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Posts by rybnik  

Joined: 16 Jan 2011 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 2 Aug 2017
Threads: 18
Posts: 1,454 		From: new jersey
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 1472 / page 48 of 50
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rybnik   
24 Feb 2011
USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

you are just sentimental and you memory fails you re: Polish Turkish style coffee - it was and still is like drinking mud;), but when you visit you will have the opportunity to drink all the mud you want;).

You're not supposed to drink the sediment aphro! haha.....my memory's just fine and I am looking forward to visiting. Maybe we can exchange notes over a glass of mud? lol
rybnik   
24 Feb 2011
Food / Eat goulash from a cat and a steak from a dog in Poland! [114]

I would not be against eating any dead animal per se but I would be more concerned about the animal's life than when it's dead.
Have you seen how factory hens live? now that is cruel.

Exactly!
rybnik   
21 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

compared to the present hurdles it was a peice of cake. I took an exam at the victoria hotel in warsaw during my 5th year, passed it and was good to go. Nowadays it's much more than that. I'm afraid I can't elaborate, as I'm far, far removed from it all.

Did you fight with ZOMO ?

I did not fight with them but I did get a very good look at them(about 10) while resting(breaking skulls is hard work I guess) in their bus on Plac Grundwalski, Wroclaw. I saw their faces through the windows and was impressed by 3 things: 1)they all were very attractive 2) well-fed, healthy-looking and 3)ALL of them had this crazed look in their eyes as if they were on something, amphetamines maybe. This one guy's expression I'll never forget. It scared me by its intensity. He looked intense.
rybnik   
21 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

Or did your daddy supervise for the party the production of the machinery the regime needed to crush the democratic opposition and then hightail out of Poland just before the regime fell?

WTF? Where is that coming from? calma, calma te. lol
rybnik   
21 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

YES! I remember that newspaper! We used to read it around the kitchen table on our weekends when we would drive to my ex's home-town...Right. Krakow was very dreary, as were all towns during that period. Of course Huta had a lot to do with it. I can't beleive my eyes when I see pics from Krakow and Wroclaw on the TV; the buildings are so clean and bright that I have to do a double take. What a difference!..I also remember the smell of burnt two-stroke fuel that the Trabants and other two-cycle-powered cars used. That along with the sound of their putt-putt engines competing with the screech of the trams. Man o man what an exciting and strange time those first few months were for this young, naive American:)....I'll have to share my Nowa Huta story with you but I don't have enough space.....next time:)
rybnik   
20 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

1978-1985 - special period in the history of Poland. Did you notice it?

Of course I did! lol We danced with the nuns on the Krakow Rynek; saw the Pope on the Planty in the summer of 1979, which was just a few blocks from my Student Dorm ; my ex-wife's brother-in-law was a Solidarity rep and yes, I did encounter the ZOMO, once in Wroclaw- tear gas mostly.
rybnik   
20 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

Now,these are not excuses,but,by this time britain still was under even more extreme rationing than during the war years (Marshal aid didnt come our way...) and once all the servicemen had been demobbed there was also the clamour for jobs

Right. That's what mom said. It was all about jobs. She got that and never held a grudge. She always reminiced fondly her Scotland years (she did prefer Edinburgh though-maybe I shouldn't say ;) )
rybnik   
20 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

I'm glad you asked me that question. Now I only know what I was told by my parents so forgive me if it's not accurate.... After the war a lot of the polish soldiers stayed in GB, seeing as most of them feared returning to their homeland. My mom was raised in Winipeg(or Lose-a-peg,as the Canadians refer to it) Manitoba, studied Library Science and after attaining her Masters degree, went off to Scotland to work and adventure. There she met my father, who of course was the man to see if you're Polish and need a room,job, etc. They fell in love and settled in Aloia(sp). From all accounts they loved it there and they planned to stay. However, (now this is where it might get a little shaky fact-wise) anti-immigrant sentiments began to grow and they, as a result, emigrated to the US in 1953. In a few years I came along.
rybnik   
20 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

So why did you choose communist-Poland of all places to study medicine?

Are you an American of Polish decent?

Were there many nonPoles studying with you?

Were you "Interviewed" because you came from the other side of the iron curtain?

