Real Estate / ADVICE please: Rightful owner of property in Poland? Property Value? [32]


1) For translation of legal documents, you would need to hire a sworn translator in the first place;
2) sworn translators are bound by the Sworn Translators' Act which dictates that the standard page of certified translation consists of 1125 characters; in non-certified translation, a standard page would be expected to have 1800 characters. So, to a layman, one person would quote, say, 25 per page and another 50, but the former might be speaking of 10 "standard pages" and the latter of approx. 5. Bear that in mind!

Language / Polish nouns of unpredictable gender [50]

kapeć, pypeć, and cieć are used often. Hell, I am wearing kapcie right now! ;-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


You would still have to be able to prove it in a court of law.

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

BTW, I think the Polish police did an admirable job and they deserve a round of applause! How many of you thought the sign would never again be found, or at least not on Polish soil? I am ashamed to admit that I did, for one.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


It's worth doing, or at least was, as there used to be less preservatives used in Polish food production (don't honestly know about the way it is now). So a loaf of bread or tub of whipping cream could really go bad on you in a jiffy. Not that there's anything wrong about that - food is naturally prone to degeneration, and the longer it keeps, the more suspicious I get ;-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]

No. I only noticed afterwards, you see. Bimber asked for examples of ripping-offing, so there you are. I was actually being rather sarcastic :-/

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


About 9 years ago, I went to my local store in Ełk and bought a yoghurt that was past its sell-by date. I still wake up screaming sometimes. I am so grateful I could share this experience with you...

Language / Why in the world there are three ways to write simple U ?!?! [54]


Yeah, especially in words like "drzewo" and "pszenica".
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Polish language, you can take it or leave it. I have studied Latin, Italian, German, and English, and dabbled in Japanese and Croatian, and I obviously know Czech and Polish. Apart from Latin and Croatian, not one of those languages has a logical and easy spelling. There are always rules to memorise, and most of the time, loads of exceptions too. And AFAIR Croatian is only easy to spell if you know the spoken language, because their spelling follows pronunciation exactly, e.g. "hlep" - "hleba", so no easy assumptions there either.

BTW, I know I am feeding a troll here, but I felt like bragging about my considerable linguistic abilities ;-)

Language / Why in the world there are three ways to write simple U ?!?! [54]


"H" used to be voiced, "ch" unvoiced. Czech keeps this distinction very clear. For some reason, Poles stopped pronouncing the voiced "h" approx. 30 - 40 years ago (I can still remember it being used by some when I was tiny). Being half Czech, I used the voiced "h" when speaking Polish till my teens, when I got laughed at by my peers for this and gradually dropped it. ;-)

Language / Why in the world there are three ways to write simple U ?!?! [54]

grzegorj.w.interia.pl/gram/en/gram02.html

...enjoy.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


LOL thanks for sharing! ;-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


ORLY? All of them? Of course some of them are. But it is not true that all towns and villages in the so-called West are neat, clean, and pretty. I have seen some really grim towns in England, for example. And most of London is really depressing. Which is normal - no country is a show-case exhibit. I just take offence to your slamming Poland so indiscriminately.

And as far as technology is concerned - some trappings of civilisation which I took for granted in 2004 Poland, such as same-day bank transfers, only arrived in the UK this year. Nothing's as black and white as you try to paint it.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


I am sincerely sorry for you. You seem to have a bad case of Western Worship ;-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Remember that little piece of paper the sales assistant stamped for you when you last bought a watch or TV set? It's called a warranty agreement. By purchasing the product you enter into this agreement. All issues connected with faulty operation etc are ruled by the provisions of that agreement. The vendor does not enter into the picture at all, except by complying with the said provisions if you bring your purchase back. This is how it works in Poland.


OK OK. Hush... Of course you're right.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Well sorry actually I don't know that. If I had loads of money - then I would get the quality. But then I would get high quality for loads of money anywhere in the world.


Thank you! :-) I never knew you had it in you to so nice :-D (And yes, I got the intended sarcasm, but why not take what you say at face value? It's so much nicer that way).


Because I'm articulate, hold an opinion, and actually seem to know what I'm talking about? ;-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


So if they're selling Panasonic goods, what are they supposed to say? They are not a party to the conditions of the warranty. They simply sell the product - as in pass on from manufacturer to customer. If British vendors have a better agreement with Panasonic re: warranty and replacement policies, this is something to discuss with Panasonic going via the proper channels in Poland, e.g. uokik.gov.pl/en/

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Ask Panasonic.


Have you ever actually had to wear Primark? Like every day? I brought all my old Polish clothes over after a year in the UK. I try to buy the absolute bare minimum here.


...working on it... Can't wait to get back. Hey!


I come back as often as possible, to canoe down the Brda for example. Ever done that? Highly recommended. Might help you relax and get off your high horse.

I don't fall over myself praising the UK, you can bet on that. It's a country like any other.


I know I've got two, actually. I don't live in la-la land and I don't get carried away by a misplaced sense of superiority. I just keep on repeating that both Poland and the UK have their good and bad sides, and if you keep moaning about Poland, I can jolly well moan about the UK.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


That's called green, sustainable practice. Or would be, if it was done in the UK ;-p


This has nothing to do with customer service, you know as well as I do that the conditions of the warranty come from the manufacturer, not the actual vendor. If the warranty says "send back for repair" then this is the only course of action the shop can take.

