Travel / Where to eat best donuts in Wroclaw? (Bakery, local places, etc) [10]

@Roger: Dunkin and all other doughnuts around the world, whatever their names, are the same: dough fried in oil (= UNhealthy).

Work / Are Indian dental qualifications recognised in Poland? [22]

I seriously doubt that Indian dental (medical) diplomas are recognized in Poland (and in EU, not to talk about other areas). Besides, like Marsu says, it's obvious that the medical staff must speak local language with 0 mistake and without any foreign accent in order to deal with patients.

@Polsyr: Yes, English is an official language in India since there are hundreds of languages but please realize that Indian English is different. In Poland, they want to learn "real" English and therefore they teach British or American English.

News / Degenerate "rainbow" eyesore to disappear from Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) in Warsaw [297]

In my neighborhood (in Warsaw), there is even a (private) day care center called "Rainbow something' (in Polish) with a big rainbow in their logo. I suppose this day care center has nothing to do with homosexuals.

News / Degenerate "rainbow" eyesore to disappear from Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) in Warsaw [297]

Personally, I think that instead of a plastic rainbow, homosexuals in Poland would rather need the same rights as the others (for instance, marriage, adoption...) and not been stigmatized.

I don't believe the city of Warsaw has money to buy plastic rainbows or plastic palm trees, like the one standing for years at Rondo Charles de Gaulle in Warsaw (everybody knows that in Warsaw there are no palm trees so why such BS?) When there is so much poverty, city hall should have other priorities.

News / Degenerate "rainbow" eyesore to disappear from Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) in Warsaw [297]

I've read that the Rainbow shall be taken down and elsewhere (don't know where) on Aug. 22-23.

History / The Warsaw Uprising memory. To remember who you are. [180]

@Little Mick: The Jewish uprising and the Warsaw uprising were 2 different events. The Jewish uprising was the fighting by Jews against nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw uprising was the fighting by citizens of Warsaw against the nazis (in the whole city). They were not at same time either...

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

@Terry: no, there is not such feeling in Poland. Being fat (or skinny) can also be due to health reasons (for instance of the thyroid gland, very common in Poland), stress....

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

Amazing all these guys above thinking that single mothers are single by choice! Very few are but most of them would prefer not to be single ;). It is extremely difficult (also financially) to raise kids when alone.

Anyway, life can be very rough and we need to adjust. Of course, the nice clean-cut family as seen in commercials looks perfect but a lot of people don't have such families ;).

Single mothers, homosexuals and a lot of other situations that seem "non political correct" have existed since the beginning of the world and shall be for ever so best to accept ;)

Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]

@Pol: "są" = "sont": pure coincidence since no explanation. But I would say, yes roughly same sound only in southern France. In standard French (which I speak) "on" is more palatal than "ą"

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

@Jardinero: for sure melons don't grow in Poland. The ideal would be to eat only local fruit and vegetables but in the case of Poland, it's extremely limited (+ considering that soil was most likely contaminated by Chernobyl ;)) and if we want to diversify our diet, we need to buy imported fruit and vegetables. It's true that they don't taste much as they get ripe in trucks and on planes.... but what to do? Last week, I bought grapes and absolutely no taste. Although I love oranges, I very rarely buy any (in Poland) since no taste, dry, no juice.. I don't buy tomatoes either outside of the "malina" and the "daktyle" kinds that we find only in summer.

Not easy to have access to good and healthy food!

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

edit Polish kids are among the most obese in Europe (together with Britons and Germans). It does NOT mean that all Poles are obese ;).

As to the seaside, sorry, Poland is not for me. I am used to much better ;)

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

@Jardinero: 100% agreed with you! Polish parents stuff their kids with sweets and other garbage because they did not have them when they were kids. My parents were tiny kids during the war and as a result, at home we had a lot of sweets and crap and it was the same in all homes. Kids were not fat though because of balanced meals (with fish, vegetables, fruit) and also no eating between meals.

As to hospital, believe me, here, it beats everything. They have a budget of some 4 zl (= less than 1 euro) per person and per day ;). For instance, we'll serve bread, margarine and 2 slices of greasy mortadela. No fruit no vegetables besides potatoes cucumber and cabbage. When I go to hospital, I eat at the downstairs (private) cafetaria and I buy juice, yoghurt from private shops...

