UK, Ireland / Polish People are Welcome in Scotland [54]

[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 [1050]

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.

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

NoToForeigners,

nie dosyc rozumiesz po angielsku!

History / Polish treasures in Sweden? [18]

Yep, yep, yepski! Ol' Metternich was a smart one:-)

By the by, Congress person, be ye Swede or Pole aka friend or enemy? Only kidding.
lol

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

Slicznie dziekuje wszystcim!
Sylwiu, niestety nie zrozumialem Twojej odpowiedzi.
Prosze pisz po polsku:-)

Po polsku / "Impeachment" po polsku [15]

Punishment. "Bestrafung" po niemiecku.

Blad typograficzny w tekscie wiadomosci - Wyjszego Urzedu
:-)

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [402]

Boy oh' boy! I learned something.
Thanks a whole bunch there, Milo:-)

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [402]

Probosz/Proboszcz probably derives from "Probst", as in the well-known German artist. The name apparently does come from the Austrian border partition.

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

Muslims have been integrated into German society for a while now, if not always successfully. If you're referring to the Turks, I
couldn't disagree more - look at Cem Ozdemir, long-term Turkish-German parliamentarian et al if you need proof. The Syrians are a different story though, I'll admit, and it's going to be an uphill battle, that's for sure.

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

Yes, that's the one!
Thanks, jon:-)

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

Although I've yet to visit the capital, pictures of the renowned Arts & Sciences Building in nonetheless impressive to look at, no?

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

Touristy probably for a very good reason; there's a lot of cultural richness to experience which is therefore good for the Polish tourist trade! Lord only knows it needs it, in addition to a good stiff dose of some skillful public relations:-)

News / Poles start to feel arrogant and superior to Southern Europeans [182]

All such discussion is based purely on ethnocentrism and cultural relativism!
I've never been to Nairobi, but have been told by Europeans visiting there that it has an impressive infrastructure and many elegant edifices....I don't especially who provided the money or the know-how:-)

Polonia / Poland, Germany, France, Spain or Greece? [35]

Krakow is still considered by many to be the crowning jewel among Polish cities. Although I've not yet been,
had I had more time way back during my first visit to Poland, I'd have done much better to have seen the
Sukiennica, Wawel and the Old Town, than Szczecin:-)

News / Poles start to feel arrogant and superior to Southern Europeans [182]

I too can let such things roll off my back, to be sure though, they can also be quite annoying over time:-)

News / Poles start to feel arrogant and superior to Southern Europeans [182]

Perhaps, B.B. Yet it all depends upon which side of the fence you're sitting at the time as well!