The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by convex  

Joined: 25 Nov 2009 / Male ♂
Last Post: 28 Nov 2011
Threads: Total: 20 / Live: 2 / Archived: 18
Posts: Total: 3928 / Live: 746 / Archived: 3182
From: Wroclaw
Speaks Polish?: un poco...wait
Interests: aviation

Displayed posts: 748 / page 12 of 25
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convex   
1 Oct 2010
Food / Half-free Christmas bigos. SMACZNEGO at Christmastime! [99]

BTW, is there any pheasant shooting in Poland?

Not much. Please don't talk about hunting, you're making me homesick.

Throw in a handful of pitted prunes, a splash of red wine and let it simmer for hours on low flame, stirrign occasionally.

Don't forgot the mushrooms and bay leaves!
convex   
28 Sep 2010
USA, Canada / Why are Polish Americans mocked in the American media? [226]

I think so. Don't take this the wrong way, but Poland and Poles isn't exactly a hot topic in the US. At least not outside of a handful of places in the US with heavy migration. Most Americans will probably go through life without ever having consciously known a Pole. I didn't before moving back to the old continent.
convex   
24 Sep 2010
USA, Canada / Poles and Americans, what do you think, are we friends or enemies? [187]

Marshall Center has some excellent writeups, lots of meat, little potatoes.

The F16s are an excellent choice considering Polish security and economic needs. While I like the Grippen, I'm not sure it was the correct choice for the PAF. Considering training and parts availability, the F16 wins out every time. Poland has no AWACS or tankers, so it will be dependent on partners for a good time to come in order to put up a decent fight in the air. Might as well go with what your biggest partner is flying :)

Poland is making those decisions in the interest of Poland, not the US. Iraq and Afghanistan are about power projection and training, which is something that is important to Poland.
convex   
24 Sep 2010
USA, Canada / Poles and Americans, what do you think, are we friends or enemies? [187]

Poland bought F 16 ($6.5bilion just for the planes).Where is the the offset?

For one, Poland now has F16s. Second, there were offsets, that's one of the main reasons that LM won the contract. Marshall Center has a good writeup on it.
convex   
16 Sep 2010
History / Should David Irving, Holocaust denier, be allowed to run tours to Poland? [246]

Is Holocaust denial illegal in Poland?

Yes. And Poles don't normally take lightly the accusation that their family members weren't shot and gassed.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do agree with him on this point:

He told the Daily Mail that his tour party was for “real history buffs”, and that it was the Polish authorities who had turned the Auschwitz Nazi death camp site into a “Disney-style” tourist trap and a “money making machine”. Irving went on to accuse Polish authorities of neglecting other less “marketable,” more authentic death camps, which “don’t have a Holiday Inn down the road,” in favor of Auschwitz.

convex   
15 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

You stink. I can hardly understand anything you write.

Yup, it's all just clicks and whistles to me.

To sum things up, switching from Russian to English in polish schools was a long process which was taking place in entire 90', where things like rarity of English teachers and abundance of Russian teachers was a main driving force.

Thanks for that writeup. It's all a bit more complicated than it looks from the outside.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

My thoughts too, not only relatives living abroad, but also people working abroad. My friend lives close to Kielce, out in a little tiny village. The kids speak English and German because their parents work abroad and picked it up and passed it to their children.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

Tall order indeed; It's common knowledge that's impossible to teach basic math skills to American kids at any age let alone Spanish in H.S, with few exceptions of course.

That explains why the US is so underrepresented when they hand out Abel prizes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Prize#Laureates

I did. You stereotype too much. I did travel to US and seen it for myself, mind you not just one isolated city but cost to cost.

What did I stereotype? It was an honest question and a humorous remark. So did you learn English in the countryside? Is it a problem to find teachers?
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

We just don't care. Why should we adapt to others when we can expect others to adapt to us? :)

And the neat thing is, based on current demographics, Americans will soon start asking "hablas espanol?" when going on vacation.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

How can you imagine me eating my schabowy when I have to stare all the time on tv to read the subtitles, huh?! ;)

TV is not for entertainment! It's a learning tool... Throw on some Alternatywy and enjoy your meal :)
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

I really think they should get rid of the lektor on the TV, Polish subtitles on English speaking films would drastically improve the level of English here.
But you can't say people are stupid, if they didn't have access.

Absolutely. I noticed that too, in all the countries that subtitle, the level of English is amazing. Probably the best tool to learn for the masses. Regarding the stupid comment, that was the case in the past, it'd be a difficult sell to say that people don't have access to learn it now.

so who am I?
sub-basic??? Don't be ridiculous! I'm not advanced but certainly I am basic level at least!

You went the wrong way, your English is great.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

I think the bigger cities could get teachers?
I don't honestly know.

Could be. Anyone that has had the honor of getting an education in the countryside wish to comment? Maybe they can't because they never had a chance to learn English :)

I agree but only to the extent of if you work in the tourist sector, then you have to speak more than one language no matter where you live or what your native tongue is.

