Off-Topic / Best posters [886]


OMG! I've just realised you don't actually know what a nanny is! I'm sorry to break it to you Cargo but the people you hired were not nannies. Btw how is it that your children needed a childminder until they were in their twenties?? Maybe if you'd hired a nanny they would have made better progress.

Law / Old Polish money banknotes - what's their value today? [415]

You could try putting them for sale on Ebay. You don't have to be a business/shop to sell there.

ebay.com/b/Polish-Paper-Money/58513/bn_16565444

Off-Topic / Best posters [886]


I know, but I think Calcutta sounds better for comic purposes - a bit of poetic licence, you know? :) I like 'bitter little brown faced man' - has a nice cadence to it. Maybe I could work it into a poem or song? I'm thinking of re-working Little Brown Jug, much as Elton John reworked Candle in the Wind for Princess Diana. Of course - Little Brown Mug !! Mug, as in face. Perfect!

Ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee!
Little brown mug
From Noo JoyZEE

(has to be sung with the stress on the last syllable).

All together now!

And 'bitter little brown faced man' could be sung to the tune of Pretty Little Angel Eyes :) Pity we can't add an audio file here.

Mods, can we add audio??

Off-Topic / Best posters [886]


That would be 'an'.


How recently did you buy land? I bought land with my husband in April of this year. Was never asked to show a resident's permit probably because he's Polish. But then I'm a fair skinned, blue eyed European, not a bitter little brown faced man from Calcutta with the manners of a sewer rat, who can speak neither English nor Polish properly :)

Language / Helping Non Polish Student studying in Public School [32]

@ Phils 79, as an elementary school teacher (but in ireland) I'll give you some advice.

The issue here is really language support. Your kids need extra tuition in Polish, that's the bottom line and that's the only thing that will make a real difference. In theory, every foreign child has the right to additional Polish lessons as a foreign language (2 hours a week), as well as to compensatory classes in subjects with which they have difficulties because the curriculum from the previous school differs significantly from that of the school the child attends ( 1 hour a week). Now, in reality, getting that language support may not be so straightforward. You should already have been offered it. This is the thing with Poland. Everything looks great on paper but try accessing your rights etc and you'll often meet a blank face from officials. You have to be quite pushy in Poland so don't take no for an answer. The school has an obligation to help you with this.

As Lenka says, the first thing you need to do is talk to the teacher. If her English is not fluent enough, you need to bring somebody with you who speaks Polish. It sounds as if the school is inexperienced at dealing with international students and doesn't have any system in place but something will have to be done to facilitate your children. It would be better if you could arrange to meet the teacher and the school principal together. I would press to have your kids released from the tests for the time being if that's possible.

You could also consider accepting Gumishu's kind offer of help.

@Gumishu, you can just use Skype Online via your Microsoft account. Or you could create a new Skype account. They now have a facility where you can record your conversation so that would be great as the kids could look back over what they covered with you.

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]


Interestingly the upper class as opposed to upper middle class are far less snobbish, don't you think Jon? Although it still helps if you know the 'right' way to pronounce Beaulieu, the Duke of Buccleuch and the surname Colquhoun :))

Off-Topic / Best posters [886]


You wouldn't be suggesting now that I'm not a teacher, would you?


Let me give you another English lesson - not just English either but a lesson in how to construct witticisms :) If you're creating an insult based around a nanny, then you should use the word 'nappy' instead of diaper, as it allows for alliteration which is so much more effective as a literary device. Then instead of 'stealing' you should use the British English slang term for stealing, to 'nick'. So, instead of the clumsy and pedestrian 'diaper stealing nanny' you have 'nappy nicking nanny' - and you say I'm not a teacher ...........

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]


Warsaw and Kraków but the latter just for a few hours. It was only a two day visit I think.

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Queen Elizabeth visited Poland in 1996.

euscreen.eu/item.html?id=EUS_058E86DC5F5447F7B0500CDD78450299

She addressed the Sejm while she was here.

And of course she met JP II several times.

Off-Topic / Best posters [886]


Quite true - or rather he's the only one to attack and pretend to defend at the same time. He's a very duplicitous individual - lovely word, isn't it? :)

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

Judging from what one sees online, I'd say it's the exact opposite.

