Ask Our Man In Warsaw

Ask Our Man In Warsaw

By Robert Strybel

If you would like to send a question, click here to e-mail Robert Strybel. All questions have been submitted by readers. For privacy concerns, their names have been withheld.

Q: If I send relatives in Poland $100, how much will they get? I find it very confusing, because I would like to get a round sum in zlotys, not an odd one with loose groszy attached.

A: At the exchange rate of 2.72 zlotys per US dollar, your relatives would receive 272 zlotys, roughly the minimum weekly wage. If you wanted them to get a nice round sum of 300 zlotys at that exchange rate, you would have to send them $110.29. Simply divide the zloty sum you wish to send by the current rate of exchange. Naturally if you were sending the gift via Western Union or one of the Pol-Am parcel services, you would have make allowances for an added service charge.

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Q: I have heard you could get Polish citizenship through a Polish grandfather. Mine came to America in the 1920s and never renounced his Polish citizenship, and I have his Polish passport o prove it. Working through the Polish Consulate in the US takes a very long time – 18 months in one case I heard about. Wouldn’t it be quicker to have someone take the application and necessary documents directly to the Mazovian Voivod’s Office?

A: I was informed by the citizenship section of the Mazovian Voivod’s Office that the normal procedure was to work through the Polish consulate in your home country. Since the Mazovian Voivod’s Office handles Polish citizenship applications from all over the world, they have a backlog of paperwork and that accounts for the long wait. I was told an exception might be made if the applicant were in his 80s and could not stand such a long wait. It was suggested that you might submit a request to the Polish Consul in the US and provide a valid reason for speeding up your application. Good luck!

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Q: I need as many forms as you can think of that are used to refer to Grandma and Grandpa in Polish to be used in a page of Polish Scrapbook Paper. Many thanks in advance.

A: Diminutives (endearing forms) of the standard word for grandmother “babka” include the following: Babcia, Babunia, Babuncia, Babunka, Babunieczka, Babula, Babulka, Babuleczka, Babulenka, Babulenka, Babulinka, Babulinka, Babusia (Note: The clipped version of this diminutive was probably the source of Polonia's widespread Busia, sometimes anglicized to Busha), Babuska and Babuchna. Affectionate diminutives of “dziad”, the official, legal term for grandfather include: Dziadek, Dziadko, Dziadenko, Dziadeczek, Dziadulek, Dziaduszek, Dziadus, Dziadzio, Dziadzia, Dziadziunio, Dziadunio, Dziadunko, Dziadulo, Dziadulenko and Dziadulinek.

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Q: My fiancee asked me what are the most common surnames in Poland, including Nowak. Could you please let me know?

A: Indeed, the most common is Nowak, shared by more than 203,000 people in Poland. It meant newcomer, new arrival or new guy in town. The remaining four are: Kowalski - 140,000, Wisniewski - 110,000, Wojcik - 100,000 and Kowalczyk - 98,000

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Q: I am trying to contact my relatives in Warsaw as they have recently joined the internet. I have tried to email them using the address they sent me, but I'm getting no response. I was wondering if you could please help me.

A: I have e-mailed your relatives and everything seems OK. Maybe your e-mails were not getting through due to spam-blockers. Or, since they are Internet novices, perhaps it took them a while to figure out how to respond to e-mails.

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Q: Our Dominican priory is interested in purchasing a large (life-sized) carved crucifix for our chapel. My parents always told me of the talented woodcarvers in Zakopane. Would you know any contact information of good woodcarvers who would be able to supply us? Dziekuje!

A: You might contact Kazimierz Basta, a folk woodcarver from the Tatra Mountains not far from Zakopane who together with his son specializes in religious figures in the rustic Polish highlander style: Kazimierz Basta, Stadla 32, 33-386 Podegrodzie, Poland; phone: 00 48-18 445 9097. You would have to supply him with a sketch or photo of the kind of crucifix you’re interested in.

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Q: I teach a Polish class at Dom Polski Syrena in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and was asked by one student what new words have entered Polish since the pre-World War Two period. Could you provide some examples please?

A: Books could be written on the subject, so I can only scratch the surface in a column of this sort. Before the Second World War even the dlugopis (ball-point pen) was unknown, let alone all the fancy high-tech gadgetry we have today. Post-1939 technical innovations include: swiatlowody (fiber optics), obwod scalony (integrated circuit), feedback (sprzezenie zwrotne), klimatyzacja (air-conditioning), zmywarka do naczyn (dish-washer), magnetofon (tape-recorder), magnetowid (VCR), swietlowka (fluorescent light), telefon komorkowy or simply komorka (cell phone), drukarka (printer), wtrysk paliwa (fuel injection), rower gorski (mountain bike) and terenowka (all-terrain vehicle). Current slang is sure to confuse those who left Poland a number of years ago. These include such terms as: laska, lacha (meaning an attractive young girl), blokers (young tough living in a big-city project), zadyma (brawl, fight, punch-up), debesciak (from hip-hop slang meaning “the best”, number one, top dog), tirowka (roadside prostitute), cienias (wimp), pies (policeman), impreza (party), imprezowicz (party animal), jarac (to smoke) and trawka (marijuana, grass).

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Q: Could you please recommend any dealer that deals in silver? Being very Catholic, I am looking for a silver cross or perhaps some John Paul II stuff.

A: You can try the Argentum Company in Plock (west of Warsaw) that will create whatever you want in silver according to your preference and design. It is run by the Brothers Stachurski (e-mail). Their commercial dept can communicate with you in English. The postal address is: Argentum Bizuteria, Nowy Rynek 11, 09-400 Plock, Poland; tel. 00 48-24 277-2943; fax: 00 48-24 277-1831; web site: argentum.pl.

