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Posts by polishcanuck  

Joined: 11 Feb 2007 / Male ♂
Last Post: 26 Jun 2010
Threads: Total: 7 / In This Archive: 2
Posts: Total: 461 / In This Archive: 99
From: Canada
Speaks Polish?: Tak
Interests: Working out, mountain biking, basketball

Displayed posts: 101 / page 1 of 4
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polishcanuck   
14 Apr 2007
USA, Canada / Canadian wanting Polish Citizenship? [30]

If you have Polish parents you can get a passport no problem. Call a Polish embassy and they'll tell you what documents you need to show them.
polishcanuck   
4 Dec 2007
Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

My cousin is a gynecologist in poland making only 1500zl/month. Apparently this is a maximum salary for a medical professional in this country. However, he's not complaining; he lives in a mansion:) He setup his own private practice clinic in his backyard and this is where the real money comes from...
polishcanuck   
11 Jan 2008
Work / Have been offered a job in Warsaw - should I move to Poland?? [48]

I enjoy meeting new people and having fun

If you really are the social guy you say you are, you'll have no problems in poland. In fact being out going and foreign will make you quite popular, especially with the women. I always have a great time in poland and the bars/clubs are always a lot of fun.

As for snowboarding, your best bet would be to go down to the mountains (zakopane area) or slovakia/czech rep - tatra mountains. Not exactly nearby but poland is mostly flat.

btw, i'm just a couple of years younger than you.

They sit and watch stupid programmes whilst eating their 'kanapki'-a very odd habit indeed.

Once again, michal tells us about how much of a prostak/wiesniak family he was born into and grew up with. Michal, you see uneducated poles (well any wiesniak of any nationality really) do watch TV in excess and rarely pick up a newspaper/book to read.
polishcanuck   
31 Jan 2008
Life / Polish dubbing in movies; why is it so that on polish television all the films are dubbed? [135]

Perhaps you can start a thread titled "Poland, how it was 25 years ago" then just post to yourself.

I support this idea. It is quite clear that he deeply misses poland and this separation is troubling his mind. I can just picture him sitting in his flat in the UK on a rainy oops... i mean usual ... day staring eastwards out the window, tears running down his face, saying "moja ojczyzna, o jak ja teskne za toba." This painting depicts michal's troubled state:

Upadek Polski

Maybe he is shy, you should create the thread in his behalf.

Going back to the topic, Polish dubbing in movies = annoying. I can't watch any of these dubbed movies.
polishcanuck   
19 Feb 2008
News / GDP of Poland.. 338 billion pop-38.5mil Cali GDP 1.7 Trillion pop-37.7mil [70]

Does poland lack wealth b/c its just fresh out of communism? Is it because of a lack of natural resources? OR is it because of the work ethic of polish workers? Is it because of the social low standing of poland vs other more well liked places? Its quite humorous how my state produces 4x more goods and services than ur country! Not to mention poland has been around for much longer than cali.

This california vs poland vs X comparison can be applied to many countries around the world. I was going to explain the situation a little but i don't really have time at the moment, and you don't sound very knowledgeable about the world so it could be frustrating. I fear that it would be like trying to teach a retard quantum physics.

Just go to a library and start reading.
polishcanuck   
5 Mar 2008
News / Polish Immigrants Leave America for Europe [210]

nah, it's because they just couldn't hack it here.

Bullseye!

And whoever said america is only for doctors, lawyers and bankers is also wrong. There are many other professions that can provide a very good lifestyle, such as skilled trades workers (HUGE demand here in canada as well), teachers (in small cities), engineers, anything in the medical field, business owners etc. You can also afford to buy a house, unlike in the UK.