News / Poland to officially demand $1.32 trillion WW2 reparations from Germany [457]


I don't think so. I think people have warmed to Charles a bit over the years. I think there is a lot of sympathy towards him at the moment and William is very popular. It all hinges on little George. It's not so much a question of the people not wanting a monarchy, but whether George's generation will want to continue being Royals with all the restrictions that imposes on one's personal freedoms.

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

Actually, I'm rather lovely - and I'm not a nanny and I don't work as a teacher now as I have a rich husband whom I snagged because of my extreme beauty, not to mention my intelligence, wit, charm and social connections :))

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

You have to imagine what a teacher looks like?? Didn't you go to school?

Real Estate / Moving to Poland to either buy or build a house [15]

Sixteen years is s a long time in a country recently acceded to the EU and with many changes of government. So many laws have changed and even the education system has been reformed three times during those years, so unless you're bang up to date with your information it's wiser not to advise people.


No, it's a much older expression than that :) Nobody is really sure of the origins but it was first documented in the 1920s. It's sometimes concluded with 'and Fanny's your aunt'.


Best of luck with everything!

Travel / Is it safe to ride motorcycles in Poland? Traffic laws. [12]

Yes, and people who live or have holiday homes near or in the forests (and there are many in Poland) don't want to listen to motorbikes roaring.

Real Estate / Moving to Poland to either buy or build a house [15]


You're wrong about that. If his spouse is Polish and they have the usual common property arrangement, it's enough for one half of the couple to satisfy the requirements.


It's not really that complicated. You wouldn't want the hassle because living a healthier, self-sufficient lifestyle on a small holding, with a veggie garden and hens etc is not your goal. But that's what the OP wants so for him the extra bother may be worth it.


It doesn't have to be anything very arduous though. What you do at your summer house with the veggies etc would be enough or keep a couple of goats, a pig, a few ducks or geese and Bob's your uncle :))

Real Estate / What is a contract with a want notary? [13]

You're welcome. I should have said it takes up to a month. It can be much quicker. Sometimes they will issue it within a week of applying so it might be a good idea to just do it now. Go along to the Urzad of the area you're living in and ask them at the information desk. They will give you the correct form for your situation. There are a couple of different ones. It's always better to do official business face to face in Poland. It generally gets done quicker. Put aside an afternoon to do it and get it filled in and handed into the correct department while you're there. They will send you a text when the PESEL is ready to collect. You can trot along to the Urzad and pick it up :)

Real Estate / What is a contract with a want notary? [13]


You will automatically be issued a PESEL number when you register your address at the local Urzad. If you don't want to wait until you have a permanent address you can apply for a PESEL on the basis that you're working in Poland. It takes about a month for the application to be processed.

Real Estate / Moving to Poland to either buy or build a house [15]

You can definitely buy more than 0.3 ha. The interpretation of 'farmer' is quite loose in reality. I know for a fact that with a Polish spouse, you can buy 10,000 square metres and if you just keep a few hens and make a wild flower meadow that will count as 'farming'. Your real problem will lie in officials who should know better, not really understanding the law because it's overly complex. This will include notaries and sometimes lawyers! In Poland, most things are doable, but it can take several attempts and is pretty exhausting. Compared to the UK, everything feels like a huge effort. You just have to gird your loins Game of Thrones style and get ready to do battle :)

Travel / About the toll stops on the highways [17]


Well, they spent nearly eight hundred years upsetting us, so it's only fair :)

Travel / About the toll stops on the highways [17]


I guess ......... another dreadful Americanism in place of I suppose :)) Anyway, don't be so grumpy. I was just having a bit of a laugh. I'd give you a bit of advice though. Don't compromise your English to try to fit what you think foreigners know. Just use whatever term comes naturally to you. No I don't live in England although I have done in the past but in any case, being Irish, I know far more about the English language than you do :))


In British English, the highway is basically any public road under English common law. You know the old thing of being had up for obstructing the public highway blah, blah.

'A highway is a way over which there exists a public right of passage, that is to say a right for all Her Majesty's subjects at all seasons of the year freely and at their will to pass and repass without let or hindrance.'

