Monthly Archives: October 2008

Prepositions, part 1

October 31, 2008 – 2:35 pm

A while back Gary sent me an email, which for the life of me I can’t find anywhere now – my mailbox self-destructed earlier this week and all my messages disappeared into the bottomless internet pit. But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today. Gary asked for a post about prepositions, and when [...]

By Anna | Posted in Grammar | Comments (0)

Unfortunate Menu Translations

October 28, 2008 – 1:41 pm

Though I am no longer in Gdańsk, I will keep writing about it until either I run out of things to say, or you, my dear readers – get bored.
I didn’t go to Hel this time, but no worries, I’m returning to Poland in about three weeks to pick up my ID card (dowód osobisty) [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (12)

Reporting From Gdańsk, part 2

October 25, 2008 – 5:28 pm

I feel terribly uncouth and totally under-dressed. These women here walk on cobblestones in heels. HIGH heels. And then there’s me with my sensible walking shoes (read: hiking boots). I can’t walk in heels even on a regular smooth sidewalk, and just imagining the ordeal of walking on cobblestones gives me instant foot and back [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (6)

Reporting From Gdańsk

October 22, 2008 – 4:48 pm

Al from the Polish-American Genealogy blog, which by the way is a great resource for anyone interested in tracing their Polish roots, tagged me with the 10 Years Ago tag…
I’m not much for blog tags and normally ignore them, but how could I say “no” to a fellow Kashub (“Kaszub” in Polish)? I couldn’t. Especially [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (13)

Verbs of Motion, Part 2

October 19, 2008 – 12:22 pm

Today’s post is inspired by Pinolona’s comment and her plea for help. Help with what? Polish verbs, of course.
She pointed out that both “iść” and “chodzić” are imperfective verbs, but since I suspect that to most people the word “imperfective” means about as much as “lähteitä tai viitteitä” to me (hint – not much at [...]

By Anna | Posted in Grammar | Comments (10)

Verbs of Motion

October 16, 2008 – 11:26 am

Polish verbs make me cry. And I don’t mean the tears of joy here, that’s for sure.
I’ve never thought about just how evil they can be until recently. I was working on a project, which demanded expert knowledge of verbs, Polish verbs, naturally, and that was a real eye-opener for me. I’ve never realized just [...]

By Anna | Posted in Grammar | Comments (6)

I Have a Cold

October 12, 2008 – 9:29 am

I have a cold. Or worse than a cold. It’s one of those evil afflictions that bangs your head sideways and removes it from the head hinges. I’ve been like that for a week now, and I suspect that by now I have a vicious case of flu.
No, I didn’t see a doctor, because all [...]

By Anna | Posted in Vocabulary | Comments (12)

Dear Sir/Madam

October 8, 2008 – 12:41 pm

Yesterday I got an email from somebody, and I just about fell over while reading it. Luckily, I was sitting on a bed.
The email began with the words “Szanowna Pani!” which would be something like “Dear Madam” but much more pompous. “Szanowna Pani” ??? People still use this expression? Even young people? Dang, I must [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture | Comments (8)

You’re Welcome!

October 4, 2008 – 1:17 pm

Like I said in the comments to the previous post, it’s official, I have the best readers ever! Thank you so much for all your kind words, and even more – for your suggestions.
Today’s post is inspired by a comment made by Thomas in the post below. Remember his problems with finding the Polish equivalent [...]

By Anna | Posted in Culture, Vocabulary | Comments (10)