Work / Self-employed American living in Poland? Is it possible? [46]

Especially Czech, being not only a related Slavic language, but relatively close to Polish, compared, say, with Bulgarian or Slovene, for instance. Poles on this forum have contended that Slovak might well be even closer.

Anyhow, best of luck and I'm sure things will work out, so long as you create your own special niche and never get let down!!

Work / Self-employed American living in Poland? Is it possible? [46]

Learn the language and you should be able to land something if your skill set fits the employer's criteria.
Freelance writer though sounds rather general, to be frank! Perhaps a position as "Internet Researcher" might yield fruit, but most likely, only in one of the largest cities.

Language / Ethnic backround of suffixes of Polish surnames [54]

Was told my family name, Pajdo, is in fact not Polish, maybe Ruthenian or some such ethnicity.

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

Again, I think Poland would be foolhardy to abandon the EU, much as it would be equal folly for Switzerland as but one example, to join! Poland derives too many benefits from being a "member of the club", so to speak, just as Switzerland would lose too many benefits by becoming an EU-member, for instance, her neutrality.

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]

Except for the rare intermarriage cases, traditionally in France or England, I've never noticed Negroid features in Western Europeans, even among native Sicilians whom I've met and who have typically jet black hair and eyes!

More likely a slightly Asiatic appearance among Poles, Ukrainians or Russians than African fearures among Western Europeans.
By "Western", I presume you're excluding the Scandinavians or Northern Europeans, such as the Germans, the Flemish or the Dutch.

Life / Typical Polish house and family [46]

When I was last in Poland is really of little to no import!
What I recall is as clear as today.

Genealogy / Seeking Czarniecki family members and ancestors from Lublin, also Margiewicz, Danilowicz and Andrulewicz [77]

Jews see themselves as both an ethnicity as well as a religion, but not a nationality!
American Jews always considered themselves "American" by country, "Jewish" by ethnicity and creed.
I feel the same way.

Life / Typical Polish house and family [46]

Oh yes, another thing!
Whereas here in the US, a little welcome sign reading "HOME SWEET HOME!" is more or less optional nowadays, when last in Poland, visiting the relatives of my Polish teacher, right smack in the middle of the living room wall to greet any visitors, read a lovely-looking, hand-crafted crocheted "GOSC W DOMU, PAN BOG W DOMU".

I was told at the time, that such was for all intents and purposes obligatory in most private houses.

News / Polexit? Almost half of the Poles believe that Poland would be better off outside of the EU [548]

And so every time another European nation has her own problems following regulations, they decide to up and split?? Here in the States, Texas has been threatening to secede from the Union for at least several decades. As in a divorce, why not stay and work things out. Sure, the differences

can't be that irreconcilable, can they?

Pretty plain dumb, if you ask me!

Life / Typical Polish house and family [46]

As I was only once inside a single Polish house, it resembled certain recollections I'd had of
being in Germany, especially in smaller towns.

Compared with the States, space tended to be at a premium and everything had a somewhat
more modest feel than, say, in the typical US suburban home.

Genealogy / Im proud to be a nordic guy, who with me here in Poland ? [7]

>Der Stuermer< would provide at least a single leaf of photographs in her editions, showcasing the "ideal" Aryan with the proverbial lantern jaw, broad shoulders, fair hair, tall frame, chiseled features and blue eyes, in stark contrast to those of either Balkan, Southern European, or Semitic background.

At least a generation or so of Germans well into the immediate post-War years were doubtless influenced, if perhaps only subliminally, by such indelible images:-)

Genealogy / Im proud to be a nordic guy, who with me here in Poland ? [7]

A combo of the three, in all likelihood.

UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [41]

I'd believe it.

UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [41]

BBC?? I'm talking about CBS as well as ABC right here at home!
Glad to know my suspicions were correct:-)

Are they integrating all right, or is it rather not unlike the guest workers who first arrived in Germany in or around 1960?

UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [41]

That was my suspicion, but I wasn't certain. Figured I'd ask a Scot, since the "fake news" industry on both sides of the Pond do like to massage and doctor stats, don't they!

:-)

UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [41]

[moved from]

Lots of Poles currently living in the UK, Scotland being no exception, I take it.