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

@Wulkan; not the Western countries. Child obesity is found mainly in countries like Poland, UK and Germany. It is not the case in Southern Europe. In Greece, even if people are now poor, they eat well (vegetables and fruit grown in the sun, fish, goat milk cheese, olive oïl and wine).

Polish overall population is not healthy and it's due to their poor diet.

Maybe the State could introduce nutrition lessons in school but it'll be extremely hard to change centuries of bad eating.

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

@Delph: I don't go to Polish coast (I need blue and warm sea ;)) but this is what I was told by a Pole.

I first was in Poland in March 1990 and the food situation was dramatic (I love potatoes so I did survive ;)) and fortunately now we can find almost everything but most people don't buy things that seem exotic to them (only the urban educated middle classes eat an international diet). Older people especially when not well off stick to pierogi and all similar starchy crap, potatoes, cucumber, greasy sausage..... They lack vitamins, minerals and the result they look old and they are always sick....

Unfortunately there is nothing the government can do.

And what about their salads? Cut into tiny pieces and full of industrial mayonnaise (they look like vomit to me).

PS: I won't talk about the "food" they serve in Polish hospitals ;)

Life / What is Poland's view on obesity? How healthy, fit are Poles? [166]

As to poor diet, I had in mind Polish traditional fare - just greasy wędliny and pork, cabbage and starches, no vitamins, no minerals which is for me an explanation why most Poles look old and much older than Westerners at same age and are also always sick. Also the lack of iodine explains the huge problems related to the thyroid gland. People don't eat fish. Someone told me that even on the coast, there is even no culture eating fish because fish are too small there and restaurants on the coast serve frozen fish ;). True too that a lot (most?) of younger generationsI don't eat any better. When shopping and waiting to pay, I take a look at people's baskets and trolleys and too often only crap: chocolate, sodas, chips, all kinds of artificial crap and beer. I've noticed a lot of Polish kids, who by the time they reach the age of 10 have their adult teeth already rotten because of too much sugar.

The government may decide to tax this or that, it won't help. The problem is unheatlhy diet. It is cultural and due to poverty and climate not allowing a lot of vegetables/fruit to grow.

I'm used to eating vegetables and fruit grown in the sun and you can believe me that vegetables and fruit in Poland have no taste. If people disagree, I bet they have never eaten vegetables and fruit grown in the sun. I bought melon a couple of days ago, it's completely dry Inside, no juice, no taste....

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Pol: do you have official statistics re homosexual domestic violence? I seriously doubt that gay/lesbian couples are more violent than hereto couples.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Roger: absolutely! I also have met several (male of female) homosexuals raising kids and said kids turned up alright. There are good and there are bad parents regardless of their sexual orientation.

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

Single mothers are "single" for a lot of reasons. Life is crual and often not as we had expected ;). Thus, instead of stigmatizing them, of making their situation even worse, why not helping them and their kids not only for them but also for the benefit of the whole society?

@Roger5: "tricky" question! ;)

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Jon: yes, and it only brings misery to all. Girls (and boys) shall end up marrying "just anyone" in order not to remain single, gays and lesbians shall end up in hetero marriages, unhappy couples shall not divorce but stay together ... All this because of family and environment pressure.

Of course, it is not so much in Warsaw and other big cities in Poland (unless I don't meet the "right" people) but in all those small places in Poland, it's unbreathable. The same if not going to Church ;). I personally would never live when in Poland in another place than Warsaw as I would not fit in ;). Warsaw is alredy a big village so I don't even want to think about Kielce, Radom, Gdynia, Lublin and the like ;)

Needless to say, most countries are like that (except for a minority of very liberal societies) but since we are in Polish Forums, we talk about Poland and not about Bulgaria, Andorra, Paraguay or Liechtenstein ;)

PS: I once had an American colleague (guy from NY State) who left Poland (he had no ties here) after a few months because he said he felt ... claustrophobic in Poland. Sometimes I do too.... (but can't live)

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Vox: I do NOT impose (look up word in a dictionary) my way of doing things, I just say what I see and I hear (;)). Yes, I do know a lot of girls who are really pressured by families to "settle down". Where did I say they "needed" me to help them? Obviously you read what you want but not what is written.

And yes, I come from a much different society since most people don't get married, over 50% of kids are born "out of wedlock", where gays may get married, etc etc...

