Language / Polish words that sound funny? [224]


if you pronounce 'wino' the English way it sounds like Polish 'łajno' which is animal's turd in Polish or simply crap

Life / A Question About Pharmacy (Dramamine or Benadryl in Poland?) [5]

I don't think there are any sleeping pills available without a doctor's prescription in Poland tbh

I have looked up Dramamine and it appears it's not a sleeping pill but a motion sickness relieving agent and it should be available without a prescription - it is called Aviomarin - ok I know that larger amounts of Aviomarin/Dramamine will make you sleepy (from my experience one needs some 5 pills of Aviomarin to get one to sleep and yet it won't happen instantly - you should know that Aviomarin comes as very small pills in Poland and rather small packages of these - asking too many at a time will make it suspicious as it can be used as a drug (in the bad sense of the name)

I haven't found any Polish Benadryl (diphenhydramine) counterparts so far

actually Apap Noc contains diphenhydramine (25mg per pill) - the thing is it also contains paracetamol (the regular 500mg dose) - if you don't sweat after paracetamol it is worth considering (I used paracetamol as a pain killer - it's way too weak for a severe toothache but even 3 pills wouldn't make me sweat noticeably)

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

you are seriously something :)

Australia / New here and in Australia :) finally Permanent Resident [5]

you must be living in McQuirie Island then ;)

UK, Ireland / "If it's not Polish, it's shite" - What is great about Polish Beer in UK? [78]

oh, and oddly enough I had my 'time of ales' too - it was the more strange I had to go back to work after half a pint each time (half a pint of beer already makes me dizzy) - some English builders have peculiar habits (having a pint instead of having a lunch ;) - I wasn't buying the stuff and I couldn't really refused it too

Language / Rhymes for kids and catsoldier [8]


you have to hear it in Polish - the last one pawian inserted is quite melodic

UK, Ireland / "If it's not Polish, it's shite" - What is great about Polish Beer in UK? [78]


I didn't say Holba is the best beer - it's not your regular beer simply - and I was told what I drank (10-er not the 12-er - I mean extract) was one of the most bitter beers in the Czech Republic - I don't drink beer for alcohol content but for the taste - that's why I drink it once in half a year mostly - and Holba is like a punch into your liver (not because of the alcohol content 10-er is quite weak actually only 4 per cent alcohol) - you actually feel like your bile canals relax and open (well I guess you won't feel that that intensive if your liver is not significantly burdened and your bile tracts aren't a bit 'cramped') - the beer made me cringe - it's almost painful to drink it - that's why I treat it more as a medicine than a recreational stuff

this is very different to Becks for example which has strong but bearable hops content and drinks quite smooth

and now compare these to Carling hehe ;) - there was a time I could drunk draught Carling to my desire (whatever amount I wished for and for free) - I think I ended up with just a couple of pints - always thought Strongbow cider was much better (also could drink it as much as I pleased) (but I was told it gives you a bad hang-over once overdosed)

as far as I can recall Staropramen is quite mild, well-rounded beer, can't really remember the Radegast

UK, Ireland / "If it's not Polish, it's shite" - What is great about Polish Beer in UK? [78]


Paulaner with banana juice - mmm - tasty - half beer half juice IIRC

and Becks 'Alcohol Free' (it's not completely alcohol free) - the best balance of bitterness that I tasted so far (I don't know if the regular Becks is equally good) - anyway the German beers are made following their Reinheitsgebot and I very much doubt they stuff it stiff with chemicals (as they do with the likes of Stella and Carlsberg or they say Heineken too) - and they have a range of tastes in their beers

if you want a liver wrenching experience (i believe it is good for your bile) - go for Holba (a local Czech beer from the are of Jeseniki) - German Leikeim is from the same league but somehow I have better reminiscenses with the Holba

News / Monument gets erected when a clique rules in a small Polish town [29]

and from what I can gather the monument isn't founded by the town authorities but by private founders

News / Monument gets erected when a clique rules in a small Polish town [29]

where did you conclude that from the news - how do you know Wołomin is badly managed? - I don't know - but you seem to be able not only between the lines but also mile before and after the lines start and end

News / Monument gets erected when a clique rules in a small Polish town [29]

and the point is?