Genealogy / Displaced Persons Camp / Work camp and concentration camp difference [86]

Bad Arolsen is the chief repository of Holocaust documents as concerns DPs, both within Germany and throughout Europe.

News / Goodbye Sunday Shopping in Poland - Hello Electoral Reform [246]

I think the issue is more trade union regulations rather than purely religious reasons. In the US as well, when I was growing up, until round about the beginning of the '70's, one could almost never find a shopping center open, even a Walmart store. There were late hours in most of the major urban areas, including even some Saturdays, but Sunday remained sacred for years.

Work / Teaching English in Poland - better opportunities for an American? [20]

Based upon with what I've kept up in the field, through colleagues presently teaching in Poland, France, Germany etc. DominicB is unfortunately right on point.

A youngish man from New York, of Polish descent and fluent in Polish, confessed to me of late that not only is he the SOLE Yank in the crowd where he's teaching (somewhere in the capital, but wouldn't disclose the name of the institution), but the sole native English speaker as well. If he's being truthful, there are zero Anglophones in the bunch, rather, fellow instructors from Vienna, Hamburg, Stockholm, a student intern TA (Teaching Ass't) from Paris and that's pretty much it.

The international mélange of Globish actually hurts his ears, so he texted:-)

Genealogy / Polish Romani (gypsy) surnames [64]

Just out of curiousity, might "Lula" also be a Romani surname?

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1040]

Adam Michnik, for instance??

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]

Probably from where the Yiddish "bubby" for "grandma" derives:-)

Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

Humanities Education as it is, cannot be said to be a growth field any longer, certainly not as she once was.
While objectively speaking, one might well be dismayed, it certainly should come as no surprise to any normally intelligent, sentient being, reading (above all understanding) the newspaper over the past forty years or so, as one should!

Language teaching as a sole bread-and-butter living stopped probably around the immediate post-Sputnik Era, and has been aggressively struggling to regain her former ground ever since.

Apparently though, the situation is much the same throughout Europe. Asia and the Pacific Rim aka China, Japan, and South Korea are of course another story all together.

Life / Describe Polish people in few words [13]

@Dougpol1

Ain't it the truth though?

@Rich,
They had mighty good reason to be suspicious, Rich. If you were faced with an unknown quantity, bereft of a democratic underpinning, a multi-ethnic society which you were essentially forced into sharing, if you were daily in fear of the thought police etc., you'd not be exactly a babe in the woods, trusting all like some innocent lamb, would you?

Life / Describe Polish people in few words [13]

Dougpol1,

Apropos, you must then have heard the well-known quip about travelling by train after dark throughout Communist Europe during the early '60's. English chap en route with his friend opens the window and sticks his hand out of his compartment as the train speeds along through the countryside. After a few minutes, he retracts his hand and finds somebody just spat on his watch. "Ah!", he exclaims, "we must be in East Germany!" An hour or so later, his hand stretched out of the compartment, he retracts it once again. This time, his watch is gone.

"Well now, we must be passing through Poland!"

Life / Describe Polish people in few words [13]

A few words to describe any people might been seen as dodgy by some.

Although many years since yours truly visited Poland, I continue to have numerous professional contacts with native Polish arrivals where I have worked for umpteen years, and have found on average that educated rank-and-file Poles can tend to be exceptionally confident, strong-voiced, academically sure of themselves, and not likely to tolerate the slightest nonsense about their country!

I suppose adjectives such as opinionated, definite, direct, and unvarnished would be those which best describe contemporary Poles abroad aka here in the States.

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

".....w tym watku chyba go nie ma."

LOL

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

To nie to oznaczy, Panie Ryszku:-) Nie rozumialem ,co napisales.

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

Dziekuje, Ziemowicie!

Nigdy NIE uzywalem GoogleTranslate. NoToForeigners et al.?? Prawdopodobnie TAK!

Life / How would you describe the Polish sense of humour? [66]

Humor is an unknown commodity here.

Really? Just look at many of your posts, przelotnyptak1!
I mean no ill, as I'm sure you're willing to improve your English, much as I'm equally willing to improve my Polish.

However, there must be both motivation as well as effort on your part.
Thus far, I've seen little evidence of either:-) I do remain optimistic.