Święta, Święta i po Świętach… Posted by Anna on Dec 28, 2008
Soooo…. The shortest day of the year is behind us (that’s a good thing, at least in my book, I like to see daylight for a bit more than just a few hours), Christmas is behind us (that’s a good thing too – no more carp for at least another year, yay!). Now there’s only…
Polish Christmas Eve: Wigilia Posted by Anna on Dec 23, 2008
Tomorrow is Wigilia (Christmas Eve) and it’s one day that most Polish families take very seriously. I said “most” because some celebrate it in a less traditional way – like at an all-inclusive resort in Madeira or Tenerife, for example. But for most Poles, Wigilia means getting together with their extended family, eating huge amounts…
It’s Almost Christmas! Posted by Anna on Dec 21, 2008
How’s your Christmas shopping coming along? I haven’t even started mine, to be honest. And if someone asks me why, I’m going to tell them that I’m turning Greek orthodox this year. Speaking of which, these guys have it so easy – everything is on sale for THEIR xmas. Not fair, so not fair… And…
Good Relationships Posted by Anna on Dec 17, 2008
Relationships are hard. In any language. But in Polish they are even harder. Take the word “relationship,” for example. We all know what it means in English. It’s a fairly straightforward word, even if relationships themselves are not. But such is life… I have relationships with many people. Some are personal, some are less personal…
Friends Will Be Friends Posted by Anna on Dec 15, 2008
Basia’s comment about the whole przyjaciółka/koleżanka/relationship thing made me think. And she’s right, it IS a very nuanced thing, indeed. In English I refer to approximately 1395 people as my “friends.” Yet, when talking to a Pole, about 1390 of those people are not “friends” (przyjaciółki) but “koleżanki/koledzy” or “znajome/znajomi” or “kumpelki/kumple” and so on…
The Story Of NIP – the Polish Tax ID Number Posted by Anna on Dec 13, 2008
This post is not a rant, even though it may sound like one. I am simply attempting to explain the issue in a slightly irritated manner. Because I am slightly irritated right now. Numbers always do that to me. Yes, we’ll talk about numbers today. Numbers of the official kind. In most civilized countries, and…
Meldunek Posted by Anna on Dec 11, 2008
I don’t remember if I’ve already told you this but I’ve been trying to establish myself in Poland. You know, doing stuff like getting a Polish address (meldunek), ID card (dowód osobisty) and all that bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. And compared to other countries, I have to say that the Polish system is quite complicated. The biggest…