News / Monument gets erected when a clique rules in a small Polish town [29]

sure Wołomin should have built their own motorways already - and well actually they should have built half of the motorways Poland needs - why such an important Polish city evades it's responsibilities is beyond me

Work / Working in Poland - Logistics, procurement, imports-exports [12]

you should try logistic companies in Tricity area (Gdańsk and Gdynia) - look for spedycja Gdańsk/ spedycja Gdynia -- your girlfriend should get the general idea how to search for similar offers - have courage, be a bit imaginative and apply

yet another sea logistic operative needed .


if you want to apply present them with everything you have - definitely don't be minimalistic - and yes the references will help a lot - foreign references in this field must be a very much sought after pearl in Poland - btw if you have knowledge of the EU foreign trade law, the import/export procedures, duty regulations even if you can't prove them on paper state these in your CV - it can prove a big asset - when in Poland eventually and after you improve your Polish (your Polish is already quite good anyway) you can get the official licence/certificate to become a 'duty agent' - 'agent celny' - and hell overestimate your knowledge of Polish - you will be all right in your job with English after all

Genealogy / Julianna Schlagowski and Friedrich Kornatz, Prangenau - Genealogy help [14]


the first name Joanna is clearly Polish - maybe it was not Ortowska but Orłowska - we can make it clear if you could post a scan of the document bearing the surname - (I also couldn't find any poeple of Ortowski/a surname) - if the surname were Russian it would look like Orłowskaja and not Orłowska (see the example of Czajkowskij, Politkowskaja, Przhewalskij)


I very much doubt Prussia's census documents are available online whether in Poland or in Germany - I haven't found any such link on LDS site

mormoni.pl/rodzina-i-swiatynie/historia-rodziny.html

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

the Poles have as good government as they are well educated and well organised as a society

Work / I'm from Canada, and the latest victim of a Polish woman - one bites the dust [13]

@chudclaw
hi and welcome to Poland :)

I really like your attitude - and I'll see if I can help you - I don't have many acquintances in Wrocław but I will try to learn if they know anybody who is a master craftsman and is willing to take a foreign apprentice ;) - anyway you will probably have to settle for about 1000 (maybe 1200) PLN a month for a start

I would leave you my details in a PM and I will try but I am not sure you can already receive PM's - new members can't for example send PM's (until a certain number of posts they make here) but I don't know if it works the same way for receiving PM - we'll see - just keep on coming back to this thread so we can stay in touch

UK, Ireland / Culture shock (my neighbours in the UK are Polish and Slovak) [88]


I think the lady's neighbours do belong to the 20 per cent you mention so I don't think she should be worried

Work / Hungarian guy looking for job - planing to become a student at Politechnika Gdanska [13]


Poles are generally helpful to foreigners - especially when they look European - you just shouldn't brag about being a Hungarian and expecting an enthusiastic welcome from Poles because of that

- what is more I can tell you that until recently I never actually understood why was there any friendship between Poles and Hungarians on the national level (our languages are so much apart unlike for example Polish and Czech or Slovak) - and I thought of myself as a quite informed person in the historical matters (I only recently learned a couple of facts that shed a light on that issue) - so no - you won't find too many people who are aware of the reasons why there was a warm feeling between our nations - most people won't even be aware of the fact there ever were such warm feelings (even if they heard the saying you quoted)

as for your studies I think you should try to join the Polish university as soon as possible - and try to do it not as a foreign student (not someone who needs to be tutored in English) - I actually seriously doubt there are international courses in civil engineering in Gdańsk Politechnika (but maybe I'm still wrong on this) - a lot of work before you anyway - you need to buy a lot of books (including a good Polish-English dictionary of technical terms) to learn the trade nomenclature in Polish to be able to communicate with your tutors

if you also have decent German try looking for a job in hotels and be ready to accept fairly low salary (English is not enough for the hotel industry in Gdańsk and I pretty much guess also most of Poland - I know cause I have applied once in Gdańsk) - even suggest it yourself (like the minimum wage) - let's face it you are at a serious disadvantage for the most jobs on the Polish job market

News / The cross in Polish parliament - Does it bother you? [100]


yeah - the same rhetorics PO uses - and at the same time they give rise to division and hate themselves (see their last election campaign's spot)

Work / Hungarian guy looking for job - planing to become a student at Politechnika Gdanska [13]


you have to be patient and try a couple of times in person - welcome to Polish attitudes btw (the e-mail is a lost cause for you)


don't count on that - only a fraction of Poles are patriotic and informed (and these people will welcome you - they tend to be voters of 'the right' btw) - there is a huge bunch who are actually anty-patriotic and Hungary doesn't have a good image now among them (these people actually have difficulties in telling the difference between Budapest and Bucharest ;) but they hold themselves for highly educated) - the reason is the leader of Polish opposition said he wished for Warsaw to become the next Budapest in the wake of the recent elections (he meant he expects to win the next elections in the manner Fidesz won in Hungary)

certainly learn Polish as soon as possible - be on the lookout for Hungarian + English speaking jobs - there are plenty of branches of multinational companies in Gdańsk or Gdynia many of which are call centres -

Powodzenia. Good luck.

