Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

ooohhh, i guess i'll throw another question up. please translate these sentences into Polish:

"with a few women"

"with a few men"

"with a few men and women"

"with a few children"

"with four children"

"with four women"

"with four men"

and, for the hell of it, "with eight children".

just another attempt to show the inefficiency of Polish. the true test here would be if all native Polish speakers on this forum would have to type an answer right away without calling Kasia or Piotr or Magda for their opinion, along with everyone typing their answer simultaneously so that they can't read posts from others and then say, "OOOHH...that's right, it should be xyz...."

anyway, enjoy!

Real Estate / House prices in Poland to drop more or rise again? [228]

convex wrote:


it's great that your apt. is "rock solid" and that it can withstand scud missles and tank rounds, but honestly, a lot of people say that about apts./houses out here, and i just don't see the point of it.

my family, and all of my friends back home in Duhmerica have wooden houses. 2X4's, plywood, sheet rock, some insulation, i juz. dom. unless you're anticipating tornadoes or hurricanes, what's the point of spending all that money on brick and concrete and whatever else people use out here to build their........fortresses. i'd love a brick home, they look beautiful and I'd assume hold heat quite nice, but would I spend an extra $100,000 so I could have brick? no. as for hurricanes and tornadoes....i guess that's what home owner's insurance is for.

Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [267]

an AMAZINGLY white society, completely homogenous, a national language that basically nobody masters (even some Poles) and a history of being pissed on over and over.

sorry, but it's a recipe for racism.

it's good to be white if Poland is your choice.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]

delphiandomine wrote:


yes, yes they are Delph. they all lie to me. they don't want to hurt my feelings. they also purposely act like they can't understand some of the words i say, and pronounce some words with british accents just to be "quirky". also, all those movies they watch from america, surely none of the american accents rub off on them. they simply ignore it all because they're shooting for the CPE exam.

seanus wrote:


anyone from the NY area can see the brooklyn accent is pretty off. i'd say that was the weakest one she did.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [147]

in my experience, they prefer american english, but often times misunderstand it. many words for poles are easier to pronounce or detect when spoken in british english, but due to the sheer exposure they have of american english, many prefer it.

Food / Healthy polish food? [134]

yes, few vegetables.

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]

Delphiandomine wrote:


but this is just like....didn't i used to say........when you comment about......with the thing......Ameri......uhh....eeeh.......hmmmm.

Life / Racism in Poland - the future [441]

RonWest wrote:


along with Affirmative Action, The Black Entertainment Channel (BET), Black-Only schools/universities, Black-Only organizations and clubs, Black History Month.......

Food / Healthy polish food? [134]

great thread. case and point....at least one of my old points.

LondonChick wrote:


lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle.

this forum loves to go on about how "the west" eats such crappy food....well, take a look at this thread. Polish food is full of oil, butter, meat, meat, few vegetables, meat, meat, cabbage with meat, bread with meat, pierogi fried in butter, kielbasa with butter and meat....you get the point.

there are plenty of fat asses in Poland. in general, the high school and college age kids are thinner because they can't afford to go out to restaurants and end up eating a lot of goracy kubek. secondly, none of them own cars. they're hoofin' it well into their twenties, some of which never even get a car till they're in their 30's. walking 6-7 kilometers a day means you can eat that greasy polish stuff and still be thinner than "the westerners"....but haven't you all noticed that once they get to around 35.....everything kind of falls apart?

lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. for a 150 pound person, walking at a strong pace burns 340 calories per hour. i don't own a car and I walk no less than 2 hours a day. i'm a little more than 150, so let's say that's 700 calories per day.

a Big Mac is 485 calories.

give all those 18-28 year olds cars like they all drive in America, and everybody's ass in this country explodes just the same.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Olaf wrote:


eeehhh, not really. it's not that they're under-qualified. they do what they are asked to do according to the policies of the restaurants they work at, and some of them are pretty damn efficient at it. it's simply a matter of different cultures. it's done differently here than in America. totally different. Polish bartenders can't improve on something they don't know "exists", if that makes any sense.

there are just so many elements that are missing.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

torq wrote, in response to a poster saying Polish people are "close minded":


i know what you're getting at, but anyone who has spent a few years in Poland can get a feel for this fact, regardless of how well they speak Polish. considering Poland's history and dichotomy in general, where would a sense of open-mindedness come from?

