Tough times

My blood boils when I read stories about people who break the law and are labelled as ‘having no respect for parents or police’. Can we really be surprised by this? Especially, when discipline has been eradicated from the family home and in its place we have been given stress-free upbringing.

Youth no longer have any respect for older people or authority. If the police fail to hold any authority over youth it’s difficult to imagine that parents are going to do a better job. It seems that adolescents, teenagers and young adults are leading the way into creating a dangerous society that is based on crime, violence and rage. I don’t want to live in that society, do you?

I don’t think our governments thought through their decision to ban smacking and disciplining children in a physical way. While I strongly disagree to beating someone to a pulp, I don’t see a problem with a smack on the butt for doing something wrong. I strongly disagree with the studies conducted about smacking causing psychological problems. In most cases parents should avoid physical discipline but sometimes that’s the only thing that will leave an impact.

My parents rarely smacked me though I do recall a couple occasions where I got smacked. I deserved it. None of them caused any permanent or temporary damage. I didn’t repeat the things I did again. Today, I understand why I got smacked and there are days when I wish that my parents got out the wooden spoon a little bit more often. Maybe I would have avoided a few of the issues I went through.

The riots taking place in London at the moment are the result of youngsters who have not been taught discipline or respect for society and for themselves. It’s easy to blame unemployment or an incompetent government (partially they are responsible), but it mostly comes down to how a person is brought up. Looking at the situation there are many more people excluding themselves from the riots and it’s only the small percentage that are creating a terrible reputation for themselves and society.

People require guidance, they require respect and discipline. This guidance, respect and discipline should begin at a young age. When it does, it’s clear to see that society functions in a peaceful manner. There will always be a black sheep in the crowd, but the majority will maintain a certain level of self discipline to act accordingly. Guidance from the community is also necessary.

Times are tough. I understand that. Jobs are hard to come by; the cost of education is on the rise; and, community support at times seems lacking. But generations before us had it much worse. They lived through world wars, the depression and a society without many of the comforts we are blessed (or cursed) with today.

Taking a step back and looking at society from a window view makes you realise that we make our own choices. Some people are more or less disadvantaged than others. There are families who face hardships every day and those who bathe in Crystal champagne; people live off bread and water, while others dine on fillet mignon and lobster. The material things separate them but when we get down to basics they are one and the same.

I’ve read stories about severely disadvantaged individuals persevering and achieving amazing success. I’ve also seen many wealthy and privileged men and women lose it all because of their stupidity. Happiness is a state of mind. We choose to be happy. We choose to have respect. We choose to have self-discipline. Sometimes the road will have rough spots but getting through it will only make us stronger if we allow it to. These are tough times but as a community we can get through them.

5 Ways Not To Get Published

1*Play Solitaire for hours and try to beat your highest winning streak but fail miserably. Placing cards in the correct order in the correct colour on your computer is not going to get the research done or story written. Bye-bye to any publishing success, unless of course you’re writing a story about Solitaire.

2*Write down lots of ideas for articles every day but never actually come up with a slant, do the research or write a query letter to a suitable publication. Writers often get asked, ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ If you’re coming up with those riveting story ideas and doing nothing about them then you are not going to get published. They’re no use to anyone hidden away in your computer files somewhere.

3*Talk about wanting to write but never actually get around to putting even a sentence down on to paper or computer. Talking is not the same as writing. It’s not going to put words together that editors’ love. The only way to do that is to actually plant butt in chair and start typing or scribbling away.

4*Forget about revising, editing and going through grammar and spelling with a fine-tooth comb. Whether you’ve just finished writing a story, novel, article or poem, it’s not finished yet. The hard work comes next; every sentence has to be in the right order. Every paragraph has to have a purpose. Confusing ‘there’ with ‘their’ or ‘effect’ with ‘affect’ is not acceptable nor is ‘except’ with ‘accept’, and it happens more often than some like to admit.

5*Don’t try to improve your writing by meddling in different genres, trying new techniques, using advice from others, and reading voraciously. Writers write, they also read, seek quality advice, constantly try to improve their writing skills, pick up new vocabulary and work on becoming the best that they can be. Writing is a business, it’s also a competitive business and if you want to stay in business you have to constantly keep on top of your game.

