Life / Opole Voivodeship - opinions and experiences [NEW]

I am curious to read your uncensored opinions and experiences in the Opole voivodeship (vvs), whether you love or hate some place or anything in between.

I am most familiar with Opole, Nysa, Glucholazy and Prudnik.

You can read more about the vvs and it's capital here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opole_Voivodeship
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojew%C3%B3dztwo_opolskie

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opole
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opole

Here are just a few brief blurbs and links about some places to get an introductory idea of the area.
I will provide both English and Polish links when possible:

- Opole vvs is the smallest of the 16 vvs and part of the Śląsk / Silesia region.
There are Poles, Germans, Silesians, Czechs, Roma and recently Ukrainians as the "main visible groups" of people living here.

I couldn't find a detailed demographic map for each vvs in English, maybe this data exists somewhere in Polish.
cudzoziemcy.opole.uw.gov.pl/en/on-foreigners-and-repatriates-who-no-longer-want-to-settle-in-small-communes-in-the-region

- There are many historical churches, castles, forts, villages - some are functional or reconstructed and others are abandoned

opole.pl/en/dla-turysty/atrakcja/opole-rural-museum
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moszna_Castle
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamek_w_%C5%81%C4%85ce_Prudnickiej

- Prudnik (formerly Neustadt) was the site of some dark events in WW2

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudnik#Interbellum_and_World_War_II
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudnik#II_wojna_%C5%9Bwiatowa

- As a result of the border changes in WW2 the resulting population "transfer" had a major affect on the area

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Silesia#Poland,_Czech_Republic_and_Germany
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_%C5%9Al%C4%85ska#%C5%9Al%C4%85sk_od_1945_roku

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovered_Territories#Polonization_of_the_Recovered_Territories
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziemie_Odzyskane#Sytuacja_po_wojnie

- The region has post-industrial areas with many unused brick buildings such as warehouses, factories and barns. The made in Poland Nysa van was produced in Nysa up until 1994. Textiles were produced by Frotex in Prudnik.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZSD_Nysa
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZSD_Nysa

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak%C5%82ady_Przemys%C5%82u_Bawe%C5%82nianego_%22Frotex%22
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak%C5%82ady_Przemys%C5%82u_Bawe%C5%82nianego_%E2%80%9EFrotex%E2%80%9D

- The area is prone to recurring flooding and was the site of the Great Flood of 1997, about which a tv series was recently made

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Central_European_flood
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pow%C3%B3d%C5%BA_tysi%C4%85clecia

imdb.com/title/tt15096728/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Water_(TV_series)
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wielka_woda_(serial_telewizyjny)

- Prudnik has experienced a decline in population from approximately 24k in 1995 to 19k today, a lot of people have left the area for whatever reasons. Many small businesses have also closed in the recent "Covid years" and because of larger corps building stores and mini mall plazas around the city which has affected the city square.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudnik
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudnik
polskawliczbach.pl/Prudnik

- There are many hotels, spas, hiking trails and agri-tourism along the border with Czechia and the closest large Czech cities are Opava, Olomouc and Ostrava. This Poland-Czechia border area is also known as the Krnovski Mikroregion.

mikroregionkrnovsko.cz/mikroregion-krnovsko/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Silesia
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Al%C4%85sk_Czeski

- A search on PolishForums and Polish subreddits for Opole and Silesia turns up the following discussions:

https://polishforums.com/index.php?phrase=opole&searchType=3&where=0&forum=&posterName=&action=search&searchGo=1
https://polishforums.com/index.php?phrase=silesia&searchType=3&where=0&forum=&posterName=&action=search&searchGo=1

reddit.com/r/poland/search/?q=opole&type=link&cId=452ba7af-c5e3-4f7c-ba00-8feb22c57c16&iId=44c0a43f-3b75-4624-9a1a-a3ca5ea5d5e7

reddit.com/r/poland/search/?q=silesia&type=link&cId=af30d8aa-a460-4d62-9e5f-d03cd34e3f71&iId=3688a4f9-2ad3-4801-acfa-15dcc74246f4

reddit.com/r/Polska/search/?q=opole&type=link&cId=5601c244-7c3c-4c38-bff3-d63f73bd69df&iId=ee3ef066-643f-4c55-ae90-df6f520e7943

reddit.com/r/Polska/search/?q=%C5%9Al%C4%85sk&type=link&cId=924a1700-ac8b-45fb-8853-a02b60cd699a&iId=54754f19-54cc-4eec-82dd-dc80f1f7e0ba

As for my own opinion and experience after several visits over two decades from late 1990s to present, overall some of the public infrastructure has improved and is better than some areas in the Northeast USA where I have lived and traveled. I have mixed opinions about both regions as I see a similar post-industrial landscape and the usual "job struggle survival mode of life" and government dysfunction in some places. Like anywhere I think some parts could be better but I still need to explore and research more.

Language / Bilingual Polish-English books with audio for listening and reading learning method [75]

I am looking for bilingual books in Polish and English that also have an audio track available either as a purchase or "free" public read-along on youtube for example.

The paper book or ebook would have Polish on one page and English on the other page. Some words may be in colored or bold print if they have the exact same meaning.