Genealogy / Julianna Schlagowski and Friedrich Kornatz, Prangenau - Genealogy help [14]

dgrauman


your ancestors were clearly Polish - not only their surnames but also their first names tell so - what was West Prussia was Poland before the partitions of Poland - the Germanic element in West Prussia was mostly restricted to cities and towns - some gentry were Germans too but most were gentry were Polonized in previous epochs - Prangenau must have been Pręgowo near todays Kartuzy (Karthaus) - the other Prangenau lies in the area of the delta of Vistula which was rather devoid of Polish nationals (mostly Dutch settlers who germanized inhabited the delta) - Johann and Lowise Kornatz may well have equally been Germans, Jews or a mixed couple, it is doubtful they were Polish as their names would have appeared in the Polish form (Kornac, Kornacz) in the official papers issued in the Kingdom of Poland (which still was under Russian rule) or the tzarist Russia - but it is possible that the names could have been transcribed from Russian papers in cyrillic into German rendering a German look to the names ( the first names still look German) - there was some German settlement in the area of Białystok connected with the growth of textile industry in the area in the 19th century - there were other bigger and smaller areas of German settlement in present day Poland not only in urban areas (then in Russian Empire)

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

PO is only boring because you are not told what is really going on among them - this is my opinion - and there is going a lot - just media don't get access to that

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

oh, boy - it's like PO is all democracy - don't make me laugh

Life / Lightbulbs in Poland: what was once 1zl now costs... [10]

the thing is the wattage eguivalence to regular (incandescent) bulbs is exaggerated - if they state the compact bulb (fluorescent) is a replacement for 60W regular bulb it's rubbish (at least with the cheap makes) - I have seen oppinions that the their luminosity can be even only half of the 60W regular bulb - and I don't like anybody to make me save - perhaps when they finally introduce LED-s with a good spectrum I will change to these - but the cheaper LED-s give a light that is nothing like a incandescent bulb

Life / Lightbulbs in Poland: what was once 1zl now costs... [10]


and what is more there are hardly any compacts that have a good light spectrum - traditional (incandescent) light bulbs have a very good light spectrum for human sight

UK, Ireland / The Slavic Tax Thieves Stealing from the UK [29]


you must be joking - it's close to 80 per cent

UK, Ireland / Websites for Poles to benefit from Britain! [210]


I don't say it is the right way - I don't think it's all right - laws can be changed - but you also have to try to see things in proportion - how much money is spent on asylum seeker children who are brought in by their families - if the Polish children were brough in to Britain from Poland they will cost the UK taxpayer additional sums (not only the child benefit - think schooling, think health care)

btw Poland is a strange place - you know - Poland not being part of the Eurozone already committed 1 billion PLN for the help to Greece and well our media didn't dwell much on it - our media tend not to dwell on things that are not convenient for certain political forces - welcome to Poland


it's on the way - don't worry ;)

UK, Ireland / Websites for Poles to benefit from Britain! [210]


very reasonable remark

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

I always thought Schadenfreude means that one is happy of someone else's misfortune (judging from German meanings of both parts of the word)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

UK, Ireland / Websites for Poles to benefit from Britain! [210]


the same article you quoted (about 22 million pounds paid as child benefit for children left behind in Poland) states this:

Figures released by the Treasury in answer to Parliamentary written questions from the Conservatives show that at the end of September 26,000 Polish children from 16,286 families were being paid child benefits by UK taxpayers.

hardly a big number you know - and as far as I can tell single Polish mothers (who have delivered their children in the UK and according to the British law their children are British) can't really get a UK child benefit unless they are residing in Britain

then compare the figure (20 million something) with the one spent on all kinds of benefits yearly in Britain you have quoted somewhere in the thread - it was over 100 billion pounds yearly IIRC