UK, Ireland / Grateful Polish photographer stitches up his Welsh hosts [96]

Five years?? You could get as many drunken photos during the five-minute walk from Plac Defilad to Emilii Plater - in the daytime! lol

UK, Ireland / Grateful Polish photographer stitches up his Welsh hosts [96]


It's the smugness which really grates - that "our women aren't like this, so we're better than you" attitude.

Someone should remind him what blachary and tirówki are. Clue: they aren't English :)

UK, Ireland / Grateful Polish photographer stitches up his Welsh hosts [96]


Completely relevant. He took photos of the British at their worst, because he had an agenda. There's plenty of Polish lowlife (drunken or otherwise) as well. And similar people in every nation, in fact. I don't know why people can't accept that Poland's problems with alcohol aren't somehow "less bad" than Britain's. They may be noticed in different ways, but they can still be just as damaging. I don't know any English people with severe drink problems, yet I lost an uncle in Poland to alcohol. He didn't die of a "superior" form of alcoholism, that's for sure.

What's more, many people over here are fed up of this sort of behaviour, so it's not the behaviour of "all Britons". Coming from a Polish family and having grown up in England, I should be a bottle of vodka a day man; thankfully I'm not. Prefer Guinness anyway :)


Exactly. Not all homeless though. Trust me on this one - I heard the conversations ;)


I know one or two ;)

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]

Jeez, it's like reading the "Hitler Guide To Racial Purity" on here sometimes!

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [656]


As long as you include all those dark-skinned folks who just can't seem to shut up about how great it is to be black, then I'm OK with that ;)


Makes us easier to spot. Well, you can't really miss us, can you? lol

(Bet this gets binned as well. Bring back PolskaDoll, I say :) )

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]


The ironic thing is, those shaved heads, tight T-shirts and bomber jackets make them look just like someone off Old Compton Street.

You're probably the sort of uneducated burak **** who beats people up for looking like a Goth.


You've obviously never had anything to do with the techno party scene - which is full of shaven-headed guys (and even a few women lol) and is politically about as left-wing as you can get without joining the Communist party. Stick to making your Turkish kebabs.

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]

southern:


southern:


So which is it? :p

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]

You still don't get it, do you.

As I said before, there are a lot of people in the techno party scene (which is VERY left-wing, even "anarchist") with very short/shaved hair; as many (if not more) as those with long hair/dreads. If a black or south Asian walks into a rock club, there will be comments like "what's a nigger/Paki doing liking metal", despite the fact that many people in those clubs have long hair, or are "alternative". Trust me on this - I've been involved in both scenes for decades. Many "outlaw" bikers also have long hair and/or beards - yet many have very right-wing views.

Things may be different in your part of the world, but I imagine that most people still have mullets over there anyway :p

It's just not as simple as "peace-loving, inclusive left-wing hippie = long hair" or "very short/shaved hair = right wing, racist and violent".


Good point. That south Asian "big hair" look is weird :) The latter is also spot-on.

UK, Ireland / Why do so many Polish guys in the UK have a crew cut or buzz cut? [106]


Thank you. The Greco-Turk clearly has no idea.


That shopping centre in Kingston is always full of these floppy-haired "emo" types. I doubt that many of them live on the Cambridge Gardens estate ;)


(looks in mirror) Oh dear... :D


I think there is definitely some truth in this.


hehe. Though I must add that my hair was always clean even when it was 18" long lol :)

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]

Indeed.

It would be interesting to find out exactly how much each nation's contribution is. Leeds had its planned tram system cancelled due to lack of funds (less than £1billion iirc), and Manchester's Metrolink has had its expansion delayed. I wonder how much of the money "saved" will actually correspond to the money spent on this new line.

That's not to say that Warsaw doesn't need it (it does), but it's becoming more and more clear that as the UK becomes poorer, Poland becomes "richer". Saying that "the EU pays" just hides who ultimately pays - other member states, who also don't really "pay" - it's actually their taxpayers who pay.

There's only one pie; if someone takes a bigger piece, someone else always gets a smaller one. Despite what banks and governments think, you just can't create another "pie" out of nothing ;)

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


Ahem...


