The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives 
 
 
User: Guest

Posts by ilmc  

Joined: 20 Sep 2012 / Female ♀
Last Post: 12 Nov 2012
Threads: 4
Posts: 136
From: canada
Speaks Polish?: not yet
Interests: polish language, culture, travel, reading, writing, poetry

Displayed posts: 140 / page 1 of 5
sort: Oldest first   Latest first   |
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Language / Learning Polish to communicate with my boyfriend's family - where to start? [16]

I'm new here so please be gentle:) I have been dating a polish guy for 2 years now his family came to canada 10 years ago when he was 14 so he has a fairly firm grasp on the english language however, whenever his parents come to visit or when his extended family comes from poland who do not speak any english i am pretty much lost in translation. I would love to learn enough polish to be able to communicate with his family particularly his mother who never really found much use for learning english as she always spoke polish at home and never worked she knows enough english to get by but i think she would be more comfortable and we could have a better relationship if i could speak to her in polish. Any advice on where to go to start learning polish and the best ways to learn the language would be greatly appreciated.

thanks Carrie
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

any advice on how to impress my polish boyfriends mother would be great. My boyfriend of 2 years moved to Canada when he was 14, We get along great he is the most amazing man i have ever been with old fashioned and charming and he really knows how to treat a woman properly unlike most of the men born in this country and raised to be spoiled brats with no respect for woman and nothing on their minds but getting laid. His mother on the other hand seems to object to me, she is a remarkable woman and i have nothing but respect for her because she clearly along with his father raised a fantastic son however, she thinks i am not good enough for him because i cant cook proper polish food and i have been with him for 2 years and i don't even speak polish yet. i am trying to learn polish but it is not an easy language to learn for someone who knows english and french but no slavic language nor has ever been around anyone who speaks polish previous to my 2 years with Maciek (mike). It is a beautiful language and i love listening to it but i do feel a bit left out when i am there and she refuses to speak any english even though she does know some so i do see a benefit to learning it. Cooking polish food would be great but i cant cook really much at all whether it be polish food german food french food i am terrible at it, i did try to make cabbage rolls once and mike said they were ok but his mom scoffed at them. Honestly, his mom while lovely makes me feel guilty for not being polish ugh help lol how do i make a polish mom like me :S
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

maybe i should rephrase, she is lovely to everyone who is not me :( ... it would have to be store bought or ordered pizza cause i can't make that either lol. she really is a nice woman, she isnt too hard on me she just refuses to speak english when i am there Mike says it is because she is shy with her english but i feel its personal. Is there anything imparticular that would let her know that i really do care for her son and i am trying... anything polish that i can cook easily that might be no fail even for a complete kitchen reject like me :(
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

pennboy:
i do compliment here i am nice and polite i smile... i don't say much but that is because i cant understand her lol and it gets tiresom having mike translate he is 24 but he was raised so traditionally that he is a lot different from most Canadian boys his age. His father adores me i just don't understand how she can think that i should have learned to speak polish by now if i really loved him, or how to make her see that i am trying. Like i said she has this misguided opinion that he should be settling down with a nice polish girl, but i mean you moved to northern Canada unless you want him to settle down with his sister i don't see where he will find a nice polish girl and she seems to be missing the fact that i am a nice half irish half french canadian girl :)

kaz200... i do see that some polish women are hostile to non polish women dating polish men but like i said, she moved here with her family to a small northern ontario canada town polish population her and her family lol
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

whether we are at my place, her place or a restaurant she will not speak in anything but polish... her husband orders for her but she can read the menu just fine i am normally very confidant but like i said she has a way about her that makes me feel guilty about not being polish i know rediculous. I learned how to say thank you for a great meal in polish before going to her house for dinner one time and she rolled her eyes at me and complained about my pronunciation. Mike sometimes refuses to translate what she says i would love to be able to not worry about it but he is close with his mother and it is causing them to fight something they have never done so i feel guilty for that to.

