Genealogy / Name: Shimonkevitz (formerly Szymonkiewicz / Siemianowicz, other spellings), Warmińsko-mazurskie, Poland [17]

@Shimonkevitz
The thing you need to clarify first is the surname and the place of birth. Then you can contact the state archives or even start with some online searches as szukajwarchiwach or pradziad.

I'm going to make things more complicated I came up with another suggestion for the correct spelling of your surname Siemionkowicz - and actually if you google 'Siemionkowicz Boguszewo' there are several matches - two small businesses and some results from a social networking site. And it's a small village. I have found no matches for Szymankiewicz or Szymonkiewicz. I don't know if they are somehow related to you or if that was the surname but it's worth a try.

If your grandfather was Roman Catholic and spoke Polish (not Yiddish) at home, it's very unlikely he was Jewish.
The Catholic parish in Boguszewo was built in 1980. Before that, the village belonged to the parish in Trzcianne (if you want to look for church records).

Of course you might have Jewish or Christian Orthodox ancestors as well (in fact if I remember well Siemion is Ruthenian (?) equivalent of Szymon/Simon so they might be Christian Orthodox as well) but I'd suggest starting with the religion your grandfather actually practiced.

geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=eng&w=10pl&rid=A&exac=&search_lastname=siemionkowicz&search_lastname2=&from_date=&to_date=

Check this out as well. Perhaps you can find your ancestor's first name - mind you, not all records are found on geneteka. In this case it seems they have information from records till the 1840s or so.

There is information about births, marriages and deaths.

Work / Can a Poland work permit holder can work in Denmark/EU? [44]

My neighbours' son and his girlfriend live and work in Iceland :)
Pretty normal within the EEA.

Life / My Last Link To Poland Died - Why Leaving Poland Was My Best Decision [249]

So here's that guy who allegedly is banned from the forum and posts only as a guest but he somehow knows what was posted in Random Chat ...

mods? ???

There are other things 'several' posters have in common - love of Russia, allegedly Polish American who speaks broken Polish, admiration for body builders and disdain towards women and few other things ...

Food for thought, isn't it?

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Yeah, we can't wait for your prostrate scan now ...

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Blah, blah, blah ... reading comprehension ... blah, blah ...
Yeah, I did read that. And I do recommend checking what such a diploma looks like.
You actually made an effort of 'creating' one in Paint of whatever for the sake of trolling so you could have checked what it looks like.

You should have realised now that it's obvious to me (and quite a few other members) that you're not even Polish. I don't know or care if you're Russian.

As for this Rich Mazur persona, you spend hours here trolling. I have no idea why mods accept that but they do. The question is why you do it. Don't you seriously have anything better to do? And you keep writing silly things. Perhaps because you want to provoke mods to finally ban you. But they don't care.

Rysiu, gwiazdeczko, people don't care. Get some psychological help. You won't make them care by provoking them.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Couldn't you even google what such a diploma looks like?
It's not a single piece of paper.
There should be a photo with your signature on the left. On the right there definitely should be more handwritten or traditionally typed information with the names and signatures from the dean and rektor (whatever the English equivalent is) and stamps ...

Just google dyplom ukończenia studiów ...

Genealogy / Name: Shimonkevitz (formerly Szymonkiewicz / Siemianowicz, other spellings), Warmińsko-mazurskie, Poland [17]

Szymonkiewicz or Szymankiewicz don't need to be Jewish.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Fun fact about Poland: children born in 1952 were first to attend grade 8 of primary school. Before that primary school ended with grade 7. Kids went to school on Saturdays, though.

So:
Kids started primary school at 7.
If someone attended liceum they finished it at 18.
18+5 (years at university)=23.
If they graduated in 1966, they were born in1943. Simple math.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

@Rich Mazur
No, I wasn't referring to you. The world doesn't revolve around you. Read the previous page if you're really interested in what I talking about. I doubt you will.

Yeah, we get it:
Poland never again - so thank you so much for about 500 posts in a month ... I wonder if that's a record. There's a real life out there ....

You don't like addressing people Pan/Pani.
You 'don't' normally discuss women and kids.
And some other things you have mentioned repeatedly.
Yawn ...

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

As I live in Poland, and you don't, and as you have been told by several other members here, hand kissing is not common or multigenerational.

Also, schools have been obligatory for decades in Poland, so I still don't understand why someone born in the forties would be semi-literate.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

@Lyzko
Just because someone is a labourer or doesn't have a degree doesn't mean they're semi-literate. For goodness sake ...

@Dirk diggler
Honestly? I have never seen a woman hold the car door for a guy unless he's elderly or handicapped. Or he's holding something so he can't open the door.

As for holding the door in general there are diffferent social rules. For example, people that go out go first regardless of their sex. As for offering the seat on the bus/tram, it's usually offered to the elderly, people with children etc.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Polish men open the door for women, they let them in first, quite often help with the coat etc. It's done automatically and naturally. It's part of good manners. There are probably some crazy feminists and some aggressive chauvinists who disapprove of it - luckily not among people close to me.

Hand kissing is old fashioned, though. Men usually shake hands or nod their head when introduced to women. As for guys only they often shake hands every time they meet.

And no, I don't consider people in their seventies semi-literate. I'm quite surprised to hear about one.

Life / Why are Muslims seen as a deterrent to Poland? [564]

There are also more Arab Muslims than Polish Tatars.