These poles heading back were probably (illegally) working underpaid jobs or didnt have any education/skills.
polishcanuck   
14 Mar 2008
Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

I've driven through £omża several times since my family has a cottage just north of the city (well like 30km N). I also stopped by once to grab something to eat. Now that's not much experience, but to me it seemed like a dead city and my family didn't really have much to say about it either - but we're from wroclaw so maybe we're a little biased. £omża and the surrounding area seems to have been stripped of it's young people by higher salaries/jobs in the UK. Maybe you don't care too much about this though. Just my observations...
polishcanuck   
14 Mar 2008
Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

Maybe join a club or something? Are Poles into things like "poker night" or darts at the pub? And, most important, would foreigners be easily accepted as peers in such tight-knit communities?

I think you'll have to get help from somebody else on this - expats? Many of my cousins are about your age but they have little kids so their "after work" schedule will greatly differ from yours, obviously. They mostly spend time with their kids and socialize with friends from work/people they went to school with. Weekend trips to cottages are also popular. It doesn't seem to me that such clubs are popular among poles. I suggest getting to know your co-workers...

Will you be teaching english in £omża?
polishcanuck   
14 Mar 2008
Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

Do the lakes get warm enough to swim in summer? I saw a picture somewhere of people swimming in the Narew River in £omża.

The water is about the same temp as Lake Huron - it's not daytona beach but it is ok for swimming. I always go swimming in the rivers/lakes in the area. Sometimes the water is a bit chilly for my liking but i usually drink when i'm up there so i don't feel the cold as much:)

Kasia is right, this area is great for "outdoorsy" people in the summer. The mazury (eng: masurian lakes) are not only popular among poles but also many western europeans esp. the dutch. You can swim, rent boats/sea-doos, camp, hike, bike, canoe/kayaketc. - basically heaven for someone like me. And it's dirt cheap.
polishcanuck   
15 Mar 2008
Life / What would it be like to live in Lomza? [60]

That's a pretty good point of reference, since I live on Lake Huron (Goderich, Ontario)! Drinking & swimming (as well as drinkin' & snowmobiling/hunting/fishing/barbecuing, etc.) is a given around here too, lol...

Hey, i grew up in Kincardine!! Small world haha. Kincardine/goderich are a good place too live, too bad they're so far from major cities. I do miss the lake/beach though. I live in the GTA now and rarely swim in lake ontario:(
polishcanuck   
17 Apr 2008
Life / Hepatitis C in Poland...please help. [59]

Hmmm sounds like someone has been spending too much time in warszawa's brothels...

Just walk into a public health clinic. Or if you want to pay a little more for faster/better service go to a private clinic.
polishcanuck   
20 Apr 2008
Life / Hepatitis C in Poland...please help. [59]

Listen buddy, you have to get yourself to a hospital. Quit wasting time on a message board! You're in a country where the health care system is much cheaper than your native usa. If you want to get even cheaper medical help i suggest you go to ukraine. Your last worry should be about being on some "list." It's idiots like you that help spread these diseases.
polishcanuck   
21 Apr 2008
Life / Hepatitis C in Poland...please help. [59]

Relax people, i realize hep c is most commonly transfered via blood-blood contact. I don't live in Poland; they do teach us sex/health ed. here in canada! I was just being a jerk/instigator/joker - like many of you are in other threads!

I just don't understand why this guy doesn't get help. He says he has no money for treatment in the USA so why not get treated in poland (where he currently resides) where medicare is cheap/government subsidized??? If this is still expensive, go east to the ukraine (visa?) like i said. I would also suggest south asia but that's probably where a quack infected you and airfare would be too expensive.

It's really quite simple.
polishcanuck   
27 Apr 2008
News / Poland's Vietnamese: A tough transition but they're surviving [31]

When i was driving through Warszawa 2 years ago i heard on the radio that there are 3 vietnamese football (soccer) divisions in the city - apparently there are 50,000 vietnamese migrants in the city. I stopped at a couple of stores and got something to eat - they were quite visible everywhere.