kaz200972
ok, they are coming for dinner this saturday maybe i will try that it sounds pretty simple how do i tenderize them though? Mike said he would cook something and say i did lol but i almost feel like i have to prove something to her ... i know rediculous
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

ok... thank you:) i am going to give it my best shot even though i know she will find some excuse to hate it in the back of her mind somewhere she might have a minute where she thinks, atleast she's trying ... i plan to have frozen pizza in the freezer incase it is an epic fail though because when i get near a stove it usually is. Mike and i could cook together but she doesn't believe he should have to cook, or clean, or do anything other than work drink beer watch t.v and scratch his balls lol. She also takes issue with the fact that i work in a jail and am not always home when he gets home from work becasue i should be there to take care of him.... is this the way it is in poland man works woman stays home and cooks cleans and rubs his feet when he gets home or something? she says when we have kids i should be made to quit my job
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Polish women are the most beautiful in the world! [1718]

Beauty is so subjective...I seem to be very attracted to Polish men, not all but most and generally the ones i am attracted to have a similar appearance square faces small foreheads very blue eyes dark blonde to light brown hair tanned skin and a very polish lookin in my opinion nose and mouth that is a longer nose witha slight bubble on it and an upper lip that is a bit bigger than their lower lip. I have had 4 serious relationships all of the men had polish ancestry go figure it certainly isn't planned. Polish women seem to be found in higher concentrations as models along with a lot of other eastern european women slavic features seem to be ideal for photo beauty in my opinion polish women who have a traditional polish look are absolutly stunning and quite often look better without make up on. My boyfriends sister can wear natural beauty like no one else i have ever seen she just shines.
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

haha it would be alarm bells if he felt that way, but he doesn't agree that he can make me do anything he does feel more strongly than i do that a mother should be at home with her children and when i explained to him that most mothers wish they could be but in modern day canada it is not at all possible to sustain a family on a single income. He has traditional views but is a lot more understanding and practical than his mother.
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Language / Which is harder: Pole learning Russian or Russian learning Polish language? [57]

I think since they are both slavic languages, although distant from each other both would be easier to learn for the other than say trying to learn chinese. Anyone trying to learn a second language or a third or fourth will have an easier time learning a "sister language". The age of the person would also play a huge role younger children learn languages much easier especially if it is in early development when all of one language isnt learned yet. I speak english and french both i learned from a baby so neither was more difficult than the other I have been trying to learn polish for 2 years now that i am in my twenties and i cant seem to string a sentence together any more than an hour studying it and my head hurts it is so confusing I can say i love you and good day and my name is but i can't spell any of it i guess that is what 2 years gets me lol
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

There are no polish classes here anywhere i have looked, for christmas she bought me a polish english dictionary not even kidding lol and i study online sometimes but i really don't know if i am cut out for learning another language it just doesn't stick. I speak english and french and the only reason i know two languages is because my father spoke french and my mother spoke english and i grew up around both languages children absorb language like a sponge... polish is not even a little bit related to either language i don't even know where to start mike tries but apparently my pronounciation is terrible lol. i ordered rosetta stone so maybe that will be better. She does speak english not very well but enough that she could hold a conversation she is able to order food etc... she just refuses to with me.
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

I do want to learn polish for me, and because i would love my future children to speak all three languages their parents speak so i would love to be able to speak it with them but polish is not by any means an easy language to learn i feel like my tongue weighs 20 lbs when i try to pronounce anything lol i dont even need to learn to write it or read it i would just love to be able to speak it so that if we ever visit poland ( he has a lot of family there) i can hold a conversation without a translator. A big part of it is so i can have a conversation with her in polish just to kind of prove her wrong and see what else she can come up with to condem me lol
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

i actually use the dictionary sometimes haha i put on my biggest kindest smile and thanked her for the gift my strategy has kind of been killing her with kindness but its obviously failing. She has moments where she is kind to me i don't think she dislikes me as a person just doesnt think i am right for her son but i have never had the courage to ask her where she thinks he is supposed to find a " nice polish girl" in northern canada ... His dad tells her off a lot, i dont think he ever will i think hes a bit scared of his mom haha i know i am .

