Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]


So what are you basing your observation on?

askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutenglish/mostwords


George Soros was brought up on socialism and communism while using the capitalist system to enrich himself - not Esperanto.

USA, Canada / What do the Poles hate and love about the U.S.? [170]

Here's just one group that benefited greatly from the 1965 imigration law change. I'm not trying to single them out but I found a specific reference to the Kennedy act here - that's why I'm bringing it up.

"...In the mid-1960s, a third wave of Arab immigration began which continues to the present. According to El-Badry, more than 75 percent of foreign-born Arab Americans identified in the 1990 census immigrated after 1964, while 44 percent immigrated between 1975 and 1980.This influx resulted in part from the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 which abolished the quota system and its bias against non-European immigration.

everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Arab-Americans.html


I agree, that's what I've read about it before.

USA, Canada / What do the Poles hate and love about the U.S.? [170]

Ron West - I think those census stats are pretty useless in this discussion. After all, how many Poles or other nationalities do you really think would put "illegal alien" in that box?

Many Poles overstay their visas but so do many other nationalities.

It's despicable that our government won't "favor" true allies such as Poland; a prime example without a doubt. It's really more about the racial or geographical political correctness than anything else.

In the mid 60s Ted Kennedy sponsored legislation which put an end to the white european immigrant "discrimination" - at least when viewed by non-Europeans that is.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act, INS, Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89-236) abolished the national-origin quotas that had been in place in the United States since the Immigration Act of 1924...

(my own comment -- the "old" quotas favored very heavily people from past large American immigrant groups: British, Irish, Germans, Poles, Swedes, etc., etc. Reasoning was - those groups brought prosperity and success to this country - let's keep a similar "national make-up" in the future by bringing in immigrants from similar regions. After 1965 no more... Political correctness became the mantra.)

...It was proposed by United States Representative Emanuel Celler of New York, co-sponsored by United States Senator Philip Hart of Michigan (known as "the Conscience of the Senate"), and heavily supported by United States Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts - all Democrats.[1]

Immigration shift

By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations which changed the ethnic make-up of the United States.[3] Immigration doubled between 1965 and 1970, and doubled again between 1970 and 1990.[1]The most dramatic effect was to shift immigration from Europe to Asia.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965?wasRedirected=true

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


...not a woman so I won't ever be able to fully understand but I've been told before that being pregnant is an extremely emotional time, for some more so than others.

Being away from "home" and living in a foreign country is hard enough. Throw in a pregnancy into the equation and all the 'rules of engagement' have just been changed...

Real Estate / Mortgages for apartments in Poland - what currency? [9]

I think the local currency is most logical; what if the value of Złoty drops by 20% a year or so from now versus the currency your loan is in?

By the way, what currency do you get paid in? If it's in let's say Euro then I guess a Euro loan would be OK, otherwise stick to the known factor...

Study / Studying Swedish in Krakow [11]

Well, not in Kraków but you can try free lessons here from SzwedwPolsce, Sasha and myself.

You can also try the broken version of Swedish some people refer to as Norwegian LOL - Grunwald will hook you up there... ;)

Lycka till (good luck)

Just kidding about giving lessons but feel free to PM every now and then if you have question...

Life / Russian Language - is it offensive if I speak it to Polish people? [69]


A great analogy...

Of course, Germany never invaded Sweden - Russia on other hand invaded Poland on many occasions... ;)

To answer Marvel1990's initial question... If you pinch your nostrils you can temporarily avoid the worst smells out there...

Similarly you should be able to use Russian while in Poland... LOL

PS. Do you enjoy when people ask you questions in Spanish while in Ohio, etc. or when you have to chose: "For English, Press 1; Para Espanol, Oprima Numero Dos" in your own country?

I'm just sayin'

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


I see your point but I think as long as there's some kind of connection to the subject - it should be allowed.

If I posted here trying to sell womens underwear made in China - then yeah, I would've agreed with you 100%.

Anyways, that's my obviously biased view on the subject...

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


No, but I think the rest of the post was...

Does every single word in a reply have to be on the subject? A pretty extreme position, isn't it?

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

OFF Topic - The idea of every word staying exactly on topic in a reply is simply unrealistic.

You (the mods) are killing so many nuances of this virtual conversation by cherry picking some replies to stay here while removing others to the dump bin.

In my view my reply WAS on topic especially in the light of a possible future divorce (which I hope will NEVER happen). The person who started this thread asked for advice and I think the advice should touch on every possibility out there; even subjects that are uncomfortable for us to discuss.

Some people here claim that if the divorce happens it'll be tougher for him to hang on to the custody of the child since he's a man. I agree with that sentiment to a certain degree - and I think that's yet another reason why he should do whatever takes to save his marriage.

So a picture of a glass of JD is on topic is it? You need to get familiar with the rules. If your post is not on topic in the public section of the forums, then it will get moved to the random chat thread, where you can carry on with your conversion.

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

Patrycja - no problem. Thanks for the reply. Looks like we basically agree, my point was, fix the marriage first, she's unhappy for a reason. Find out what it is and see if there's a way to compromise. The comment I made about the child is that the little girl has a mommy and a daddy and it should always stay that way.