Travel / Poland - never again [593]

Kissing a woman on the hand is really old fashioned. Some men do it on a special occasion like meeting your future mother-in-law. You don't see it on everyday basis. Całuję rączki is even more old fashioned.

Why is a man in his seventies semi-literate?

Genealogy / Trying to build Polish Family Tree... Too Many inconsistencies. [12]

Kozioł and Kozłowski are two different surnames. Would he have changed one Polish name to another?

Real Estate / Finding land registry number by an address in Poland [16]

strzyzow.sr.gov.pl/iv_wydzia%C5%82_ksi%C4%85g_wieczystych.html

Try contacting Wydział Ksiąg Wieczystych in the local court. Perhaps they'll be able to help. I don't know if it's the town in question or if they'll speak English but it's worth a try.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

Why would we teach this guy Polish?
Can't he afford it?

No, they don't use Pan/Pani in aerial communication. They use the same thing as in the millitary. You should know it as the military training was obligatory in the 1960s ;)

Language / Czech language sounds like baby talk to most Poles. Similarities? [222]

@Joss
Since you use the cyrillic I assume your mother tongue is Slavic. It'll be helpful.
No need to learn another Slavic language just to understand Polish.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

If he finds it so hard to guess the gender, how does he cope with he/she or mr/mrs/ms - I bet he uses mx in this context.

Panna Andzia ma wychodne was apparently a hit back in the 1930s.

Language / Czech language sounds like baby talk to most Poles. Similarities? [222]

Czech sounds kind of like baby talk to Poles. I've heard it's how Czechs perceive Polish, too.

Stały (Polish) and staly (Czech) have the same meaning.

Language / Czech language sounds like baby talk to most Poles. Similarities? [222]

Staly is stały

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

And what do you guys think of using you for the second person singular - why did thou disappear?
Is it possible it's because you was used in the similar context as 'wy'? What's the reason behind its disappearance?
As for addressing someone directly, don't you use sir/madam/miss rather than gentleman/lady for pan/pani ?
Like in 'excuse me, sir'. You won't use 'excuse me, gentleman,will you?
@mafketis @Ziemowit
@terri
Panie Boczek .... ;)

BTW, as in the famous quote: gdyby głupota miała skrzydła, latałaby Pani jak gołębica ;) -of course you can be offensive using Pan/Pani.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

As for 'niech, compare it with 'let' -same thing.
In Russian (and some rural Polish dialects) it's 'wy', isn't it? You use the plural for addressing someone you don't know well or to show some social differences or respect etc.

I often wonder how it's similar to English 'you' used for one person.
As for more free tips concerning Polish, the word 'pan' is not often used as 'gentleman' - in fact it's only in 'panie i panowie'-'ladies and gentlemen'.

Don't give up. Just keep learning.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

@Rich Mazur
See ... just because you didn't understand elementary lessons of Polish as a foreign language ...
Do it, mr Kowalski - Niech Pan to zrobi, panie Kowalski.
Let mr Kowalski do it. - Niech to zrobi pan Kowalski.
You're welcome.

Language / How to write an email properly in Polish? [49]

In Polish it's simple and clear to native speakers as well ;)

Study / Do Polish students 'look down' on foreign students from Asia studying medicine here? Racist behaviours noted. [16]

@Jokovic
You should understand a lot anyway. You speak a Slavic language.
I don't think you'll be discriminated.
Even though there aren't too many Bulgarian students here.

Life / The REAL Warsaw :-) Video clip. [43]

Google RODO. I'm not sure you can publish her details here. Or perhaps it's a business so it's possible. I don't know.

Don't get me wrong but ... is there a possibility that you misunderstood her? Your Polish may need some brushing.

Next time get everything in documents. You leave something in a pawn shop, get a receipt. Get a contract or whatever. I have never used one so I don't know but I wouldn't leave something valueable with a stranger.

Or just use allegro.
I didn't and won't open the links.

If you don't need advice and another perspective, don't ask about it. But it seems to me you have been complaining both about the US and Poland, both the countries and the people. And you write about problems others don't seem to have experienced so perhaps it's a good idea to live your life in a different way than you do.

You can take this advice or leave it.

Life / Jehova's witnesses in Poland - how to deal with them? [110]

I'm afraid Jehova's witnesses are far more recognisable than Svetovid.
Luckily, more and more of them decide to have their little stalls with the Watchtower put up somewhere in the street rather than visit people at home.

Life / The REAL Warsaw :-) Video clip. [43]

I don't get it.
You keep writing posts about people who break the law and how you admire them but if someone breaks the law and it affects you, you complain about it.

Just stay away from trouble.
Stop talking about crime and sex all the time. You scare normal people away. Those who are not scared are unlikely to be loyal and protective.

Also, don't assume everyone wants to take advantage of you.
Cashmir or not, they're second hand clothes. Don't expect to get a fortune.
Just because someone's looking at you doesn't mean they're flirting (women) or they're looking for a fight (men).
They're just looking most probably.
Get a job, join a class, get new interests, meet new people. None of these has to be spectacular. Just get a normal, decent life. And get some some psychological help.

And no, not everyone is into money.

Life / The REAL Warsaw :-) Video clip. [43]

Yeah, that's what I'm looking for ... not.

Why are you so obsessed with other people's lives?
It's not how others see you but who you really are.
Live your own decent life and be happy.