The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by BLS  

Joined: 14 Feb 2008 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 18 Jun 2014
Threads: Total: 65 / Live: 4 / Archived: 61
Posts: Total: 188 / Live: 26 / Archived: 162 		From: Poland, Krakow
Speaks Polish?: Mowię trochę po polsku, but I want to learn more

Displayed posts: 30
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BLS   
19 Dec 2008
Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]

My language school is quite miserly with the heating. Since it is always so cold in the classrooms, our teachers sometimes argue over which class gets the ONE space heater - however, the boss chides at anyone who uses it. In addition, the secretary opens the lobby window 2-3 times an hour to smoke a cigarette! Sometimes when I am waiting to teach a class, I need to wear my jacket.

I understand that energy is expensive here, but this is part of the cost of doing business...
BLS   
23 Jun 2009
Life / Are foreigners welcome in Poland? [267]

While speaking on my mobile phone in Przemysl, the locals (even teenagers) walked by and stared in amazement as English poured out of my mouth. It was like they had never heard a native speaker.

I am an American who has been in Kraków for nearly a year - I feel completely at home here. However, I tend to shut the hell up when I am around 3 or more young males on the street (but I did that when I lived in Chicago as well). As a foreigner, I worry about the day I meet up with some of the aforementioned hooligans...
BLS   
1 Jul 2009
Life / Smoking vs. Grilling on Balconies / High Rises in Poland [66]

I have a question about balcony etiquette in Poland: why is it OK to smoke on a balcony but it is not OK to grill there? I understand that the smell of grilling in my Polish neighbors' homes is largely viewed (or smelled) as offensive, but why isn't cigarette smoking seen in the same light?

Being from America, I love to grill - and it is absolutely cool to do it on a balcony over there. I wanted to grill on my balcony here in Kraków, but my girlfriend alerted me that it is not acceptable behavior, so I refrained out of respect to my new society and neighbors. However, these same neighbors smoke on their balcony 6-8 times a day - the smoke flows through our flat and stinks up our whole place (worse than the smell of grilling, IMO).

Is there a happy medium here? I try to be a good resident of Poland and protect my neighbors' rights, but they seem impervious to mine - I am tempted to go ahead an buy the grill, but I probably won't. Has anyone faced such a situation here? Thanks!
BLS   
2 Jul 2009
Life / Smoking vs. Grilling on Balconies / High Rises in Poland [66]

My girlfriend says that people in Kraków view grilling on a balcony as being done only by villagers, not 'sophisticated' city folk such as us. It's nice to see that she might be exaggerating the issue a wee bit...
BLS   
3 Oct 2009
Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [330]

I am from America and will readily admit that pizza was not invented there, but I do believe it was perfected in Chicago. I have been to many pizza joints in Italy - not one of them could hold a candle to Lou Malnati's!!!
BLS   
31 Mar 2010
Food / Bratwurst in Kraków? [15]

I just went on a short trip to Vienna and was re-introduced to a wonderful taste sensation - bratwurst! It is plentiful in Austria (as well as in America), but I have not come across it in Poland - is there anyplace in Kraków that sells it or offers it on a menu? Please help hook me up...thanks a million!
BLS   
31 Mar 2010
Food / Bratwurst in Kraków? [15]

You should buy sausage ( in every supermarket you can find )

I have never seen bratwurst in a shop in Kraków - only Polish sausages. If they are in the shops, are they called a different name here?
BLS   
25 Apr 2010
Life / Smoking vs. Grilling on Balconies / High Rises in Poland [66]

In America, apartment buildings, balconies, etc. are generally built with wood...in Poland, they all seem to be built with brick or stone. It seems ironic that grills are largely allowed on American balconies but not on Polish ones...
BLS   
5 Dec 2011
Life / Automobiles vs. Pedestrians in Poland [77]

Late yesterday afternoon, I was walking back to my flat when a car turned into a driveway immediately in front of me, forcing me to stop. Amazingly, the driver stopped on the sidewalk to wait for the automatic gate to open, so I had to walk around the car. I shouted a sarcastic "dziękuję" and slapped the trunk of the car, which resulted in a passenger exiting the car and saying something to me in Polish which I didn't understand. I ignored him and kept walking, so he returned to his car - however, if I had known the language better, I might have engaged him. So it's probably best that I didn't...

