Life / Fat People in Poland? [161]


is this a joke?

in general, the avg. polish man/woman under the age of 25 seems to be thinner in Poland, but it's merely lifestyle, not the food. have you taken a look at Polish food lately? everything is with bread, butter, fried, lots of meat and potatoes....hardly weight-loss food, and most Polish people eat it. the "other" food is too expensive.

in America, you can choose to be thin or fat, and eat all different kinds of food for around the same price, a big difference between America and Poland. also, there are over 300 million people in America, meaning if 20% of the population is fat, that's larger than the entire population of Poland, so fat people simply appear more in the media due to the sheer number (and size, haha) of their fat asses.

getting back to lifestyle: in America, once you are of driving age, you get a car. everyone in America works once they're 16-17 years old....owning a car is a necessity, not a luxury. in Poland, most people don't get their first car till they are at least 26-27 adn don't get their first job till they're finished with their "master's", so they all walk everywhere till they can finally afford an old used car.

The American infrastructure is set up to be fast and convenient. If you want to exercise, that's also easily accessed and readily available. some decide to exercise, some don't, but for the ones that don't, because of the infrastructure, the American will tend to be fatter simply due to less movement.

Also worth noting, when i'm in America, regardless of what city, you see runners and cyclists EVERYWHERE. In Poland, they're few and far between, especially amongst the older residents.

something I love about Polish culture if I may add is the number of times I hear, "i was in the mountains this weekend." outdoor people are OK in my eyes. they really have an appreciation for forests, trees, mountains, etc., and it seems to be countrywide.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]


yes, it's normal. Language schools out here are notorious for being poorly managed, right up to the biggest most popular schools in the cities. I've dealt with several of them and know several teachers working for other schools all over the country, the story never changes. It's not just language schools but simply Polish business sense, or lack thereof. I teach my lessons, make sure my a$$ is covered and my paperwork is in, and I go home.

Watching good businesses being wasted away by poor management and abysmal business sense is something you simply will have to get used to, but just remember that these business people are dealing with Polish customers who share a common culture and are most likely used to this sort of thing.

THIS is another reason why Poland needs to hire foreigners to run their companies. Even if the Polish manager currently in place is competent, he's gotta know how to manage 50 incompetent employees.....no small task.

Flame away, but sometimes I just can't help but tie in one thread to another, but so many of these threads talking about issues in Poland all boil down to just a few main reasons, this being one of them, and a big one.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

I'm waiting for the inevitable posts from the die-hard Poland defenders. If we could only tie this thread into the other thread from a few days ago discussing why so many foreigners from America, the U.K., France, etc. come here and take high level positions and how "any Pole could do what those guys are doing" and that these foreigners are a waste of money and....and....and....and.....

this forum routinely cracks me up.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]


anyone else tired of this excuse? the "we could do better but.....but it's a Polish thing"....excuse.


it's a major problem. what advice would you give a manager of 20 Poles, between the ages of 23-25.....who have NEVER had a job.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]


I see what I just described above routinely. Who else is going to work for 1800zl. net per month?

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]


I agree as well, it's a language thing. if you want to be anything more than a teacher......speaking Polish becomes a necessity. talking to potential clients, dealing with issues with students.....Polish, Polish, Polish. Basically nobody from a foreign country speaks Polish at that level, hence, they never become anything else but a "teacher". I've been offered positions or have been recommended for them and I always need to bring up, "my Polish isn't at a sufficient level for that position." I wouldn't take a job like that unless I could really rock and roll in Polish.

also, I flat out never want to be in a situation where I need to deal with Poles on a daily basis making business decisions. I'm forced to quite often because they come to me for advice/guidance on this and that, but I keep a distance because it's simply not worth my time (or aggravation). I've seen enough to know I need to stay away. In language schools, it's an absolute clusterf#@k.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]


dead on. I currently take home more than the director at my school, I know this for a fact, and I never exceed 30 lessons per week.

Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

Delphiandomine wrote:


No, i'm looking at it with the "why waste my time with a management position if I'm going to be paid less and given more responsibility" point of view. And again, like I said, I would never take a director's position if I couldn't speak Polish very very well. It simply doesn't work.

Delphiandomine wrote:


again, not what I saw. A year ago when the crisis hit, the ones who got eliminated from schools I either worked for or were familiar with, were the non-natives who weren't pulling their weight, had too many complaints or not enough requests from their students/classes, etc. So basically, the natives stayed, and the 25 year old girls with a "master's degree in English Philology" along with spending at the most 1 month in an English speaking country, got the boot.