Now for a little confession: I’m guilty of all three. I spend way too much time playing Solitaire, I come up with ideas for articles and novels on a daily basis but rarely do much with them, I often tell my partner how much I need to write but when it actually comes to getting down and writing I’ve been slacking off over the past few months- I’m blaming it on acclimatising to being back on the Gold Coast. Then there’s the part about writing but rarely getting to the editing stage – it can be so boring; or forgetting about learning new vocabulary and trying to improve on my writing skills. Yep, me, I’m guilty as charged and now I have to make reprimands and get back on track so that I can be productive once again.

Surfers Paradise

你们好

I survived the first online lecture. At first I was terrified. I didn’t know what to expect. This is Chinese. A complete different language from English. A language that everyone always told me was really difficult to learn. Sure it doesn’t look easy, but I’ve never been one to take the easy route. So here I am, glad that I finally took the plunge to start learning a completely foreign language to me.

The first thing I worried about is being unable to write using Chinese characters. Luckily my computer was kind enough not to make things complicated. With one obstacle out of the way things were looking good.

The class required a camera and headphones with a microphone. I had just purchased a new lap top bag that came with all that. One less thing to worry about.

Logging on to the online lecture I felt a little bit intimidated, frightened, concerned about how it was all going to look like. Thankfully, the lecturer was friendly and helpful throughout and made the two hour lecture enjoyable. It was nice to see the faces of all the people I will be learning with over the next three months. Ah, technology what would we do without you.

One thing I am certain of is that learning Chinese is going to take a lot of effort. I like the fact that there are no tenses to learn and that the words are monosyllable, and most of the punctuation is the same. What does worry me a little bit are the tones. Getting a tone wrong can change the meaning of what you say. Hopefully, with practice even the tones will become simple. Fingers crossed.

您好！ 我叫Katarzyna.

A Chapter Ends

An Aussie in Poland is coming to an end. After three years and nine months I am leaving Poland. It’s been an interesting three and three quarter years to say the least. The cold winters with white salty patches on my shoes have been frustrating. Although after I had decided to leave Poland, I discovered Górka Szczęśliwicka (Szczęśliwica Hill) located on the west side of Warsaw. If I had known of its existence and the fact that I could learn how to ski and snowboard there the winters would have been much more enjoyable. I have managed to head for the slope three times in the last month which have made me a tad more comfortable on skis. If the snow returns I might make a fourth attempt and hopefully plan a skiing holiday once a year or so to practice my new found skills.

I’ve met some interesting people who have enriched my life and I hope that we will stay in contact once I return to Australia. I’m not saying goodbye to Poland forever. I plan to return for annual holidays or at least every eighteen months or so to visit family. I’m not leaving on my own. I’m taking with me another person. My partner. He’s going to want to visit his family on a regular basis too. It’s going to be hard leaving and starting all over again. I love fresh starts but I’m worried about my partner who’s first goal will be to learn as much English as possible. Shocking I know that after three years together we’ve communicated in Polish ninety eight percent of the time and only sometimes thrown in a few English terms.

Poland has had its ups and downs as I have had mine over the past three years. I do like Poland, I could even go as far as saying I love Poland (at times anyway). Summer is fantastic especially when the sun is shining and its scorching – something that the locals don’t like. I love riding my bicycle along the streets and see poppies popping up in the fields or on the side of the streets. I like how the mood automatically changes from sombre to relaxed, and everyone shifts from wearing dull grey and black to clean whites and bright shades of green, blue, pink and yellow. It’s not just the flowers that start blooming but the people do to.

This blog will be changing too. I won’t be writing about my frustrations and experiences with Poland but about my journey through life, struggles and successes with language learning, travel encounters, studies and life in general regardless of my location. The name will be changing. The layout too. Once chapter ends, and another begins. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.