And as far as product quality is concerned, please don't get me started on the utter rubbish I see in the UK. Shoes which fall apart after half of one season. Appliances, admittedly cheap, which stop working almost immediately. Ill-fitting and poor quality clothes - also admittedly cheap. But I am not a top earner, so what am I supposed to do? The rip-off is that those things are cheap to buy, so if they break or shrink in the wash or whatever, it doesn't seem such a loss. But then you need to buy new ones - much more often then if you had bought something of better quality. But you can't afford the better quality. So you end up spending loads of money, not at one time, but in installments so to speak, and still have nothing to show for it. :-(

BTW - I used to buy cheap stuff in Poland too. But it lasted longer, somehow. Maybe the toxic London air is messing my things up ;-P

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


Tell that to Poundland customers.

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]


...just like anywhere else for that matter. Depending on where and what you buy, you'll get a whole range of experiences.
If you use something to cook with, then I'm not surprised the shop doesn't want to take it back. Why so upset about it? Did you pay so much for the damn thing? Personally, I hate plastic kitchen utensils and try to buy stainless steel whenever possible :-)

Life / Ripped Off in Poland? - Expose here: [185]

...and?

News / The "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign theft from Oswiecim, Poland [240]

Forgive me, but this is one of the stupidest things I've read in a long time. :-/

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]

Helloo?! Nobody puts up notices in Polish register offices. You get the certificate of no impediment, present it to the authorities, they file it, end of story.

And it's not only a Polish requirement, hence the following entry on a form for Brits planning to marry abroad:
"To be issued in the case of marriage of two British subjects in a foreign country under the local law [...] To be presented to HM British Consul for the district in which the marriage is to take place'.

Please note: "foreign country" - NOT "Poland"; "district in which the marriage is to take place" - NOT "Poland".

Seems like quite a number of countries do have similar requirements then? And it is the UK's problem if they cannot truthfully state their citizens' marital status and have to issue certificates which certify to nothing at all...

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]


Yeah, I understand that. The thing is, the sworn translator community is as varied as the general populace. You get the old fogies who are primarily foreign language teachers and who earn a bit on the side "sworn-translating" and had gotten their authorisation way back in the sixties and never tried to improve their skills since then; you get real professionals (like myself! [pinch of salt added]) who consider sworn translation just one of the things they do in the general area of translation and interpreting, and who have a reputation to protect; and you get the young ones, who have recently passed their sworn translator examination and who either lack experience, or are willing to sell themselves "for a few złoty more" because they frankly see no harm in it (not that I agree with them, I just think they're both foolish and immoral). So take your pick. If you're not happy with a sworn translator, you don't have to keep coming back for more.

AND - if you encourage the artistic licence in these people, that does make you an accomplice whether they were corrupt to start with or not. :->


This is the UK's problem then, not Poland's.


No, if you wish to marry a Polish citizen and are from abroad, you need to present this certificate to the Polish register office. Also, if two British citizens wish to marry abroad under the local law, they also need to present this to the register office in PL.


...someone too lazy to divorce the first wife? ;-)

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]


For one thing - most sworn translators are also "general stuff" translators; which means that they would have to be schizophrenically divided within themselves to be worst as sworn and normal as non-sworn.

I am a sworn translator myself, and I think I am rather good at my job, I try to correct any mistakes I might have made in the past, and generally hope to be getting better at my job and more professional every day. So there. You can stick your generalisations you know where ;-p


It is not unnecessary, if people are getting married it is good to know that they are actually free to do so. Saves a lot of trouble in the future - when the sh*t could really hit the fan.

Life / Polish Brand names in everyday usage. [6]

pampersy - any disposable nappies
adidasy - any sports footwear
ksero - photocopy (from Xerox)
rower - bicycle, from the brand name Rover (AFAIK)

I'm sure there are more, but my mind is a blank ;-)

USA, Canada / Renewal of Polish passport from the USA [44]


Of course you understand this is illegal? It is called "certifying an untruth" and should never happen. Yeah, sure, some translators do it nevertheless, but if you ask them to, you're actively participating in a criminal practice. The sworn translator is obligated by law and by the oath they took to translate every legible element of a document, not leaving anything out and not adding anything unless in square brackets and marked "translator's note". BTW, British register offices issue very nice official certificates of no impediment which clearly and unequivocally state a person's single status, so why go to all these lengths and cheat into the bargain?

History / What British unit liberated Poland in 1945?? [445]


Was it the Peace Corps?

Life / If I say POLAND, you say...? [100]


Yeah, I would say that Polish people are not outgoing and cheerful towards strangers - any strangers, not just foreigners. But once you smile and start chatting, they tend to become friendly quite quickly :-)

Some people are of course born as pessimists, but that is a completely different story.

Some people, again, may want to manipulate you into a feeling of compassion (and thus "assistance mode") so they deliberately mope and sulk around you. Unfortunately, my fellow Poles are not all saints and angels, and some will do that. Try to avoid people who keep coming back for more help and are always trying to feed you new sob stories. In Polish we call them "sępy" (vultures).

But generally speaking - us Poles are a likeable bunch, though we will never smile just for the sake of looking pleasant ;-)

Life / If I say POLAND, you say...? [100]


...how about "serious"? It would help change the picture (and the mood) a little bit, and would be closer to the truth.


...how about "serious" again? I am sure if you smiled at them, they would smile back, especially if you shop there often.


I know there might lots of shops with that name all over PL, but do you by any chance mean the Kefirek in Ełk? If so, I know the ladies, have often enjoyed friendly over-the-counter banter with them, and do not find them lacking in the courtesy department. Admittedly, they are not all smiles all of the time. But hey, we Polish peeps just ain't built that way!

:-D


no different from "friends" of any nationality... as opposed to real friends...

This just to show you that the things you dislike about Poland don't really exist :-)

BTW, Warsaw seems a beautiful city to me now after 5 years spent in London.