Both my parents were Polish. My mom was born in the eastern town of Stanislawow and my dad just outside Raciborz, in Upper Silesia. They met in Scotland after the war and emigrated to the States. Mom was an only child and dad's family was split between living in Poland and Australia. My childhood was devoid of an extended family-no uncles, no aunts and no cousins. This was an abstraction for me. I remember how sad I used to become upon hearing of my friends' recounting their fun weekends with cousins and family. I wished I had cousins! I used to think connecting with Polish family was the main reason for going to Poland to study. that I'm older I see the reason I went was to please my uber-Polish-nationalistic father...........My journey began in August of 1978 along with a plane-load of other young, excited and hopeful Polonians. The plan was this: spend a month in Krakow, attend Polish language classes, after "passing" the language test in early September continue on to your Akademia of choice. I was strongly

advised to stay in Krakow for the year to work on my Polish, which I did. It turned out to be a good decision (although I remember being crestfallen at the time). This first year in country was organized in the States by the Kosciuszko Foundation based in New York City........No. There was no "interview" from the PRL side at all. I remember filling out a student visa application, that's it!
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
History / Insoluble Judaeo-Polish imbroglio? [44]

my question is whether ongoing mutual Judaeo-Polish recrimiantion will ever be soluble

I've agonized myself over this exact question and have come to the realization that it won't happen in our lifetime. Too bad.
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
Life / Price of cigarettes in Poland? [192]

Good business if anyone wants to get into it, although the 24 hr bus journey is a nightmare

How many cartons(sleeves) could you fit in your suitcase?
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

but I am not sure if there is a certain way the beans need to be roasted to get the same effect. Maybe it is the grind?

All I can add is that the grind was very fine and we waited until all of it settled to the bottom of the glass before drinking(of course we covered the glass while waiting).
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

I'm relatively new to this forum and while posting on other threads I was encouraged to start this one by my fellow users. So here goes!

When I was younger I thought I knew the answer to the question "Why did you choose communist-Poland of all places to study medicine"? Now I'm unsure. Anyway, with your permission and patience I'll start laying it out for you in the days/weeks to come. You see, no one has ever asked me to talk about my time in Poland and my memories of that time are a bit hazy. I'll be relying on the forum, to a certain extent, to jog my memory with your questions.
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

WOW! all this talk about French presses and such. (laughing to myself) Back when I was a student you took your beans(that you bought in the Pewex, ground them up in your "Polish Press", poured your grind into a glass, poured boiling water in and waited. Now that was good, strong coffee. Po turecku.
rybnik   
19 Feb 2011
News / Which modern developments harm Poland? [83]

The Amish,the perfect example of blind religious nonsense. Must live by the Bible but are Forbiden to read the Bible,which they would have a job doing as none of them speak the origional high german its written in.
They arnt allowed electric power into their homes so they have mobile hand set phones with the power source in a shed :)
Mind you,say what you will,most of them come back after that rumspringger thing

Of course they come back. The punishment for not embracing the Amish way is BANISHMENT-total and complete! I'd come back too.
rybnik   
18 Feb 2011
News / Which modern developments harm Poland? [83]

What I think is the worst? The rat race, the "always be first and the best" attitude, if you're not original and popular than you're nothing...Many things...Mostly the attitude that you have to be Someone.

in other words RICH!
rybnik   
14 Feb 2011
Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]

Polish girl/boyfriend doesn't help much

Of course it helps. Especially if the boy(girl)friend do not speak english. It certainly helped me.
rybnik   
13 Feb 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Do you have an itinerary yet?

My visit's going to be no more than 10 days. I want to return to my old haunts namely Krakow, Wroclaw, Zielona Gora and Warszawa (if time permits). This time I'm going solo; it's more of an opportunity for me to re-orient myself. I plan to return with my filipina wife and daughter next year. I can't wait!
rybnik   
13 Feb 2011
Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]

What made you want to study in Poland? Did you get a polish degree? Was it recognised in the US?

You should make a thread about your student days in Poland.

BB
Many factors went into my deciding to study in Poland. All held equal weight and importance. So I'll just list them:
1) ALL of my family,uncles, aunts and cousins were in poland. I had a real longing to finally meet them.
2) My father was MR POLONIA. My childhood was steeped in polish culture.
3) I thought it would be great to "kill many birds with one stone" as it were: education, visit the land of my ancestors and connect with family. I was a very idealistic young man.

So, in 1978, fresh out of college, I set off for Krakow with a bunch of Americans for our adventure of a lifetime.
...as far as a thread is concerned, you think??
rybnik   
13 Feb 2011
Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]

Cheating is rampant in Polish schools and the worst thing about it is that profs tend to turn a blind eye. Somehow it seems as though it is accepted.

I was an American student in Wroclaw during the PRL-days. I was very surprised and impressed with the level of sophisticated cheating methods my polish classmates employed. At that time it was overlooked by the instructors. Those same students are now instructors and so the cheating continues and is tolerated.