Language / Old Polish Vs New Polish [29]


I'm not anglista myself, but I recall reading some 14th and 15th century stuff. Usually five verses of old poem are accompanied by a page-long explanation and footnotes. It's not particularly comprehensible I must say. Reading it loud is another story, as written Polish is just an approximation at best of how the language used to sound like. Some vowels and consonants are not being used any more (and you may find it quite hard to position your tongue properly). So called "yers" (jery) still affect the declension and spelling of some words but are not present in today's language.


I was taught that Maryja relates only to the mother of Good, you were not supposed to name your child like that. Maria (very rarely Marya) is just a name.


1960s-1970s? It wouldn't change much.

Food / How to cook Frozen pierogi? Boil or Fry? [90]

Boil if frozen and uncooked.

But once they are boiled they are absoultely delicious if fried with onion :)

Travel / Polish Architecture [147]

Great topic, I do not have much time at the moment but I have to bookmark it and take a closer look at all the photos here :)

BTW: have you tried a simple and free software called Irfanview? (irfanview.com)
It's a great and extremely simple tool for resizing and optimizing photos, only ImageReady which used to come with Photoshop up to CS2 version could beat it.

Travel / Polish Architecture [147]


On one of the photos you can see the black sculpture on the pedestal outside of the church. That's Piotr Skarga, one of many modern, ugly things which seem to be put in random places, among old buildings, without paying any attention to the way the public space is used by people. Usually the sculptures depict John Paul II, (you might see samples here:

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomniki_papie%C5%BCa_Jana_Paw%C5%82a_II
and next one is probably going to be thrown onto Wawel hill.
That's one of the dark sides of Polish town planning.


First two show an art nouveau palace of the Associaton for the Friends of Art, the next two show the theatre. There is also great modern gallery there, called Bunkier Sztuki (Art Bunker).


Soot is not the biggest problem of Kraków buildings, more harm is being made by the acid rains.


That actually depends of the region. The north of Poland has been deeply influenced by German construction style (the typical for the North brick nogged timber wall is even called the Prussian wall):

(yes, I know it's quite similar to the British half-timbering :) Gorgious samples can be seen in Gdansk, the old city there looks like old Anntwerp. Or Brughes :) )


You got it right the second time. Robert Konieczny :)
He was also nominated for the World Architecture Festival Award worldarchitecturefestival.com/whatson_shortlist_crits_gallery.cfm?projectCategoryId=17 (the houses category featured the Irish Sleeping Giant as well, too bad none of them won).


Canaletto's (Bernardo Bellotto's) :)
Warsaw old city looked like that:
There is a nice exposition showing the old / new Warsaw called Miasto Feniksa - War*Saw Eyerything, the shots taken in 1944 during Warsaw Uprising were merged with the present views of the same streets:

kultura.wp.pl/gid,10208859,galeria.html?T

I don't even know where to start on Polish Architecture, I will need to come back to this topic in some spare moment. With the photos of medieval castles, Polish noblemen's manors (they are copied everywhere across the country and the results can be absolutely great - or truly miserable). With the old and new bridges - I totally love this one:

Warszawa, Most Świętokrzyski
... with Kraków I love, with Kazimierz nad Wisłą, with industrial £ódź and good and bad examples of rural houses...

Travel / Polish Architecture [147]

Try to edit -> resize the photo and then go to "save as" and play with the quality slider to the right, it can save you a lot of disc space. Also, do not save any additional data, eg EXIF, it's a few kb less as well.

Love / Should a marriage proposal to a partner from Poland be done in private or public? [27]

Do you want to marry him? If so - how disturbing the stage design can be?
If not - it's not the stage design that stops you from saying "no".


It's an ultimate compliment you can get from another person / man. To spend the rest of his life with you must mean you are the most amazing person he has ever met.

Forgive me any possible vagueness/ obscurity, it's not easily to explain the reasons for marriage having 6 beers before :D

Life / Tips on tipping in Poland [45]


Surely they do :| Especially having in mind that their salaries are generally kept low because it is assumed they will make some money out of the tips. Pretty much the same way as everywhere else.

Hairdresser / taxi would be the cases when I wouldn't feel guilty leaving without tipping. Still, I tend to leave some change. Pizza guy should definitely get a tip, usually the bill is round up.

Generally tips are expected but so many people are not leaving them for many various reasons (from being tight-arses to simply not having any spare money) that it won't surprise anyone when you just pay a bill with no tip at all.

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


Generally "second you" - "ty" shows surprise / annoyment / sometimes happiness. "Co robisz" is just a regular question, shows that you are interested in someone's actions, you may ask that for no particular reason ("what are you doing tonight?", "whassup").

"Co Ty robisz" often indicates emotional nuance. That's something a husband could say to his wife on his early return from business trip :D

From grammatical point both sentences are correct and acceptable.

And "kurwa" can be put almost anywhere in the sentence and will work fine there.

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]

kurcze, kurka, kurde

or "cholera" - damn

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


It would :) It wouldn't be natural only if you were raging angry, you do not use mild replacements then of course.