I guess i am a typical canadian people please we are known for being the doormats of the world and here i go perpetuating it haha i'd say sorry here but we are also known for over using the word sorry :S
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Life / Stubborn Polaks, anyone knows? [77]

Merged: why are polish people so stubborn

why do polish people (atleast the few that i know) think that all things made polish are better... my boyfriends mom insists polish chocolate is the best i tried it and i agreed it is good but it is not the best i prefer swiss... i realize tastes are subjective however is it really realistic to think all things that come from your country are the best of that specific item i mean common everyone knows the swiss own the chocolate title. His entire family is like this about everything from chocolate to beer to meat to bread to clothes music etc
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Language / Which is harder: Pole learning Russian or Russian learning Polish language? [57]

ryoh
i would be interested in knowing what the other two languages are that you speak, polish may have been the most difficult however may have been easier for you to learn than greek may have been because you know some russian again depending what other two languages you speak. Polish is undoubtably one of the most difficult languages to learn but would be easier for you to learn knowing some russian than for me to learn only knowing french and english is what my point was and then ofcourse taking into account age and overall linguistic ability. I'm old and a linguistic moron so... i'm screwed lol but i will keep trying because im also stubborn
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

i spoke to mike this morning before he left for work i told him that when they visit he needs to address any negative comments because it will mean nothing coming from me or his father and his silence gives consent for her to continue. He says he just hopes if we ignore it she will stop but i told him that isn't good enough and that maybe if he gets across how important and valuable i am to him she may see some of my value. I will fiind out saturday if he actually has the balls to do it ... in my experience he is rather scared of his mother which i don't understand from my own family where it was all about openess and honesty with each other if my mom spoke to him the way his mom speaks of me i would tell her she was being an ignorant b**** without hesitation
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

oh yes you can still find them in homes but to buy them in order to install them in your own would be difficult is what i meant in britain apparently they can still purchase them and install them in newly built homes...
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
USA, Canada / Moved back from Canada to Poland:). Here are the reasons why. [868]

Canadians are happy to air their feet as much as possible

:) we are i personally own 10 pairs of flip flops and will wear them no matter the weather as long as there isn't snow on the ground. As far as people not greeting you daily it depends where you are in canada...it is a huge country with so many different socities within it if you lived in a large city i can agree the pace is much faster and people are too busy to bother with social niceties. I grew up in a small town everyone stopped to say hello and chat, if you ever go back to canada even for a visit i will recommend the east coast particularly newfoundland and nova scotia some of the kindest people you will ever meet and never ever ever in a hurry even when they are plus the scenery is the most beautiful there than anywhere else in the country.
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
USA, Canada / What kind of American food do Poles like most? [80]

Turkey is also too dry for me

if you deep fry a turkey in an outdoor turkey frier it will not be dry :) Canadians prefer to cover it in a boat load of gravy that also helps
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
USA, Canada / Why do Americans (and Canadians) hate Polish people? [226]

I've also chat with some Canadian who was also superior towards me as a Pole

hmmm americans think they are superior to everyone so that isn't shocking but to be so broad as to say all americans and canadians hate poles? I strongly doubt that i can only speak from a canadian point of view but Canadians don't really hate much we may not particularly love something but we rarely hate anything except running out of beer and the nhl being on strike. I am a canadian and i am dating a polish man i certianly don't have him i don't even hate his mom and she's just not nice to me at all. you may have met with one canadian with an air of superiority but i can assure you among canadians that is a rare trait. and please stop with the americans ( and Canadians) in brackets stuff i see it all the time on here We are separate nations with very separate attitudes and beliefs and the one thing a canadian might hate (besides running out of beer and hockey on strike) is being lumped in with americans who might be the only nation we consider ourselves superior to... we're bigger and we're on top so in our minds that makes them our b****
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
USA, Canada / Moving back to Poland after 7 years in Canada [22]

Where in Canada are you? Moviing to any other country once you have already established a pretty comfortable life in the one you are in will be difficult. Think of the struggle when you first arrived in Canada moving back will probably be just as difficult and you will have the same struggle (minus the language barrier) are you willing to do that again?

If you are in a town or city with a large polish community perhaps connecting with that community could help your feelings of homesickness if you are not perhaps researching towns or cities with a larger polish community and putting in a transfer at work if possible for you.

