UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

It was once so, Dolno, but has been ever less true over the past thirty years, what with Clinton's tax subsidies for minorities, the omnipresent black market and the voting blocks of immigrants who attract US bosses, because the strongest aphrodesiac has always been the scent of cheap labor.

As Western Europe's economy dwindles, you'll be seeing fewer and fewer Poles etc.. When it picks up again, they'll reappear....like a bad penny:-)

Law / EU nationals with a child and in cohabitation - long term Poland registration questions, job offer [13]

Curious, Helegal, whether you have begun to learn Polish. Although I scarcely can say to know much Finnish at all, many say Polish is nearly as complex:-) Then that's only an opinion. Certainly, English will stand you in relatively good stead among the younger, affluent set. Apart from that, unlike the Finns, the Poles lag behind much of Europe in terms of English knowledge.

Finland belongs to the European Monetary Union and as such, falls within the Eurozone. Poland, doesn't, and so this might pose some difficulty, given your particular situation aka status with the European Community (of which Finland is most certainly a member of long standing).

:-)

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

You must be a Republican:-) As with the rest of our "members", I have indeed "a life", as much of one (if not more) than those out there constantly on their i(diot)Phones twenty-four seven ad nauseum. I no longer own a cell phone and our house has neither a pc nor even a satelite dish. Our one concession, Luddites that we're NOT, is the radio and the TV (..to which we listen more than sparingly, as there's little to watch of interest, except perhaps the occasional staticLOL).

I do wish you were right about jobs and qualifications, but since Reagan, for the majority of non-minorities, this has hardly been the case:-) For the beneficiary of affirmative action, those in a post for representation purposes mostly, America IS a paradise. For the rest of us who choose to survive on our wits and our skills, a far different story awaits the older worker or "secondary" job seeker!

Do you read the newspaper? I trust you do. But do you understand what you've read? I'm beginning to have my doubts.

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

El Polio, a person is free to sicken and die on the streets of our American cities, but how on God's green earth does that make it right???

As soon as capitalist business practices toss morality our the window, owners might as well brace for a backlash from those whom they gleefully disenfranchised, dislocated and whose lives they wantonly destroyed, and believe you me, the results ain't gonna be pretty:-)

Roosevelt's New Deal was created so that at least there be some parity between workers and management, as there is in certain countries, such as Japan (not exactly an unsuccesful economy, despite recent unrelated setbacks)!!

At least in the US, if only to clarify my post yesterday, "foreigners" aka immigrants to this country should be able to work, BUT ONLY IF QUALIFIED, pure and simple!!! If a native-born, tax-paying American is waiting in line for employment, the foreign-born and usually recently arrived job seeker should be put AT THE BACK of the line and preference ought to be given to the former...just as was once the case.

Ever since the late 60's when certain individuals from Third-World nations were allowed to enter the States, later with the rise of Reaganism, and finally (perhaps most lethally) with Bill Clinton granting amnesty to certain foreign nationals coming to America, the American working man has been put at a tremendous disadvantage.

Sure, you can "debate" with me about it. We're still a free society. There's the freedom to be smart and the freedom to be dumb, without fear of impunity or punishment:-) For that matter, let's debate on what's the capital of New York! If you were to say, Saratoga, you'd be dead wrong.

There's clearly a right and a wrong answer to what's been going on in this country for far too long and the Reps have the wrong approach, end of debate!

By the lack of response, guess yours truly hit another raw nerve:-)

OUUUCHHH!!! Reality really bitesLOL

News / Poland -- Europe's only counterweight to Russia [271]

"Guilty as a ruski.."

Interesting idiom. Don't think I've ever heard that one. Is that like "I'm as hungry as a horse."?

Or do you mean, "As a Russian, I'd feel guilty...."?

Just teasing (...sort of):-)

News / Poland -- Europe's only counterweight to Russia [271]

Genocide, ethnic "cleansing" and the like, is scarcely unique to 2Oth century Europe, guys!