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

I"m this kind of woman too ;)

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@English: it is not only in Poland but in Poland it's very much so. For them, a girl is to get married and have kids (sorry, not very feminist ;)) and a woman alone, with no kids, is a weirdo. I know quite a few of young professionals who just happen to be alone, with not even boyfriends and they all say they have a lot of pressure from families. I am not talking about "village idiots" but of educated (sometimes even high) middle class. Rough for the girls! As a matter of fact, such girls prefer to be alone than with jerks (I agree with them, the girls, not the jerks ;))

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]

@Roger: how much did you pay? Of course it's terrible but I would do it too if needed...

Work / Average earnings and cost of living in Warsaw? [42]

@Krzechu: "there are Indians and Ukrainians...." so it means "some" and "some" does not mean "all" or even "most of" ;). Some may but alot more do not. Said employer offering 2,700 bases his offer on concrete facts. Salaries are based upon a lot of factors and it's not because Jacek gets X that Piotr won't get Y. Besides the negotiating ability, first of all one needs to consider the education, the skills, the experience (and where?) and also personal skills that are not countable.

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]

@Jon: it could be! I mentioned that doctor because I know him. Even at the time, 10 ZL per day was not expensive.

Something else that cracked me up at that time was that we could go to a doctor's and ask for prescriptions for .... someone else. lol. My husband and I often did it. I doubt it's still possible now but at the time it was ok (at least with private doctors).

@Jon: the problem is not only in Poland but everywhere.

The problem is also with dentists who are first of all business people. I hate going (this morning I need to make an appointment) because almost every time, I hear "you need x and y" and I end up paying a lot. With some dentists, it seems that it is never finished and of course everything they offer costs fortunes. I'm shoked by Polish dentists' business approach.

Another thing that cracks me up in Poland is that they do have promotions. Twice I got promotions on blood tests because at the time there were promotions of what I had to have tested....

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Jon: absolutely and who are they to impose their way of living, of thinking, of doing things to others?

I myself did not have kids (mostly for medical reasons further to operation as I didn't want risks) and I sometimes feel the pressure as I have to "explain".

This was so in western Europe I suppose till the 1950's.

Back at home, nobody asks women why they are alone, why they don't have kids, why this and why not that.

Why don't they mind their own businesses (which are often not so .... clean ;) )?

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Vox: No, it's not "who cares". It is most unpleasant to hear bad comments when not married, not having kids, etc.... like still the way it is in Poland. I know (educated, good looking) girls in Warsaw who are in the late twenties or older, not married, not even with boyfriends and they do not appreciate remarks re their status.... Yes, because in countries like Poland, a woman is made to be married, to have kids otherwise there is something "wrong" with her...

Difficult not to be in the "norm" in countries like Poland! Why don't they live and let others live their own way?

Work / Average earnings and cost of living in Warsaw? [42]

@Trucker: Hi! Unfortunately you are right! Most people from the underdeveloped world when coming to Poland are most often offered peanuts but compared to what they have at home, it seems good. A very tiny minority thereof gets good salaries. If they were to be paid high salaries, companies would not hire them. If international companies come to countries like Poland, it's because of low (or lower) salaries than in richer countries so obviously lower (if not low) salaries are to be expected.

And if a salary of 2,700 is not appealing when from a rich country, and not enough to live by rich western standards, it is "acceptable" by 3rd world's standards. I personally would not make it on 2,700 ZL simply because I'm used to decent western standard but someone used to struggle with often less shall "make it".

Only the big executives from 3rd world can expect big salaries in Poland.

In conclusion: 100% ok with you! :)

Life / Single mothers in Poland [175]

@Jon: yes, elsewhere it is fortuntely different! People get or don't get married, they have or don't have kids, they are homo, hetero or whatever and hardly anyone cares...

Several Poles told me that (in more rural areas) women who don't have children are seen as ... selfish until others know the reason why they don't have any kids. I could not believe it!

Some catholic countries have moved forward a lot: Spain, Portugal, some in South America and even Ireland so there is hope ;)

News / Poland's indecent junk capitalism? [53]

doctors have been for many years strictly controlled in Poland. I used know a doctor in Katowice who sold sick leaves (it was 10 ZL per day). It was in the late 1990 but of course he can no longer.