Oh to be in England .................

Law / ZUS taking tax and insurance from my UK pension [4]

I checked it out for you under the terms of the double taxation treaty between Poland and other parties to the treaty, of which the UK is one. Unfortunately your pension is taxable in Poland, so as the previous poster says, it's really only a question of when, rather than if, you pay the tax.

ARTICLE 17

Pensions

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 18 of this Convention,
pensions and other similar remuneration paid to an individual who is a resident of a
Contracting State, shall be taxable only in that State.

So basically your pension can only be taxed once in the state in which you live, and as you live in Poland ............

Travel / About the toll stops on the highways [17]

A UK driver who refers to motorways as highways - and Jesus wept ........ please tell us that you're not actually English, just based in the UK :)

Life / Why Polish singers are not popular abroad? [101]


I'm fine, thanks :) Good to see you back :))

I just watched an interview with Sara James where I listened to her English at some length and she has a huge number of influences in her accent, including those classic African flavours. On words like 'home' and 'know' she could be from the southeast of England but when she says 'this song is about', it's pure Nigerian intonation. There's a touch of American too and at times she's a bit Ali G :-D But regardless of accents, she's incredibly natural and totally at ease in English. A fluent speaker.

Life / Why Polish singers are not popular abroad? [101]


Well, it served most Motown artists quite well, to name but a few.


She does have a good voice. Regardless of how poor the songs are, or how much she imitates the style of the singers whose songs she's performing, she herself has a good 'instrument'.

I watched two videos of her on YouTube, one from last year and another from this year. In the earlier one you can hear how the lower end of the voice was undeveloped. She does have a big range but her natural range is probably mezzo-soprano and she sounds weak when she forces the lower end. A year later, you can see how she's been having singing lessons and the lower end has developed a lot.

She seems like a nice, unaffected little thing. Good luck to her.

As for her English accent, she sounds fairly American to me.


I remember reading Maupassant in French and nearly dying of boredom but we got a really thorough grounding in grammar and vocab and we certainly had more than enough French to order food, ask directions etc. What people tend to lack is not so much the language as the confidence to use it.

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

Looks like a beautiful funeral. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis (may her faithful soul be at God's right hand).

Love / Do women like strong men in Poland ? [39]


Young men do not routinely kiss women's hands anymore. Plenty of men over sixty still do it when they're being extra chivalrous, but lots of them don't either. If the film you're referring to is that documentary 'At the Crossroads', then don't forget that producers often 'stage' things in documentary films. For example: 'When you're introduced to the girlfriend it would be nice if you kissed her hand in the old Polish style for our American viewers' ..............

If you love that kind of pre-war formality then Austria is the place for you. You really have to watch your Ps and Qs there.


I don't think it's that so much as the fact that a lot of Polish men under forty are in to their appearance. Body building is very popular and they like to look muscular. Ironically many of them are not that fit and steroids are commonly used. The body building crew are mostly working class while the more middle class guys/bearded hipsters do yoga, cycling, running. That's a broad generalisation but there's a lot of truth in it. And yes, Polish men are much taller on average than Spanish, but then so are a lot of European men. Spaniards are somewhat pocket-sized :)

Love / I am a black girl in a relationship with a Polish man but I have many questions. [21]


I don't think that's the reason. Ireland was even poorer than Poland for much of its history but we've always had charity shops. That's because we were a British colony and charity shops are really a British thing. One of the few in Warsaw, the Sue Ryder Foundation, was founded by an English lady who worked in Poland just after the war.


There's a typical little Polish-ism :) One for you and your students - in English we either beat someone or we win against them. If you win with someone you are partners or team mates. Now if only my Polish were as good as your English ................. sigh...........

Food / Polish Salted Butter [68]

In Ireland butter is salted as a matter of course, that's the way we make butter - opposite to Poland :) so it's not that salted butter is expensive, as such. It's just that the cost of living in Ireland is very high. But here in Poland Irish butter is comparatively expensive compared to local ones. However, the flavour and nutritional value of Irish butter is exceptional and it's a little bit of home for me :)