The audio track is listened to while reading. Anything that is not understood can be read in English and an additional Pol-Eng dictionary can be consulted.

A bilingual ebook may be best for quick copy and paste of words into an online or offline dictionary and other tools.

I found this Italian-English youtube video as an example: youtube.com/watch?v=KBR4NYbERYI

This method can be used at any level of language skill and in my case I need to expand my vocabulary and reading skills.
Even if you are limited with your communication with people for whatever reason you still need to be able to read and engage with signs, paperwork and digital platforms to complete many basic life tasks, so the self-learning read and listen method can be helpful if you don't have a teacher or want to bother people in public with questions that they may not even know the answer to or even want to answer anyway.

I will update this thread if I find any titles or sections in a book store.
So far I have found many Polish paper and ebooks with their audiobook versions, but not a bilingual edition with English translation.
A workaround is to purchase two separate paper or ebooks in each language if a translation is available.

You can also find many "free" ebooks and audiobooks, here are a few examples:

youtube.com/results?search_query=polski+audiobook
wolnelektury.pl/katalog/
wolnelektury.pl/katalog/audiobooki
wordproject.org/bibles/audio/33_polish/index.htm

Language / Dual, double, multiple, parallel language interface display options for digital devices and software [NEW]

I'm looking for ways to display English and Polish together on a user interface (UI) when using cell phones, laptops, desktop pcs, tablets (devices) and operating system GUI's, programs, internet browsers (software). This is for private personal language learning when using these devices and software on a daily basis for research, shopping, writing, reading, etc.

I'm aware when installing or upgrading an OS (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android) that you can install multiple languages and even use physical keyboards for multiple languages - however you can't display both languages simultaneously for taskbars, menus, files and folders, shortcuts, etc when using an OS. Since I don't know all the meanings of words in Polish this will not help me learn in the method that works for me.

Using English and Polish as an example, you click on the taskbar in one language only and see "Start Menu" in English. I would like to see the same words in two languages displayed next to each other, probably one on top of the other:

Start Menu
Menu Startowe

Open File
Otwórz Plik

Create New Folder
Stwórz Nowy Folder

etc...

Please see this question about a similar concept for English and Chinese:
ux.stackexchange.com/questions/123464/2-languages-simultaneously-on-user-interface

I'm aware this would take up more visual space in the OS GUI and I use widescreen monitors when working. I don't know why this isn't more common on computers and why we can only choose one language to use for an OS, GUI, software, etc. I'm unfamiliar with language learning software such as Rosetta Stone, maybe there are some that have a "dual language interface" that can be toggled between multiple languages.

For software I use Google Translate and other online web-based translators to work on a rough draft in English and then edit the Polish translation as needed. This is the only way I can write/type in Polish and a few other languages. I can see both languages in real time as I type and edit and both can also be entered via voice and listened to via sound and this is very helpful.

If I can't modify an OS GUI then this is the next best option.
I need to research offline translator word processing programs that use downloaded language libraries.

Some internet browsers also have extensions or a built-in prompt for auto-translating a highlighted sentence or entire webpage, but you can't view both the original (and translation in a different color) unless you open up two separate tabs or windows side by side.

Are there browser extensions, scripts or other options a programmer could create for dual language display?
Here is an example of something that gets close but not quite to what I'm looking for, it's a Chrome browser extension Word Sponge:

thewordsponge.com
vocal.media/futurism/you-can-learn-a-language-just-with-a-browser-extension-and-no-practicing

I'm not asking about using multiple programming languages such as Python, C, etc or troubleshooting glitches and problems with multi language support on an OS or keyboard. I mention this because it seems most of the search results I found after hours of searching are about that and not what I'm looking for.

I will update this thread with any further leads.

Feedback / Suggestions for forum features [6]

1 I don't see how to "Save" or "Follow" threads that we like besides bookmarking them in our browser, is there a hidden option for this?

2 Also it would be interesting and helpful to have subforums for the 16 voivoidships if we want to post multiple threads about a specific area and discuss only that area without cramming it all into a few threads.

Subforums for regions such as Silesia, Pomerania, etc could be another step but maybe not necessary.

The City Data forum has separate forums for USA/Canada states/provinces with subforums for regions.
Example: state - New York State, region - New York City
city-data.com/forum/
city-data.com/forum/new-york/
city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/

There are many region classification systems for Poland:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voivodeships_of_Poland
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Poland

google.com/search?q=poland+regions
Click Images to see many maps

stat.gov.pl/en/regional-statistics/classification-of-territorial-units/classification-of-territorial-units-for-statistics-nuts/the-nuts-classification-in-poland/
NUTS 1 - macroregions (grouping voivodships) - 7 units
NUTS 2 - regions (voivodships or parts of a voivodship) - 17 units
NUTS 3 - subregions (grouping powiats) - 73 units

Classifieds / Polish language tutor needed in southern Opole voivodeship or Albany New York [5]

Hello I'm looking for a Polish language tutor for private lessons in the Prudnik, Glucholazy and Nysa areas.

I speak both English and Polish but would like to improve my Polish language skills in specific areas besides everyday communication.
I have researched and contacted many schools and tutors in the area but most do not teach Polish and I can't stay in PL for a longer than 2-3 months time.

I am with family in PL now but could also do lessons in Albany NY when back home.