Life / Opening bank account online in Poland as a non Residence. [12]

For what reason do you wish to open an acc't. in Poland and of which country are you currently a citizen?

Off-Topic / Toilet seat manners of British and Polish males [17]

Oh, but I can:-)

Off-Topic / Toilet seat manners of British and Polish males [17]

Usually German males urinate sitting down and so the toilet seat is never left up!

Language / Jestem za [11]

Curious Leonis, is it correct Hungarian as a translation of "Jestem za toba",
perchance "Mogottod allok"??
Apologies for not having the Hungarian letters on my keyboard:-)

History / "Westerner's" most ridiculous beliefs about the time of communism in Poland [73]

Many a Westerner has long held a sort of euphoric, almost Utopian, view of Communism, usually confusing it with Nordic socialism!

Lots of US-born as well as immigrant Jews from Russia at around the turn of the last century, swore by Communism as a sort of universal "equalizer", following centuries of oppression.

Sadly, way too few saw in Communism a sort of muted Faschism, substituting biological extermination with brutally enforced limitations on social as well as economic' freedoms.

Polonia / Polish community in Switzerland [10]

Thanks for the tip, Cargo pants!

Polonia / Polish community in Switzerland [10]

Garfield? There's a large Polish community there. My, my. How far abouts from Lodi? The largest Polish-American Bookstore (branch of the Nowy Dziennik!) is located in a shopping mall in Clifton:-) I knew the owner when the store used to be in Manhattan.

Po polsku / Przeprosiny za Wołyń: kaprys czy etyka? [3]

Tak jest, Panie Marku! Zupelnie zgodze sie z wszystkim, co pan napisal.
Ale niestety w Europie Zachodnym jestesmy czesto bombardowani od fake news.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

A "logical" compromise though would never be possible! We must simply accept the Tower of Babel which is our present world. Esperanto, Volapuek, computer languages have all royally failed as THE single lingua franca, and of course English is often a disaster as in the analogy I provided in my earlier post.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Mark Twain quipped that a German sentence is frequently sooooo long, it practically has a perspective, requiring a telescope to get from end to the otherLOL

He may well be right. Ck. out the opening paragraphs of Kleist's "The Marquise of O" to glimpse the longest sentence in the German language; makes complete sense, yet for nearly an entire paragraph, is separated solely by commas!!!

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Or, as already posted, not being willing to even try to understand the language, thereby labeling it as "dumb" aka "mute".

Polonia / Polish community in Switzerland [10]

@atlantic, again I wish you loads of luck in your move, only do take into account what I advised regarding learning at least a little of the local language where you'll be working, even if it's an Anglo or international concern. Couldn't hurt.

Where did or do you live in New Jersey, by the way? My family and I live in Fort Lee.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Eventually the entire planet will doubtless be speaking Globish anyway, and so it's pointless to ponder:-)

Can't tell you the number of international ZOOM meetings in which I've participated lately, fellow colleagues from Finland, Germany, Japan, India, Denmark,
Poland, France and so forth, each meeting member not speaking the other one's mother tongue, muddling through doggedly, not one of which ever admitting as to much to the remote possibility of any misunderstanding on the interlocutor's part, yet blindly slogging forth, amid arguments, disagreements, until eventually nearly all give up in blank frustration, and the conference is finally over!

All this could have been avoided, productivity could have so easily been facilitated if we simply went back to using interpreters, just as we used to pre-Globalization.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

You said it, buster!
East is East, West is West and never the (Mark) twain shall meet:-)
LOL

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

@Paulina, I think you meant that you were referring to Germans as "nominal Christians. There I concur.

@BratwurstBoy, apparently I didn't make myself clear in my post Am sending along a private message to explain post haste!

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

@Paulina,
As to whether or not Germany is or was a "Christian" society has long been a subject of serious debate amongst historians, many of them German!

Prior to the rise of Nazism, Germany papered over her pagan roots by going to church, celebrating Christian holidays with pomp and ceremony. With Hitler, she finally got in frightening touch with her heathen heritage, and showed herself to be incapable of post-Enlightenment grass roots Christianity as truly reflected in the Biblical injunctions of "Love thy neighbor" as well as of course the teachings of Jesus Christ.

When push came to shove, way too many Germans opted to shove Jews and others into gas chambers, there being a Christian Resistance so insignificant compared to the rest of Germany, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

Even today, Germans are suspicious of and typically don't attend church, especially those under seventy, Bavaria being the exception.

Life / Why do Poles talk so badly about Poland? [25]

Poles abroad in my experience do love to complain about their country!
Sort of reminds me of the last time I was in Vienna some twenty years ago and merely asked about whether Austria in general had a particular hobby or national pass time such as baseball here in the States, to which someone responded "RAUNZEN", that is, "complaining".

Life / Is it possible to earn honestly some greater fortune in the present day Poland? [40]

Opportunities always abound...if one is willing to pull strings!

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

I'm sure. Only the menfolk in my circle of friends/acquaintances tend to proudly do their own home repairs, and without ever relying on the Pole (let alone fellow German craftsmen (Handwerker) ) to do the job:-)

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

B.B., it all depends on the age group as well as the demography of the Germans in question. My contacts are in general between 30-60, are more or less middle class (Mittelstand), and live by in large in Hamburg, Bremen as well as other parts of North Germany.

As far as the rest of the country, I would never pretend to speak with authority or to misrepresent my familiarity with German public opinion.

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

Many continue to regard the average Pole as little more than a cheap laborer Black Marketeer who gladly undercuts skilled German craftsmen by charging less for more.

Furthermore, Germans typically tease Poles for how they speak German:-)

Life / Is it possible to earn honestly some greater fortune in the present day Poland? [40]

And all I'm saying is that while it certainly is possible, don't delude yourself into thinking that in a majority of instances, the ever present role of the Black Market doesn't play some part in acquiring wealth capitalist style.

Everybody knows about "lapowki", but nobody talks about it in public.

History / Enemies, Strangers, Friends. Poles and Germans. [82]

GefreiterKania is right, at least concerning the lack of residual notions re: German superiority.

However, many Germans still do tend to look down somewhat on their Eastern neighbor. I base this on my numerous conversations with German friends and acquaintances.

Life / Is it possible to earn honestly some greater fortune in the present day Poland? [40]

As in much of the Black Market, nearly all was "possible", as long as one was not averse to the usual bribery path of smoothing the way with the respective authorities, including of course, the Church!

Little has changed, I'm sure, if at all. Much the same actually right here in the States in terms of securing (not merely gettting) a more than decently paying job, let alone amassing tremendous wealth.

Can't speak for every country. However, what has worked for centuries in places such as China, Russia, Italy or Latin America, seems to function just as easily here in the US.

Only difference here is that the Rule of Law is more superficially in force than it is in certain other societies.

Life / In need of good Polish jokes about Polish culture, people, etc [228]

Brilliant, jon-:)

Life / The nature of Polish jokes? [125]

The first one's a hoot, Milo!
Many thanks for sharing.

Life / In need of good Polish jokes about Polish culture, people, etc [228]

Random man to another as a complement about the latter's pretty daughter:

"Danka jest ladna!"

(And the man's response)

"Oh, danke schoen!"

lol

Off-Topic / What's your connection with Poland? Penpals. [554]

Hope the latter was a typo, sir!

Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]

To each his own!
Without our local Polish deli/eatery,
I'd be sunk, excellent generic cook as my wife is:-)

Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]

Yep jon, sounds about right.
Don't get me wrong, I'm crazy about Polish cooking,
good solid,bigos w/pyzy on the side, chlodnik for starters
all washed down with a nice local brew. This to me is pure comfort food!