Life / You are Polish if... [433]


I once had 2 people quit, saying that i didn't give homework... I did... they just never did it.

My boss told me that it is impossible to give Polish students too much. They, allegedly, love to complain but feel secure when they are treated like the last donkey in town and have it heaped on them.

Another time, I was using an upper-int book in a non-exam class and I used a lot of extra materials, reading, books, job-interview practise. One girl quit, saying we hadn't had enough unit tests and she was worried because we weren't far enough into the book...

Since then, I glue to books in a way that would make a callan teacher squeal. No complaints!

Life / You are Polish if... [433]

... if you want to change teachers because the Native Speaker can't give you a translation of 'bigos'.

... you moan like hell about too much homeworks and too many tests but then change teachers with the excuse that you don't get enough.

... you think reading you neighbour's answers, or talking to them about the answer is a legitimate, ethical exam technique.

... you are in a beginners/elementary English class and you still can't work out how your teacher knew your homework was cut-and-pasted from Wikipedia.

Life / You are Polish if... [433]

... if you think chicken cutlet and potatoes is a uniquely Polish meal.

... you think 'dumplings' is the most accurate translation of 'pierogi' (in fact, if you think piergogi are dumplings).

... your parents (or you) regularly add 2 zeroes to any price because you're thinking of old currency.

Life / You are Polish if... [433]


I know that feeling. I was on a coach from London to Poland. I'd just got on as they were about to leave and the stewardess told me to sit down so they could leave the station (I could stand up after). There were only 2 seats and so I sat in the nearest. The old bat I sat next to kept huffing and moaning, asking why i did sit next to the girl further up, because she was nearer my age! I tried to explain that it was just for the moment... (not as if I preferred the company of a moany old cow who seemed to think she'd paid for two seats, to the company of a young lady).

History / Is Jozef Pilsudski the king of modern Poles? [138]


and, ironically, used a lot of commie-style tactics to do it.


Isn't his heart now in Lithuania ?

Work / Do private ESL schools in Poland operate year-round? [5]

A lot depends on how much business they have. The school where i work has a lot of business contracts, so these carry on during the summer, as do some of the EFS run courses. We offer summer courses but they are often cheaper than usual ones. They are also a bit thin on the ground, so many of the NS get summer work in UK.

Life / Gran Torino - Walt Kowalski, the movie [39]

I think a few people did complain about a 'racist' been shown as a possible hero, but I'd say they missed the point. The banter between the men shows that their 'racism' isn't actually that deep when it comes to individuals.

Walt is prepared to accept a person for their own worth, not necessarily based on their race. The banter between the men allows racist comments to be made but only by someone who is respected and whose respect has been earned/given.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

Exactly. The Paignton school was 'paying' about 8.45 and hour (it was about 4 years ago), but my Polish wage was over 50zl then.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


If you're talking about a teacher in a state school, you might have a point. However, as a native speaker in a private school in a small city of north Poland, I found I was on a higher wage than one of the bigger schools in UK was offering in a prime location (Paignton). Also a hell of a lot more than I earned as a factory temp a couple of years ago.

Genealogy / Origins of ruttkofsky or ruttkofska last names [11]


I have a young Polish girl (nationality) in my class in Poland whose name end with -ski, because she was born in US and, for some reason, they didn't recognise or use the -ska ending in official paperwork.

Now, could be that your GG was registered by a female member of the family and whoever wrote the names down gave them all the name -ska because of the mother's name (for argument's sake). maybe later he was able to give all the kids the -ski/sky ending.

Maybe there is a case of an unmarried mother, and the -ska form was used because it was the mother's name... lot's of simple reasons.

Don't assume whoever wrote the paperwork was either literate or familiar with Polish spelling (especially if the incomers wrote Russian cyrillic, as may be possible).

History / Were these Polish people communists? [16]

My history might be a bit dodgy but Dmowski was dead before communism took over Poland.

Didn't Roman Giertych's father vote in favour of martial law under Jaruzelski?

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]


Glad you like it. sadly it's not my own.

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]


Serves you right for going to the palace of evil!


Well, there has been a number of laws passed on exhausts.


In UK public drunkenness, littering and anti-social behaviour can be prosecuted.


In Poland it would probably be a waste of time. I know a fair number of people who don't smoke but they are probably too tolerant or passive for their own good. If a place is too bad i just don't return, but who cares about me? There'll be someone else to buy beer in my place.

Let's be clear, I have no problem sitting in a well-ventilated, room, even with smokers at my table. It is these places which just turn into fug-holes and the door has to be opened before there's any air.

Work / Morgue Job in Warsaw and what is the average pay?. [7]


Ho ho!

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]


I'm not talking of restaurants, I'm on about pubs. In a country like Poland there is very little consideration that non-smokers might have a problem, so few pubs bother. I'd be a hermit if I did that.

As the saying goes; cigarettes produce smoke, it gets in my hair and over my clothes. I like beer, which produces urine. Would you like it if I p1ssed over your head?

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]

Yep, I'd agree with that.

The other thing is that I don't think many people would go to a non-smoking pub when all their friends want to go to a smokey hole.

Work / Morgue Job in Warsaw and what is the average pay?. [7]

Sounds like a dead-end job!