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Q: Over 150 Knights of Columbus, along with Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson, as well as Archbishop Mansell from the Archdiocese of Hartford, CT, attended the Festival of Sacred Music at the Jasna Gora Basilica in Czestochowa, Poland. Twenty-one hymns were performed, and I would like to know whether any of them have English translations with the original Polish music accompaniment.

A: Many of the Polish hymns have been translated into English. I suggest you contact the Liturgical Center at the Orchard Lake Schools in Michigan: phone: (248) 683-0409 (e-mail); and/or the Polish National Catholic Church, phone: (570) 346-9131.

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Q: Where can I get some information on buying property in Poland. Is it easy and inexpensive?

A: Working through a licensed real-estate agent will facilitate matters because he can help with a lot of the paperwork. As a citizen of a non-European Union country, you will need to obtain permission from Poland’s Ministry of Interior and Administration. Once you have agreed on a price of the real estate, the contract is signed in front of a notary who also checks whether the property is not encumbered with debts and loans. When the deal is finalized, the property is then registered with the Land Registry. I suggest you contact a reputable overseas-property investment expert such as Nicholas Marr (homesgofast.com).

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Q: I would like some information on Polish festival foods. Could you list some of them please?

A: Grilled kielbasa, kapusta & kielbasa, pierogi and golabki are among the top favorites. Others include bigos, kiszka, flaczki (tripe soup), soldier’s split-pea soup (grochowka zolnierska), potato pancakes, nalesniki, and such dumplings as pyzy, kopytka, knedle and galuszki. You might also consider breaded pork cutlet or breaded chicken-breast sandwiches, Polish burgers or kiszka burgers (fried kiszka served on a bun). For dessert paczki and jablecznik (apple cake) also go over well. For details see “Polish Holiday Cookery”. Smacznego!

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Q: What is the mailing address of Mazowsze?

A: You can write to: Panstwowy Zespol Piesni i Tanca “Mazowsze”, ulica Swierkowa 2, 05-805 Otrebusy kolo Warszawy, Poland phone: 00 48-22 758-5001, fax: 00 48-22 758-5790; e-mail; webpage: mazowsze.waw.pl.

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Q: I am having a hard time getting a translation for a song that my grandmother used to sing to me in Polish. It was “You Are My Sunshine, my only sunshine…”, and the original English version was written by a man named Jimmie Davis. Would have the Polish translation of the song? I would like to embroider it on a quilt.

A: For what it’s worth, here is my feeble attempt at a translation. At least it rhymes, retains the original rhythm and should therefore be singable: Jestes jedynym moim sloneczkiem, radosnie swiecisz, gdy chmurzy sie. Nigdy nie zgadniesz, jak ja cie kocham, nie odbieraj mi tego prosze cie.

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Q: How do all of these Polish restaurants in the U.S. make their rosol? I am convinced that they do not make it like we do in the countryside. I never see any chicken in the soup. Are they just using bouillon?

A: I certainly cannot speak for all Polish restaurants in America, but from my own experience I believe you are largely correct in assuming commercial bouillon (cubes, granules, paste, powder) is used. Not always exclusively, but as a taste-enhancer for broth cooked with those flavorless broiler-fryers. The traditional Polish rosol (chicken soup) is made with a mature stewing hen, not a scrawny fryer.

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Q: I have the latest 12 issues of National Geographic Magazine in excellent condition and wonder if you know of any organization in Poland that could use them?

A: Those copies of National Geographic could be put to excellent use at an after-school children’s club which gives the youngsters (preteens and teens) a place to go, get a free meal, do their homework and engage in recreation. Most of these kids have troubled home situations: abusive, alcoholic parents, cramped, noisy conditions (no place to study) or other circumstances not conducive to a normal childhood. You may send your magazines to: Ognisko Dziadka Lisieckeigo, ulica Stara 4, 00-231 Warsaw, Poland; phone: 0-00-4822-831-7355; e-mail.

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Q: I liked your suggestion about going halves on a new car with Polish relatives, using it during the three summer months a year and leaving it to them the remaining nine months. What is the cheapest new car you can get in Poland these days?

A: It is a Fiat 600, four-passenger, three-door hatchback, whose prices start at around $8,400. For about $10,000 you can get a much bigger and far roomier four-door sedan, the Dacia Logan (Romanian-built Renault).

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Q: Are there any waterfalls in Poland? I’ve got this thing about waterfalls, so I’m just curious.

A: Yes there are waterfalls in Poland, but it would be a mistake to think of them in terms of Niagara or even the Upper Peninsula’s Tequamenon Falls. Even the taller Polish falls such as Siklawa (multiply the meters by 3 to get the rough equivalent in feet), are quite narrow and resemble a thin rivulet of water more than a mighty cascade. Others are wide but not very tall. The best known are: Siklawa (70 m), Siklawica (21 m), Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza (3 falls, each about 10 m in height), Wodospad Kamienczyka (27 m), Wodospad Szklarki (13 m), Wodospad Wilczki (22 m) and Wodospad Podgornej (10 m). Note: A meter (m) is slightly more than a yard.

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Q: I wanted to ask you if Charlotte is the same a Karolina in Polish. I’ve seen several places online that list Karolina being the same as Caroline, Carolina and Charlotte. I know Charlotte is the feminine form of Charles which is Karol in Polish. Please advise.

A: Yes, Charlotte is the feminine form of the French Christian name Charles. In Italian for instance the masculine is Carlo and the feminine Carlotta although the form Carla also appears. In Polish, Karolina is the most common feminine equivalent of Karol and it is quite popular, shared by more than 168,000 women in Poland at present. There is also the less common variant form Karola, used by only 346 females. Incidentally, some Polish women have been named Szarlota (709) and a lesser number Szarlotta (64). This is simply the polonized spelling of the French Charlotte.