Australia / Australian - Polish Passport / Citizenship [10]

I checked on the UK Polish consulate website in their FAQ:

Q:My grandparents immigrated to Great Britain in the 1940's, 1950's. Am I entitled to Polish passport?
A:In order to determine your eligibility, you need to submit an Application for Confirmation of Possession or Loss of Polish Citizenship to the nearest Polish Consulate.

And here's the detailed information on how to submit the application, supporting documents etc, from the Polish consulate in Sydney:

sydney.msz.gov.pl/en/consular_information/polish_citizenship

Language / Articles - usage in Polish [11]


Not in Polish it isn't. The Polish language has other ways of making one's meaning clear as in Gumishu's example. For that reason amongst others, Polish often tends to be a bit long winded compared to English. Personally I find the lack of any articles in Polish vaguely irritating but at the same time I would never say that the article is 'necessary'. I just accept that it's a different language that doesn't have articles and make the best of it!

News / What impact will Donald Trump's election have on Poland? [331]


Trump will basically party with Putin and Trump's team will run the country.

American politics are utterly ludicrous. Who wants to bet that twenty years from now Donald Junior will be following in Pa's footsteps. The only wonder is that the country is not in worse shape than it is.

Trump will be a difficult man for his team to handle because he's accustomed to being the boss but he has no background in public service and he can't manage this one on his own. They will struggle to get him to do what he's told but ultimately he will.

Take a look at his team and draw your conclusions from that as to America's future domestic or foreign policy. But I wouldn't worry about him doing anything like pushing the button on a nuclear war. They'll have him under sedation long before that!

Oh and Hilary isn't much better, the eyes of a maniac. What a pair.

Life / Marks & Spencer getting expensive in Poland [11]

Well, with respect you certainly can't get the same clothes in Carrefour. The quality doesn't compare.

Language / Collection of learning resources for learning the Polish language [129]


A foreign language should never be taught through the translation method because languages don't translate word for word. There isn't a textbook on the planet that will enable you to do that! So give up on that idea immediately.


You shouldn't be trying to at this stage.


That's a much better approach.

Bear in mind that when a child goes to school in a foreign country where they don't know the language at all, they don't learn by having everything translated into their native language, or by having the finer points of grammar and syntax explained to them. They learn by listening and drawing conclusions about what is being said from the context. (Receptive language)Then they gradually begin to produce those phrases themselves (expressive language). Just using basic Polish with your children every day will make a big difference but it takes about six months to see results.

UK, Ireland / Are Polish people moving back home from the UK? [68]


Buffoons, buffoons my love, or maybe you meant baboons? :))

Language / Is It Possible For... a person who has studied Polish in College for 1 year to get good [3]


I would say that's very unlikely. My husband is Polish and says that he's met people who've lived in Poland for twenty years and still don't speak perfect Polish. He says they can be very, very good but never native level, that with the most fluent foreigners, within a few sentences you will know they're not Polish. It's because of the complexity of the grammar I suppose. He says he's never heard anyone who didn't make mistakes. However maybe some Polish members here will have a different opinion?

Now having said that, there are people who pass advanced Polish language exams which rate them as having full competency in Polish, but I don't think that even they will ever 'sound' Polish to a native Pole, anymore than most foreigners will ever pass as English or American or whatever, regardless of how fluent their English is.


Absolutely. Your age isn't a factor. You could become quite fluent in a conversational sense, even with imperfect grammar but ideally you need to try to get a balance of skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Perhaps studying towards some exams might help you to focus your efforts and it would give you a feeling of being able to measure your progress in definite terms.

I speak fairly basic Polish with loads of terrible grammatical errors but I do manage to make myself understood and can have a conversation with people. My main struggle has always been understanding what people are saying to me. Mowię ale nie rozumiem!

News / Facebook censors nationalists and their planned 11 Nov. march in Poland [50]


I should think so, of course.


