My blog has been nominated in the Language Professionals category in this year’s Top 100 Language Blogs contest run by LexioPhiles.

This is very flattering and I’m currently blushing.

But I will blush even more (and maybe do a little dance too) if you vote for me.

Please go to the voting page, scroll down to find “the POLSKI blog” and vote. I will love you forever. Voting closes on 24 May.

Dziękuję.

You see, my personal and professional lives have got busy. Very busy. Extremely busy. Between my regular work and an avalanche of personal stuff that was happening, the time I could devote to the Polish Blog was very limited. And I do apologize for that.

And as most you are probably aware, this is my last entry on the Polish Blog. After almost two years of writing it (whoa! has it been THAT long?), I think it’s time for fresh new voices and fresh new faces to lead you into the joys of Polish language, culture, history and everything in between. Reading only Anna’s posts for such a long time provided you with only a very limited insight into all things Polish – Anna’s insight, which needless to say, is frequently very biased and far from objective.

Writing this blog has been a tremendous pleasure for me. And I hope it was equally pleasant for you to read. While preparing these blog posts, I’ve learned more about our wonderful language than I ever thought possible. But most importantly, I’ve come to realize the difference between having knowledge and transferring this knowledge to others. That is something that few native speakers of any language understand and appreciate. For that alone, I will be forever in your debt, my dear readers.

But please, don’t worry, I am not abandoning you completely. I will be checking in from time to time to see how things are going over here, though I am certain you will be in good hands.

So I won’t say “Goodbye” or “Farewell”, but simply “See you!” – Do zobaczenia!

Thank you for your comments, your support and for the best two years of blogging ever.

PS. And if you’re curious about what a Pole is doing in the Far East, feel free to visit my personal blog.

a

Tweet This Post

So here they are – Polish numbers from 0 to 100:

• 0 – zero
• 1 – jeden
• 2 – dwa
• 3 – trzy
• 4 – cztery
• 5 – pięć
• 6 – sześć
• 7 – siedem
• 8 – osiem
• 9 – dziewięć
• 10 – dziesięć

• 11 – jedenaście
• 12 – dwanaście
• 13 – trzynaście
• 14 – czternaście
• 15 – piętnaście
• 16 – szesnaście
• 17 – siedemnaście
• 18 – osiemnaście
• 19 – dziewiętnaście
• 20 – dwadzieścia

• 30 – trzydzieści
• 40 – czterdzieści
• 50 – pięćdziesiąt
• 60 – sześćdziesiąt
• 70 – siedemdziesiąt
• 80 – osiemdziesiąt
• 90 – dziewięćdziesiąt

• 100 – sto

Happy counting!!!

a

Tweet This Post

The “cut your meat before eating” stuff is confusing some readers. Sorry. In retrospect I realize it should have been phrased somewhat differently.

OK, so here we go (w gości, LOL!)

In Poland, it seems to be common to hold widelec (fork) in your left hand and nóż (knife) – in your right hand. You only cut a little bit of the food – as much as will fit onto the fork in one go. Daintily lift it and shove it in your mouth in a very sophisticated manner – trying not to drop any food bits along the way. And then repeat the whole procedure – cut, place on the fork (which is still in your left hand, by the way), eat, and so on.

A very European way of eating, which becomes a highly refined method of torture if you are unlucky enough to be served groszek z marchewką (green peas and carrots) along with your ziemniaki (potatoes) and mięso (meat).

As a kid I thought it rather tedious and unproductive and decided that cutting all the food all at once before eating was the way to go. Then put down the knife, transfer the fork to your right hand and enjoy.

Last year in Poland I saw more and more people eating that way, so it seems to me that it’s becoming more accepted now than it was once upon a time. Back in the olden days eating like that was a sure sign of very poor table manners.

Now, about kapcie (slippers).
Poland is not the only country in the world where taking your shoes off upon entering someone’s home is common. As a person who’s stuck doing all the floor mopping and vacuuming, I like this custom. So if you want to visit me, make sure your socks are clean.

And about Polish hospitality (gościnność).
I know of families (I come from one) where the first question you are asked when you visit is “Jadłaś już obiad?” (Have you had dinner yet?, when asking a familiar female) and then regardless of your answer, you are served a full meal. Which of course you should eat, because otherwise you’ll end up looking like an ungrateful prick with appalling manners.

But as everything else when it comes to all things Polish, this post should come with the following disclaimer – your experience may vary.

a

Tweet This Post

My occasional series Pole poll is back with a bang. Well, with a flash – as today’s ’subject’ is a Pole, but also a very fine photographer. He’s also very private, so I’ve abandoned the usual format of five questions and five answers to concentrate more on his superb project called ‘From The Upper Deck‘.

Przemek Wajerowicz came to London some four years ago and turned his passion for street photography into a very London hobby – he started going around the city on double-decker buses, taking pictures of people and situations from a slightly different perspective.

He told me that the view from the upper deck of a double-decker bus had always fascinated him and he started taking pictures from the moment he arrived in London. However he lost the initial batch of photographs after his hard drive crashed.

But he picked himself up and carried on. Soon the hobby became a project. And an ambitious one too – Przemek wants to travel every single bus line in London – from the very first to the very last stop.

In 2008 he started publishing his daily bus pictures on his blog and once he’s tackled everything Transport for London has to offer, he wants to publish a book with the best pictures taken from the upper deck. And I’m looking forward to getting a copy. As a photographer myself I think this is a great project and Przemek executes it with passion.

I’m planning to write a bit on his project soon elsewhere, for now here’s more From The Upper Deck.

You can also follow Przemek on Twitter.

All images © Przemek Wajerowicz used with author’s permission

From today you can also browse the POLSKI blog on your mobile. No matter whether you’re using the iPhone or another mobile device, you should be able to read the blog in its mobile version.

You can still switch to the full version if you want to, but the optimised mobile version is easier and quicker to navigate.

Go on, try it. You know you want to….

Image © monkeyc.net via Flickr used under Creative Commons licence