Ok, thanks again for the reply.

I'm out of here, time for some jack & coke and maybe a mai tai later tonite - cheers, skål, na zdrowie, okole maluna or kanpai, whatever your flavor happens to be...

LOL

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

Thanks for the great response Patrycja. Nice way of ripping me a new one by taking out a tiny section of what all of my replies suggested to Józek.

Well, at least your views are truly unbiased here... ("sarcasm smiley" if I had one)

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

Good post Chris. I agree with you and probably shouldn't have written the "so - what does best for the child really mean?". Oh well, sorry.

Off the subject - 32 inch waist? For a guy? I'm pretty trim but 32 sounds pretty skinny for a guy doesn't it? ...or am I a fatso after all??? LOL

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

Patrycja,

Interesting you're saying I didn't read your post; maybe you didn't read mine? I gave plenty of suggestions on what I would do in his shoes (just a few posts earlier) - read it again, please.

I'm not looking into a male versus female battle - I sincerely hope his marriage will survive and gave him some suggestions on what I think he could do, others gave their advice which is great.

Then you used the term "child's best interest" which as he indicated was something that was very important to him as well.

Since you mentioned it I basically implied the "best interest" wording often means different things to different people. That's all.

So besides giving him my advice on what I would do if I was in his situation I also said that I hope and believe they'll be just fine.

Life / Hepatitis C in Poland...please help. [59]


V99 hepatitis is a contagious disease and you'll be treated in the US whether you have insurance or not. Even Pamela Anderson (who has it too) remarked on the fact some diseases are "free" - not like she needs any money but that's a dif. story. Good luck to you.


I'm sure the documentary was filmed by Michael Fatso Moore or some other thug who refuses to go to Cuba or anywhere else when he gets sick. He should put his mouth where... Never mind, his mouth is too big...

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver.
Hepatitis C is spread mainly by direct contact with blood.
About 4 million people in the United States are infected with hepatitis C virus, and most do not know it.

dhpe.org/infect/hepc.html

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


Zimmy - I agree with you but wanted to point out that the whole sentence you quoted better explains how I feel.

"In several fairly recent cases it looked to me the "child's best interest" basically meant the woman's best interest. "

This is what I meant as I don't think all women are like that; I'm simply saying that's what I've seen in some recent cases, that we (as a society) need to be careful because they are out there.

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

Ooops, je m’excuse, forgot to add Polish as sexy, absolutely... Even though I prefer a female who speaks with smooth and low voice... ;)

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]


While on a trip I ran into an English teacher in Malaysia; he was British but he'd lived in the US for some time. He too said people in Malaysia told him the Am English was easier to understand. I thought it was interesting considering Malaysia used to be a British colony.

Either way, I like both accents/dialect or whatever term you refer. Aussie English is the best though - when a good lookin' Aussie lady speaks "strine" I can listen for hours... LOL

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

Patrycja - for the sake of the discussion - what does it mean when people say "in the child's best interest?"

Often the child doesn't know him/herself - they're too young. It'd be pointless to ask a 6 year old who he/she wants to live with - they'll change their mind every 5 minutes. Besides, it'd be very cruel to make them "chose" a parent.

In several fairly recent cases it looked to me the "child's best interest" basically meant the woman's best interest. The Brazilian case (see the video above) was a prime example. She kidnapped the child (according to all treaties and the Hague children's convention") yet she claimed it was in her boy's best interest.

Tough issue and I hate to ruin the mood of this thread as I hope things will wrok out for Józek and his wife. However when we all say "the child is most important often we mean very different things, wouldn't you say?

Patrycja - meant to add this but missed the 15 minute PF edit dead-line.

Often when a woman sees the odds stack against her - child abuse allegations (by the man) mysteriously appear. My neighbor's brother went through hell when his then wife wanted a divorce and full custody. When he wouldn't give her what she wanted all of a sudden all kinds of stories appeared about his "inappropriate behavior" toward his daughter. I considered him a friend and must admit I too started believing her and pretty much stopped interacting with her ex (he used to live a few blocks away until I moved to a different state).

Fast forward a few years - his ex has now gotten involved with drugs (coke first then meth) and got busted for selling them. When she ended up in prison she finally opened up to her family and told her mom that she'd lied about the child abuse by her ex - she simply wanted the full custody.

So there she was - she got everything she wanted, including the full custody yet few years later ends up ruining everything she so eloquently lied for just to get involved with drugs...

Had she not gotten busted for drugs the entire world (relative term) would still think my friend was a child abuser. Frankly I'm not worthy to be called "his friend" as I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most but he has forgiven me.

It is a tough issue and I hate to ruin the mood of this thread as I hope and think that it’ll all work out for Józek and his wife.

However when we all say "the child is most important" often we mean very different things, wouldn't you say?

USA, Canada / US Green Card lottery for Poles? [19]


Unfortunately no. I agree with you by the way and think green card lottery, visas, etc should be tailored to our true allies but the politicians are in a grid-lock over so many things they can't even begin to debate this issue...

