News / Polish hero pilot lands 767 without wheels. (Warsaw) [191]


Seems it was a LOT stewardess who broke her leg. I guess you'll have to find something else to bash yanks about.

Love / Advice Please! Meeting my Polish boyfriend's parents!! Gifts, customs... [105]


Yes, you sound like someone concerned with respecting the customs and mores of a place you are about to visit. Hehehehe
Anyway, flowers for the mother and a bottle for the father seem to be standard. The better the booze the more points you will score. Doesn't have to be Wodka, but if Wodka, Chopin or Bellevedere.

My wife says:
"Firm handshake for the father and kiss mamma's hand." (Corney, maybe, but it worked for me.)
"Eat whatever is offered. And praise to the heavens anything home-cooked."
"If you don't speak Polish, nod, smile, and say OK a lot in response to whatever is said to you."
Also, most Brits seem to think Poles over heat their houses a lot. Even as an American who spent the last 40 years in California I think they over heat a bit.

Oh, and learn to sing "Sto lat". If you're there for more than 3 days an occasion while arise in which it will be appropriate.

News / Polish Diaspora - many of these 20 million actually speak Polish? [79]


Actually, nationality is a fairly new concept. Ethnicity is a much older concept.

History / Why have Poles contributed so little to Academics? (Particularly Science) [180]


I would say that winners of the Nobel prize are also a minority.

Life / Typical Examples of Polish Parking Entitlement (post yours) [57]

I always get pissed when I see cars parked over the lines, but then I remember times when the only place left to park was straddling a line and the cars that started the chain reaction were gone by the time I got back to my car. There's my car looking like some of these photos .....

USA, Canada / A typical Polish American wedding [25]

Come on, we all know that in the US or Canada people would say "You must have gone to a lot of trouble to make such beautiful costumes!" and in Poland they would say "What? You can't afford a new suit?" lol

News / What's the stupidest question asked about Poland? [414]


OMG!!!! There ARE pingwins walking the streets of Poland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


While looking for a house in Poland I came across an ad for a house that had "gas, water, electricity, telephone, internet, and the possibility to install an indoor toilet"

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]


I didn't mean to stir up so much ****.
My first year as a resident in Poland was spent in Chorzów. Not a place known for the purity of its tap water. And I was speaking about the attitudes of the Poles I had talked to about tap water quality, not about the actual quality of the water. Sorry if I introduced a badger to your underwear drawer. :->

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]

Hi mcm,
I don't know much about oil burners, but I keep hearing that coal and wood are the most economical way to do things here. Underfloor heating seems to be popular now so it might have been around 10 years ago. Are you sure it's not forced air? If you are thinking of buying the place it would be well worth your while to pay a specialist to come have a look around. And tell him about your plans for a log burner and ask about a chimney. We just had a fireplace installed and fixing the chimney was the most expensive and time consuming part of the process!

Witam w Polsce!

Life / Water from wells in Warsaw - Safe to drink? [24]

On my first trip to Poland we stayed with my wife's Aunt and Uncle. When I said I was going to the kitchen for a glass of water Ciocia offered me tea, coffee, soda, milk, hot chocolate, and anything else she had in the house or could send Wujek out to buy. When I said "No Thanks, just a glass of water." and continued toward the sink she (5'3"?) tried to wrestle me (6'6") to the ground while yelling for my wife to come talk some sense into my head.

This was in Chorzów, near Katowice. Maybe all the mining and heavy industry in the area had something to do with it.

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]


I was thinking that the heating system water might be full of anti-corrosive chemistry and other such things. But then most Poles I've talked to can't believe anybody drinks tap water...

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]

In our case the hot water was metered at the apartment and the heating charged according to a gadget on each radiator that somehow measured the heat used, not the amount of water through the radiator. My point (I have one) being that there were two completely different systems although it all came from the same plant.

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


Would you trade it for a good central Poland cat? :->

Law / Staying in Schengen - are American exempt from the 90-days-in/90-days-out rule? [23]


I DID apply for a visa. And the Polish consulate refused to give me one, telling me I was good for 90 days under Schengen, and that I would have to apply for a long term permit in the województwo where I was going to stay.

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


Some of us are still trying to acquire your insiders knowledge!
Could it be that there is too much competition from "for profit" second hand stores? I've noticed quite a few of them and my wife gave me that blank stare of total incomprehension (I see it a lot) when I asked what charity they supported.

USA, Canada / Polish man's visit a nightmare - Welcome To Canada [65]


How dare people generalize about Canadians being a**holes! After all, we're not Americans!
Is that what you're saying????

Life / Expats/Immigrants in Poland: Needy, Greedy or contributor. Which one are you? [118]


Except my better half won't let me go to pubs and there don't seem to be any expat hangouts that I've been able to find, so I have to tell my tales of grandeur to the dog. The cats aren't interested.

Language / Polish filler words? [24]

What about 'o'? (sp?) It's a really short, almost explosive sound. I hear it a lot, but it doesn't seem to mean anything.

And on the English side, you forgot "y'know?"

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]

Let's eliminate all the English words from Polish! Then all the French and Russian. Then of course, we have to get rid of the Latin and Greek. Get rid of ALL the foreign words. Then we have to resurrect all the archaic words, or we'll be left with a vocabulary of 12 words.

Love / Are polish women competative about men? [20]

I doubt my wife (Polka) would only blame the woman were I to stray....

History / Are Poles grateful to the Russians for winning the war? [120]


Took on Japan???? They declared war on Japan three days before the surrender AFTER the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"they took on Japan and slaughtered them " might be a bit of an overstatement.


Actually, Patton wanted to re-arm the Germans and head for Moscow after the German surrender. They might have gone for it!

Life / Do Polish parents let/encourage their kids to **** outdoors? [40]

What would the police say if you were to pee into the fountain right alongside him????

Life / Question about hot water in Poland and the use of water heaters? [52]

I'm fairly new to Poland so my experience is limited and anecdotal, but from what I've seen space heating and hot water come mostly from city services in the cities and coal or wood furnaces in rural areas. Electric heaters and boilers are very expensive to run and gas lines don't exist in many areas. And when I asked my wife why we couldn't get a tank on the property and have gas delivered by truck she thought I was joking.

History / Are Poles grateful to the Russians for winning the war? [120]

Is that kinda like saying that Poles should have been grateful to Imperial Russia because the Russians didn't let the Prussians and Austrians have all of Poland in the partitions?

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]


You probably have no choice in that matter. The kiss on the hand will be thought charming by the woman getting it and silly by everybody else (my experience anyway). But who cares about everybody else?

Travel / Katowice Airport to Katowice centre-whats best way to get there ? [10]

PennBoy
Maybe next time they will write a script with Katowice spelled Kahtoveetsuh. I cringed every time he mispronounced the name!

Life / Struggling young Polish couple - try to solve their problem [176]

My wife and I just bought a house in Poland. While looking for a mały biały dom we found hundreds of half built places for sale at a low price. Maybe they could look into that? The caveat being, there might be a reason the original owner gave up on it...

Love / What are my chances of finding a decent Polish lady? [24]

I married a Polka because the woman I love is Polish. I didn't marry her because she was a Polka!

Polonia / Inquiry about invitation letter to Poland (I'm from the Philippines) [12]

Hi Jasmin,
If you sent any money I would say it's time to look for another friend.
Where and how did you meet him?