Genealogy / Poland Heraldry and Nobility in names/families [59]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but AFAIK the leaves, helmets and other stuff are just incidental to the crest (e.g. superfluous ornamentation, a sort of picture frame, if you will). What really matters is the crest (shield) itself. So the two crests you have posted next to each other are actually completely different.

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


??? WTF ???

Po polsku / Lepiej powiedzieć "ślepy nie jestem" czy "nie jestem ślepy" i dlaczego? [27]

"Ślepy nie jestem" has a note of irritation or disgruntlement to it.

Food / Your all time favourite Polish Dishes! [108]


Pro tip:

Coat the meat in flour.
Then coat the meat in egg.
Then coat the meat in breadcrumbs.
Shallow fry on high.

The combination of flour and egg will keep the breadcrumbs on. Tried and tested by natives for generations :-)
Enjoy!

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]

I don't remember anyone saying on PF that "babusia" is not used in Polish. But "busia" really is not. Also, the Kashubian info is very interesting, but has no direct bearing on the discussion, as Kashubian is not a dialect of Polish, but a separate language.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashubian_language

Work / The level of English of Polish teachers of English. What do you think of it? [101]


What textbook does this come from? The list of "difficult" words seems like a throwback to the grammar translation method ;-)
Without context, some of these words would be hell to translate accurately, e.g. "backing" or "issue" or "congested". Who on earth dreams this stuff up?

Genealogy / Polish Gypsy Roots & Roma ancestors in their families [205]


It would be really interesting if you added some more information :-) Would you agree that some (or many) Gypsies do not want to integrate with mainstream society?

Life / Why is circumcision not practiced in Poland? [701]


think what you just said, and maybe retract. no pun intended ;-p

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


...and another generalisation has just entered the conversation... ;-p

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


I don't have any special thoughts, why do you ask?


Do you honestly think I sat around and waited 10 months for a pathetic cowboy boiler guy to come over and fix the problem? When he didn't show up the first time, I took matters into my own hands of course. I am Polish, after all ;-p

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start... and where to end. And I might offend. Most British institutions seem completely topsy-turvy to me. I tolerate their workings but that's about it.


And you are wrong. My lifestyle has suffered a bit ;-)


Believe you me, I do keep in touch. And I have well over 30 years of living in Polish reality under my belt as well, that counts for something.


Thanks, I could use some success right about now! :-)

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


And I've met lots. They weren't shy about admitting it either.

I do exactly the same job in the UK as I did in Poland. It just took a lot of work to build the business up from scratch.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


That's a very dangerous assumption to make. I would never say I understand British reality better than you because I now live here. What I perceive is merely the tip of the iceberg. I understand the language, read the papers, and get most of the jokes, but I am and will remain an outsider. I see tons of things which I think are really wrong and / or stupid in the UK, but on the other hand, I'm a guest here, so I should probably more or less shut up and carry on.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


...and are you currently holding a discussion with the other 2 million?


Why yes, I am. I was rather comfortable financially in PL. Not every traveller seeks the pot of gold, so to speak.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Neither my life nor earning money is easier for me in the UK. I am in the UK now because I was curious about the UK several years ago (nothing to do with earning a lot of money BTW).

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Jeez. I know I'm wasting my breath here, but just for the hell of it:


What have "they" forgotten? What do you know about their life in the UK? How do you know what "they" are all so used to?


Guilt, for crying out loud?! Do you feel guilty about moving to Poland? Would you like to talk about it?


Awww, you must be feeling so hurt because we rejected your offers of re-education...

Seriously though - were does your feeling of superiority come from?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Too bad you're so full of yourself. What Strzyga said was very true, and basically nothing remains to be said beyond that.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Stalin and Mao, to name just the two that immediately spring to mind...

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


You know who else liked the idea of "re-education"?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Accepted :-)

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


I want proof of that. I have read extensively about these riots, and I know there was a German "contingent" involved, and that approx. 50% of those arrested were foreigners, I have not come across the statement that over 50% of all the rioters were German.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


So is lying bad, or is it somehow gradable, and some types of lying are "better" than others?


Sure, the reason is simple: a lot of people, given the opportunity, will lie and cheat.

Let's stand this whole thing on its head. Remember the London riots and all the stealing that took place?
Well, not a single shop was even entered by the young people rioting in Warsaw on 11 November. Nothing whatsoever got stolen, though the opportunity presented itself. Won't you agree that in this case, the Polish nation demonstrated a very high level of moral integrity?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


I think that's a huge oversimplification.

Tradesmen: I had a faulty boiler and the landlord promised to do something about it. Sure enough, I get a phone call from the boiler guy, he'll "be right over". He never showed up, though admittedly he did call me one more time almost 10 months later to tell me that he "would pop round tomorrow".

At another property, I have had a broken window for the whole year. The window guys were repeatedly asked to show up, never did, until at last they appeared unannounced and said the window "wasn't theirs" (whatever that means).

Council officers: several instances of telling me things could not be arranged when they could. Making appointments to resolve issues, than either sending someone who was new to the case and could do nothing, or completely turning tail. Nothing serious mind you - just little untruths here and there.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Well sorry, but I've been lied to numerous times by British letting agents, council officers, tradesmen... Does this justify me starting a thread entitled "The British - a Nation of Liars?"


Could it be due to cultural differences more than anything else? I mean, your not being able to spot a cheat or fraudster early enough to give them a wide berth?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]

Southern, you have just gained a new admirer. To the point and funny! :-)

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Nobody here claims that Poland is the most honest nation in Europe. Don't try to manipulate us ;-p


I am afraid it's you doing the squirming. You still haven't provided a single example of Polish dishonesty from your personal experience, an example which would prove once and for all that's it's really typical of Poland.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


How childish can you get? You want me to believe that only a Polish mod would ever lie. You don't know of any (other) mods who have lied - that's only because you did not catch them red-handed. Jeez. Next, you'll be telling us that YOU have never lied. Well, I have, and all of us have. Nothing to be proud of, but hey, it's the human condition, get over it. And my question still remains unanswered - how can anyone prove that lying and cheating are rife in Poland, are somehow in the Polish blood, so to speak?

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Now, let's go slightly OT for a second. This is another nice generalisation, but I am confused because in other threads on this forum it has been consistently claimed that the Polish are too direct and in your face (i.e. "rude"), while Westerners are much more circumspect and polite. You can't have it all, you know. I think Southern is absolutely right when he says:


and I would like to add the the English (dunno about the British as a whole) are also good at the lying game, and are perceived by foreigners as slippery and evasive, saying "yes" when they mean "maybe" and "maybe" when they mean "when hell freezes over". ;-)

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Well I for one keep saying that if you want to convince me that it's "rife", then, well, you need to actually convince me. I'm not taking your word for it, and from my experience it's far from "rife". All this time, I'm begging you to give me facts instead of glib reports and opinions based on basically nothing. Show me the evidence (i.e. so called hard facts) and I will see the light. Otherwise, stop with the generalisations already.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


And I ask for the last time, because there is not much hope you will be able to answer: - what other country does not have the same problem? In other words, why are you so worked up over Poland as opposed to the rest of the world? It's like saying that some Polish women are prostitutes and you have a problem with that specifically. Of course some of them are. And so what? If you cannot stand the level of corruption in Poland, you can always leave, as you so very kindly suggested to me yourself, and be happier and contribute your hard work and taxes elsewhere.