We will never agree on anything, but this is spot on. It's a shame they can't (or won't) expand the rail line near the airport to actually serve the airport; an increasingly important city like this should consider this to be on its list of priorities. Even a tram link would be better. Manchester will soon have both, and it's not even a capital.


I think he means that there will still be a 500m walk to Centralna, which is a point.

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


heh! Missed that one! :) I think Poland is moving faster than I do these days, lol


everything, duh. lol

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


It would become the Clapham Junction of Warsaw. It's already as depressing, it just needs to become as busy, lol :)

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]

To be fair, that's the same as anywhere; you can't really expect them to build the terminal right next to the bag drop lol. Even HKIA isn't that efficient.

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


I don't know why he thinks that's a long way. It's nothing! Have you ever used Heathrow Terminal 1? I nearly missed a flight there once, and it was a five-minute run from security to the gate - not walk, but RUN - and that's after the half-mile walk from the tube station! Try that with the kind of luggage Australians always seem to have! lol.

The only way you will have everything within a few metres of a terminal is if you use an airport like Doncaster - but that's about the size of a McDonalds lol.


There's going to be a VERY large pile of snow at the back of that entrance lol!

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]


That reply should receive criticism for sexism, but it's actually non-sexist and completely true if you actually understand what Seanus is really getting at.

Of all the women I've dated, the ones who have threatened to leave me are always the ones who panicked like crazy if I called their bluff and threatened to leave them. It's all a front - they can't bear to be without you, so they put on this "I don't need you, I'm so hot, so I can always get someone else if I want" act to get a response; the purpose of which, of course, is to make sure that you stay :)

Love / 6 months with my Polish girlfriend and I still don't understand her.. [208]

We're two of comparatively few people on here who actually understand how Polish women are (due to lengthy experience), yet I'm the one who gets threatened with a suspension lol. Maybe I should just start asking dumb questions like "are all Polish women greedy gold-digging tramps", or trying to find out how I can get out of India and into Poland; in which case, I would have stayed "on-topic" and wouldn't risk threats from mods who can't do their jobs properly. To the OP: it will take you more than 6 months to understand, but that's the way they are. They are usually worth the effort though.

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


I'm beginning to think that, to become a teacher of English in Poland, the main qualification required is not a CELTA, but poor grammar and spelling.

At least that's what I've gathered from the numerous "I want to teach English in Poland" posts on here :D

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]





It gets better, doesn't it :)


Now, why am I so surprised to learn that. Maybe you should give our old chum Chris Bradbury a ring, he might be willing to put some work your way :D


A thread entitled "Expats: Would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women?" is long overdue, lol.

No offence to the expat posters on here though, especially those who I respect, but you have to admit... this is the main reason a lot of these guys suddenly develop "an interest in Poland" :)

OP: Expecting to teach English with (a) no higher education and (b) poor grammar/spelling is laughable. As someone else said, it shows a lack of respect; it's a dreadful "colonial" attitude, implying that being British somehow makes you better than the natives, and they should be somehow be "grateful" for your presence. Those days are long gone. It's sad that someone your age has that attitude; you should know better. I imagine that you will soon be horrified to meet Poles with better written English than yours.


True, but if language teaching was all about "being a native speaker", we wouldn't need degrees in education/pedagogia. My most recent Polish ex had poor English, and wanted me to teach her. I agreed (to some extent), but explained that I could only teach her how to say/write things, not necessarily why we write/say certain things - that's where teachers come in. I can teach my own professional speciality, but I'm not a teacher (I do have a "teaching qualification" though, but it doesn't mean I can teach anything else).

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]


Then you should save the "text-speak" for other threads.

If you're going to post about teaching English, it gives a bad impression of you. A lot of people have a bad enough impression of young people as it is (like a friend who interviewed someone once, and asked them if they could work Saturday mornings, and the interviewee replied "nah I ain't on dat fam" - I kid you not!).

