Language / Site I've been using to learn Polish--what do you people think? [18]

My opinion. Have you tried this website: polish.slavic.pitt.edu/

I like this guys attitude. He recommends studying conversational Polish first. I agree with that and once you master the conversational aspects than go onto grammar, reading and writing.

Love / All the good Polish men for dating are taken? [111]

Amathyst


Morons need love too.


In a Polish household it's the guys that are spoiled not the girls. The correct connotation is "Polish Prince".

Law / How much does the average Pole have in cash savings? [38]


Polish American = High Credit Score

UK, Ireland / Are the working class in the UK now shunned in the 'new' Poland? [53]


What is minimum wage in Poland? 1200 Zloty? What is the minimum in the UK? Remember it's a 4:1 ratio Zloty/Pound. Probably at the minimum a Pole can make 4 times the money in the UK.

UK, Ireland / Are the working class in the UK now shunned in the 'new' Poland? [53]

No, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Mexican illegal immigrants (in the States) are allowed in for one reason only, and that's to lower wages so that the business owners can make more money. Same for outsourcing manufacturing jobs to China and service jobs to India. Let's be honest it's slave labor. The native cannot compete.

Karl Marx said that capitalism is cannibalistic, they eat their own. Indeed they do.

As for you, are you an unemployed electrician? If I were you I'd open my own business. In fact I have been you and I did open my own business, I'm not getting rich but I am staying busy.

News / Why are Czechs more effective than Poles and Poland? [116]

Poles have hate/love relationship with Poland. For the most part they have strong cultural identity with their families but overall, hate Polish society. Poland is a divided country and has been for a long time.

Law / How much does the average Pole have in cash savings? [38]

In inflationary times... in deflationary times (no demand) as we are now, cash is king.

Work / Mechanical engineer born in Poland, grew up the States. Go back to PL. How? [29]


Just do it and quit thinking about it (quit obsessing about the money). If that's where you want to be, than go for it. You're either going to love it or hate it, in which case you can move back to the States. If you love it the money won't matter.

Polonia / What similarities would you say there are between Poles and Mexicans? [132]


Very true


True


What?? Good food? Let's see sausage and pierogis? Duck blood soup? And Mexican food, most of what we call Mexican is actually tex mex. I wouldn't call Mexican and Polish as cuisines worth pursuing. Well yes they have food in common...pedestrian.


Big difference here. Polish Americans are highly educated. Mexicans? No way. High high school drop out rate. You're not confusing mexicans with cubans now, are you?

Genealogy / Changing my name to a Polish one [35]


Only in certain parts of America (typically the urban ethnic enclaves with recent immigration). Once one moves out to the Great American hinterland the ethnic stuff dissipates. No one cares, we've all assimilated. When was the last time (except for this forum) you heard a Polish joke? Or any ethnic joke for that matter? 30 years ago?

News / Why are Czechs more effective than Poles and Poland? [116]


Poland is responsible for Poland. Before 50 year occupation by Soviet Union, Poland endured 200 year occupation by Germany, Austria, Russia. It has nothing to do with France and England. It has to do with Poland.

Poles need to start taking responsibility for Poland, if they don't history will repeat itself.

Polonia / What similarities would you say there are between Poles and Mexicans? [132]

No doubt. I worked with a mexican civil engineer once also but the majority do not have a tradition of education, as below:

"The education gap explains most of the wage deficit of Mexican-Americans in the third generation. Research has shown that two-thirds of the wage discrepancy is accounted for by lower education levels among Mexicans.

dallasfed.org/research/swe/2004/swe0403a.html

and the food...cheesy sauces, flat breads, re-fried beans and rice (AKA as slop).

Polonia / What similarities would you say there are between Poles and Mexicans? [132]

Not to belabor the point but...yes.

But comparing Poles with mexicans in regards to education...no comparison. Poles and Polish Americans are highly intelligent and educated. Tough to meet one without a college degree of some level. Just read the posts on this forum.

History / Polish aristocrats - would be better off if we had Polish magnate families? [69]


The Elite in every country are nothing more than parasites. What Poland needs (and every country) is a large vibrant and robust Middle Class.

Life / What would YOU do to make life in poland better?? [72]


Poland needs to spend more time looking after it's affairs at home. For instance they shouldn't be purchasing natural gas from the Russkies, instead they should gasify coal from their coal mines. Maybe with their large agricultural sector they could develop an ethanol industry and reduce their importation of liquid energy. Poland should keep the zloty and forget about joining the Euro. Poland needs to look inward for a change. In a sense Poland needs to become more Polish.

Life / Who's Leaving Poland? [138]


Ya better hurry up..."You can't go home again" Thomas Wolfe

Life / What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland? [164]

Knowledge is never wasted

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


Baloney. Australia was settled just like Poland, through migration. Where did the Poles originally come from? Kyrgyzstan?


Serious Pole. You're supposed to tell her that you were born in Australia. She just wanted a bit of fun.

If you're Polish, move to Poland and contribute to Polish society. Don't continue to hang around those lousy Aussies.

Love / Need Advice: I have fallen in love with a Polish woman... [65]


Plastic Pole is giving you "old School Catholic viewpoint". This is what she (your girlfriend) may be thinking. AJ's comments are a good rebuttal.

Keep in mind that marriage is a civil contract and the contract may have been broken before you arrived (that's why we have divorce laws). If you both love each other, she's certainly old enough to know what she wants, kids are old enough. And cant you and her live together?

Life / Why are the Italians and Polski so much alike? [90]


In the states, Polish-Italian marriage? Rare. Irish-Italian marriage? Common. Poles and Italians have little in common as expressed by George and Southern.