A wreath of poppies would be more appropriate. It's not about national pride or the contribution one's nation made to the war, it's about honouring the individual lives sacrificed in the war.

britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary/every-man-remembered

News / Facebook censors nationalists and their planned 11 Nov. march in Poland [50]


That would be understandable though Polly as for them it's Remembrance Day, when the fallen of the two World Wars are remembered. It's quite a solemn day for most of the western world, including America, Candada, Australia and of course many European countries. Nowadays in the UK and Commonwealth nations, it's generally observed as a national day of remembrance on the Sunday nearest to the 11th of November. What about the US

Love / Do Polish guys understand subtlety? [8]

Malia if you're in the early days of your marriage you're going to have to find some compromise around this issue. Don't get too hung up on it. Regarding the engagement ring, another perspective is to see the original ring as a symbol not of pain, but of the triumph of your love over adversity :) But if you really want to start afresh with a new ring how about having a little talk with your husband and suggesting outright that maybe for your next anniversary you might have a new ring for the reasons you've explained here. Then show him some styles that you like and let him do the picking if that's what you want. In my own case, I chose my own ring because I'm a bit fussy about everything I wear, and I love jewellery, so my husband didn't want to risk getting it wrong! But I asked him whether he had a preference about the stone and he said a sapphire to match my eyes - ooh so romantic! I also wore a blue wedding dress for the same reason, he wanted me to have blue, not white.

It's really best to learn how to talk to your husband about what you want, not just regarding presents, but in life in general, rather than hoping he will guess.

USA, Canada / Where can i find Spirytus Rektyfikowany in the USA? [77]

Hi Grazyna, you might be able to get pure alcohol in a pharmacy but only in small quantities I believe.

You might be able to purchase it over the internet. This company ships all over the US:

organicalcohol.com

Work / Five star SPA manager job for English speaking person in Poland? [6]

Hi Maddy. Your background sounds good. Poles are obsessed with their health and very interested in natural remedies. Your ayurveda qualification would be a big bonus I think. In Warsaw I have seen some Drogeria Orientalna with products from India and the far east.

drogeriaorientalna.pl

I still think that your best bet would be to look for a supporting role for a start, perhaps working as an ayurveda therapist in a spa for a year while you improve your Polish and take it from there.

As to your English, it's not just down to typos! I'm a native speaker and a teacher so take my word for it Maddy. I'm not being nasty, I just want to offer a bit of friendly advice. Obviously it's great that you speak English and your English is fine for day to day communication. But you have very basic grammatical errors that detract from the overall impression of fluency. These are the kind of errors that don't matter so much when you're speaking in real life, but are very obvious when writing. Be careful when you're writing applications and try to get an educated native speaker to look over your letter or email before sending it, as any spelling or grammar errors will go against you when you're relying on English as your main language of communication and only have basic Polish.

Anyway to help you in your search:

Here's a place offering ayurvedic treatments with prices:

polandsparesorts.com/wyspa/en,oriental-treatments.html

This looks interesting, ayurveda spas around Europe including Poland:

spadreams.com/ayurveda-in-europe

Here's a link to a price list for a spa that claims to offer 'oriental' massage and therapies but I don't think they'd impress you very much! They don't sound that authentic. Price list is interesting though!

yozen.pl/m/yozen_offer.pdf

And here's a selection of general spas/health resorts:

medi-tour.co.uk/233,0,spa-rehabilitation-poland.html

Plenty to keep you busy over the weekend, researching that lot!

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

Oh he seems to have made a total eejit of himself as usual. However, the Supreme Court challenge by the government will be heard in December so there's still a chance that he's right - he said December or January, typically Irish you see, we find it very hard to commit to anything definite, 'that would be an ecumenical matter' to quote Fr Ted!

Love / Do Polish guys understand subtlety? [8]

Malia, woman's perspective here and I'm married to a Polishy guy. Firstly many men, regardless of nationality, struggle with choosing the right gift. They really prefer the woman to just tell them outright what she'd like. You can see the obvious relief on their faces when you tell them what to get!

Now having said that the culture of communication in Polish society is very direct. People are generally pretty blunt and say what they think. They take you literally, at your word, so if for example, you told a Polish guy not to bother to get you a present this year for your birthday, he would quite probably believe that you really didn't want anything and not get you anything, then he'd be totally bewildered when you're upset at not getting a 'surprise' on the day.

My advice is this. Decide what you want for Christmas or whatever, make a special occasion of the actual buying of the gift together. Get dressed up, go to the store, have fun selecting the gift, then go and have a nice lunch or dinner. No man is going to be perfect in every way. You say yourself that you know your husband loves you so just accept him as he is and count your blessings that you've got a nice guy.