You know, the Polish teachers who say things like, "I don't know what should I do."

Delphiandomine wrote:


well, if you're not a complete tool, go find another job at another language school. Of the schools I'm currently working for, I am the ONLY native speaker in both of them. There is always work for a GOOD native. The way I deal with bad directors is to simply do a kick a$$ job, get requested and offered lots of contracts as a result, and without me saying anything they are forced to be careful with how they are towards me. Simples. Hard work always pays off one way or another.

Delphiandomine wrote:


and this reflects the Polish business model, time and time again. they simply don't understand that "you have to spend money to make money". like I said, when the crisis began, I didn't see natives getting the axe, but when you have 1....maybe 2 natives working for you and half your contracts specifically request a native, letting the natives go is company suicide.

Delphiandomine wrote:


again, I live in a major city, and not only is it hard to find a native, but the odds start to near "needle in a haystack" to find a GOOD, responsible and experienced native.

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

convex wrote:


i used to think that too, but the fact of the matter is, I can't afford to travel anywhere outside of Poland anyway for I don't own a car and buying plane tickets when you're earning zloties is generally out of the question. Sure, i can fly to London/Dublin for under 200 zloties round trip, but the geographic location of Poland doesn't make the trip any easier/closer.

regarding costs in Poland, being from America, I find Poland unbelievably expensive.

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]


in what, an alien spacecraft? Poland to Holland in 3 hours? Denmark? WHAT? Literally impossible unless you fly, and flying....well....if you got that kinda dough, all the power to you.

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

Zman wrote:


to verify such a crazy submission, let's ask first for some facts:

how long were you "born and raised here"??? you are not at a native speaker's level for it would then be impossible for a foreigner to be at your level of Polish, so when did you leave Poland, and when did you return?

How long have the "3 expats" been living in Poland?

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

beelzebub wrote:


considering you don't speak fluent Polish, i'd question whether even that one person is actually fluent for you have no way of judging for yourself.

fluent to me is CAE. achieving a level of Polish comparable to CAE would take eons.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but i've been here long enough and have been studying this language long enough to know what an expat is up against with Polish.....i've yet to meet someone even in the same galaxy as fluent.

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]

it's true, most expats no matter how long they've been here, can barely string a decent sentence together, which in my opinion is pathetic.

if I may add, when saying someone is "fluent" in Polish......think of it this way: for an English teacher, how many students do you come accross who are "fluent" in English? I've taught thousands, and I can count the number of fluent speakers on one.....maybe two hands. And English is the international language......and they've been exposed to it since they were young.....and have probably been studying it for over 10 years......THAT is the chances of finding a fluent expat Polish speaker in Poland.

Law / The 'Secret' of Poland's Economic Success [83]

Nika wrote:


uuuhhmmmm.....well.....yeah, kinda. when you can hire 3 people to do one person's job (and pay the same for it), 2 of them can be under-qualified as long as one of them isn't.....the other two push paper and make coffee for their boss and so the world turns.......

Nika wrote:


what would give you that silly idea? man, i have seen so much in my 3+ years here in Poland being in and out of companies and talking to thousands of people.....I could write some stuff about companies that would blow the doors off this conversation but I'd hate to expose/incriminate anyone or any company. to me, the "secret", as so many others have already pointed out, is obvious, and it's not Poland's ultra-economy savvy government or their "highly skilled and qualified workers".

A bunch of old timers who grew up in communist times running the country's government (maybe 3 of which can actually speak some English to hold a conversation with another country's president/prime minister.....come to think of it, I've never seen a Polish diplomat speaking anything but Polish on television......ever...) along with a work force sporting Master's Degrees that are given away in Poland like fliers in the Krakow rynek.

I know it's fun, and it feels good to be proud of Poland's recent success.....I'm happy to be in a country that is "on the up and up" so to speak, but let's not be delusional about it.

Real Estate / Thinking of buying an offplan Luxury Property Wroclaw [79]

what kind of place are you looking for? how big? what location?

Real Estate / Thinking of buying an offplan Luxury Property Wroclaw [79]

hey Sam, any way you can open your account to private messages?

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

mira wrote:


being from the New York area, suffice to say my list would take an eternity.

inspired by convex's listing of root-beer, I would like to just say "Pepsi/Coke products" in general. Yes, they taste different, and better, in America. My students never believe that one.

