News / Conservative-liberalism (Laissez-faire liberalism), another utopia for Poland? [99]


Yes, precisely. His (JKM's) ideas were fresh and convincing at that time. In the new reality, JKM turned out to be a failed businessman when he tried to make his own business. Therefore he saw his chance in the world of politics. His followers only think on not being taxed and excuse any stupidness of the concept the similar way as most lunatics supporting other Great Ideas do. I have to point out I'm talking on today's followers of UPR party and of JKM. They are frustrated because of the political fights between parties such as PO, PIS, SLD and they believe UPR would be the Saviour.

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

To become real friends, it requires some time to make friends, and only after the friendship has developed, you can speak with the friend even of the most painful matters.

Yes, I am aware you were joking most of the time, yet, in the best interest of Ukraine, tell your friend Woon to start using translate.google (at least) and do not excuse his laziness and ignorance.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]


It is a free country and nobody will hang you for that. You eat what you want, I'll eat what I want and will not have crap talking about unhealthiness of food that helped Poles live together for more than 1000 years. Promote Mr. Hunger elsewhere.

Monia! You've made me hungry! And I hope Sean was just winding you up ;-)

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Nathan, now you see how easy it is to make an enemy of Ukraine from a friend of Ukraine. Don't make me think Sokrates might have been right... I respect your country, culture and language so you respect mine. Deal?

P.S. I made several typos and had to correct them. This shows how irritated I am.

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

OK, Nat. I have to tell this to you again and for the last time. If I were next to you and you wrote rurza on purpose, first I would beat you up until you're unconcious, then I would hang you on the said rurze and obsypał różami.

I never defend my compatriots if they are lazy ignorants.

Modern Poles pronounce "h" and "ch" identically and cannot pronounce the hard "h". In Galicia, the distinction was strong due to Ukrainian influence.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

How many heavy Polish winters have you already survived yourself, Fuzzy? Meaning, with sustaining temperatures below -10 C?

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Nathan, please STOP before I explode, will you? ;-)

You bet my Granny taught Ukrainians too?

My Mother, born in the same Horodenka/Gorodenka was able to pronounce "hak" and "chleb" the way you could hear the difference between her "h"'s and "ch"'s. This is because you people say "gak" and 'chlieb". Polish requires you write proper Polish because Poles cannot understand Polish written phonetically, and Polish students would not understand a bit from Woon's transliteration.

3 tee mye f tey fili rosumyesh, nejtn? <-- Translate from Polish to English, Nathan. I wrote phonetically some Polish sentence.

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Woon, I strongly recommend you use translate.google (at least that). Please understand: A Pole reading "wzdlurz" (wzdłuż) or "rurza" (róża) or "lapuwka" (łapówka) is in mood to kill... Please take more care, otherwise you harm for example people trying to learn Polish.

Otherwise, your examples are very interesting.

Nathan, as a non-Pole, you cannot understand it. I am a peaceful person, and as you know I'm fond of Ukraine. However... Tell me: can you see the difference between these three words:

luźny (loose)
£użny (name)
łóżko (bed)?

You know, I do not think that my Grandma who was raised in Horodenka/Gorodenka and taught Polish for 50 years -- also in today's Poland -- would tolerate "rurza" from ANYBODY.

History / Symbols & Signs in Polish History, Culture & Life [89]

YES! Although designed in Italy ;-)

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

If you only could write in Polish, all of us would benefit even more. Your Polish is terribly bad... I understand Cyrillic is your first alphabet?

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Thank you, Nathan. I feel reassured my musical ear is not that bad ;-)

History / What was it like in 1989+ in Poland when the Soviet house of cards fell? [237]

I have found some pictures.. There are more from different points in time, not scanned yet. Today: Just before, at the beginning and during the martial law in Poland.

Just before the martial law times, December 1981, posting in Warsaw, me the one running with posters.

People of the Solidarity Region Mazowsze were occupying their building until removed by the riot police (ZOMO). 13 Dec 1981.
Bogdan Borusewicz (I think) in the centre.

Riot police blocking access to ul. Mokotowska, so the crowd could not help the Solidarity activist in Mokotowska. Seen from Plac Zbawiciela, 13 Dec 1981.

Another shot of the above.

Vacations 1982 at the top of Orlica in Sudety. No problem to travel to the border zone with Czechoslovakia during the martial law. Of course, the photo was meant as a joke. "Me trying to overthrow the border post" ;-)

11th of November 1982, Warsaw, ul. Długa towards Nowe Miasto. Leonid Brezhnev died the day before, and on 11th Nov 1982, Lech Wałęsa was released from internment. Demonstrations, riots. Note: No stones, bottles, any weapon in the protesters' hands. People were really pacifists at that era. This photo was taken by my cousin. On the same day, I and friend went to Teatr Polski to see Wyspiański's "Wyzwolenie", then, both wearing suits, we were strolling freely in the middle of riots.

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Funny! Do you mean this guy actually speaks and sings in the language mix? Sometimes I hear him speaking Russian, sometimes I can hear Ukrainian words?

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]


Hilarious!