Sorry, you've probably heard that too many times.

I'd tell her before she finds out anyway.

Life / Do you think a smoking ban would be a good thing in Polish restaurants and Bars? [217]

No, there aren't. few of the pubs have air-conditioning. They might start out ok in the early part of the evening, but by the time the place fills up it get's hellish. If we want to catch a music gig, then we expect to be reeking of smoke and having headaches later.

Now, I've never smoked, but it's not that I'm a rabid anti-smoker. I used to work in bars and hang around with smokers all the time. I think age is just catching up with me.


Yep, I know what you mean.

Mind you, a ban in pubs wouldn't be too bad for them, they could always go for a drive and have a smoke at the whell.

Genealogy / Some Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian Second Names look Polish! [38]


Not sure I agree, just looking at my class list last night, out of 25 students I have:

Romanowski
Fiorkowska
Markowski
Wrzykowski
Krasowski
Rutkowska
Gutkowski

plus I know of people with names like:

Czechowski
Kochanowski

Perhaps important to consider that in Yugoslavia you could choose your 'nationality' from any of the major ones (Croatian, Serbian, macedonia etc) or just be "Yugoslavian", so what might appear to be Macedonian might be originally Serbian or Bulgarian (or even Greek names)


Might be germanised versions of slavic names. Maybe someone 'decided' to become German, or the family lived so long in a german area that they just 'became' a german family. I've also heard of Germans/Jews who adopted Polish names for a variety of reasons and perhaps just 'polonised' their german/yiddish name.

Work / Considering doing a PhD in Poland: ECTS doctoral studies [10]


No, looking into it now but might have been too long. Mind you, first year of the course was an MSc by research (which I do have).

Received this interesting little note today from an official site. Might be of use to someone else too.

[b]if you have carried out part of your doctoral studies in UK you may try to have the credits recognised towards a doctoral programme in Poland. In this case you have to contact the university. In Poland one can start doctoral proceeding without having done doctoral studies. According to art. 12. of the Act of 14 march 2003 on the academic degrees and the academic title as well as on the degrees and the title within the scope of art.

The degree of doctor shall be awarded to a person, who:

1) holds a professional title of magister, magister inżynier, lekarz or another equivalent title;

2) has passed successfully doctoral examinations within the scope defined by the council of an organizational unit;

3) has presented an defended a doctoral dissertation.

The doctoral examination shall be held in the scope of:

1) basic discipline corresponding with the subject of the doctoral dissertation;

2) additional discipline;

3) modern foreign language.

In this case you have to go directly to the faculty or scientific institute authorised to award a degree of doctor.

More detailed information regarding recognition of foreign qualifications in Poland are available on the following website:

nauka.gov.pl

Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]



Granted. The whole thing was an exercise in Nation Building. That's why I stress the irony of it.

Language / Polish and Hungarian, how similar? [53]


Ironically, after WW1 Polish ethnologists undertook research which showed these groups spoke a dialect of Polish, and so were Polish. After WW2, with Akcja Wisła, they had suddenly started speaking a dialect of Ukrainian!

Work / Considering doing a PhD in Poland: ECTS doctoral studies [10]

I have absolutely no idea how it works.
My uni didn't do credit system at that time, anyway (not sure it does now in its own system). According to the Bologna website there is no general agreement about use of credits for '3rd cycle' degrees (PhD etc) but it says 'in theory' it is possible.


Oh, I'm surprised to hear that. Mind you, I'm approaching Warsaw mainly (although it's hard finding a supervisor).

Life / You are Polish if... [433]


geograph.org.uk/photo/905902

A notorious pub sign in England. The name of the pub is "All Labour in Vain" (ie 'wasted effort')

Language / Polish or any Slavic language key to any other Slavic languages? [126]


Might have a latin/french root.


There's also the argument that it is a political thing, declaring Scots a 'dialect' rather than a 'language' somehow diminishes it and puts in under English. It's the old "the difference between a language and a dialect; a language is a dialect with a bigger army".

When I was at Glasgow Uni one lad became the first person in the uni's history to write his degree totally in Scots (apart from the papers he wrote in Gaelic). However, this was only made possible by agreeing to consider Scots as a 'variety of English'.

It's important to consider that up until the printing press each area of England and Scotland used it's own regional dialect. With the printing revolution it became more important to use just one main variety, which ended up being the Oxford dialect.

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

Don't point out that Chinese/Mexican/Japanese/Indian cuisine in restaurants across the world doesn't usually come with chopped salad (containing pickled cabbage)

Life / You are Polish if... [433]


I imagine a lot of Poles take pills for their hypochondria.

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


Oh, this isn't tests I'm talking about, it's just activities.

As for tests... I don't know how true it is but my Polish colleague, who is heavily involved with running local Cambridge exams (FCE etc), told me Cambridge had to redevise their format for staging the listening exams because of a high number of students recording the test on mobile phones (photo and recording) and then selling it over the net. Two main culprits; Greece and.... oh, maybe you can guess the other one.


Now, isn't that somethin g to do with covering their backs. I heard about a mother whose son was disciplined for cheating in an exam and she was attempting to sue the school because she claimed he'd never been told he couldn't cheat. A bit like McD's putting 'hot liquid' labels on their coffee cups.