Admittedly, it's not the end of the world, but I find myself becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of consideration that some Polish drivers demonstrate towards those of us on foot. Does anyone know Polish driving laws regarding pedestrians? If we indeed have the right of way in such a situation as I suspect, I'd like to print a copy of the law and slap it on the windshield of the car that impeded me yesterday. Thanks to anyone with constructive thoughts and contributions!
BLS   
5 Dec 2011
Life / Automobiles vs. Pedestrians in Poland [77]

Surprisingly, Polish drivers seem quite courteous when people are in the zebra crossing. Much more considerate than drivers in America. However, they seem to lose this patience when they are driving on side streets and in living zones such as apartment buildings or blocks of flats. This is where I notice the least civility amongst Polish drivers.
BLS   
27 Dec 2011
Life / Automobiles vs. Pedestrians in Poland [77]

This is a new low - today, a driver was trying to park his car on the sidewalk where I was walking and actually honked his horn to urge me to move faster. I stopped, turned around, and stared at him for about 10 seconds before continuing on my way. I felt like ripping the freakin' license plate off of the front of his car!

The stupidity of some automobile drivers astounds me. These are the very same idiots who are driving in traffic and potentially endangering the rest of society with their lack of patience.
BLS   
28 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

When I lived in America, I walked 4 miles a day 5-6 days a week for several years. This was about an hour of continuous upbeat walking for exercise, not an accumulation of my each day's walking, mind you. Also, I didn't eat fast food more than 3-4 times a month, and I NEVER drank soda. Despite these facts, I constantly struggled to lose weight.

When I moved to Europe, I lost around 12 kg within the first 3 months. I continued my hour-a-day walking habit and ate essentially the same amount of food - but this time, the pounds seemed to melt away. And I wasn't consciously dieting - in fact, I lived across the street from a wonderful bakery and found myself there most days.

My point? The food supply in America is tainted with growth hormones and high fructose corn syrup, and these very well could be the main culprits in the American obesity epidemic. I think you would be lying to yourself if you didn't think that capitalism is a contributing factor to obesity in the West. Unfortunately, those in agriculture are just as interested in making a profit as anyone in the banking biz or on Wall Street.

A side note - how many of you "fat critics" are hooked on cigarettes, caffeine, or other drugs? Or perhaps internet and/or pûrnography? My guess is the majority of you are, so perhaps it's best not to be so judgmental about what you perceive as other people's addictions.
BLS   
29 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

Another crock of BS. I won't bore you with any personal stories or bother to refute this. It's simply not true.

Now that is a testimony! Way to refute the statement - with opinion and hearsay. And congrats for ignoring my personal story - you can't prove that it's true or false, so you assume it's false in order to protect your ignorance.

Here is how I prefer to refute your statement - with science:
princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07
BLS   
29 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

A simple google search will show you that "High Fructose Corn Syrup" isn't the cause:

A simple Google search of "high fructose corn syrup" is EXACTLY what I did - and the Princeton research was near the top of the very first page.

Here is another corroborating fact regarding HFCS - companies such as CocaCola and Pepsi started to introduce HFCS to their products in the early '70's. The obesity rates in America also started to increase around the same time. Iron-clad evidence? Of course not...but it's not an illogical conclusion to speculate that there MIGHT be a correlation between HFCS and obesity.

see post #126.

How exactly does post #126 prove that my personal experience is untrue?
BLS   
29 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

But more generally I agree with your point that too much of the food in the US is processed and 'enriched', eg the fact that US beef is so 'tender' compared to other countries could be due that it is full of hormones (which are forbidden in many other countries).

I am constantly amazed that so many Americans view governmental control of such substances as "infringing upon their freedom" - this is one of the primary reasons that our food is so unhealthy. And it's not just hormones that are added - antibiotics are systematically given to livestock to prevent them from getting sick. You would have to be a fool to think that those antibiotics somehow magically disappear before the meat ends up on your plate.

Another example: I remember a few years back, there was a comparison between McDonald's french fries served in America and Denmark. Denmark had strict guidelines regarding unsaturated fat, but the US had no such guidelines (I believe this is still true today, but I'm not 100% certain). Denmark's McD fries were deemed MUCH healthier than those in America. You can't tell me that the absence of such restrictions in the States somehow makes the food supply healthier - quite the opposite, in fact.
BLS   
29 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

It's not that HFCS is worse than regular sugar, it's just that more and more things are sweetened with it.

not denying HFCS is worse

These statements seem contradictory.

