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Posts by Szenk88HTAFC  

Joined: 6 Apr 2012 / Male ♂
Last Post: 23 May 2015
Threads: 2
Posts: 47
From: Wherever HM takes me!
Speaks Polish?: Working knowledge
Interests: Sports etc etc

Displayed posts: 49 / page 1 of 2
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Szenk88HTAFC   
6 Apr 2012
Language / Need some Polish language help.....with a twist! [39]

When I first started to learn the language I found it impossible as well, couldn't keep up with fast flowing adult conversations.

However since my child has been born this has all changed. Because the wife speaks to him on a very basic level I can understand what is being said much easier, and then join the dots with the areas that I don't.

So my conclusion is, if you want to learn Polish, have a baby!!!
Szenk88HTAFC   
6 Apr 2012
Love / Polish women and foreign men [76]

When my mum and sister were in Poland for the first time, they were gutted by the lack of good looking men.
They were in 3 cities aswel so this is no isolated incident Im afraid.

And when my missus told her family that she was with an English guy, they thought that i must be a black guy.
Szenk88HTAFC   
24 Jul 2014
Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

Budweiser Budwar is the best beer in the world imho.

As far as Polish beers go? Zubr, Lomza and Lech are my top 3.
Szenk88HTAFC   
30 Oct 2014
Love / "going to dinner with my sis..." - approaching a Polish girl, help needed [46]

This is so awkward to read I'm squirming in my chair on your behalf.

Why would the girl feel the need to be distant towards you if she had turned down a very routine question with a very routine answer.

What did you want her to do? Lock herself away from the world and sob for days on end at the thought of the man that she just turned down?

Of course not, and rather than let you feel like asking her a question like that would significantly alter your working relationship, she has brushed it off and got on with her life in the same way she'd expect any other adult to.

You have had experiences with women before, right?
Szenk88HTAFC   
3 Nov 2014
Love / "going to dinner with my sis..." - approaching a Polish girl, help needed [46]

You might as well go all out and kidnap her, force her to eat a meal with you and then demand that she be yours forevermore until death do you part.

My God, the woman turned you down in the nicest manner possible, I wish I was there to watch you attempt a repeat performance only to crash and burn.

Booze might work though......
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Nov 2014
Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

Merged: Polish Satellite TV in the UK

Afternoon everyone,

Here is my question, I'm looking to see if I can get Polish satellite TV in the UK (Cyfra+ or N ideally). Now usually the sketch is that you have to have a Polish house/address for them to bill you to and send the receiver, but I was wondering if anybody knew of a workaround to the situation.

Basically myself and my wife (she's native Pole and I'm 3rd generation ((if that even counts)) are looking for ways to give our son a kickstart in speaking Polish, as he is somewhat reluctant to absorb it at the moment. We are just thinking of ways to supplement his learning as he is surrounded by English speakers.

Any ideas?

Cheers
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Nov 2014
Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

When I say reluctant to absorb I should have rephrased, as there is no way of measuring how much of a language a child has actually picked up.

He is somewhat reluctant to speak it, is what I meant to say.

I'm not pushing the language on him, I'm immersing him in it ;)
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Nov 2014
Love / "going to dinner with my sis..." - approaching a Polish girl, help needed [46]

I think your severe autism is clouding your vision here. I'm not a hater, I'm married, if I was going to envy anyone it would be someone who is single and not attempting to get into a relationship.

So if you are not to blame for her not fancying you then who is? Are the stars not aligned correctly for her to find you irresistible? Have your tarot cards not been read correctly?

Rule of thumb I tend to go by, if I refer to any of my techniques in pulling a lass as "shock therapy", then I concede that she might just not be into me. But then again I also use the phrase "give her wine and she's all mine".
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Nov 2014
Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

My lad is 3 years and a bit. Trust me, everyone tried to coax the wife into conversing to him in Polish but I'm afraid that she took the "easier" option of just speaking English. My Polish grammar is awful so I was always reluctant to speak to him as it would teach him bad habits early on (much to my regret). Hopefully if we can get everyday TV in Polish then he will start to pick it up, we are also looking at enrolling him in a Saturday school too.
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Nov 2014
Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

True true, I've just picked up NC+ Premium for 20 quid so I'm laughing. The sister in law let me use her house address :D
Szenk88HTAFC   
12 Nov 2014
Polonia / Polish satellite TV abroad [40]

Can anybody confirm as to whether an 80cm dish will be sufficient to link up to the Hotbird satellite?

Oh and for anyone looking to buy Polish satellite in the UK, as long as you have a Polish address you can try this website: tehwiz.co.uk
Szenk88HTAFC   
12 Nov 2014
UK, Ireland / My opinion on why Poles & English dislike each other [25]

SOME English men take advantage of Poles for cheap labour

I think you'll find that lax labour laws meant that Poles could offer themselves at a cheaper rate and therefore undercut the indigenous workforce.

& the how Polish women are mistreated

Examples of this?

Regardless of the UK's broken promises, I think that any nation would struggle when they are getting steamrolled by the German/Russian Army from both directions. The fact that Poland held out longer as a country than France did (and didn't surrender) speaks volumes for the sheer grit and determination shown by the Poles.

If the indigenous workforce is too lazy to bother putting in enough effort for a job then I say sod 'em, let the others take it who are willing to graft and do it for less.