What is or was unique, was the dovetail of methodical execution of same, coupled with a dogged ideo-biological aggression which allowed for no deviation:-)

Hippler's "The Eternal Jew" evidenced no equivalent virulence against the Sinti-Roma, unspeakable as the treatment was of that group under the Nazis.

News / Poland -- Europe's only counterweight to Russia [271]

For those unfamiliar with "Drang nach Osten", the East of Europe aka Russia, had remained a sort of chimera for Germans throughout the centuries. When Hitler was in a position to realize his "Lebensraum" strategy, he indeed did push East and saw the "untamed" East much the same way as those Manifest Destinians of ours envisioned the American West; this was an untapped resource to be tapped and CONQUERED, by consent, if possible, brutal force, if necessary!

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

Yes, I too hunger for some sort of evidence to buttress such assertions:-)

I will confess though that the outward culture of Western Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, The Netherlands and of course, Germany, HAS indeed "changed" noticeably since the advent of non-Western (and non-Christian) settlers, roughly from around the mid-60's through '70's.

Any relatively small and tightly homogeneous society such as Sweden, for example, will easily fall prey to the attraction of those from Third-World countries, who are literally mesmerized by the blandishments which Western Protestant cultures have to offer.

There are simply more of "them" (owing to low or lacking birth control) than there are of "us", that's all it is.

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

No one denies that Poles on the whole, are an honest, hard-working lot! That Communism seemed to have encouraged shiftiness and corruption is scarcely a reflection on the rank-and-file worker, is it?

Problem remains that a Pole, a Ukrainian, a Hindu or a Mexican is usually willing to work for less than a German, W.A.S.P American, Swede, Dane or Englishman.

Living as we are in a post-Reagan economic environment, the average, short-sighted boss is rarely if ever going to do what is right and hire the deserving native (unless, of course, pushed to the wall), but instead, employ someone who will be willing to work for far less, thereby permitting the exec. to keep the extra money otherwise used to pay a high salary, and have it used to build that exec's second dream house in Cannes or some such place:-)

The New Deal is dead! Long live the New (RAW!!!) Deal.

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

Nothing to be proud of, Adrian, I can assure you.

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

As an easy aka quick source of proverbial "cheap" labour, any UK executive would likely jump at the chance to hire one over an (EQUALLY!!) qualified, native-born Brit:-) They're too expensiveLOL

Let's not kid ourselves. We know things are bad when a school hires an English instructor with such Polish language interference, a not so casual observer might actually wonder who the teacher is vs. the student. Why, you ask in dumbfounded amazement??

'Cuz the Pole underbid the Brit, that's why!!

UK, Ireland / Are there too many East Europeans, Poles in West Europe now? [47]

Eastern Europeans living and working in Western Europe, particularly the Federal Republic of Germany, is scarcely new or news:-)

Certainly, the migrant challenges facing Germany in particular have tended to color Western views of former Black Market residents waltzing into already established economies such as Germany, France, Scandinavia etc. and practically expecting employment at a Western aka "American" salary!

Surely Poles, Czechs, Russians and Ukrainians can draw from their own multi-talented pool of preprared professionals. The problem arises when the level of training (especially of English-language skills) in some cases is not commensurate with that of the Germany or Sweden. An earnest, young 20-something Moldovan with a degree in medicine from Kishniev University may indeed imagine him or herself amply qualified to seek work as a physician in any number of Western European larger urban areas. The question remains, are they necessarily up to the job.

Language / Difference between również, też and także in Polish. [5]

Obviously, no reply in any language, even among native speakers, will be uniform:-)

My (NON-German-speaking!!) granddad Joseph on my mother's side would usually answer to the salutation "So long!" - But not long enough!, if he didn't like someone (which was most people, including my grandmotherLOL) or "See you, Joe!" - Not if I see you first!

Whereas, the standard reply to the above would be "Same here!", "Same to you!", "Likewise!" or something similar, everybody's going to have their own quirks in their own language also.

