USA, Canada / Would you live in California, USA? [240]


But once you make that decision you've given millions of people an incentive to bring their kids with them when they illegally cross the border. Incentives matter.

Law / Polish citizenship by petition to the president of Poland? [66]


because they are born citizens and the natural assumption is that they will learn the common language instead of being a pest and demanding services that they haven't earned


you sure do have a lot of demands... what can you offer that would make it worth the Polish state's time?

USA, Canada / Would you live in California, USA? [240]


They have to have legalized their stay at some point.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


That's not an insult used in Poland, they'd probably just be confused or think you're drunk or something.

Quick what's the insult for groups of men (begins with P)?


English speaking kids do, Poles don't.

Pan/Pani means you're keeping your distance, ty means there's no need for distance. Kids learn that from day one (that is Polish speakers do which obviously lets you out)

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


not really an issue for most people


A native speaker of Polish would know that panna hasn't been used as a form of address since long before your supposed departure. for someone who supposedly spent his first twenty some odd years in Poland you have gaping holes of knowledge of the kind that people don't forget... On the other hand, an English speaker trying to pass for a Pole might well be confused and think you can refer to random young women as Panna.... certainly just after barging into a room full of priests and demanding they answer your questions

to help you fake this in the future if you're addressing someone you don't know who's not a small child then use Pan/Pani, using ty with them is like approaching an American you don't know and hugging them and slapping them on the back - an invasion of personal space (which is psychological in Europe rather than physical)

I also notice you don't attack any part of English that is uselessly complex and do cause real problems to native Polish speakers like articles or sequence of tenses or zero complementation etc.Poles don't bother with that totally useless a vs the,

you bought the rug / a rug? who can tell?

I need a / the new phone? what benefit is gained by having to decided whether to use 'the' or 'a'?

How much more elegant and simple Polish is!

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

I'm sure he believes it... Did you ever see the movie "The Grifters"?
Anette Bening's character is remembering the business men she used to con:
"They were making money when everybody was making money. They think that means they're smart"
People who brag about making money when times are good remind me of that....

Law / Polish citizenship by petition to the president of Poland? [66]


but not at the expense of their knowledge of Polish the common language of those with Polish citizneship (or ability to navigate mainstream Polish society)

Let us know when you get that passport....

Work / Can a Poland work permit holder can work in Denmark/EU? [44]


Ask for an "Ice cream and ponies" visa....

USA, Canada / Would you live in California, USA? [240]


Why should immigrants to Poland have to become fluent in English in three years? Panie Chamie?

Law / Polish citizenship by petition to the president of Poland? [66]


So they can use those suddenly convenient Polish passports to get to Western Europe.... If their ancestors didn't even speak Polish and they regard living in Poland as an ordeal then it's a very good thing if they can't get those precious passports to somewhere else.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


There are occasional marginal uses of Pan/i with ty verb forms, put "pan jesteś" into google for some examples...


I guess you'd prefer "Good morning, you. Did you actually...." using Pan/Pani isn't any more taxing for a person of normal intelligence than remembering titles and honorifics"

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


They do that ALL THE TIME!!!!!! Haven't you ever heard Polish people talking before? Or could you understand?

I'm not saying Doug's right all the time (or any of the time) but his rhetoric is pretty normal for Poland, which if you were reallllyy Polish you'd realize.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


I wouldn't call it defending, and I often don't agree with him. But he doesn't say anything worse about Poland than you hear living in Poland ten times a day. As I said, it's only those on the margins who are insecure about their Polish identity are hyper-sensitive to criticism, justified or not


Of all the things to dislike PiS for, the use of 'post-communist' as a slur is up there toward the top, as it implies there's something bad about being after communism (and implies that the PRL was better than anything between 1990 and PiS winning an election. Terrible rhetoric.

And at Ieast I (and Doug) can be bothered to live in Poland instead of skulking around and fuming at the world from wherever you are in Western Europe.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


Although in the service industries it's sometimes possible to use 'the gentleman' or 'the lady' in direct address.

Would the gentleman be so kind as to sign here?

Would the lady like anything else?

Old fashioned and kind of pretentious but certainly possible.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


He's right there (to some extent). In spoken American English the words lady and gentlemen are often used to refer to people you don't know (especially if they are within earshot)

Donnie, stand still and let the gentleman pass.

I think I know that lady over there in the green blouse.

I wonder how Rich liked being called Pan by bureaucrats....

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


you?

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


stop using an important topic (on its own) as a cheap distraction

I have no idea how fluent he is, I think a person is fluent enough if they can deal with bureaucracy (and things like medical care) on their own without an interpreter and read newspapers and understand news broadcasts. is there evidence he can't do that?

And in the EU citizenship with a particular country is kind of a non-issue.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


Nothing he says is more negative than the things I hear Poles say every day, he's well assimilated.

It's only those marginal figures who are insecure about their Polishness (because they don't live here or don't have citizenship or whatever) that make a big deal about not criticising Poland, real Poles are well aware of the problems in the country and complain, loudly and clearly about them constantly.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


Forced to show respect for other human beings (rather than just bargin into rooms and yelling at them). How very tragic for you.

How did bureaucrats address you before you left?

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]


Yes, a real native speaker who completed higher education would not find Pan/ty or second vs third person Pan confusing. A Russian troll, on the other hand, probably would....

Study / Any fraternity hazing in Poland? [2]

Why don't you come to Poland and barge into some room and demand to know where the frats are? I've never heard of anything remotely like social fraternities (with houses and pledges etc) in Poland and if you were Polish chances are that you would know that.


I went to a large land grant state university and only a small percentage of students belonged to fraternities (which were essentially rich kid social clubs).

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


I sincerely doubt that...

Life / My Last Link To Poland Died - Why Leaving Poland Was My Best Decision [249]

Seems like a pretty harsh indictment of your mother....

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


If he was passing himself off as me, yeah, I'd want someone to call.


you are exceeeeeeedingly tiresome and about as Polish as a Mexican iguana vete pendejo

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


I considered sending a facebook friend request but then decided it was too much work.

I expect we'll either never hear from him again or he'll have some fanciful story to explain it all... (I'm hoping the second, it'll be hilarious)

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

I'm not Polish, I'm American (most of my ancestory is German) and your very first post here is really nasty (along with all the follow ups) and _now_ you're wondering why people aren't showering you with roses?

Travel / Poland - never again [593]


See? You should have flown into Warsaw, then you could have shown your passport to a Polish border guard and had four more fascinating stories to tell..

Hadn't you heard of Schengen? Poland has been part of it for years now. I don't care about the Polish German border but it used to be a hassle going to Budapest from Poland since there were three border crossings (poland-czech, czech-slovak, slovak-hungary) with two teams of customs and passport checkers at each one, much more convenient now.

Life / My Last Link To Poland Died - Why Leaving Poland Was My Best Decision [249]


just as no one here cares about you.... go back to watching or molesting sheep or dying of boredom, whatever the national pastime of New Zealand is (I'm betting on the last)

Life / My Last Link To Poland Died - Why Leaving Poland Was My Best Decision [249]


A vow which you sadly broke.... why couldn't you keep your promise?

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Looking in a mirror again?