Life / Racism & study with part time jobs in Warsaw ? [53]


Very interesting.

You say "they" don't like people invading their country and are defending their country, yet you are not Polish and are living in Poland. And you say "Europe is for Europeans".

You seem to be confused. You are from another COUNTRY in Europe (which is not a COUNTRY, but a CONTINENT), yet don't think Poland (a COUNTRY) should defend their COUNTRY from invaders from other COUNTRIES (such as yourself, who is not Polish, but living in Poland).

To the original poster: I studied in Warsaw (at Szkoła Główna Handlowa SGH) and am not Polish and had a great time. You will more than likely not find a job in Poland (unless you babysit or something), so save. There are plenty of foreigners in Warsaw, especially if you're among the Erasmus students, of which there are hundreds. I say go for it, and good luck.

Life / Are there many crypto-Jews in Poland? [67]


First of all, seriously? Why is everyone here so obsessed with talking about Jews? Do you all really have nothing better to do?

Also: "Jewish" is either an ethnicity or a religion or both, but it is not a nationality. Polish is a nationality, German is a nationality, Vietnamese is also a nationality. No, just no.

But seriously, WTF, people?

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]


There's a simple solution to that -- just tell them in Polish that you'd prefer them to speak Polish so you can practice. It's easy to be polite about it.

There's nothing wrong with using English in Polish. Most countries use English words, and words borrowed from other languages as well.

For example, Polish also uses the word "spacerować" from the German "spazieren" and means "to go for a walk". Germans and Austrians use so many French words, such as "Portemonnaie" for "wallet". It's a sign of globalization.

Life / Are there many crypto-Jews in Poland? [67]


What do you mean by the Eastern borderlands?

I've been living in Mazury and Warsaw and have never met any people like this. Maybe that's because I know no native-English speakers in Poland. It's reminds me of Chinese friends of mine who complain about the American/UK/German people who come to China to work (because they are too uneducated or for whatever other reason can't find a job in their own country) and think they're better than the Chinese and think they know more about China and the Chinese than those who have lived there their whole lives.

Life / WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION? [396]


Exactly, it's not just English words that are being used and it's due to close proximity to other languages and open borders. I always think they're funny :)


See what JonnyM wrote. I've seen/heard it used like that also.

Genealogy / Advice to translate pages from a Polish book into English? (Genealogy) [16]

Google translate is terrible with Polish (better with some other, more commonly used languages due to its type of machine translation). I translate Polish (and German) into English professionally. Let me know if you need my help at all.

Travel / I'm half-Polish and I'm Planning a Trip to Poland - tickets, historical landmarks? [36]

They failed to teach you manners when you were younger...

As for the question, try Googling it. Also, the Norman Davies (?) "A history of Poland" books are supposed to be good. We were told to read them for class, at least. Read about Solidarnosc and the Uprisings, especially if you go to Warsaw or Gdansk.

History / Polesie Voivodeship before WWI? [11]

Wrong, but whatever makes you feel good about yourself...

Genealogy / Why Polish aren't white?? [272]


Where you do people get this stuff?

I'm curious... some of you agree that Jews are not white and are the root of all evil (to paraphrase). But, then you also agree with thoughts like these, that those people who are different (whether it be because of darker skin, a strange last name, a Polish history) "feel a sort of solidarity" to one another. Isn't that exactly what you're saying the Jews do? Why when the Jews do this (if they do at all) is that evil, but when you do it, it's fine?

Also... I don't know where in America you live, but I've never heard anything like that where I'm from.

And, lastly, out of pure curiosity: those of you that have commented that you live in the US and (may or may not) have Polish roots -- when was the last time you were in Poland, if ever?

Language / Give me some reasons to learn Polish [126]

You learn it because you want to, that's what matters. It doesn't matter if it's the most useful language. Studies have shown that learning one language helps make it much easier to learn another. I started learning German in school when everyone else learned French or Spanish. Now I know Polish and am a translator, so it worked out. (Also, I earn on average more than those with Spanish or French as their language ;))

Study / Opinions about '2 weeks intensive Polish course' [26]


I don't think they mean that you'll be fluent after two weeks... I think it's more of an introductory course.

Study / Learning Polish in Warsaw - good school recommendation? [47]


I was a student at SGH and took Polish courses there. The teacher they have is great and had created her own book/handouts. She recommended the Polski mniej obcy books, but I don't know if there's a beginner level for that... it wouldn't hurt to check out the options, there are tons of courses available in Warsaw!

Study / Opinions about '2 weeks intensive Polish course' [26]

But they certainly don't mean that you'll be fluent in 2 weeks. It's to give you the basics or to improve upon what you already have.