I have four weeks remaining in this developing and growing city that has become an important city in the European Union. It’s future can be bright as long as the church and state start behaving like adults and putting its citizens first rather than their greedy pockets. But that’s another story. In the next few weeks I’ll try to post a few ramblings about Warsaw and what it has to offer. And if you’re interested you can check out my running journey at www.runningcandid.blogspot.com

Local Elections & Some Issues

Local government election time is here again. Honestly, I haven’t been paying much attention to the candidates. The only one I know is the current Mayor of Warsaw whom I have mixed feelings about.

The current candidates from what I have overheard on the news are all making promises which they probably won’t be able to keep. It’s easy to say ‘we’re going to build new pre-schools’ or ‘vote for us and we’ll fix the crowded public transport problem’ – they’ll say anything to get people to vote for them but when push comes to shove they won’t be putting their money where their mouths are.

I’ve been living in Warsaw for the past three and a half years and there are a number of evident problems facing the city;

*litter – there’s aren’t enough rubbish bins on platforms or on the streets. Recycling bins have been placed in the city center but when the garbage collectors come they place the segregated rubbish into one pile anyway – the same thing happens to the rubbish segregated in many Polish homes. Fining people for littering could be a good option to clean up the city (and keep it clean) and raise some money to fix the budget deficit. The problem is even worse for chucking rubbish in the forest; people get fined for taking rubbish from home and putting it in a public bin but no one seems to notice when they pollute the beautiful forests.

*homelessness – it breaks my heart when I see people who should be enjoying their retirement begging on the streets, trying to make ends meet by handing out brochures or selling flowers to anyone who passes. It is sickening to see drunken men (and occasionally women) sprawled at a bus stop next to Centralna Station. Sure, the Straz Miejska gets them to move but they simply go to another bus stop or public place and the cycle repeats.

*road condition – shocking, shocking and once again shocking. A road gets fixed this week and will need repairs by next year. There are holes everywhere. I’m surprised that people haven’t tried to sue their local councils for the costs of repair due to the disgusting road conditions in some areas. Not surprising, now that election time has started road works are under way in many suburbs.

*customer service – okay it’s improving but at snail’s pace. Local council and many government offices lack in customer service skills. This may seem like a small issue in comparison to the others but when you’re trying to get something done you want to communicate with humans who are kind rather than mean spirited. A smile won’t kill them; it might even improve their day. Oh and I’m so sorry that my urgent need for documentation disturbed the gossip session you were having with your colleague.

*truancy – being a TEFL teacher I have very flexible working hours; it’s not uncommon for me to visit a café in one of the shopping centers in between lessons. I’m amazed at the amount of middle and high school students that are very likely ditching school. Uniforms would help solve this problem especially if police and straz miejska had some control and could transport these pupils back to their schools (and give them some sort of punishment – maybe a bit of community service like helping out at a homeless shelter would do the trick)

Some minor and some major issues, and that’s just a start. I know that it’s impossible to solve all the problems in society. A utopia is impossible where humans are involved, there’s always going to be someone against the system.

So, we’ll see what affects these local elections will bring. I’d like to steer towards optimism and hope that they will leave what works alone, and change what doesn’t so that it does. Simple. Isn’t it?

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail doesn’t seem to be my forte lately. I’ve been making silly mistakes which make me feel & look stupid.

I made a mistake and now I want to curl up in a dark hole somewhere and not come out. It was a serious mistake which I hope can be amended quickly; it made me look stupid and unprofessional. These things happen but they shouldn’t - not for someone who is working towards becoming a freelance writer.

There are plenty of excuses I could use for making some of these mistakes – stress, lack of time, stress again – but none of them are good enough. As a writer it is my job to provide work that is without errors, sure spelling mistakes get overlooked, a comma gets put in the wrong place – that’s forgivable – writing someone’s name inaccurately isn’t. The mistake happened because I wasn’t thorough enough before submitting the assignment. Now I’m kicking myself for being so careless.

The advice I have for myself or anyone who’s reading is not only read what you have written to check for errors but actually go through every part of your writing to ensure that it is error free. Fact check once, and fact check again. One small mistake can be costly and as a writer I or anyone else cannot afford that.