Archive for the year 2010
Vacationing po polsku Posted by Anna on Mar 10, 2010
Adam writes: I am away on vacation, so the topic is close to my heart at the moment. And as this is the middle of winter – so it’s a good time to plan your summer holidays. Planning in advance is something that people in Pomerania, Silesia, Greater and Lesser Poland would be more likely…
Conversations with Poles – What Not to Mention Posted by Anna on Mar 7, 2010
One thing that becomes immediately apparent from Adam’s post is that an unprepared foreigner should avoid talking politics with a Pole whenever possible, because the experience may turn out to be less than pleasant. But don’t worry, even if you get two Poles discussing politics, chances are the conversation may become very heated. How does…
Politics? Oh no! Posted by Anna on Mar 3, 2010
Today we have another guest post from Adam. And brace yourselves, it’s about polityka – politics. Before I started writing for Polish Blog, Anna instructed me to never ever mention politics in my posts. I understand how this topic might be problematic and even uncomfortable. People have different views, and we wouldn’t want to discourage…
Documentary Film About Wisława Szymborska Posted by Anna on Mar 1, 2010
Have you heard about his new documentary about Wisława Szymborska? I haven’t had a chance to watch it, so I can’t give you a proper review, but from what I’m hearing and reading about it, it certainly sounds very interesting. It’s titled – “Sometimes Life is Bearable”, directed by Katarzyna Kolenda-Zaleska. Now, I’ll be the…
Two Ears and Two Eyes Posted by Anna on Feb 25, 2010
I was writing something yesterday, in Polish, as it happens, and I almost had a nervous breakdown. Why? Plural forms of “number + noun” combinations are enough to drive anyone insane, even a native Pole. And it all looked so simple! I was talking about body parts, more specifically, those body parts that come in…
Being Cool (episode 2) Posted by Anna on Feb 22, 2010
Today Adam continues his very fascinating story of the emergence of “cool” in Poland in the 00s. Today we will follow up on being cool and the language of youth in the noughties. It was apparent from episode one, that fashions in this country do change quite rapidly. A new word could suddenly become hot…
Surviving the First Hello Posted by Anna on Feb 20, 2010
Another totally awesome post by our resident guest blogger – Adam. We will get back to being cool in Poland in my next post. This time, inspired by the adventures of some newbies to Poland, I would like to tackle the issue of being polite. The rules on how you behave vary from country to…