Life / What don't you like about Poland or Polish People? [117]


Thanks for the hilarious typo! I have a feeling that your command, such as it is, of the Queen's, doesn't extend to a knowledge of the bovine community, so for your edification:

en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bullock

Work / Five star SPA manager job for English speaking person in Poland? [6]

Well you know Maddy it's always worth a try, applying for a job and seeing what happens. If you have a good CV with experience somebody might give you a chance. You don't specify what your background is, whether it's more the health/spa end or hotel/hospitality. I suggest you do a bit of googling and make a list of all the five star hotels and spas you can find in Poland. Then explore their career pages and also look at sites advertising hotel and spa jobs. Here's some vacancies at the Hilton in Warsaw. There are a couple of management/supervisory positions. Two that I looked at required fluent Polish and English. But here's one that doesn't specify language at all, however the ad is in English:

hospitalityonline.com/jobs/925761-business-centre-supervisor-kierownik-zmiany-w-dziale-business-centre

Maddy just bear in mind that your written English is not perfect by any means, it wouldn't be considered fluent in the true sense of the word. But it may be enough for some jobs.

Work / Five star SPA manager job for English speaking person in Poland? [6]

If you're looking for a job in management as your thread title indicates, then I would say very little chance without fluent Polish. Really Maddy if you think about it, how would you cope? Let's imagine a Polish customer had a complaint and asked to see the manager and you could only understand 50% of what they they were saying and were struggling to answer them. Basic Polish would just not be enough for such a situation. Then there's all the paperwork side of things. You would have to able to read and understand all documentation and you would have to write letters, emails etc.

If you really want to work in Poland for whatever reason then you might have a chance of a lower level job, if you have a skill or a qualification in health and beauty. Your basic Polish might be enough to get by. (But bear in mind that Poles are not noted for their patience and other workers might get pretty fed up constantly helping you out if you can't communciate with your client). If you did manage to get such a job though a year would improve your fluency. Take classes as well to improve the grammar and reading/writing comprehension. Then you might be able to progress to management.

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

They did indeed, but on the other hand they didn't lay a hand on his son Richard who had succeeded him. He was allowed to simply retire to his country estates. He himself chose to leave England though he returned in his later years and lived well into his eighties. The other son Henry was also left to his own devices and was allowed to keep his estates in Ireland as well as his English property. In a different kind of society, quite a bit of vengeance might have been visited upon Cromwell's family.

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

Parliament couldn't pass such a bill Ziem. Regicide is a treasonable offence :)) Although ironically Ollie Cromwell saw to it that Charles I was executed for treason! It's all delightfully quirky isn't it?

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

Ok, the court has ruled that poor old Tessie needs Parliament's approval to trigger Article 50.

Here's a summary of the judgment. The full thing is 32 pages long but this is only 2 pages and I always prefer to get information from the source and not through journalists if poss. Enjoy!

judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/summary-r-miller-v-secretary-of-state-for-exiting-the-eu-20161103.pdf

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

Not quite sure if I understand you Marsupial, but I think the answer is no because basically an Act of Parliament is just another term for a law. An Act of Parliament either creates a new law or changes an existing one.

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

The UK doesn't have a written constitution in the sense of a single document. It's made up of Acts of Parliament, court judgments and 'conventions' as they are known. The Monarchy is one of the three components of Parliament, the others being the Commons and the Lords. In law, the Queen has absolute and judicially unchalllengeable power to refuse to assent to any bill passed by the Commons and Lords but convention dictates that she invariably does.

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

Judgement due tomorrow morning. In the meantime the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny let something slip today in unscripted remarks at a seminar in Dublin where he said that Theresa May would possibly trigger Brexit in December! He must have heard on the grapevine (ie from the lady herself) that the decision in the case will be in the government's favour and she'll take the advantage and get Brexit going before the disgruntled ones have a chance to go to the Supreme Court.

News / Hypocritical PC dictatorship bans Polish film in Berlin [26]

Plenty of background info on the film here plus 29 reviews by people who've seen it:

imdb.com/title/tt6038600

News / Human Trafficking in and from Poland [80]

Merged: Human Trafficking of Poles into Ireland

A Polish man has appeared in court on charges of human trafficking involving Polish women:


rte.ie/news/2016/1029/827857-human-trafficking/

Very disturbing to think that citizens of an EU country can be trafficked into another EU country.

UK, Ireland / How might Britain`s withdrawal from EU affect Poles there and here? [474]

It might interest people to know that judgement in the Brexit case at the High Court is due next week. In the meantime, judgement in the separate case which has been going on in Northern Ireland will be delivered this morning at 10am. The Northern Ireland case will decide whether the Northern Ireland Assembly needs to take a vote on withdrawal from the EU, but the basis of this challenge is centred around breach of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, so it doesn't necessarily create a legal precedent for outcome of the UK case.

