Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]


Verbose? I got the right to say as little or as much as I want to say.

Pa ;)

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]

I'm not a psychologist, but I guess my reluctance comes from my experiences in posting so far on this forum. Seems people are very argumentative and also very interested in where other posters come from, where they have lived, and where they have been, so they can make judgments and be critical about each other.

But at least your curiosity is now satisfied :)

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]


See, that's exactly why I didn't want to get into this conversation. you were shocked because you didn't understand how a woman could study a language whose culture was "inhumane" towards women, and that's what I figured about you from the start.

History / Polish relation about Russians, Ukrainians? [281]


It's what's commonly called the "Slavic soul" that I think all of us in these parts share. On the downside, it's negativity and pessimism, and the dark streak we have when it comes to suffering and making others suffer that Dostoyevsky described so well. Fatalism, too.

On the upside, we're passionate, and can be moved easily, sentimental, patriotic and more conservative and family-oriented.

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]


I like the way Arabic letters look on the page, and I spent some time in the mid east and the Gulf and liked it there, so I wanted to give Arabic a shot. Also as a challenge, because it seemed like a hard language to learn. It was pretty hard, I enjoyed studying it for about a year and then gave up.

Sometimes I just study a language out of interest, not because I have to speak it...

Russian was the same way. I just liked the way it sounded, and I studied it for awhile until I could read Pushkin in the original. Then I lost interest and quickly forgot most of what I learned.

If you or anyone says anything about how I'm a "traitor" for liking either the Arab or Russian culture, I will not reply.

History / Polish relation about Russians, Ukrainians? [281]

Why should I? You're Polish, and probably convinced you've got nothing in common with Russia, so you'll just pick at anything I say and refuse to believe it. Waste of my time.

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]

Because I wanted to.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]

On, no! I forgot those dangerous delikatesy.

He's likely to die of starvation here, you're right.

Love / Should I forgive my cheating Polish girlfriend? [73]


He said that they agreed for her to move out and for them to keep dating. Hence she cheated on him.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]


The majority of Poles live in their homes for free?


This is really funny. I'm sure he can manage to pick items up and place them in a shopping basket.

Love / Should I forgive my cheating Polish girlfriend? [73]


Tell his fiancee about what happened ;) Sweet revenge...

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]

Well that still sucks, but at least it's better than before.

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]

My second language was German. Later I learned English and forgot German, and still spoke Polish (although very little) with my parents at home. I basically had to learn most of Polish over again when I came back to Poland :)

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_Europe_by_monthly_average_wage

History / Polish relation about Russians, Ukrainians? [281]


Russia has also looked West at certain times in her history. It's not all about religion.

It's the language, the shared history, culture. It's the fact that Warsaw looks a lot more like Moscow than like Brussels, and the fact Poles are more similar to Russians in character.


No, it's not introspection. It's the resentment we still have because Russia is more powerful than us and has waged wars and occupied us, coupled with the mistaken notion that they consider us a threat to them.


So? Tchaikovsky (whose father had Polish and Ukrainian blood) lived in Lake Geneva, Rachmaninov lived in New York.

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]

It was easy for me because I learned it when I was young, in an English-speaking country.

Arabic and French, for example, I studied mostly from books.

Love / Should I forgive my cheating Polish girlfriend? [73]


You should leave her immediately. I know it's not easy, but look at it this way: leave her and suffer a bit now, or stay with her and suffer way more later.

Don't blame yourself, or think you didn't make enough of an effort. She sounds like a b-tch, not only with the cheating, but also with the drinking and picking fights. That part of her personality will be nearly impossible to change.

Also, if you take her back, she'll see that you forgave her and that she's got all the power. That power will make it much easier for her to cheat again.

Language / What has been the hardest language for you to learn? [81]

Here are all the languages I've studied, from hardest to easiest to learn:

Arabic
French
English
German
Russian

Age of the learner makes a huge difference: I learned German and English when I was very young, and Russian was easy because it's so similar to Polish.

I could add Polish to the list: I was born in Poland, but I had to re-learn Polish when I returned here. I could put it somewhere in the middle of my list: it was not that difficult, but I would not call it easy. Especially the different word endings, which I still struggle with.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]


Harry, I never lie :)

The lady i rent from has had this apartment since at least the 1970s, but I never asked about further history or details... I also didn't mention that it's old. It's an old kamienica, and one of the few buildings that survived the war. I had a very old laundry machine when I first moved in (it broke, and now I have a new one,) very worn wooden floors, leakage stains on the ceiling that need a paint job, old windows that I have to stuff with towels during the cold winters, an old bathtub that I have to crouch in to wash.

I don't mind all that stuff, I love it here and the location can't be beat. But I was told (by the owner) that most Poles who view the place run fast when they see there are no modern conveniences and appliances, hence the low price.


Did you look at the link? I'm not seeing Nowa Huta, and I'm seeing prices way under 2k.