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

i'd love to see the American bar culture make its way to Poland, but it would have to be more than just the bartenders and the culture. what they have BEHIND the bar at their disposal would have to come for the ride as well.

things like cola that actually tastes like it should (you'd be amazed how much different a run of the mill rum and coke tastes when made with real coca cola or pepsi, or even something like a long island iced tea that only has maybe an ounce of cola but lots of other ingredients) along with sour mix, the correct brand of tonic water, etc. etc. OH, and the ice machine behind the bar would be a big help as well ;)

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

olaf wrote:


yes, it looks better. I like the general bar/pub layout in Poland better for the most part compared to American pubs, but the culture....america hands down. there essentially is no pub culture in Poland. it's all dependent on the character of the customers here because the bartenders here are just people that pour drinks and take your money, working like machines. in America, the bartenders are greatly responsible for creating a fun and exciting environment. fun = more customers = $

in America, if you're not an interesting person, good story teller or a shoulder to cry on, or at the very least extremely attractive, you are at a disadvantage regarding the hiring process. Bartending in America is 40% work efficiency, 60% personality. It's what keeps customers coming back. People in America often times go to bars because they like the bartender, not because of the bar itself. America has a true, and very unique bar culture.

Regarding "watered down" drinks Olaf, i think you are misinterpreting this. he's not saying that bartenders are making drinks and topping them with water or pouring water into liquor bottles. He probably means making say a gin and tonic with a little gin, lots of tonic and filled to the brim with ice. within 15 minutes, your ice is half melted and the drink tastes, "watered down". don't forget, one of the biggest complaints americans have when ordering cocktails in Poland is that there isn't enough ice in the drink, sometimes no ice at all. i couldn't believe the first few months I spent in Poland going to parties and seeing people making for example Pepsi and vodka cocktails....with absolutely no ice. it grossed me out. in the states, if you don't have enough ice to make the cocktail, you either simply don't make it at all, or stick the bottle in the fridge and do shots later on. cocktails in the states are always made with the glass filled to the top with ice. there are several reasons for this, but that's a bit off topic.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

beelzebub wrote:


it depends.

beelzebub wrote:


this was common practice in the tri-state area, you just have to know how to tip. it's a simple "reka reke myje" system. I did it as a bartender as well. in fact, if I was being tipped more than the standard $1 per drink, the third drink would be on me often times.

beelzebub wrote:


again, that's bar-dependent. also, most people drink beer at your run-of-the-mill bar in town, so yes, you are getting a free beer.

beelzebub:


absolutely. it used to completely blow me away when I would order alcohol and restock inventory at the bar and I would see the prices the bar paid vs. what they charged. a bottle of well vodka would cost the bar about $7 per liter. 50ml per cocktail at $4 a pop means $80 per bottle, minus cost of fillers like juice, soda, tonic, fruit, etc., which is also bought in bulk and costs very little.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Olaf wrote:


at the bar, generally nothing. Poland is not a tipping culture, certainly at the bar, and the only thing I ever order at the bar is beer, so for a quick pour....I usually leave nothing.

at a restaurant, i generally don't tip much because i'm generally unhappy with the service, but as an American, if I get say "decent" service in Poland, i still can't help but leave at least 10%.

in America, at the bar, the rule of thumb is you tip a dollar per drink, and the house buys your 4th drink, which you also should tip for. in restaurants, 15% is the minimum tip if you sit down and have a full meal. any less and the waiter/waitress will be wondering what they did wrong.