You're not rude, you are however stupid. English is a basic skill. That is why it is taught so widely, and is mandatory in quite a few school systems. If you're a native English speaker, you learn that basic skill from birth, which should theoretically free up some time to learn something else. And if they don't, then they're idiots (which quite a few are, hey hey).

English is such a basic skill, that not knowing it bars entry to the majority of lucrative jobs. That's why it's pushed so heavily. The return on learning English is huge compared to the money invested.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

English has been mandatory in school only for the last 2 or 3 years in Poland.

That's interesting, my missus had been learning English since fourth grade. Wroclaw schools I guess?

Certainly, at least a few polite words.

You'd have to be a complete moron not to learn some basics, even though they won't get you very far if you need information. My comment was a reply to the "learn Polish" comment.

What languages do people in the United States learn and can they speak?

What does it matter? They just so happen to be born speaking a language which is the basic form of communication for work and travel. We're talking about the English language, not about the benefits that native English speakers have because they don't have to learn this additional skill.

and many know basic english... just like me

Yes, you and your terrible basic English. Sometimes it's very hard to decipher what you're trying to communicate with your broken English.

Please, if your English is basic, there would be no need for anyone to learn Polish in Poland...
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

So how is it possible to teach English in efficient way?

Earlier I mentioned that it applies to younger Poles. It's possible to teach basic English, just as it's possible to teach basic math and science...just like vozmozhno prepodavanie russkogo :)
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

going to us and expecting that almost everyone will be able to speak with me with polish - the same with being american, and expecting that almost every pole speaks english. it's rude, and... silly :)

The difference of course being that English is taught in every Polish school. It's just as silly as expecting that almost every Pole understands how to multiply and divide.
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

english, first of all, is language of international business, and it isn't so popular when talking about tourism. have you ever seen germans, russians, french, etc speaking english on their holidays?

Yes. Just head down to the lobby of the Hilton in Warsaw, they check-in...po angielsku.

I don't speak Hungarian, and I do just fine in Pecs and Debrecen.

in mine opinion it is quite rude to criticize foreigners for not knowing my native language.

It's not criticizing foreigners for not knowing my native language, it's criticizing people for not knowing the international language that they studied for 8 years in school. Would you criticize someone that couldn't do basic math?
convex   
14 Sep 2010
Travel / My visit to Poland - Likes & Dislikes. [137]

I don't really understand your point about speaking English, it is Poland, people here speak Polish. Would you think it too much for a Polish person to go to the U.S and expect to be greeted in Polish?

Considering that English is taught fairly early on in schools here, you'd expect a bit of English from anyone under 40... In the same way that I'd expect them to know basic math... English isn't a second language, it's more of a basic skill that allows you to work and vacation..

maybe you should first learn polish?

Would you suggest learning Hungarian before visiting Budapest? Italian before going to Rome?
convex   
8 Sep 2010
Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]

Then with your firsthand knowledge you prolly should have been the first to reply to the OP's questions. Before all the baseless fear mongering started...

What's baseless about having ****** screamed and a bottle thrown at you? Car stops, same comment... Are you seeing what you want to see?
convex   
7 Sep 2010
Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]

I don't think Wroclaw already forgot the negroe diskjockey who stabbed a few drunk Polish guys because they said some things he didn't like.

People need to learn when to shut their mouths. If they took a swing first, they got everything they deserved. Lots of people here shy away from provocation, I appreciate the more direct approach.

BTW, here's an article on the situation. It's a bit dated, but still relevant.

Club protection frowned upon by blacks musicians; Kenneth already knows what it means when someone says: monkey, bamboo, *****. He complains to the boss, and the boss says: - Come on, you are the problem
It starts simply, step by step, slowly, because For what the rush. Sounds of the street, growling cars, clicking heels; as usual, walk like everyone else. And then, after a minute, maybe five, you enter, against the will and quite unintentionally, in the corridor of sounds and words inaudible to others, because they do not apply to them.
- Oh, look, my son, walking Bambo. So black as our little dog.
- The monkey took he. To the zoo, you prick.
- See you, *****.
- Chimpanzee and says.
- Asphalt.
- Do you want a banana?

convex   
2 Sep 2010
Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]

But this doesn't fit the black/ Lib one-sided scolding narrative about race...

Hey, how about having czarnuch screamed at you followed up with a bottle flying past your head, and then staring down a group of hooligans that want to throw down?

Is that a Lib one sided narrative about race? How about PC hypersensitivity?

It's not a political issue. Lots of people giving their spin on things.

There are quite a few (relatively) Poles that are racist and will treat you negatively based solely on the color of your skin. It doesn't matter what the reasons are for it, or that it's a novelty, or any of that crap. 95% of people are cool as hell. 4% are hardcore racists. 1% are violent racists... I think most people will tell you it's getting better though.

I've lived in Wroclaw for two years without incident. Friend of mine comes over from the states, and well, lets say there's defiantly a difference...