Update - Brexit challenge has been rejected by the Belfast High Court. The court ruled that there was nothing in the Good Friday agreement that required a parliamentary vote on leaving the EU and that Royal Prerogative could be used to trigger Article 50........who wants to bet that as prerogative powers were specifically cited, then it's likely that the UK case will go the same way. I'm pretty sure that the two High Courts, NI and UK have been having informal discussions during deliberation and they will sing off the same hymn sheet.

History / Kaczynski's Legacy [88]

All Communist countries had certain factors common to their education systems. Education was very much 'managed' and had specific goals in mind. There was what was known as a planned manpower approach which focused on training people to fill a range of roles as they were required for society and the economy. A certain number had to be trained for agriculture, industry, education and so on. Now that is a recognised and well accepted fact amongst educational researchers. At the end of primary school the students were divided up for the purpose of training to fill those pre-determined roles. For example in Czechoslovakia as it was then, up till 1990 the number of students allowed to enrol in university was set by the State Planning Commission. Enrollments were further capped in each subject area. Central planning and party priorities determined access to higher education during the Communist regime (Kocucky, 1990 ; Mitter 1990).

It's a very interesting area of research.

History / Kaczynski's Legacy [88]


Absolutely. But it's important that the teacher is supported by an education system that recognises and is committed to developing a child's potential. Look, as a teacher myself, I can tell you that in Ireland where we have children in formal education from the age of four, the majority hold their own up to about the age of seven, and then you begin to see them diverge. As the work becomes more challenging it begins to become very obvious which ones are academically inclined (not to be confused with intelligence which is quite different) and which ones less so. By the time they're nine or ten years old, some children are really struggling and it's clear that the best route for them is definitely not going to be into any kind of further education. I really feel for those children under the present education system, which nowadays, pretty much worldwide, has academicsized if I can coin a word, every discipline, skill and craft under the sun and loaded it with pointless theory and written work. One of the most ludicrous degree options I saw was a Masters, yes a Masters, in Advanced Painting and Decorating. Now certainly there are advanced painting and decorating techniques, but I don't want my decorator to present me with a thesis on the subject.


This is the crux of the matter Gumi. Take a group of twenty students and if you're teaching for any number of years, you'll soon find that about five of them are below average in everything, five well above average. It's the middle group, about half of the children, where students vary in their abilities the most widely and can be steered either down the more academic path or the more vocational. Under the old Communist system, more than half of primary school students (and that's a statistical fact) were assigned to general vocationals schools. Many of those were perfectly capable of sitting Matura but didn't get the chance to complete their general education. Vocational schools were not managed by the Minstry of Education, did you know that? They were administered by the various branches of industry which they represented. You can be absolutely certain that primary schools were given quotas to fill by central government for the different types of secondary schools. The vocational places had to be filled to supply a steady stream of workers. When marking the end of primary school exam, it was very easy for a teacher to tweak the mark in one direction or another of a child who fell in the middle group to make it a pass or a fail.

By the early 1990s only 10% of students finishing their secondary education were going on to third level education. That was certainly partly a choice which they made. The Communist system which elevated the status of 'the worker' provided no incentive to aspire to a higher educational level. A plumber could earn the same, or indeed more, than a doctor or a college professor, so what was the point, thought many a young person, of putting in all those years of additional study.

History / Kaczynski's Legacy [88]


No she didn't. She was lucky that she managed to get a place in the one she wanted.


Exactly. She should have that chance automatically during her schooldays and not had to make any choice in the matter in her early teens.


No it wasn't.

'When the recruitment to lyceums was completed, no places were available in popular vocational schools. Underrating their abilities, many primary school leavers did not try to take examinations to a secondary school, fearing they might fail and be deprived of the possibility to choose their own further education route. One can hardly say how many of them were entirely wrong in the assessment of their own abilities and thus lost a chance to receive a better education.'

(Jerzy Wiśniewski, Secondary Education in Poland, 18 Years of Change)

By the way as a teacher with many years of experience in disadvantaged communities, I know quite well that not every child is cut out for higher education and is much better suited to an apprenticeship but I also know that there are many bright ones whose parents do not realise how capable their child is and the child can hardly be expected to judge that. In the west, in the old days many very intelligent working class children were steered into vocational schools because if your dad worked in a factory, you were expected to be a plumber or an electrician and the same thing happened in the east.

History / Kaczynski's Legacy [88]


But your mother did not make that choice. She was allocated a place at a vocational school which prevented her from taking the first step in that process, which was Matura. If your mother was satisfied with that then why did she subsequently study for the Matura off her own bat?


The state shouldn't have been offering 'rote material' as preparation for higher education. But that's a separate matter.