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


Not at all, the sentence would have to start with "Kurwo" / "Ty kurwo"...

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


It seems that you might know Polish females who barely speak Polish but read extensive passages written by divine marquis...


Oh crap, you may be pretty damn right, pardon my French :D

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


cmoknonsens :D

Language / Word order and swearing in Polish [44]


Kiedy chce się psa uderzyć kij się zawsze znajdzie.
When you want to slap a dog you will always find a stick to do it.
This just might be a handy excuse for this short-tempered women but it really does not have much in common with the colloquial speech and the way word "kurwa" is perceived.

Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]


I would say it's all down to the fact that Poland is (relatively) poor. Relatively, because paying Western European prizes for global brands with your Central European salary makes you feel like a beggar. Quite often you can get local equivalent and great quality goods for half the price (if not less) - and that could make you feel like a rich man, able to afford sooo much (hence the "relativity").

But.
Cheaper goods from local company cannot confirm your social status. This one is getting validated by a pair of shoes with a logo - and on this precious little brand sign you spend half of the Polish minimum wage. The same pair of shoes in most of eurozone countries cost you the equivalent of half day - maybe a day work. Nothing to brag about. Runners are therefore for tracks and jeans for casual afternoon, not for social validation (also, funnily enough, Polish prices on global brands are often higher than prices of the same goods in UK, Germany or Ireland. All because the companies know very well that they are selling not only the product, but the prestige so they bump up the price. Not too much, they still want to sell after all). If you add to the equation the fact that the big flashy brands were like a holy grail in pre-'89 Poland you almost get the picture. Tacky, yes. But for ages dreamt of and also seen as the social norm "everywhere else".


Partly agree...
Only partly. Too many 2012 registrations seen in Dublin today on the way to work. This is not necessarly Polish thing :D

Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]


I do not consider any of these "essential", sorry :D


Naaaah. It's totally not like I had to take a small loan to pay for my first mp3 player :D
Your mum might have been delighted with Hilfiger prices in US because they will be significantly higher in Poland. Bargain by comparison. Still crazy expensive when compared to an average salary in Poland.


Agree.
There are also rural areas with 90% unemployment rate and if you are lucky enough to eventually land a job you get a great salary of 1,200 - 1,400zl (and spend 500 on petrol / tickets / commuting to the nearest city). I also personally know white collar workers earning similar money in well-established international companies. I actually know PhDs in biology working for less than that (in Kraków, to be precise, not in Białystok).

(having said that I also know white collar workers earning easily five-digit figures monthly. They do exist, however rare they are).

News / Should countries be boycotted for offending Poles? [60]


We, the (Polish) people dare to disagree with your statements.


Oh, that's simply hillarious coming from the representative of a nation that exported nearly 80 millions of their own. Would they even fit on the island now? :D

Law / Public Photography Laws [9]


You can photograph this person, you cannot publish this photo in any form (including websites) unless you have the permission from that person or you have paid them.

That is true for all photos that show a person in such a way that he/she can be identified (and that means not only face but for example also the items that may point directly to a specific person).

There are two exceptions:
- photos of public figures / celebrities while performing their public / professional functions
- documentary shots of scenes (including urban ones), landscapes or gatherings. The rule of thumb is that it's legal if you can remove the person from the image and it will not affect the subject and / or character of the photo.

The above are the legal regulations... the reality is usually completely different.

Law / Public Photography Laws [9]


If the photo is taken because:


...the person is the subject. They may be as small as 10 or 20% of the frame - but still the main reason for the photo being taken. Would OP take this photo if the street was empty? Can he replace that person with a random stranger without changing the meaning / intention / character of the photo? If so - good for him. If not - he can always claim he would / can :)

The road traffic accident photo would be perfectly legal even if people were facing the camera (unless the person is the main subject of the photo, because of their shocked face let's say).

News / Should countries be boycotted for offending Poles? [60]


Check how many Poles in Ireland got their Irish passports already :D

News / Should countries be boycotted for offending Poles? [60]


Well, I certainly intend to boycott the Dutch website.
I also boycott the ideas of "Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski".

Most likely I will also boycott RevokeNice soon enough.

Ah, the little pleasures in life. Yesterday I had no idea I can boycott so many things :D

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


This is wrong on so many levels that I wouldn't know where to start.

Here: average salary in Poland according to GUS research:

mowimyjak.pl/praca-i-kariera/finanse-i-biznes/ile-wynosi-srednia-pensja-w-polsce,104_37376.html

(details and Polish-English version: [stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/PUBL_pw_zatrudnienie_wynagrodzenia_I-III_kw_2011.pdf])
4,015 zł (gross).

Put it here: infor.pl/kalkulatory/wynagrodzenia.html ..and you get around 2,860zł take-home pay.

Also, as Mr Sadowski from Adam Smith Centre points out: "average salary is an optical illusion [...] it's influenced by the big agglomerations where directors of big companies earn tens of thousands zloty'.

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


...is not average at all. They are the lucky ones.

Have you ever heard the term "Generation 1200"?


Yes. That small parcel is what lets them survive in a region where there is no work in 100km radius.
But of course it's them who are "lazy".