Better to learn to use the text-speak only when it's appropriate, and people will respect you more ;)

Work / Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE [78]

In that case, you couldn't even get your subject line right:

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]

I suppose it's because the vast majority of these expats/immigrants are men :) Maybe we should ask the lesbians :)

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


However, the percentage of residents earning the minimum wage in London is probably significantly lower than the percentage of people on the minimum wage in Warsaw. In Hong Kong, public transport (especially the trams) seem ridiculously cheap (as little as 40p a ticket) until you realise that shopworkers can take home as little as £400 GBP/month for longer hours than we work over here, but with similar housing costs to London. I suspect that the situation in Warsaw is similar, especially if you look at the rents which are advertised on here. If I worked in Warsaw, I would only take home about 1500 PLN (so I'm told), whereas in London, I can easily take home £2500 a month. My job wouldn't be a living wage in Warsaw, whereas it's quite a good living over here (even in London) - so those much higher prices are actually more affordable for many over here, despite the fact that everyone tells you how "overpriced" public transport is. It's even worse outside the capital - in Northern cities, where public transport is worse, bus fares can cost twice as much as in London, with lower wages. The last time I was in Warsaw, the price of a ticket was about 2,80 PLN (about 70p at the time, iirc) but the price of a single bus fare on my Oyster card was only 90p!

Love / Foreigners: would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women? [42]


I'd move to HK tomorrow if I could. The women are mostly cute, but a bit too small/short for me. If I lived there, I'd probably spend my time looking for UK/SA women in expat bars, haha.


It never ceases to amaze me that a plate of pierogi fills me up, but doesn't make me feel "bigger", yet a McDonald's doesn't fill me up, but makes me feel huge. :)


MILF: Depends on who you ask. If you watch prn, you would think it means "a woman aged 23-29" (rolleyes).

But I would say "all the women I date are MILFs". So, any women over 30 who are still hot.

However, my last ex was a gran at 37. Don't even go there, it makes me feel ancient. LOL.

Cougar: if this was a man, we would be calling him a "dirty old man".

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]


I was talking about what I'm qualified to do. Over here, my job pays reasonably well. In Poland, it pays badly.

I could do my job in Poland (my Polish is definitely good enough; I know most of the professional terms already, etc), but (a) I know I wouldn't stand a chance - "Polska dla Polaków", remember ;) - and (b) I've no interest in ever becoming an "English teacher".

But it's all irrelevant anyway, I'm not planning on moving to Poland ;)


But a significant proportion of jobs in Warsaw do not pay that much more. Like in London, the median/average is skewed by those earning huge salaries. And that's the point: what seems "cheap" to Western eyes, isn't necessarily so. If you earn 2500 PLN brutto, it's going to be more like 1600 PLN netto (I think). Once you've paid your rent, there's not going to be much left for food and transport, so those tickets won't seem "cheap" any more.

Food / Coffee in Poland: cheap and undrinkable / expensive and good [89]


Don't you mean Gold Blend? haha :)


True :)

UK, Ireland / Culture shock (my neighbours in the UK are Polish and Slovak) [88]


You said it.

Makes you wonder if Poles actually like anyone, doesn't it; if you believe the stuff you read on here, anyway.


Apart from the "cowards" dig at Czechs (generally only heard from people who are way over retirement age), the only negative comments I've come across have been towards Slovak Gypsies - in some parts of the UK, they form the majority of the "Slovak" community. Poles generally do NOT like gypsies of any kind, so this is hardly surprising.

Food / What a typical Polish family eats. How do they prepare food and who cooks at home? [37]

and with that special "Polski smak" of course :)

News / Europeén Union will finance the 2nd Warsaw metro line. Good news. [60]

pawian

**** off. YOU learn to read. He didn't say whether it was netto or brutto. Not that it really matters; we were talking about relative costs and relative affordability of public transport tickets.


What's that got to do with it? I know what the average salary in Hong Kong is, but I don't live there.


I'm not going to argue with that. The last time I read up about it, Katowice had less unemployment and a slightly higher average salary. Clearly that has changed. No big deal.

UK, Ireland / Bilingual Polish Primary School in London [18]


Oh, the irony. Another idiot complaining about foreigners degrading the English language, but who can't even get his own grammar right :D

If anyone's doing any "degrading" of the English language, it's mainly those who look up to all those "aspiring rapper" types :p


I was learning Polish at a Saturday school as long ago as 1972. That's slightly before 2004, I believe.