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]


There is something in it. Sometime in late 1990's, a strange guy joined our open-air party, brought in by a friend of mine. The guy speaking terribly bad Polish told me his name and then, in Russian, said he needed to "verify himself". He showed his press ID of Pravda to me. The guy turned out to be a Kiev-based Ukrainian. He could not speak Ukrainian at all. Later, he naturalized in Poland and started appearing on the TV as biotherapist under the name of Count de Saint-Germain. I must not tell you his original name, suffice to say it was like totally corrupted "Saint Germain" + wski ;-)

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

Perhaps they are... authentic? :-)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]


Winiary of Kalisz? I read it as "Wien-ary" at first and could not guess what it was :) I cannot develop taste for Winiary recipes and I prefer Knorr packet soups and Maggi soup condiment sauce. "Your mileage may vary", though.

Any preferences as to spice manufacturers, people? I choose Kamis because of local patriotism. The Kamis facilities are located in the "Bermuda triangle" south of Warsaw, just couple kilometers away from my place.

There is no "Polish food", Seanus. Any type of food in Poland was either imported to Poland or is "foreign and made in Poland for the Polish market" :-D. Vegetables?! Italian or American!

Sorry but you left no leeway ;-)

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]


Perhaps the similar story as for former Czechoslovaks? You see, I can speak some Russian, the Moscow pronunciation, and I have musical ear. Yesterday, I spoke with a West Ukrainian gardener. He spoke good Polish, yet sometimes he was switching to his own language and it did not sound Russian to me at all?

Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

LanguageBuff is correct. Similar situation as Russian vs. Ukrainian exists between Czech and Slovak languages. Once Czechoslovakia was one country, people were used to both languages. After the split into Czech Republic and Slovakia, the language differences emerged, especially between young generation of both countries. Examples:

Parking-lot: Cz. parkoviště, Sk. parkovisko, Pl. parking
General wares: Cz. smíšený zboží, Sk. různý tovar, Pl. sklep wielobranżowy
White: Cz. bílý, Sk. biely, Pl. biały
To smoke (tobacco): Cz. kouřit, Sk. fajèi», Pl. palić
Railway station: Cz. železnièní stanice, Sk. železnicná stanica, Pl. stacja kolejowa

Moreover, Polish and Czech are very different due to historical reasons. Czech language as recreated in 19th century was deliberately made different from Polish so Czech people would not be afraid to lose their identity when neighboring with far larger Polish nation. Similar process of Slovak language recreation was not so restrictive and Slovak is more resembling Polish.

I'm not sure how about the understanding of real Ukrainian by Polish youth. Young Poles do not understand Russian; I wonder how much a young Warsawer could understand from Ukrainian.

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

Actually, Polish sand used to be sold to some countries in the Sahara region since local sand was impure and could not be used for water filtering purposes ;-)

History / Symbols & Signs in Polish History, Culture & Life [89]


This is only used in the military.

It is not any Polish symbol, MyJustyna. There is a crowd of nationalists on Polish Forums, unluckily, and soon they will present you -- for example -- statues of pagan gods, pentagrams etc. ;-) Trust my word on it. PolskiMoc = PolishPower like in "White Power", do you understand?

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

You left me lost, Sean. What's your point? ;)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

..then say: "koło, miele, miecz". Then you say: "Soczewica, koło, miele, miecz". Then: 'No to co że ze Szwecji?" ;-)

I will say what. Mead. You might have had that, you do not have it anymore, and Poland holds the what-is-this-name, no, że tylko w Polsce można robić. O. And Żubrówka. And 96% Spirytus.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Ah, now I do remember. In 14th c. Kraków, someone unable to pronounce "soczewica" was executed on spot as a German mutineer. Yes, we had lentils for food at that time ;)

(And a warning for big mouth immigrants, too) :-DDD

News / Poland Parliament elections in October 2011 [944]

How it is good that we have the Internet. If not, I would certainly miss the elections.

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

It's pity you cannot explain it to my Dad since he is not among the living anymore :(
I'm sure whatever you said, he'd nicely smile and in quiet good English and with innocent blue eyes he would correct your views :-)

I'd say you would not get Krakowska elsewhere.
To pre-empt your hasty answer, I'll tell you that Krakauer is not Krakowska, ask Bratwurst Boy ;)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]


Now I have a real story!

My Dad was a slave labourer in Germany during WWII. In 1990's I could finally buy good coffees, and I made a cup of Jacobs Kronung to my Father. He had drunk it, thought a longer while, then commented:

-- Chicory... This coffee reminds me the times at the camp during the war...
:-)))

To cheer you up, my Dad had far too many memories of that kind. Once at a shop in Podkowa Leśna some lady was praising the bread of the Dworak bakery. My dad replied: Yea, the same bread as made here during WWII. The woman brighten up and said: Oh, yes, such great tradition, experience... My dad: Yea, they still make it from clay mixed with sawdust.

:-D


Believe it or not but until recently I had to privately import PG Tips from UK :-)

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Szones... na Boga! We neither grow coffee nor tea here!

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

Rosół wołowy i ziemniaki z gotowaną wołowiną z tego samego rosołu. YUCK!

Let us change the subject for awhile. I know that the same coffee, known as Nescafe Gold, tastes differently in any country where it is being made. (Similarly, English teas made for Polish market are different from those one can buy in UK).

What do you, expats/immigrants, drink for coffee and tea here in Poland?

Food / Expats' Polish food favourites [140]

No, vodka ;-) Gorzoła pija sie na halby ;-)
It's good you are inherently a gorol ;-) Though... Scottish might be the hanys in UK ;-)

youtube.com/watch?v=KYPRg7Uolxk