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Posts by Magdalena  

Joined: 15 Aug 2007 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 27 Jan 2015
Threads: Total: 3 / In This Archive: 3
Posts: Total: 1827 / In This Archive: 1094 		From: North Sea coast, UK
Speaks Polish?: Yes
Interests: Reading, writing, listening, talking

Displayed posts: 1097 / page 8 of 37
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Magdalena   
21 Dec 2012
Life / Why do people think that Poles are culturally isolated? [126]

In other countries they would be ridiculed for such backward attitudes while in Poland the majority at least quietly accepts it.

Every single country has its backward attitudes. As long as they stay in that particular country, I call them "tradition". ;-)
Magdalena   
21 Dec 2012
Life / Why do people think that Poles are culturally isolated? [126]

So why the hell foreigners look on Poles as if they were a back water who have no idea about the world?

It's nice to feel superior, you know. Sadly, I must admit that lots of Polish people act very superior to the "natives" once they go abroad.
Magdalena   
21 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

Seems like our definition of hostels differs a lot.

Your definition of hostel is so narrow that you could hardly fit anything into it.
For me, a hostel is anything from a typical "Schronisko młodzieżowe" (usually simply a dormitory attached to a school or other institution) to the high-end types of hostels as above. Anything with bedrooms for 4-6 people, communal bathrooms, and a kitchen is NOT a hotel in my vocabulary.
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

It's almost the same thing ;-P

"Almost nonexistent" = there are maybe several.
In the scale of a country that equals "don't exist".

BTW, earlier on you wrote there was only one hostel in Szczecin; I found three without really looking:

cityhostel.com.pl
hostelarbet.pl
firlik.com.pl
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

There are notable exemptions, but like i already said they are limited to Krakow and Warsaw.

Have you checked any of the links I posted? Hostel Orange and so on? If you had, you wouldn't be saying that.
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

hostels are about meeting people.

For most people hostels are about cheap accommodation, I daresay. Nevertheless, I was just fooling around on google with "hostel + name of city" and it seems that there is a lot of hostels out there in Poland, nice ones, with atmosphere, not the old-fashioned and slightly scuffed PTTK-type ones. I posted some links above.
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

Unfortunately most of those are still remnants of the past.

And what is wrong with that?

Very basic and cheap accommodation, but no atmosphere whatsoever and the location is mostly terrible aswell.

Exactly, that's what hostels are, isn't it? Otherwise you go to a hotel. Though sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too:

hostelorange.pl/trn/pl/zobacz.htm
trzykafki.pl/noclegi/hostel-oferta
okidoki.pl/wp/lang/en/
baltichostel.com.pl

I could go on.
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

first five hostels from the Małopolska list for their Internet contact and there is none. So there must be sth wrong with them.

Some in the first five on the list have active websites, some don't. This continues all the way down the list. This doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them. It only means they are cheap hostels, usually attached to schools, and don't much concern themselves with webmastering and suchlike. There is a lot of other contact info available.
Magdalena   
20 Dec 2012
Life / Which services is Poland still waiting for? [218]

they are a virtual reality joke, not real hostels.

Or you might need to call them to make enquiries. I have used such hostels many times, the last time was in Bydgoszcz about a year ago. I can't accept that you don't know what a "schronisko młodzieżowe" is. Unless there are two Pawians on PF and you're not the one I have in mind... ;-)
Magdalena   
30 Nov 2012
Language / Addressing a widow who lives in Poland [12]

Good manners are still important.

It has nothing to do with good manners as such, it's just a convention. I'm surprised American women haven't gotten rid of that one yet! Anyways, in Poland you never ever address the wife using the husband's given name.

E.g., if Alina and Jakub marry, and their surname is Nowak, then:

It is pani Alina Nowak and pan Jakub Nowak or, if addressed as a couple, państwo Alina i Jakub Nowak or Nowakowie / państwo Nowak / państwo Nowakowie.
Magdalena   
30 Nov 2012
Language / How to say in Polish: "Be mine!" ? [12]

however the best translations are rarely literal,

this doesn't mean that they can be grammatically incorrect though!

"zostań moj / moja" is totally incorrect. "zostań moim / moją" require an object.

"bądź mój / moja" seems gramatically correct and would probably sound OK in the right context.

If by "be mine" the OP means "marry me", then the obvious translation would be "wyjdź za mnie" or possibly "zostań moją żoną / moim mężem".
Magdalena   
26 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

Yep. Don't trust them ;)

If it wasn't for them, there is precious little we would know today about our ancestors, actually. Given the amount of info the State holds about us anyway, parish records with their pathetic notes on births and marriages don't frighten me! ;-p
Magdalena   
26 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

You laugh, but when you consider the amount of collaboration seen by churchmen in other countries - isn't it scary to think that it could be used against you by a future regime?

Ever heard of parish records? ;-p
Magdalena   
26 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

"INFORMATION: I wish to inform you that X, son of Y and Z, residing at ABC Street, has resigned from Religious Education classes in this school year. Please add this information to the parish files and in future draw the appropriate consequences." It's then signed by the priest running the RE classes.