It's quite clear that poland, like many other european countries & n. america, needs immigrants since the natural population growth is in the negatives. Orientals are a great choice; hard working and non-religious. By doing so, hopefully poland will avoid some of the culture clashes and islamic extremism seen in w. europe.
polishcanuck   
5 May 2008
History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Confuses me too, as it was the Germans who named the place Auschwitz, but the Poles seem to only want to call the place by the name of the town its located, Oswiecim.

Auschwitz is the German name for the town of Oswiecim. But you're right the average pole does refer to the camp as Oswiecim rather than auschwitz. Many poles don't like the german language/people; this is probably why they prefer using polish names. It also re-enforces the "polishness" of the city.

Another thing I notice is that the media, for some strange reason, avoids at any cost using the phrase "German" to describe anything to do with the holocaust. Instead, the phrase "Nazi" is used. It must be part of some deal to slowly dilute responsbility of the German people for WWII, the murder of Jews, and the construction and operation of the concentration camps located on occupied lands.

I agree, I've noticed the same thing. In the future people will think Nazi's came down from another planet!
polishcanuck   
7 May 2008
History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Why might it be called a Polish concentration camp? Could it be because it was last operated by Poles? The Germans left the concentration camp in January 1945 but it was still in operation in April of 1947. And if we include the subcamps, Germans ran the site for four years and eight months, while Poles ran the site for eleven years.

Funny how these things get forgotten.

Auschwitz stopped operating when the soviets liberated the camp in '45.

However, Harry is right, there were smaller "camps" run in parts Poland/Germany after the war, mainly operated by Jews seeking revenge. Unfortunately it is a suppressed/taboo topic and very little is said about it. If you're interested though, here's a book about this topic written by a Jew: "Eye for an Eye" by John Sack, amazon.com/Eye-John-Sack/dp/0967569109 The author had a hard time getting his book published, but it's out there. I think you can even find it on torrent sites.
polishcanuck   
7 May 2008
History / "Poland's Concentration Camp" ?? [570]

Why might it be called a Polish concentration camp? Could it be because it was last operated by Poles? The Germans left the concentration camp in January 1945 but it was still in operation in April of 1947. And if we include the subcamps, Germans ran the site for four years and eight months, while Poles ran the site for eleven years.

Funny how these things get forgotten.

Auschwitz stopped operating when the soviets liberated the camp in '45.

However, Harry is right, there were smaller "camps" run in parts Poland/Germany after the war, mainly operated by Jews seeking revenge. Unfortunately it is a suppressed/taboo topic and very little is said about it. If you're interested though, here's a book about this topic written by a Jew: "Eye for an Eye" by John Sack, amazon.com/Eye-John-Sack/dp/0967569109 The author had a hard time getting his book published, but it's out there. I think you can even find it on torrent sites.
polishcanuck   
10 Jun 2008
Life / Is the word "Polack"rascist? [185]

Big population = more poor/uneducated Poles which give the rest of us a bad name.

This is exactly how polish jokes started. When Poles began emigrating to the US in the early 19th c many were uneducated (farmers, labourers) and could not even read/write in polish! Hence the term "dumb polack."

Personally I have never been the victim of polish jokes and there are many poles where i live (toronto area). I think it all depends on how you present yourself and your level of integration into society.
polishcanuck   
19 Jun 2008
Law / Form of Polish Driving Licence [14]

In order to renew your passport just simply go to a polish embassy/consulate with your expired passport and any and all ID you have. Now to get a dowod osobisty you need to get yourself "za meldowana" somewhere in poland. Maybe you still have some family in poland where you can za meldowac sie.
polishcanuck   
27 Jul 2008
Life / Is it me or do any guys in Poland not have shaved heads? [113]

I don't think long hair suites polish men because most poles have thin hair. I started growing out my hair a few years ago but had to cut it when i realized that it made me look feminine. Also, men with long hair (ie: "z ogonkiem" - pony tail) in poland were once labelled as being "typy" (suspicious looking, criminal-like - help with translation??), bums and not hard working. Maybe this is another reason why men keep their hair short.