Travel / Best places to visit in Poland [87]

Wieliczka is a must if you end up in Krakow.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Paulinka_87 wrote:


that was one of the guesses. "Szewce" is a plural noun (i believe), hence, my guess was "Szewcow".

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

what about the town I mentioned a while back, "Szewce".

I'm going to Szewce = ?

I'm in Szewce = ?

My best guess would have to be "Jade do Szewcow" and "Jestem w Szewcach", but I've gotten different responses from native Poles, or no response at all, just "I gotta think about it...."

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

Delph wrote:


wrong.

beelzebub wrote:


of course it's not accurate. before one can form opinions, they have to at the very least have some knowledge of the given topic. Delph has never so much as stepped foot on American soil.

Life / BEFORE Poland.. what did you do then and what are your plans now? [29]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-State_Region

Life / BEFORE Poland.. what did you do then and what are your plans now? [29]

i guess i should include some info about myself:

Bachelor's degree in Biology, concentration in evolutionary theory.

jobs.....whooo....well, deli clerk for years growing up as a teenager, then bartended for 3 years full time while i was in college. lumberjack full time for 1 year after I graduated (that job was INSANE but a total blast), then it was off to corporate life working in a lab, you know, a "real job" as they call it.

live? tri-state area.

why Poland? it was the only choice. i have plenty of polish blood and plenty of extended family scattered throughout Poland so when the idea of living in Europe came up, Poland was pretty automatic. i had plenty of "old Polish" influence growing up from some immediate family and although times have changed, Polish people are still quite similar to what i remember growing up with the old timers. the major adjustment was learning to speak to them in Polish instead of English.

stay forever? no. i've seen enough to know in my 3+ years here that Poland is not the place I want to be when i grow old.

Life / BEFORE Poland.. what did you do then and what are your plans now? [29]

the third photo of the people........they're in the sand lot in the back of my apartment RIGHT NOW.....

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Delphiandomine wrote:


give me a specific example.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

sure, it's totally common, which is why it cracks me up when Poles or anyone else talk smack about American English and how "Americans don't speak correctly".

"OH, did you hear that?! He didn't use an adverb!".........na przyklad.

every country has people at different levels of speaking proficiency/literacy.

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Seanus wrote:


you also have wszedlem vs. weszlam, wyszedlem vs. wyszlam,etc.

"poszedlem" follows the pattern of maintaining the structure "szedl" in all forms.

Life / Giving tips in Poland [235]

skysoulmate wrote:


of course they are. they're being constantly rewarded for doing a good job. there's a simple reka reke myje policy in America regarding restaurant/bar service. everyone understands it, everyone goes home happy.

Work / What Jobs are there in Poland for an Englishman besides teaching english? [70]

July wrote:


Why?

I simply don't see how knowing Polish is all that lucrative as a foreigner. if you're here as a foreigner working for a company, you're probably already hooked up with salary, company car, hotel/apt., etc. Sure, learning the language is great, makes life easier, but it's generally not gonna put more money in your pocket. You're getting paid the salary you are because you are NOT Polish. Also, most of these people have contracts of 3 years max, and then they go back to their country and speak their native language again.

If I was from a non-English speaking country and I got transferred out here for a 1-3 year contract, I'd take English lessons over Polish lessons, and that is exactly what all the foreigners in Poland do when they aren't native English speakers. I know, because I teach them, and their reason for doing it is always the same.

Regarding expats, eliminate the English teachers and corporate transplants, and you're left with a negligent amount of people.

Your statement doesn't make sense.

Work / What Jobs are there in Poland for an Englishman besides teaching english? [70]

so has anyone lately found some work earning decent cash, exluding English teaching jobs?

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Lyzko wrote:


dwa stoly.

Lyzko wrote:


correct. dwie ksiazki.

shame you didn't respond Delphiandomine to yesterday's conversation. I see you posted several times on other threads.....but conveniently ignored this one. we're all so disappointed.

Nancy.

that's right. you're a Nancy. like the purple ice cream cone holding, flower print skirt wearing, pedicure/manicure kind.

Nancy.