All the foreigners I know make a good effort. I also know Arabs here and in Krakow who are very successful and work hard (no, not at kebab restaurants.) That's why I've gone to the trouble to reply at length to this guy.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]


I'm getting a good deal, but quite a few people are in this city. Just takes patience and time to hunt around. I was paying 1,600 in Wola when I first moved here...

Just saying he was told 2,800 for two rooms, and I think that's outrageous. You say 2k, but I figure he can find a decent place for 1,600 if he makes a good effort.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]

Here, this time I read your post and have some real advice:


I don't know where you live now, but there are a lot of things you should consider. Would this move to Krakow be permanent, or would you just help out in the opening and leave? Are they offering you less money for Krakow than you're making in your current position? If you have a young kid, how much do you know about Poland and what it might be like to raise a kid here?


The average monthly salary in Poland is about 3,000 zloty, so you would be making twice the national average. It's enough for a good and comfortable life if you're smart with your money.

Who told you it costs 3,000 zloty for an apartment in Krakow? That seems very high to me. I pay 1,000 zloty for 50 sq metres in Warsaw, and I live in the city centre. (I'm renting from a friend of the family, but I'm just saying it's possible to find a bargain like this and 3,000 zloty for Krakow is WAY too high.)

I did a search for two-room apartments in Krakow (dwupokojowe means two-room.) Look at the prices:

mieszkania.trovit.pl/do-wynajecia-mieszkanie-dwupokojowe-krak%C3%B3w


That depends where you're living now and how much money you're making. I wouldn't make a big move like this, especially if you've got family, unless it really means a step up for you.

Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]


Nobody in the place I'm from cares what or where I eat, but thanks for the heads up.


I didn't want to say it's the only city I felt safe in because that wouldn't be true.


I thought it was cool. But then again, I'm not some uptight Polish homophobic b-tch.

Work / Advise on moving to Poland-Cracow (working for an international company in Krakow) [22]

And they have shisha.

History / Polish relation about Russians, Ukrainians? [281]


My friend works here and she says she runs up against stereotypes regularly, so your friend is probably right.


So Polish society is boring for you because it's so similar to Ukrainian culture?

I think it's boring because Poland is trying too hard to be European, or a part of the EU, and they forget that they're Slavs, not Protestants. We're closer to Moscow in our culture than we are to Brussels, but Polish people are too ashamed to admit that. It's like we're trying to be something we're not, and throwing away the common Slavic heritage all because of some war cr-p. That's just my opinion. It's like how Dostoyevsky thought in his days that Russia was forgetting its own culture and being too easily swayed by Western European ideas. Maybe we've got an inferiority complex?

Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]


Still, a list like that would be interesting to see.

The only thing that comes to my mind now are Sundays (or were they Saturdays) in the summer in Ogrod Saski, when this band came to play old Polish songs and a stand by the fountain sold gofry and tea. That was nice. And the sun was out.

Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]

I'd love to go back, someday I hope. I lived in Islington when I was there, earlier I was in Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. Would be interesting to see if those places were as nice as I remembered.


I wasn't taking his photo... why would I want a souvenir of some guy eating? There was a cool-looking menu hanging above him on the wall, and I had my cam held up at that, not at his face. he reacted like the crazy homeless guy he probably was.

Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]


Oh yeah, probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen, from an architecture and aesthetic standpoint.


Well, I was taking photos inside of a milk bar (bar mleczny,) and some guy thought I was photographing him and threatened to literally cut my neck with my dull butter knife. He had a lot of bags with him, so I assumed he was a crazy homeless man, but I never did go back to that bar again.

Life / I hate Warsaw. The worst part about living here is the people who move here from small towns, villages.. [124]

I'm into nature as a get-away vacation, but I get bored quickly if I have to be around it for too long.

I love big cities and crowds that I can get lost in, full of unfamiliar cultures; cities with a past that continue to surprise, that are always a struggle and challenge to understand. I love the feeling of not quite fitting in but still feeling at home, cities by oceans or waters, where there's movement of people and ideas.

I love cities like Cairo, London, Dubai and Los Angeles... all massive metropolis monsters, where the food is spicy and the cultures clash :)

It might be unfair to judge Warsaw in the light of such gems, but to be fair I didn't really like New York either.

Life / Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints Day) // Dzien Zaduszny (All Souls day) [86]

Today was nice... the city was nearly empty, and it wasn't too cold.

In a rare outburst of patriotism, I lit a candle and put it on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Powazki is probably lovely tonight, but I chickened out and went home when the rain came.

History / Polish relation about Russians, Ukrainians? [281]

Hey Vlad (if you're Ukrainian) and anybody else who can tell me, I'm curious what Ukrainians think about Polish people?

I was talking to my friend from Donetsk today, and she said some Ukrainians consider Poles argumentative.

What the hell! Are you guys KIDDING me?

No, seriously :) Can you tell me the stereotypes? She didn't want to tell me any more, but I'd be interested to know. I'll keep in mind that it's only a minority of Ukrainians that think badly about Poles. And since I told you some Polish stereotypes about Ukrainians, maybe any of you can return the favour?