Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]


Exactly - if you're not a local, it's best not to go alone to some dingy backstreet bar full of glowering skinheads. Wroclaw is however a big city, and most places in the centre should be OK.

Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]


Though some people find £ódż uniquely atmospheric and would prefer to spend time there than in Krakow, which is nothing special really and jammed with tourists.

Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]


They're actually of Wroclaw city centre.

Work / Black English Teacher going to Wroclaw [247]


Not at all - it's one of the jewels of Central Europe, a medieval university city with a beautiful centre. And quite cosmopolitan too ;-)

Life / Cost of Utilities in Warsaw. [23]


This sets off all sorts of alarm bells.


More alarm bells.


Yes. I have never seen a flat without one.

I would move as soon as possible. It seems you have a bad landlord. Reading the meter daily but not letting you see it sounds greedy and dishonest. Don't feel awkward about causing him problems through not sticking to notice periods etc - he deserves it. If he is ripping people off, it is only right that he gets ripped off himself.

History / History of Poland in 10 minutes. Really worth seeing! [169]


Read this.


The time to say shouldn't was before the Polish people chose to join, with full knowledge of all implications.

History / History of Poland in 10 minutes. Really worth seeing! [169]


Ahem, Poland wasn't forced into the EU - there was a referendum to join, and the time to object was than, instead of irritating people now.

Travel / Changing trains in Poznan [29]


Which is all the more reason not to have a five-minute window to change trains - the queues at Poznan Glowny can be quite long. I've been caught out by that myself.

Travel / Changing trains in Poznan [29]


I agree. Poznan station is quite big, and there are plenty of steps and a lot of walking. I'm young-ish and fit, but still wouldn't want to chance it and certainly not with luggage. It's probably better to choose a different connection. If there's a lot of waiting time, it's no tragedy since there are quite a few cafes etc in the station.

History / Polish history is 100% glorious [302]


Amen. A disgrace to his username.

Life / Cannabis / Weed in Poland... How much does marijuana cost per gram and how easy is to get it? [355]


Drug usage is increasing anyway, despite strong drug laws in most countries. With legalisation, the one thing sure to decrease is the huge profit that organised criminals are making from smuggling and sale, and the collateral crime of addicts robbing people and their homes in order to pay an extortionate price, for an intrinsically cheap product, to the mafia.

The state pays for rebabilitation anyway - why not get some of the money back through tax revenue. Not to mention the huge costs of carrying out the failed 'war on drugs'.

After all, alcohol and nicotine are extremely dangerous drugs, but nobody suggests driving them underground and thereby depriving the government of excise duty and at the same time enriching criminals.

If you don't approve of legalisation, you therefore support throwing ever larger amounts of public money into trying to stop something that experience has shown cannot be stopped.

Life / POLISH MYTHS - let's debunk or prove them! [141]


Yes. There are all sorts of pluses and minuses. A good professional teacher, regardless of nationality, is better than a certain type of TEFLer with a relatively limited toolkit of methodology and a sophomoric understanding of the English language. Or, God forbid, many of those who give English lessons because their spouse/gf/bf/retirement home etc is in whatever country and they want to earn their keep. Though not all - everything depends on the person and the context they're teaching in.

That said, most competent natives can get better results that most non-natives - I often wonder if that's to do with their different career settings and often different types of students..

As for kielbasa being better than fast food, the same principle applies - it depends on the fast food and on the kielbasa.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [185]


Maybe it should, but it isn't except in conversation among the British - and hey, Americans call their language English too. Terms like BritEng, AmEng, AusEng etc are necessary sometimes for the sake of precision.

Language / Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language? [185]


Only Zamenhof (from Białystok) and a few others "invented" a language. English started to evolve from various other (as in BB's quote) languages. It is still evolving - and 'British English' is an accepted term.

Life / Barking Dogs in Poland [65]

Paracetamol works on dogs.

Love / What do Polish girls think about dating Asian guys? [134]


Doesn't take them long - in this case less than a line.

Genealogy / Jewish Roots of Poland [638]


So you're actually saying that 1930s Poland was a paradise for Jews. Now I've heard it all. Unless you have a pretty twisted definition of paradise...

Genealogy / Jewish Roots of Poland [638]

So you're saying it was a paradise, with Jews having equal access to state jobs?

:-))

Genealogy / Jewish Roots of Poland [638]


People know, but think that if they deny the bad things long enough and often enough people will start to believe revisionist history. This technique, if it works, only works for a time.

Life / Smoking vs. Grilling on Balconies / High Rises in Poland [66]


Exactly. In some very new blocks they allow (or tolerate) it if you have a kind of a flexible pipe connected to the cooker hood to suck the smoke away.

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

Apparently it's one of the most common. That and apiary/aviary.

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


Entomology? Study of insects?

Food / Traditional Polish Soups. [85]

Delicious - and the dried fruit really lifts it.

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


It's been on the news here in Poland, and could explain why the plane crashed. The voice recorder is more significant though.

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


The cockpit voice recorder will presumably clear that up.

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


Every developed country has a contingency plan. Even though the sudden death of a serving president creates turmoil, there are procedures to ensure continuity.

News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]


As far as I know the black box hasn't been retrieved yet - it's a bit early for conspiracy theories though no doubt they'll appear soon.

Work / Qualifications - Mgr Title on my business card? [17]

In Poland the trend nowadays is moving away from pre-nominal titles unless the business card is for somebody in an academic role - in which case it is often DrHab (a thing specific to continental Europe).

Pre-nominals are increasingly old-fashioned here.

History / The great mistakes of Poland's history? [216]


Always. Poles are obviously the zenith of perfection and common sense.

History / The great mistakes of Poland's history? [216]

A vile comment


Who do you mean. Poland was in no position to 'align' with anybody during WW2. It was occupied.

And that comment could only come from someone slow-witted enough not to realise what the WWII German regime thought of Poles.