But i agree with most of you, the shaved head look is disturbing especially when these guys dress in those euro tracksuits or like in the above picture.

Noimmigration: is he your type? :)
polishcanuck   
12 Sep 2008
History / Life in communism vs democracy in Poland [234]

There are pros to Communism?

Social programs, low crime, no unemployment, free education, free medicare, same standards for all.

However, overall the cons out weigh the pros.
polishcanuck   
12 Sep 2008
History / Life in communism vs democracy in Poland [234]

What were they? And what was good about them?

Mandatory (and free) summer programs/camps for kids, like scouts in canada, designed to keep kids busy/active and off the "streets." There's more, i'll have to ask my parents.

low crime: nothing valuable enough to steal

There's always something to steal. People always stole under communism because often times it was difficult to buy some goods. For example, construction sites were targeted for tools, building supplies/concrete. Many poles built houses during the commie era using stolen goods:)

But crime isn't limited to stealing. Although i did not make myself clear, I meant crime as in violence. My parents always talk about how there were no dangerous neighbourhoods when they were growing up. Today there are areas in most cities where even police are afraid to enter.

no unemployment: many people had unfulfilling jobs provided by the state, and often the state chose your career path for you

True, and many workplaces had more employees than required which actually decreased efficiency/productivity. But at least everyone had a JOB and didn't have to worry about putting food on the table.

The state chose people's career paths?? Where did you hear this? I've never heard anyone in my family talk about this, as far as i know it was their choice.

same standards for all: in theory only, like I said the CP members were the elite and they generally had the law on their side (or a judge here and there who would look the other way because they were "connected").

True. But you should also realize that this still exists to some degree. Many things can be arranged "po znajomosci" (with connnections) in today's poland.
polishcanuck   
12 Sep 2008
Love / Married polish women:Are they hot? [79]

Married polish women:Are they hot?

Are you referring to "MILFs" and "cougars"??? If so, I would have to say that these older women are more attractive/sexy here in canada than poland.
polishcanuck   
14 Sep 2008
History / Life in communism vs democracy in Poland [234]

This might sound terrible but was it a kind of communist educational brain washing camp?,

No, there was no teaching of ideology or brainwashing. They were just like scouts. Quite enjoyable for kids (well at least my parents).
polishcanuck   
10 Oct 2008
Life / COMBATING "POLACK" JOKES [460]

I've never been a victim of Polish jokes. I think it's mostly the polish "wiesniaks" that have these problems.
polishcanuck   
12 Oct 2008
Love / ARE POLISH GIRLS GOLD-DIGGERS? [359]

Some say most Polish girls are gold-diggers interested mainly in the their boyfriend's bank account?

Yes this is true, however love and compatability are also important. If a polish girl was to choose between a "nice" polish man or a "nice" foreign man, she would without a doubt go for foreigner. But this applies to many not so wealthy countries.

My family always tries to persude me to "meet" the daughters of their friends. Reminds me of a book i had to read in high school, Pride and Prejudice. So artificial. This is why i stick with canadian girls.
polishcanuck   
21 Oct 2008
Food / Polish food in Pictures. [277]

I had some kaszanka with mashed potatoes last night for dinner. Yum!
polishcanuck   
9 Nov 2008
News / Polish-American soldier and his wife murdered by four marines [163]

U don't know the full story tho, no disrespect.

This marine probably owed them something. Well either way, these young guys are going to jail for a long time (prison sentences in the usa are LONG). I wonder if these idiots realize this...

Here they are in court:

nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/06/2008-11-06_confession_in_torture_slay_of_brooklynra-2.html
polishcanuck   
9 Nov 2008
News / Polish-American soldier and his wife murdered by four marines [163]

I wonder if there would have been so much fuss if the soldier in question hadnt had a Polish surname. I doubt it very much. Must be a racist attack

The only reason a thread was created regarding this incident is because one of the people involved is polish and this is a polish forum. It has nothing to do with racism jackass!