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

mira wrote:


don't ask questions you don't want answers to, Mira.

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

terziev wrote:


what always cracks me up about the Polish mentality is their idea of healthy and unhealthy. Kielbasa, Paczki, fried pierogi in butter, cakes, big pieces of breaded and fried pork cutlets, potatoes.....as long as it's "fresh" and "my grandma makes it in the village"....it's healthy to a pole.

A cheeseburger is laughable to them, but 2 paczki for breakfast, a Prince Pollo for lunch, and an ice cream cone on the way home to eat god knows what for dinner.....perfectly healthy.

One could almost argue that 2 paczki have more calories, and less nutritional value, than a Big Mac.

Life / Why do you choose to stay in Poland, why not other country? [152]

McDonald's certainly is packed when I walk by it, but most of my students love to mock McD's and snicker about the American diet.

USA, Canada / Do many Polish people in America hate Americans? [592]

hahaha, IQ tests. that's great.

it's worth saying that in America, I never took an IQ test. ever. as a matter of fact, I can't recall any of my friends or family telling me that they took one. curious as to how those statistics were calculated.

i don't care what you all were talking about earlier, looks like a lot of whining and pointless banter, but quoting IQ statistics and thinking they prove anything whatsoever is foolish.

France is 94? USA is 98? Yeah, you're right, since those countries OBVIOUSLY don't have any smart people in them.....I mean.....are there even any decent Uni's in America?.....have they EVER come up with an innovative product?....(insert emoticon with it's eyes rolling).....

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

Seanus wrote:


i think the point was that if it takes so long to learn Polish, what's the point of putting in so much effort if the payoff isn't there.

in the end, if you're not marrying a Polish person, or plan on staying here for your whole life, there are better, more productive and certainly more lucrative things to learn than Polish.

just off the top of my head, if I had chosen say France and lived there for 5 years, I'd come back to America speaking absolutely fantastic French, and I could probably find a job with it in a big city. Polish.....you can't even become fluent with it in that amount of time, let alone find a job with it in America....certainly not one that's gonna pay well.

Basically, in today's times, it's difficult to convince someone to study Polish, even when they live there.

Life / What is going on in Polish Music [128]

Polish music? Is there such a thing?

After living here for over 3 years, I can honestly say that Poland simply is not a musically inclined country. When do you ever turn on the radio and hear a song written by Poles, performed by Poles, that's actually any good.

And no, giving me an example of one decent song written over the past 10 years doesn't make any difference in anyone's minds.

I can't speak for symphony/orchestra type music scenes in Poland, I have no exposure to it, but as far as Rock/Pop goes.....not a chance.

I do wish they'd give up on the Rap scene though. Every time I hear a Polish rap song it makes me blush just a little bit.

Classifieds / Expat groups / parents / clubs - Wroclaw [13]

Hey, where's the half marathon going to be? As a long time runner myself, just curious.

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

Mafketis wrote:


for 99% of all people who claim to speak some polish, this is exactly the case. they learn polish and disregard all declensions, proper usage of the polish numerical sytem, gender, miejscownik, which verbs require which case, etc. etc. and in the end, their Polish is crap. my first year in Poland i did nothing other than study basic words and grammar grammar grammar till I puked from grammar. in the end though, what it gave me was a grammatical basis for all new words I learned thereafter. After 3+ years in Poland, my vocab is still small but my grammar allows me to adopt new words and use them rather quickly. The hard part is mostly over and now I mainly study vocabulary for the grammar comes quite naturally now, aside from maybe counters of words I haven't heard yet.

Seanus wrote:


saying "you don't need to think about the endings all the time" and "Polish" in the same sentence is an outrage.

I don't know a lick of Japanese, but if I had to guess, I doubt that when you say "with nihon" or "on nihon", or "i don't have "nihon", it's still "nihon", every time. not the case with good ole' Polish.

2 bottles = dwie butelki
with 2 bottles = z dwoma butelkami
on 2 bottles = na dwóch butelkach
I don't have 2 bottles = Nie mam dwóch butelek

You can never take a number for granted because at any moment while in context, it can change which not only makes speaking properly difficult, but comprehension tough because you need to get used to hearing someone say the exact same damn word but in several different forms.