I had another look at this letter. The "appropriate consequences" most probably mean that the person who withdrew from RE class would have to participate in additional pre-marriage courses before being allowed to have a church wedding. My friend attended RE class, I didn't; the difference, when it came to a church wedding, was exactly that. She had the appropriate certificate already and could go on to choose her wedding dress, while I attended some of the most boring meetings in my life.

So, though I agree that the letter sounds ominous, especially in the translation to English, I think any atheist who resigns from RE has absolutely nothing to fear ;-)
Magdalena   
26 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

The school I am talking about charges no fees, it is entirely funded by the Polish state.

How do you know that if you don't remember any of the details, like its name or number? It might be entirely or partly funded by a religious order, for example.
Magdalena   
25 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

St. Dominik Savio in Lubin is a private school, is it?

Well, it's definitely not a state school:

gimnazjum-lubin.salezjanie.pl

Check it out!

Unlike you, the mother in question works in the education sector in Warsaw (just as I did for a decade) and that is precisely why she didn't bother complaining about the school to the Kuratorium.

Well, forgive me but that's a dumb attitude because in this way nothing's ever gonna change. You should complain about the mother's attitude as much as you do about the school's - or not complain at all.
Magdalena   
25 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

It's a mess.

To you, Poland is a mess. The UK is largely a mess to me. Not because of any of these countries' inherent "messy" quality, but because you and I are outsiders and do not see the internal logic that exists within the system.

Also, I don't wanna split hairs here, but you cannot have "a democracy that's rooted in communism". It's either one or the other, I'm afraid.
Magdalena   
25 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

It is so typical because nobody believes anything bad about Poland until it happens to them.

I would believe the story if either:
1) the school was not a state school, or
2) the excuse was not "you're not married"

I can believe in "bad things happening in Poland"; I just like those bad things to sound at least a tad logical (within the Polish system of doing things, whether bad or otherwise) ;-)
Magdalena   
25 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

I very much doubt the parents complained, what would be the point?

Well if a state school was acting illegally by not accepting a pupil due to religious reasons, and not because of a lack of places, the Kuratorium would have been able to resolve this to the satisfaction of the parents. Also, why would the school come up with such an outlandish excuse (you're not married so no joy) if there actually was a rational excuse (lack of places). I just don't believe the story I am afraid.
Magdalena   
25 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

What makes you say that Magda?

I for one went to school in Warsaw. A state school is a state school - they might not have enough places (in which case they should assist you in finding a school place somewhere else) but they cannot pick and choose their pupils. My children have attended primary state schools in Poland as well - admittedly not in Warsaw, but again, all state schools are governed by the same rules.

To the first class of primary school managed by the municipality of public school or other belonging to a network of primary schools (which is determined by the municipality) accepted are:

ex officio - children residing in the periphery of the primary school;
at the request of parents (legal guardians) - children residing outside the perimeter of the school, where the school has places available.)

To the first class of public gymnasium managed by the municipality or other units belonging to a network of gymnasiums (which is determined by the municipality) accepted are:

ex officio - primary school graduates residing in the circuit of the high school;
at the request of parents (legal guardians) - primary school graduates residing outside the perimeter of the gymnasium, where the gymnasium has free places.

kuratorium.waw.pl/pl/news/471/og%C3%B3lne-zasady-rekrutacji-do-szk%C3%B3%C5%82.html

Unless the school you mentioned is not really a state school, which I strongly suspect. BTW, did the parents complain to the Kuratorium about the treatment they had received? And could you kindly provide me with the name and number of this school?
Magdalena   
24 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

It was not a public school: it is entirely state funded

If it was a state school, then 1) the parents should not be required to jump through hoops (like undergo interviews etc) to enrol their child in the first place (state schools are under the obligation to accept students from their catchment area);

2) the question of the parents' marital status was neither here nor there.
The parents in question should kick up a huge fuss and lodge a formal complaint with the Kuratorium. Did they?
What is the name and number of this school, by the way?

So the school you talked about so vehemently doesn't exist after all, does it, Harry? ;-p
Magdalena   
23 Nov 2012
Love / Polish couples living out of wedlock? [108]

Married people also get divorced, cheat, and many don't baptise their children. And many unmarried couples actually do baptise theirs.
Magdalena   
22 Nov 2012
UK, Ireland / Domestic arguments caused by differences between Polish and English culture [109]

No humility what so ever,

I see no reason to be humble; you yourself demonstrate no humility, why should I? Unless you're inherently better than me in every respect just because I'm Polish - and I don't buy into that ideology. I have my opinions, you have yours, and if you're not interested in starting a discussion with an intelligent person, then don't say anything. ;-p

Ant63: So who puts pipes on the outside? We don't thats for sure.

Well you can see this all over England at least. As other posters have pointed out above.
Magdalena   
21 Nov 2012
UK, Ireland / Domestic arguments caused by differences between Polish and English culture [109]

Your just being typically Polish

In what way? Did I break you mug and lie about it? ;-p

pipes freeze in Polish houses in harsh winters when the heatings not on

When the heating's not on. Exactly. So if the pipes were actually outside the house, they wouldn't freeze according to you? Why?

they are built to standards

Dream on ;->