Note, this is just a green card (DV) lottery; only 50 thousand people a year - 'peanuts' compared to the actual amount of immigrants who come in every year to the US. (...and I'm not even talking about the illegal immigrants from south of the border)

state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/sept/129956.htm

For DV-2011, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:

BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]


Józek - right after my military service in Sweden I worked for almost two years in a zink and an iron-ore mine to save up some money. I was a rookie and while I was there it was mandated by our union and the company for all of us to use "light treatment" for seasonal depression (I think there were several suicides right before I arrived).

Northern parts of Sweden do not get much sun light to begin with - there's even less of that deep inside a mine - LOL

Don't know what kind of light bulbs they used and am not sure how it works but it was a large "cafeteria" type of a room and 50 or so guys at a time would spend about 30 minutes a day in that room reading papers, etc.. I never believed in this treatment until one day one of the grumpiest and oldest SOBs who drank 2 gallons of coffee a day started cracking jokes - and the jokes were funny too...

Maybe see a doctor if they have more info on that?

alaskanorthernlights.com/ther_dep.php

Also, my sister lives in Norway and she suffers from SAD. (Although I believe she has SAD because she chose to marry a Norwegian!) LOL

Love / Polish Girls vs Russian Girls [813]

Not beer mixed with juice but juice after beer, correct?

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

I know, I was just keedin'

You see, you can teach Queen's English in Poland after all...

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

In France maybe LOL

We fought a war (well, waaay before my time) not to spell the French way...

You say potatoes I say... taters... :)

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

Angie - just teach them proper English! :)

Besides, your English (CA) is closer to the British English than you think. Just look at how you mispelled "color" ;)

Hope you know I'm keedin' LOL

I'm a guy and disagree with filios1 100%

If he/she is right then I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life...

Love / Polish guys who have never had girlfriends [71]

PolishLover2009 - are you very outgoing, popular, etc.? Just read your second post so it sounds like he's known you for a looong time thus he knows your past and every guy you've dated, etc.

I think he's simply very intimidated by you. We, the guys, like to pretend that we're "in charge" every now and then (most of us know better and have no illusion anymore lol) and I think that somehow he feels intimidated around you...

Many moons ago there was this girl I really liked. She smiled at me every now and then but she was always surrounded by other guys, she was pretty and popular. We went to movies a few times and had a great time but I never viewed it as "real dates" - I thought she went out with me just because we were neighbors.

Later I moved to the US, she got married, etc. Then a few years later she had a really tough divorce (abusive husband) and when my sister tried to console her she asked her how come I never wanted her as a girlfriend! Huh? There you have it - they say we are from Mars and you're from Venus but I think we're separated by many Galaxies.

Nicszlu - honesty is always best. Since writing doesn't seem to work for you how about Skype? Remember it's free computer to computer... If there's camera on both ends you could always draw a flower for her if you lack words... ;)

Also, write a simple, to the point letter and email it or send it to her facebook account (NOT her Wall that everyone can see :) etc.

Have someone translate your letter into Polish and email it to her along with a 'virtual' flower. ;)

Something like,

Hi ...

My Polish is not good enough to explain this so asked someone else for help with this letter. I find you absolutely fascinating. I'd love to get to know you some more. I hope you'll be coming back to the States really soon and if you do maybe you and I could get together sometime where you could teach me Polish while practicing your English with me? I think you'd enjoy getting to know me.

In the meantime I hope we can stay in touch via email, phone, etc.

Please let me know what you think,

...

Bueno Fortuna! (good luck)

USA, Canada / My wife wants to return to Poland...but I want to stay in the US [155]

My post should NOT have been moved... Józek - hope things work out between the two of you!

the long post was removed for being off topic.

the short post referred to the long post, as well as the op.

members have been informed that if a post is in part off topic the whole post may be sent to Random.

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

Angelina? Oh so it is Angélique LOL

Sorry 'bout the spelling errors in my earlier post - hope the gist of my message got through.


That makes you... straight? LOL sorry resist...

Love / Do you think that Polish should stick to Polish? [128]

Angie or is it Angéli where you live? lol

- I think you really have to let your heart decide on that one. Nationality, heritage, religion, race, etc. should in my mind never be the determining factor. IF it so happens the guy is Polish then it'll be a huge plus but I don't think you should look for someone simply because he's Polish... At least that's how I feel. Good luck!

Oh forgot to mention - personally I hear the best men around are guys of Polish heritage, raised in Scandinavia who now live in the US. However, that's just what I've heard... Just keedin'.

My best friend is an American who married a Brasilian lady of Japanese heritage (they're kids are gorgeous!!!)

It gets better - my friend is an airline pilot and his grand father was was in the US Army 0 captured in Japan and spend almost a year in a Japanese camp. Two years after my friend married his wife he realized that her grandfather (who's a very old and senile man still living in Brazil) was one of the guards who guarded his grand father in the prisoners' camp. That's how her grandfather neded up in Brasil - he was a war criminal who fled Japan after war. My point? Today both of them are a very happy couple despite the odds - let your heart steer you.

Love / Polish Girls vs Russian Girls [813]

Dear God Sasha - it'll be hard to fall asleep tonight... ;)