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Posts by mjd  

Joined: 15 Mar 2013 / Male ♂
Last Post: 31 May 2013
Threads: 2
Posts: 3
From: USA, NorCal
Speaks Polish?: No
Interests: Genealogy

Displayed posts: 5
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mjd   
15 Mar 2013
Life / Where, Oh Where Do Poles Get Their Dogs? [18]

This question caught my eye because I know a tiny bit about it. My wife and I have a friend who, although without any Polish ancestry, has spent a lot of time in Poland, where she discovered, years ago, that rare Polish breed, the Cocker Spaniel Angielski. She has had at least three over the years we've known her -- when one is getting up in years, she will come back home with a puppy under her seat on the airplane.

She gets them from the same breeder, a lady serious enough about it to have printed a glossy four page brochure featuring the breed in general and her kennel in particular. I think somewhere near Warsaw. But not a volume breeder. All three have had great temperaments, and have been healthy and long-lived. They look a little strange here because their tails are not docked, as is typical for bird dogs.
mjd   
15 Mar 2013
Life / Polish religious decor for the home. Sound familiar? [3]

Every so often a vague memory from my youth will surface and bother me until I track it down. So hopefully this sounds familiar to someone:

When I was a kid, so let's say the 1950s, we would visit my Great-grandmother on Sundays. She would have been born in southern Poland in the 1880s.

On one wall in her house was a piece of what I can only call religious decor. It was not a painting, but it was in a frame. The art itself was covered with a piece of glass such that there was maybe a centimeter and a half space between the back of the art and the glass in front. I forget exactly what the image was. It might have been the Holy Family, or just a house and garden. But the image was enhanced with what I believe was dried plant materials: straw flowers and the like. I remember there was a motto on the inside, that included the word "Bog." That's why I think it was religious.

Does this sound familiar? Some sort of "God Bless Our Home" skinny diorama to hang on a wall? Is this a familiar art or craft in Poland, and if so, where is it practiced? It might have been factory produced, for all I know, but I can't picture any machinery to put it together.

Thanks for any help.
mjd   
15 Mar 2013
USA, Canada / Getting job in U.S. with Polish degree [14]

So you are an American with an American BA and a Polish business degree?

This reminds me of when we hired an American with an American BSEE and a British degree in the history of science. We wondered why in the world he had gone to the UK to study the history of science instead of getting an engineering job right away. We hired him on the strength of his bachelor's degree and considered his British degree to be a type of personal development experience.

Similarly, a US employer will wonder why you went to Poland to study business when American business schools are world-class. So you will have to provide a narrative that hangs together, that will make going to Poland to study business seem an obvious choice.What unique strengths and skills did you gain?
mjd   
19 Mar 2013
USA, Canada / Getting job in U.S. with Polish degree [14]

A similar idea: do a "stage" or internship as part of your program. All the Eurotypes I've known have done this. Then you have some work experience on your resume.

Further, such internships must be more common and thus easier to get in Europe than here. Try to make some accomplishments you can brag about to a future employer.
mjd   
31 May 2013
Life / What do Poles really think about cats? [324]

At a party today, I spoke to a friend who has been to Poland several times over the past 30 years. She spoke of a Polish friend who "unusually for a Pole, really liked cats."

I found it hard to believe that Polish cat fanciers are unusual. Where I live, most every family has a cat. Any opinions? What do you personally feel about cats?