That was your grandfather's choice. My dziadek came to this country, assimilated, gave up his passport and embraced everything British. There are also very little cultural differences between the Catholic denominations, speaking as a Roman Catholic with a Roman Catholic wife and having a stepdad who is a vicar in the CofE. Unless you count one believing that the Pope is the head of the church and the other not, alongside more sombre masses, there really isn't that much difference.

To be honest, people who are predispositioned to be small minded morons will be just that, regardless of who bears the brunt of their venom. The BNP are in utter disarray, their voter share has crumbled, they are bankrupt. Similar organisations such as Britain First are being exposed for the cretins that they are, and if you look at Britain throughout the ages, Fascism and the extreme right wing are political ideologies that British folk have simply not embraced. The furthest to the right we can get is Thatcher/Farage.

Oh and for God's sake, please use grammar.
Szenk88HTAFC   
12 Nov 2014
UK, Ireland / My opinion on why Poles & English dislike each other [25]

Poles would then return to Poland and everyone would be happy.

And exactly which company is going to set aside the hours and money to train a low skilled workforce when they already have an ample pool to choose from. The problem should have been identified and rectified before allowing open immigration.
Szenk88HTAFC   
13 Nov 2014
UK, Ireland / My opinion on why Poles & English dislike each other [25]

I absolutely agree with you on this, but the simple fact of the matter is it won't happen. Companies are loathe to invest more than the bare minimum to ensure an educated workforce.

I find her writing perfectly understandable but a bit clumsy. It would be more understandable if she began for example like this:

She is more than likely a He. The last name Batesy would suggest a boy's nickname, as girls are rarely referred to by their last name in this manner. He also addressed us as "lads". Unless it is a girl expressing tomboyish behaviour then it is highly likely to be a boy.

:)
Szenk88HTAFC   
26 Nov 2014
Language / Learning Polish but not focusing on the grammar, good idea? [37]

The grammar is definitely something that I, as a non-native, found very hard to pick up.

Rosetta Stone is a very useful tool if you are willing to pair it up with something like a text/audiobook.

Fortunately I am surrounded by Polish in my house now as I have the Mrs conversing to me in Polish for day to day chat, I have Polish satellite TV (which is also a lot cheaper than Sky) and Rosetta Stone just tops it all off. When I have a spare moment in work I'll refer to my textbook to just keep me on my toes.

Good luck anyway, once you take a step back and see your progress after a year or so you'll be pleasantly surprised. The wife shed a small tear when I was able to help her teach our young child how to count, say basic phrases etc.
Szenk88HTAFC   
26 Nov 2014
News / UK to send tanks to Poland. [36]

Why do they always want to consider Poland as a battle field? Yes, send all the war equipment to Poland's territory so that the aggressors have a target to focus on and to destroy..

Possibly the most geographically retarded statement I've heard in a while. To fight in Germany, you'd have to invade East through Poland, likewise for Belgium. To invade Sweden you would probably have to open up at least 2 fronts, East and South. Invading from the South would involve going through Poland then Germany and up North through Denmark. To invade the UK it would be on the premise that you've managed to fight your way through Europe which, funnily enough, includes Poland.

If anyone says that Russia could invade simply by utilising their Arctic fleet is seriously misguided in terms of how much firepower the Russians can muster. Keeping tanks in Poland is perfect. It's a show of force and also the first line of defence in any situation where Russia would be the aggressor.
Szenk88HTAFC   
6 Dec 2014
UK, Ireland / Polish Vodka, spirituous - available in the UK? [9]

I'm with the other guys. The first time I tried Spirytus was also my last. I was told that it should be drank ideally with distilled water. I sacked it off and tried to have a shot of it mixed with cola. 2 glasses later I was on my ass.

Just get some Zubrowka, can't go wrong with it :)
Szenk88HTAFC   
7 Dec 2014
Love / Learning a language solely for your partner [21]

When I started learning Polish around 2 years ago (properly I mean, not just picking up buzzwords) I did it for myself. There was extra motivation to learn it from my wife/child/family roots but most of all it came from me.

I think that that is the only way that you can really do something as intensive as learning another language, especially when you are older. You may pick it up easily, you may find it incredibly difficult, but it's important to remember that it will all come with time. I can read it much better than I can speak it (which I assume is fairly normal for Polish) but the speaking is coming along.

The best thing I have found about learning another language like Polish is that it's fun. Trying to wrap your head around sentence structures, learning new words that you didn't think possible for your mouth to make and just being able to benchmark yourself against where you were a few months before is tops.

Good luck!
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Dec 2014
UK, Ireland / Poles 'failing to integrate in the UK'? [58]

Try and integrate and adapt to our culture a little bit, you might surprise yourself.

My dziadek came to England after the war and became about as working class British as you can imagine.

My wife came over to England in 2006 and embraced British culture (what there is of it that isn't negative) and speaks better English than quite a few natives I can think of.

Don't have a cry because someone from another country has griefed you, people from all countries have the potential to be insular when in a different country.
Szenk88HTAFC   
8 Dec 2014
Genealogy / Being ashamed of Polish ancestry? [156]

I love it when Americans say that they are *insert foreign country here*-American and then it turns out that their family emigrated over in the late 1800's, early 1900's.

I always say that I'm English when asked my nationality but my last name is Polish but originally German Schenk/Szenk.