Also, your quotation from the Princeton article is misleading - here is the entire quote:

"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction.

The article continues:

"When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."
BLS   
29 Dec 2011
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

The food supply in America is tainted with growth hormones and high fructose corn syrup, and these very well could be the main culprits in the American obesity epidemic.

I cannot prove that HFCS has effects a or b or c and neither can you.

You should read my original post much more carefully...I don't believe that my words can be interpreted as definitive by any stretch of the imagination. Your words throughout this thread, however, seem much more definitive than mine.
BLS   
9 Jan 2012
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

I saw this graph on NPR today - as I look at the information, something unnatural seems to have happened in the mid-seventies to kick start the obesity trend in America. I contend that this was the introduction of high fructose corn syrup to soft drinks and other foods.

A quote from Wikipedia:

"HFCS was rapidly introduced to many processed foods and soft drinks in the U.S. from about 1975 to 1985."

I concede that this is circumstantial evidence, but I believe that it's rather compelling circumstantial evidence.

npr.org/2012/01/09/144799538/controversy-swirls-around-harsh-anti-obesity-ads
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup


  • US Childhood Obesity
BLS   
10 Jan 2012
Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]

National Public Radio? How did you "see" a graph? Just askin'.

Strange as it may seem, they have a website...
BLS   
13 Jan 2012
Food / Bratwurst in Kraków? [15]

Tesco offers a very tasty sausage called Kiełbasa Biała Bawarska that tastes very similar to bratwurst. It's close enough to satisfy this Midwestern boy's cravings!
BLS   
13 Jan 2012
Food / Bratwurst in Kraków? [15]

bratwurst is the equavalent of white sausage, no?

I have tried numerous white sausages since moving to Poland, but these from Tesco are the first that have come anywhere close to tasting like bratwursts.
BLS   
17 Jun 2014
Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

I am a private English teacher in Krakow and have a nice studio of private students - most of which are punctual, hard-working, and respectful towards me and of my time. However, a few bad apples show up every now and then. Today, I experienced a lack of respect from one such student that is probably the worst experience of my 6-year stint in Poland.

Due to the upcoming holiday, this student asked if he could meet this week on Tuesday instead of our normal time on Thursday. I told him that I could squeeze him in at 12:00, but it would be a tight fit since I had morning errands - he agreed. Well, he buzzed me from downstairs at 11:53 - I ignored it as I was taking a shower at the time. Then he buzzed a second time - I ignored it again (still in the shower). A couple of minutes later, he was at the door to my flat (having gained access to my building). I got out of the shower, wrapped myself in a towel, and told him that we were scheduled to meet at 12:00 and to wait until I was finished drying off, etc.

A few minutes later, he sent me an SMS which read, "I refuse to wait at your door - I resign our lessons." An absolute lack of respect for me AND my time -especally considering I accommodated his change-of-meeting request. Any similar stories? Do you teachers sometimes feel that Polish students have little to no respect for your time or your schedule? I'm interested in hearing your stories...
BLS   
17 Jun 2014
Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

I told him that I had morning errands and rescheduling our meeting would be tight. My other students send me an SMS to ask if they can come early if they are early - THIS is respectful, IMO.
BLS   
17 Jun 2014
Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

You mean the second buzz when I was still in the shower? About 30 seconds after the first one.

So let me get this straight - you would drop me without asking why I didn't answer the buzz? That seems entirely reactionary and a bit childish to me - thankfully, my other 18 students are NOTHING like you!
BLS   
18 Jun 2014
Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

I think you were in the right. You had told him it would be very tight because you had errands to run.

Thank you. The rest of the contributors don't seem to have grasped that concept. I did this kid a favor by allowing him to reschedule to a busy day, and I'm glad somebody on this forum understands that.

BTW, my errands were related to a REQUIRED visit to the residency office to sort out my karta pobytu. And not that anyone asked, but the late shower was a result of the 25-minute delay I had to endure while the woman running the new fingerprint technology tried to figure out the computer interface. Of course, nobody bothered to ask before proclaiming that I acted unprofessionally - most only criticized without knowing the full story. All too common on this forum, I'm afraid.
BLS   
18 Jun 2014
Work / Language Teachers - do you feel respected in Poland? [86]

BLS forgot who's selling and who's buying.

I just came off my best month ever, both in terms of number of students and amount of income. I must be doing something right!

This thread has become rather tiring and monotonous - I'm out.