Language / Difference between również, też and także in Polish. [5]

"Też" and "także" mean more or less the same thing aka "also", "too". The difference may simply be the exact word order in a sentence, e.g.

"TAKŻE mówię po polsku." vs. "Mówię po polsku TEŻ.", for instance:-)

"Również" translates to "Same here", as a response to a salutation such as "Miłego weekendu!" etc., but in such an instance, "Nawzajem(nie)!" sounds a bit friendlier and more polite as well!

Life / Whats that thing when Polish people take a shot of vodka by locking arms and after saying first names? [20]

Sounds very similar to a now perhaps somewhat outdated practice in certain circles in Germany known as "Bruederschaft trinken", aka "drinking to brotherhood", whereupon a person locks arms at the local tavern (and only over a traditional alchoholic beverage, naturally) and pledges to become a "Duzbruder" forever, upon pain of eternal ostracism for violating said "pact"!

While it seems perfectly ridiculous to Americans and other Anglo-Saxons, certain Europeans do take it seriously, quite seriously indeed:-)

News / Turkish invasion on Polish TV - Poland's opinion on Turkey [30]

Quite true, you guys!

Things sure have changed since Harvard-educated Tansu Cillar was at the helm...and the first as well as ONLY female to do it, too.

Travel / Hire a Car in Berlin to drive into Poland - can I cross the border driving it? [15]

I once traveled by train from Berlin to Szczecin, not far from the German border, and we were stopped for the customary passport check. This was in around 1995 or thenabouts, but renting a car and driving ought to be no different in procedure.

After 9/11 though, all bets are off:-)

Incidentally, If you have a Polish-German-English phrasebook handy, it might help (more on the Polish than the German end, however)!

Language / Please help me understand Polish adverbs [30]

Nice post, Karolino!

True, adverbs are a tough nut to crack for us non-natives:-) I still will occasionally misstype "dobre" when I mean "dobrZY", much like "które" when I should write "którZY" etc...

Practice, practice, practice.

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

A trifle late by this time, aren't we True? Dispossession hearings and the like ended more years ago than I'd care to recount, furthermore, no German court would even consider such claims (particularly if financial remunerations = finanzielle Verguetung are involved), much less entertain compensation for said "theft".

No, I'm afraid you're out of luck on that one!

Language / Beginning to learn Polish- help? [29]

Eventually, though, but not without some knock-down, drag-out arguments with Jacek (my last or prior teacher) regarding the most optimal method for a working American adult learner!!!! Being a slightly older European academic (about 60-ish at the time), he insisted that grammar translation was THE way, upon which yours truly gently took issue, thereupon almost starting World War III:-)

Luckily for both of us, my knowledge of German salvaged our lessons and we eventually did get back on track, as you implied. Though not without a few mutual hissy fits.

LOL

If you or any one else are interested, I once ran across a text pushed by the Kościuszko people called "Wśród Polaków", published in the US, I recall:-) It was a CD series with workbook and lots of exercises, albeit a bit pedestrian. The individual chapter units didn't follow any particular story as with the "Pracowita Matka", but contained an answer key for self study and considerable cultural information, e.g. what to say when someone sneezes at the table, how to send a condolence card etc...

Language / Beginning to learn Polish- help? [29]

Neither was I particularly! Surprising as it may seem, my teacher had to prod me constantly to study:-)

Then again, I was taking private classes, quite apart from any "degree" program or other. My first instructor was from Łódź, the second, from Lwów, and neither could really speak English too well.

Fortunately, they both spoke and understood fluent German, so subtleties were more easily explained in their second language instead of having to resort to English with which they were basically unfamiliar.

As I remember, we did lots of listening plus spot dictations in the beginning, later moving on to short, easy readings from some dinosaur of a dusty old Communist Era primer entitled "Pracowita Matka" or "The Industrious Mother" and narrated with pictures the daily life of the Nowakowski family, as they went through their humdrum lives in WarsawLOL

Eventually, we slowly graduated to watching Polish classics (first with, later without close captions) such as "Nóż we wodzie" (1958), right on up through "Kret" in the 2000's about the rancor between family members brought on by the Solidarity Movement following martial law in Poland.

