like a cross between a hairdresser and an escapee from a Hamburg S&M club. Listening to him I could feel the will to live slowly slipping away...

"We were here in '95 we will...etc etc "

:/

Travel / Share Your Travel Experiences in Poland [16]


Just...why?

I don't see why people should have to endure this on the forum.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

No but it doesn't mean it's not there.

Life / Polish culture do's and dont's? [106]


I thought it was just me who thought this. Interesting.

News / Palikot - too liberal/modern for Poland? [197]



None of the above seem like bad ideas to me.


At a whim? Surely a big exaggeration. No country has this.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


I'm very surprised that you can be so sure about this ?!

Life / Polish stereotypes of other nationalities!? [472]


LOL Is it not obvious?

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

I guess the biggest issue for me (and for any users) of all this stuff is the lack of regulation.

Regardless of the supposed potency (or lack of it) or any other undesired reactions, none of this stuff has been tested and it's not goverend by any legislation. Basically, you could be consuming/smoking ANYTHING.

At least with good old fashioned street drugs it was your call, your funeral - they were illegal anyway. But it makes no sense for something to be allowed to be sold but with complete lack of regulation.

I know they get around this sometimes by claiming that it's "not for human consumption" or whatever but it's still grossly irresponsible. It's a bit like the alcopops marketing mentality to me. "Not our fault kids like the taste"

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


As far as I remember this is what happened here too for a while but because shops kept getting raided, the shop owners just gave up in the end.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


Sorry, to be accurate it's not that the shops were banned but the substances in them

Here is the story anyway:

rte.ie/news/2010/0511/headshops.html

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

Well, a little serious then? I dunno much about it.

Banned in dozens of countries anyway so unless it's mass moral panic, I'm sure the stuff isn't exactly harmless.

UK, Ireland / English Films..What Do Poles Think of Them? [33]


Don't understand this - are you maybe referring to series 4, the one set during WW1? If so, there was a certian poignancy to the end, yes, but in general Blackadder wasn't sentimental at all really?!


Personally, I hated it. He probably had as many critics as fans and I can understand the German comparison. Still, for basic slapstick even if it isn't at all clever, the English still managed to create almost a blueprint with Benny!

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


Well it depends what you mean. Some of the stuff in the Head Shops here was serious enough - BZP etc.

Although still not entirely sure that head shop = smart shop - but it seems to.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]

Hadn't heard the term smart shop before - if it's the same as 'head shop' which is what they were known as in Ireland (we sell 'legal highs', herbal stuff, strange pills that haven't just been banned in this jurisdiction yet, smoking parephenalia etc) then that particular niche has recently been extinguished as these shops were banned here in recent months.

However, they were pretty popular.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


So Southern is right on the other thread - Poles do have artificially high IQs

; )

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]

LOL!

(Don't even know the place, but the joke is kind of obvious...)

Life / How Long Before Poland Has Its 'Dumbest Generation'? [84]


Really? Well that then makes a mockery of the whole thing as far as I can see.

The results of a MENSA IQ test that I took a few years back advised that my IQ was 148.

OK, I'm not stupid but let me tell you, I am definitely no Einstein.