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


I think you think of 19th century England. Or maybe 1930s in US.

The rest is just simplistic interpretation bearing all marks of the lovely attitute "you are poor and it's your fault" and being completely detached from reality.


Ah, more presumptions based on nothing.

As for opening factories in the West... look at the map and communication links. Roads, rail tracks, airports etc.

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


That's interesting (seriously). Do you have any background on this story?

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


...and where two good degrees still can't get you a permanent contract from employer and decent salary.

So. You know one guy who is building a house. That really opened my eyes and made me change my mind about the plight of sooo many underpaid workers. It's their fault, obviously. They are not trying hard enough. All 5 million of them or so.


Bullshit. Mainly because there are no jobs to send your kids to.
Also because of the social services that would rather take the kid away from the family than allow for child labour.
And also because the families get child benefits as long as the kid is in school.

BTW: do you know that Poland has one of the highest in Europe percentages of people with university degree (if not the highest)? And, paradoxically, most of these graduates end up on dole. I would be really careful putting (university) education in one line with good salary prospects.

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]

delphiandomine, you threw out the CV of a person with great degrees and yet you preach about the importance of education? :D
And if a kid, that was working and earning money since he was 17, shows up - you will throw the CV out, because he had no proper schooling?

Makes sense to me :]


Yes, I totally agree, it should never be expected that 8 hours of daily hard work will bring you any decent income :]

<plonk>

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


One month in a "fashionable" place.
Could as well have spent 23 months waitressing in Bristol to get the money for college. Work illegally and / or in grey zone to earn any money at all. Nothing you can put in CV in Poland if you want to get good job.

That's however not the point here.

The point was:


So there you have it: an educated person gets her CV binned as well. So much for the value of proper education.

Every excuse is good for putting the blame onto the employees: overeducated. Undereducated. Not willing to work overtimes (usually unpaid). Not willing to half-kill themselves for additional 500zł. Not willing to accept trash work contracts and no social insurance from employer. Not willing to accept 1,600zł salary and spend half of that (and 6 hours daily) on commuting. Not willing to do the job of three people for the salary of one.

Lazy bastards. It's all their fault that don't earn even earn the average (that won't even qualify you for a 35-year mortgage in most banks).

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


Not necessarily. Not with the sort of attitude shown by most of HR departments - or even bosses of small enterprises who think recruiting makes them half-gods, looking down on any applicant.

Besides:
Let's say she is from rural area. I've known plenty of students that had to go back to their own little villages (and "lazy villagers" parents) because of two reasons:

- one: it's harvest time. The best time to reciprocate the effort the parents put into paying for child's schooling in some crazy expensive big city

- second: the student dormitories close for summer. Finding a summer accommodation (and paying for it) in cities like Kraków or Warsaw may be quite a challenge. Definitely not something you can do with a part-time waitressing job or unpaid training provided by some well-known brand name (the possibility of using their name in your future CV is of course sufficient reward, isn't it?).

The problem with Polish salaries is that generally speaking there is no average salary for average work (and I don't mean the level of engagement here). No mid-levels, no proper training / start-up periods, when you earn money not-that-good (but sufficient to survive) and know that the situation will improve with time. No basic jobs that still allow you to pay the rent and bills without ambitions for much more. You either have to embrace the über-capitallistic mindset and maybe finally advance in the market food chain (unless of course your family has long been there in the right spot and it's all downhill form here) or steer away from the rat race and realise in time that it's not really an option if you want to survive. The average salary quoted before is not the "most common salary". There is no such thing as "average" in Poland and that's the biggest issue. You have two very different worlds and very different salary levels - it's either tens of thousands or 1,600. And it takes a lot of these "1,600" to make for one "ten thousand" in the "average salary". There is no work ethic as such, it got replaced by the money ethics when you can't be proud of your job unless it pays well. And there is only a handful of jobs that pay well - and even these can offer you the right money only because down the food chain there are people who are getting less and less. The mid-level managers' salaries can be 20k and more because the till lady gets 900. The editor gets 10k a month because the student journalist gets 120 for their two weeks work (but hey! he can use the magazine title in his resume!). The local craftsmen, the little kind vendors who knew all their clients, nurses proud of their work ethics, courteous bus drivers - they are gone. If not entirely - going extinct at an alarming rate. The middle class is gone.

It's either sh1tstorm or place almost pristinely sh1tless, the space for gradual sh1t changes is shrinking and not too many vacancies seem to be left there.

Work / Minimum basic salary in Poland [96]


What that has to do with anything?


I could go on and on the the quality of employers in Poland :D


Really.


Tens of thousands do. And definitely the group that cannot afford private accommodation during the term can't afford higher prices durign the summer (also - the dorms are transformed into hostels during that time, usually about 5% of rooms remains for students' use and you have to have a good explanation for your application. Usually university work qualifies for accommodation. Working somewhere else usually doesn't).

Again, the above does not have much to do with my original claim:-
a couple earning (both) the Polish average salary are the lucky ones (and well above minimum wage of 1,500 gross or 1,111 nett).
Period :)