Allison now that you graduated from High School and your parents are as poor as you say they are it might be time to leave the nest? If you're interested in Med Tech (the Navy has a big presence in NC) why don't you enlist in Naval Medical. Maybe some summer you can find yourself in Spain, Italy or Japan or some other distant port. And you know, see the World for yourself.

Love / Marrying a Polish girl near Wroclaw [12]

pgtx


You can do it go to the confessional and tell the priests you've had impure thoughts, he should get a rise out of that.


that'll work!!

Travel / Which train in Poland am I less likely to get shanked on? [30]

Interesting thread. What happens to people who ride the trains in Poland? I thought Poland was a safe place. No?

Probably safer to rent a car when traveling through Poland?

Love / Need Advice: I have fallen in love with a Polish woman... [65]


Land ownership is nation specific. Actually in England most English own the building but not the land. The land is leased. That's one way how the English perpetuate the class system. How Poland does land ownership can be very different from England, and considering they have a communist past probably means it isn't the same.

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

Polish jokes originated in the Polish American community. Polish Americans poking fun at recent Polish immigrants who would be ignorant about American life. These jokes occur in America because of all the recent immigration and the immigrants are usually the very poor and ignorant!! and let's not forget, Americans joke about everything.

Germans making fun of Poles? Germans are totally devoid of a sense of humor (like many people on this forum).

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

Eurola


My folks were peasants from the Poznan area (1880's). So poor they were lucky to get a piece of rye bread (so the story goes). My grandfather quit school in the 2nd grade. Went to work and at some point opened up a grocery store and was so successful that he retired at 35. Of 18 grandchildren approx 14 have college degrees and the ones that don't are para legals, technicians, etc. All well educated productive individuals. this is a typical Polish American story. Nothing unusual.

It was like this. People immigrate to the states, settle in and than another wave comes in a generation later. The Poles that are already here poke fun at the newly arrivals because they recognize the nuances of Polish society which the newly arrived immigrants still hang onto. For instance my grandfather always referred to Poland as "the Old Country". And the newly arrived immigrants held on to their "old ways" and that's where Polish Jokes come from. Polish jokes don't come from Nazi's or Native Americans. they came from the Polish Americans because they recognized the "old ways". Now what's true for Poles was also true for the Irish, Italians, Norwegians, etc.

Polish jokes, far as I know where dead by the late 70's. I haven't heard many since. The latest type of Polish Jokes are the "Redneck Jokes". Same thing.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Foxworthy

Real Estate / Price of a flat for renovation in a tenement house for renovation in Krakow [7]

Residential construction costs in the States range from approximately $100-$200/square foot. 6000-6500/zl is approximately $250/square foot. Quite surprisingly expensive when one considers the median salaries of the two countries. Maybe I should be building in Poland?

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

Who started redneck jokes? Southerners poking fun at other Southerners. The roots and subject matter of Redneck jokes are the same as Polish jokes. No difference. No body in Hollywood or America hates Poles. Actually America in general is rather ambivalent towards Poles and Poland. If anything Poles are ignored, probably due to the fact that we assimilate so easily. If Poles were hated by America as much as you say they are, they wouldn't be third on your chart. BTW who is last on your list? Indians and Blacks. Now these two groups may have an issue with how America perceives them. Not the Poles. Poles are a success story.

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

MediaWatch


Hollywood did not invent Polish jokes or Redneck jokes. Actually Hollywood were "johnnie come latelies" to the Polish Jokes. Polish jokes were inside jokes among Polish Americans in the 50's and 60's. Hollywood didn't pick up on Polish jokes until the TV show "All in the Family" with the character Archie Bunker. That was 1975 and by than Polish jokes were petering out.

The term Redneck refers to poor rural Southern whites (the peasant would be the Polish equivalent). The term Redneck comes from farmers on tractors looking down at the crops while they plow and getting a sunburn on their neck in the process (I got my college degree in the South and that's how they explained it to me). Rednecks are proud of being rednecks. I listen to Country Western Radio and every second song is something about rednecks. Jeff Foxworthy has popularized Redneck jokes. Foxworthy ain't Hollywood.

In fact Redneck jokes are nothing more than Polish jokes that I used to hear in the Old Neighborhood. Same thing, just change the subject.

After WWII there were a lot of Polish refugees that came to the States. The Polish Refugees (called DP's for Displaced Persons). Well my dad rented an apartment to one of these DP couples and one day I was walking by and noticed through the window that one of their kids was drinking their milk through a glass jar that previously held jams or jellies or something. The point being they were so cheap they wouldn't buy something like a glass cup to drink out of, they would use an old jar that came with jam/jellie purchase. Or when they would blow a fuse they would stuff a penny in the socket and than screw the bad fuse back in because they were too cheap to buy a new fuse. The penny would bypass the bad fuse but by so doing you defeat the purpose of the fuse and the house can catch on fire. So I remember one day my dad arguing with the DP's about not putting pennies in the fuse box. He in his best 1880's peasant Polish and her in her modern Polish (I presume, I don't speak either). I don't think they understood each other. So my dad just bought a box of fuses and left them on the top of the fuse box. But the point being you don't get mad, you laugh. "Ah,they're from the old country ... putting pennies in my fuse box!" You make a joke out of the situation. That's where Polish jokes come from. You don't get mad, you laugh. Polish jokes are a way to relieve the day to day stress of assimilation into a new country. This is where Polish jokes come from.

Life / What is the reason for POLISH jokes ? [486]

Polish jokes were unknown outside the Polish American community until Archie Bunker popularized them in "All in the Family".

Poland was not a fourth Allied power. They're a very young country who have only been in existence since the 1920's.

Work / From the USA, is it hard to study in Poland? [44]


I paid my way through the University by working in between semesters. I came out with zero debt. It's still possible today to do this in the United States. Of course depending on which State you decide to study in.