I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK!

Again, I was hinted to opt for "Prosze o kawe", period. End of story.

It was not simple. At a conference in Western Europe, my father met a guy who was the head of PLM in Maastricht in Holland - a Dutch version of Instytut Electrotechniki w Miedzylesiu. After my graduation in 1966, both me and my father worked at the Instytut. I picked that place to make it easier for me to get a leave of absence for three months "to go na praktyke at PLM" almost immediately after I started.

The next step was to get the passport. At that time, it was either private (blue?) or panstwowy (green). I got green and only for Europe, so I was good to go to Holland and no farther. Still, as soon as my foot was on the Dutch soil, I was at the US Consulate in Rotterdam to apply for the US immigration status. It took a while, but after 9 months I was finally on my way to NY. The hardest part was to extend my passport to the US. Without that, I could not go there without going through the process of applying for a political asylum in Germany. That idea was never an option for me. Instead, my father used his contacts at UB to get me what I needed. No, he was never a member of PZPR but did some consulting for UB. End of the story.

Essentially, you came over at the height (or the waning) of the Gomulka Era, just before the s**** began to hit the fan 'round about '68 when the big "brain drain" to the States occurred and the Polish intelligentsia, both Jewish and gentile, came en masse to the States?

An interesting story.

Yep, that sums it up. I actually was part of that brain drain and used the German quota to get in.

Let me help you. Then you had an accident that damaged the part of the brain responsible for languages and you forgot your mother tongue.

Lecz się.
Check Wikipedia for more information about UB. It was so 'active' in the 60s. ...
This time It isn't a reality star but a scientist, someone needs to be informed.

Do you also speak German, Rich?
---
Ooops, disregard previous post! You'd already mentioned you were more or less lost in Berlin with only English, and so guess I sort of answered my own question.

Apologies.

Sadly, there's probably nothing that can be done. PF doesn't care, and the guy behind this probably isn't even in the US. Last I heard, he was in some awful Middle East hellhole where they keep your passport and where you simply can't leave without permission.

Still, his hatred towards Poland for not giving him a Polish passport is incredible.

Are you talking about me or some other person? I am asking since I never expressed any "hate" toward the Polish Consulate. I can express hate directly by saying "I hate..." without relying on your unusual ability to read between the lines or filling in the missing words I chose deliberately not to write.

Which brings me to the subject of freedom of speech. Once I knew a Russian working at the same place where I was. Sometimes we would go lunch and talk about things. Almost always, when he was ready complain about the US, he would lean forward and lower his voice to a whisper. His fear of KGB or whatever it was when he was leaving Russia was so ingrained.

The above connects to this forum as follows. It seems that some here assume that others express themselves in riddles for whatever reason. So, instead reading the text as written, literally and without looking for some hidden subcontext, they guess, infer, decipher, decode, looking for what was not said directly. So, let's see now who needs treatment and meds.

So, my dear detective and the seeker of truth: wait until I write "I hate..." to be sure that I really do. I don't need or appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Let us pray that all Brits abandon Poland and move back to Britain. Let us pray and thank to God for this. Let they go. Prepare them sandwiches that they have to eat something on their way back to Britain. F*** wind that delivered them to Poland. Less Brits in Poland, less evil influence, to put cross on myself.

really Crow, you are too kind!! xx

Let us pray that Serbs abandon Britain!
And take their scummy criminals home!
Less Serbs in Britain,less criminals who don't pay tax.

Serbians shall abandon Britain- that rotten carcass, hell. But, not alone. We have obligations.

Crow you madman, that made me spit tea all over my screen!

But all Brits, really? Would you also kick me out, even though I quite like Serbia and Serbian history? :(

Well, see, English are problem, not quite all Brits. Britain as a state, too.

But, after all, I suppose when lines of proper money flow are restored in Europe, when that what was ancient amber trade route from Baltic to Balkan is restored, when Poles and Serbians reestablish their wealth, it would be absolutely irrelevant where are Brits. Nobody won`t care.


You think it was that strong artistic expression?

Ha,ha it was very caring of you to remember about sandwiches for English...at least they will not be hungry :-)

I hope for the same. It's actually not far away from completion, it only needs a highway through Slovakia and you've got a highway from Gdańsk to Athens through Serbia. No reason why Serbia wouldn't become (again) an important trade centre once such a highway is complete.

You can stay, delphiandomine. You are good.

Beats the hell out of me why I am wasting my time, but, since I already clicked, here is my comment.

No, you never forget. You just become a lot less fluent after 50 years of not using it. Still remember your first phone number? How about the names of your teachers from the elementary school?

Answer the questions in broken Polish, then, Rysiu Pysiu.

the thing is that people in his (supposed) situation use what they remember of their first language in very specific and characteristic ways that using google translate does not produce.

which again, if his polish is now that bad how can anyone be certain he actually understood what they said at the admissions desks?

that dog don't hunt (as some say in the South)

Yet his Polish was good enough to walk into a school and talk to not only the security guard (to let him in) but also to the school management to allow him to talk to kids. I can only speak for where I work, but if some elderly man turned up speaking broken Polish, he would never get in the building.

Astonishing how his story (doesn't) add up!

I remember. Sister Gerard, when I was four, Sister Agnes when I was five, Miss Walsh when I was six, Miss McDonagh when I was seven, eight and nine, Mrs Holohan when I was ten, eleven and twelve. Sister Baptist for piano, Sister Rosario for violin, Sister Margaret for singing, Mrs Young for elocution and drama, Mrs Barry for dancing, Miss Ryan for PE :)) And you're definitely not Polish.

I don't believe you. You are a liar.

How does THAT feel now. Thanks for walking into that trap.

Yes, but that doesn't matter to me because I know I'm telling the truth and the only thing that matters to me is what I think - like most people on this forum :))

That would be very pleasant however there are a few, that for some reason, regularly think that they have the authority to demand that you defend yourself to them.

@Atch
At least the 'Polish' gentleman hasn't told you to fo or stfu ;)
How come anyone who really have connections to Poland don't believe him?
Yet those who don't believe everything this 'new' poster claims ;)

Did you go to Catholic school?

How absolutely strange. All the posters with a connection to Poland are actually in agreement for the first time, which says a lot about this troll.

Still, I'm just waiting to be told that I don't know how it is in Poland...

A failtroll shall unite them all.... now I think maybe he deserves some kind of award.

I did indeed. We moved house a few times before I was twelve so I went to three different primary schools but just the one secondary. All nuns. But strangely enough I actually had a lay teacher for both my Communion and Confirmation. Some of the nuns had wonderful names like Sister Tarsisius! She was known as Tarzan. Sister Aloysius was Wally and so on. Happy days!


The attitude to Pan/Pani is the giveaway. Most Poles don't think twice about it, it's just natural to them. Also anybody of that generation attending university would be quite familiar with addressing people as Pani Magister or whatever. My own husband is decades younger than the OP and he remembers it as being quite normal.

My RE teachers were either priests or lay teachers.
I don't think I have got to know many nuns. But I think Polish nuns also take some extraordinary names.

@mafketis
How about a ogórek kiszony?

Well, yes, some British people living in Poland are thinking of going back home. ;)