Language / Beginning to learn Polish- help? [29]

Not Jagiełłoń Uniwersytet in Kraków which has a special program "Polish for Foreigners" sponsored in part through Kościuszko, by any chance?

Language / Beginning to learn Polish- help? [29]

I suppose that was your own experience, Dougpol!

Other American friends/acquantances of mine said that they benefited immensely from language courses offered either through the Consulate on 38th Street in Manhattan as well as the Kościuszko Foundation, along with the Polish Institute of Arts & Sciences:-) Speakers were trained, native-born and educated, young Poles who seemed to enjoy teaching.

Those whom I know claimed that it prepared them for their trip to Poland.

Language / Beginning to learn Polish- help? [29]

Graceland11, I'd begin with perhaps a Polish language course at the local Polish Consulate/Mission in your home city! If you're lucky enough to be in New York, L.A., Washington DC, Boston or some similar-size metropolis, then you've any number of options to choose from, particularly New York:-)

From my experience, it's better to learn at least some of the language on-site aka at home, before going to Poland. Always a smart idea to have the basics under your belt before embarking on a trip to another country.

This is only an observation, but I found it helpful when I first visited Poland during the 90's, and realized that knowing some of the language made daily contact SOOOOO much more rewarding.

Powodzenia oraz szczęśliwej drogi do Polski!! Ale dokąd pójdziesz?

(Best of luck and happy trails on your trip to Poland!! Where will you be going though?)

History / History of two Neighbors: Poland - Germany Interrelations [283]

Skacia,

Much of present-day Poland, i.e. since before the Polish Partition and the Polish "Corridor", long prior to WWII, was once part of German territory, dating back to the earliest days of the Kingdom of Prussia:-) The majority of Polish city and town names therefore often have a German equivalent, e.g. Szczecin/Stettin, Gdańsk/Danzig, Bytom/Beuthen, Toruń/Thorn, Poznań/Posen, Wrocław/Breslau, Włosława (??)/Lesau etc...

Poland and Germany have indeed been neighbors with a most challenging relationship.

Life / Bribery and corruption 'fact of life' in Poland? [152]

Remember folks, when dealing with those East of the Oder (or South of the Rio Grande): GREASE MY PALMS!!! A black market leopard, no matter how Anglicized, never changes their spots:-)

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

Maybe. Although what I've gotten to know of the gentleman in question (including his QUITE fair-haired, light-eyed father and siblings), I'd tend to doubt it:-) Never met his mother though, as she'd passed away long before we'd met. Perhaps on her side of the family lies the answer! He wasn't adopted either, at least so far as I can tell.

Thanks,

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

Large numbers of so-called "North" even "Nordic" Europeans may indeed often exhibit dark (at times wavy) hair and dark eyes. What distinguishes therefore a "dark" Pole, German, or Scandinavian from a Belgian, Frenchman, Italian etc. is above all in my experience the facial bone structure, usually squarish, occasionally oval among Poles, lantern-jawed and with low foreheads!

An acquaintance of mine from Wrocław aka Breslau has both darker, if coarser, facial hair than I (who am Jewish i.e. of Semitic origin) as well as dark brown eyes, yet is to my mind unmistakably "Polish" in outward semblence. Upon first bumping into one another at an international student gathering many years ago, I instantly started speaking to him in Polish.

Turned out I was right:-)

Life / Swearing in front of children - is it normal in Polish society? [26]

I never experienced such per se here in Maspeth!

On the other hand, there are more old grannies around, even more than in Greenpoint, so perhaps my observation's not entirely fair:-)

Poles tend to be a little more modest while gabbing on their iPhones than, say, the Russians in my experience.

Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

Admixture, in some cases excessive, clearly accounts for the variety of complexions among Polish people! Intermarriage as well surely has been a factor:-)