I'm sure you've seen the web page discussing how Polish is the hardest language in the world where the author displays the "17 ways of saying the number two" in Polish. The kicker is there are 17, not including case changes, meaning he doesn't list drugiego, drugiej, drugim, drugich, drugą, etc. etc. putting you well over twenty forms.

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


excellent. i stand corrected, i forgot there's a feminine forum.

i guess you further proved my point. it's THAT easy to make a grammatically incorrect sentence in Polish, especially with numbers.

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

Mark Twain didn't speak Polish, therefore, I disregard his comment.

Lyzko wrote:


i can't go along with this argument. of course, someone who speaks a romance language is going to have an easier time learning another romance language, but when looking at languages as a whole, some are simply less complex than others.

Lyzko wrote:


again, i gotta disagree. do you know how many times I've asked Polish people "how do you say, "______", and they simply had no clue? I'm not talking about something complicated or a difficult English/Polish equivalent, but the simplest things. Or better yet, getting 3 different answers from 3 different Poles. OR, the countless Polish people living abroad that left Poland in their late adolescent years or early teens, and now, when in their 20's and 30's have lost their touch and cannot decline their words properly anymore. Again, not making this up, but I speak from experience with meeting people that match that exact description.

For example, I recently asked a native Pole, "so if the name of the town is Szewce, how do I say 'I'm going to Szewce' and 'I'm in Szewce'"? That question to a speaker of nearly any other language would look at you and say, "That's the dumbest question I've ever heard, you simply say (in whatever language) "I'm going to/I'm in Szewce!!!" BUT, when I asked it, the native Pole looked at me, chuckled and said, "I don't know! I gotta think about it....hmmm....." And to me, that's absurd po prostu.

Basically, Polish in my opinion is utterly inefficient. I would never make a claim like that without being thoroughly convinced and after hitting the books and seeing countless instances where Poles are struggling to say the most basic thing but can't because they're getting hung up on the grammar....but I see it all the time.

Whether it's a Spaniard or an Irish guy or an Indian woman or a Puerto Rican or a Korean man or Dutch woman or an Italian man.....every single one of them after studying Polish for a few months is going to come to the same conclusion: Polish grammar is utterly ridiculous.

I've never studied Hungarian, Finnish, Czech, etc., but I don't really think it matters. I'm simply talking about Polish, and I think I'm pretty on point with what I'm saying about it, at least most Polish people seem to agree.

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

Of everyone on this forum, I would be willing to bet not one of you, excluding the Poles of course, even comes close to FCE level in Polish, regardless of how long you've been here.

There. I win.

Next thread.

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

Rikad wrote:


and this, as you have just seen Rikad, simply should not happen in language. imagine if you were to tell your friend what just happened, that a gaggle of poles were standing around arguing how to say, "I'm going to Szewce/I'm in Szewce". Those exact situations I have seen soooo many times.

if you are writing things like this Olaf:


...than you are simply missing my point.

I am not talking about asking an average Englishman something like, "could you give me a quick and concise explanation of when to use past simple and when to use present perfect?"....I am talking about simple, silly stuff that a 5 year old should have command of, yet adults often times do not because of no other reason but the inefficiency of their language.

and for those of you touting B2 and above proficiency levels in Polish, puff your chest out all you want, but rest assured, if native speaking Poles are getting stumped on silly meaningless sentences, you can be most confident that you are subject to this happening to you 100 fold.


we already discussed "Szewce", but for the hell of it, I'll give you another one, just for $hit$ and giggles:

One of my first experiences with the absurdity of Polish grammar was when I asked random Poles throughout the course of 2-3 days, how do you say "5 ears"?

I received 4 different answers to that question from I'd say 7-8 Poles. Yuck it up all you want about how they "probably weren't educated" or some crap like that, but every one of those people had the infamous Polish "master's degree" and were over the age of 25. Besides, even if they were 14 year old kids, something that basic has nothing to do with education level. Just pure common sense in your own language.

Inefficient folks.

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

Olaf wrote:


no, it's not my style. pappy is a regional thing where i'm from, it's no different than buddy.

Olaf wrote:


this has nothing to do with sarcasm. i wasn't suggesting there was any.

just asking good ole' Delph to answer the same questions he's been refusing to answer for months. what's the matter Delph? credibility concerns?

watch and learn. he'll duck the questions, yet again, by cutting and pasting some stuff I wrote earlier by strapping on his aforementioned Captain Sidetrack suit. it's old hat for me by now.