Think also of opportunities for your child growing up what will be the best for them
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
USA, Canada / Canadian food and culture [5]

i saw in a recent thread that people really believe canadians have no foods which is not true. It is true that we eat a lot of foods that have influence from other countries however here are some things that are specific to canada (even if they were inventend and influenced by immigrants that came here originally ie french british irish german)

Poutine
french fries poutine sauce (similar to and sometimes replaced with gravy) and cheese curds its a delicious melty mess

montreal smoked meat ... yum

sugar pie

maple syrup pie

nanaimo bars ( yup a canadian treat from nanaimo british columbia)

salt beef and salt pork

nova scotia clam chowder

lobster bake, lobster cake, mmm nova scotia

this one is a type of alcohol but ... it will work here newfie screech basically pure alcohol home distilled and part of the newfie initiation process if you come to canada and you would like to be considered an official newfie no need to fill out papers or apply for newfie citizenship if you can take a shot of screech and kiss a cod on the mouth they will award you with a certificate stating you are an official newfie :) i have one yay

beaver tails ... not the actual animals tails a baked confection found in our nations capital and oh so delicious

so how about some other things that are uniquely canadian not just food ...
eh? pronounced ay and a word used the same way americans use huh it is used to add inquistion to the end of a sentence a verbal question mark so to speak. you like beaver tails eh?

use of the word some in place of the word very ... some common on the east coast :) those shoes are some nice

the rock ... our countries way to define newfoundland if you are here and someone asks you if you've been to the rock they are asking if you have been to newfoundland if they ask if you have been to the rockies this is different and is found in alberta. if they ask if you have been to paradise they mean british columbia

use of the word sorry to an almost irritating degree ... we are sorry for everything and we don't know why.

some sports... lacross is canadian, hockey is canadian, basketball is canadian although it appears we are better at inventing some sports than actually participating which is why americans get credited with them all ... rediculous eh?

we can outdrink americans they come here to drink because our legal drinking age is 19 but they can't handle the higher percentage alcohol

the ligh bulb was invented here so i suppose that is something to thank us for ( not that we will ever ask for thanks, we might appologize for making you feel as if you have to thank us, sorry for that.)

so what are some ways to tell if you are a true Canadian
you stand in line ups not lines
you drink pop not soda
you finish the alphabet with zed not zee
you incorporate french into your everyday english without knowing you are doing so. pass me a serviette instead of a napkin
you drive on a highway not a freeway
you know what a robertson screwdriver is
you know what a mickey and a 2-4 is ... you also know what may 2-4 long weekend means
you use a red pen on your american text book and fill in the missing u's from labour colour honour etc
you can eat a slice of sugar pie or more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauceous
you have played road hockey on skates
you recognie four seasons fall, winter, still winter, fall again

we have a culture... it is one of acceptance.... and please don't tell use you don't like us because it hurts our feelings which we hav ea lot of and we will only harrass forever until you admit that you like us. i have read of us being boring, i don't think we are boring i think we are kind and if you cannot find something to do in a country so fast so full of natural wonder on ever piece of it you are probably going to be hoplessly bored your whole life.

Welcome to Canada eh have a beer play some hockey and we will love you and let you live in peace
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Not used to dating a Polish man [28]

i am dating a man who came to canada from poland... he definetly doesn't treat me like a dog. He expects possibly more femininity from me than some men raised in Canada and he is very macho in some ways but he does not give orders, we have discussions, he listens to my point of view. I have found that with him i have to assert myself more but if he can come down from his macho high horse he is usually able to listen and if he isnt i just do what i want anyway and he rarely notices especially if soccer is on :) In all serious though i have found him to be respectful he likes when i do his laundry or iron his things he appreciates it more than a canadian born and raised guy would but he does not expect it... if that makes sense.
ilmc   
20 Sep 2012
Love / Dating a Polish man - how to impress his mother? [51]

Thanks i think i am just getting used to it and expecting it... but like someone posted earlier what will it mean for my children will they not be good enough for her because they are only half polish... this is my main concern