Help my son with a school assignment on Poland

Hello! My 11 year old son has a school project due at the end of this month. It's an extensive report on a country for their International Bazaar function. He picked Poland and has a list of things he has to do for this project. Like I need to make a Polish food, as a second generation Polish-American that isn't hard. We are going to make Poczke.

However, one of the things my son must do is exchange some email or letters with a person in Poland to ask questions about what things are like in that country. Would anyone mind writing a few emails about Poland to maybe practice English and help a young man in the process? Please reply here if you are willing to help out with this project. Thank you!

-Julie & Daniel

It is a great idea and a great learning project.
Perhaps, someone who lives in Poland has a younger brother or sister, a nephew or a young cousin who would be happy to exchange emails. Lots of kids know enough English to communicate. It would be a good practice for them as well as it would be at the same level.

This website has a lot of mature subjects and language, too much for 11 year old to come across. Well, just a thought. :)

"This website has a lot of mature subjects and language, too much for 11 year old to come across. "

That's why I'm posting and he's sleeping because he has school in the morning. Yes, my son would be willing to tell what it is like in Indiana, USA too in exchange. He likes to play soccer so that's a good start when wanting to make friends with Europeans. :)

I hope you'll get some good responds from Poland tomorrow. They are sleeping now. :)
Who knows, the kids may become friends for life!

hahahahaha
The Americans are holding up the fort now! But when we are still sleeping, the Europeans will be having fun!

Have you forgotten the big australian:)

Australia is really cool. But everything in Australia is backwards. Even the mammals lay eggs!Someday I'll go and visit you lef!!
ooops, hijacked the topic again.

lol... just call us the natives down under!
Most welcome any time, just don't forget to be bring a boomerang and spears to catch some of these mammals! We do things differently here.

P.S.. I bet you have plenty of wombats in the states(the human ones), the ones that eats, roots, and leaves,hmmmmmm.

A Koala walks into a bar and orders some food. Suddenly people hear gun shots, everyone is running and the Koala walks out. They ask the bartender what happened? he says :"The Koala walked into the bar, eats shoots and leaves"

Koalas are cool.

Yeah, I suppose they have more morals than the wombat.

good one.

I have a pair of emus. They lay eggs in the middle of the winter here and the male hatches them out and takes care of them. Talkin about another backwards animal.

But at least it's the female who lays the eggs and she's not a mammal!

Krysia do you live in a zoo, horse/dogs/emus what else have you got?

jeezz listen to you guys, someone's trying to seek assistance for their school project and you lot start sharing wombat koala jokes...you're mad the lot of you ...lol

Anyway I though the eat, shoots and leaves was a joke with sexual content...er..nevermind.
What about Varsovian, his kids I think could be of a similar age and he always seems to be trying to broaden their horizons, damn it where is he?

Julie if you can track down Varsovian (his onscreen nick), he may well be of help.

so did i but didnt want to mention it... pandas i seem to remember...

Hi Julie...sure hope someone can help your son with this project. Sorry I can't help you since I don't have any family members in Poland that could be of assistance.

Excactly something about Panda's buggering wombats or noshing Koala's.... christ I do hope that 11 year old doesn't read this....mind you Lef is always on this site. lol

I can't help your son, but I'm also from Indiana (I live in Indy). What part of the state do you live?

Angelia

Angelia,

I'm north of Ft. Wayne. Not many Polish people here like there were in Michigan and I get to hear the name of a Polish General slaughtered by these people almost every night on the local news because they can't pronounce Kosciuszko. Do you like it down in Indy? I've been in Indiana for 12 years now and it hasn't gotten any better.

Basically, all we need for the report is an email or two from someone in Poland telling us what it is like there to attach to the poster board along with his report and other things from this big list the teacher gave us. Doesn't have to be from a child but like Eurola said that would be nice. We have till the end of the month to finish the assignment so it's not something that needs to be done right now right at this moment.

I am a second generation Polish-American, my maiden name was Krawczak. My family doesn't have anyone left from Poland as we have lost them all over the years just some of the first generation Americans left and my generation. My son is of the third generation and I think it's good he is learning some of our past. He already loves Polish food which I still make with the old family recipes.

Julie & Daniel

lol:)

OK. Since nobody is helping you I will say what I know.
I'm not in Poland anymore but I grew up in Warsaw and Krakow, where I attended schools.
They don't have school buses in Poland because they have good transportation like tramways and buses. Many people walk and spend time waiting for buses. I lived in Warsaw in a high-rise building ( budynek) and I walked to school there because it was close by. Students share a desk with another, unlike in the US where they have their own desk. Start up times are different in every school (Usually in high-schools) because they all have different classes and the last class ends at different times. They are more strict in Polish schools and demand more from you.

There are a lot of little grocery stores everywhere and kiosks called "budki ruchu" where you can but everything from newspapers, post-cards, toys, books to bus tickets.

Heating type in the apartments is done through hot water (kaloryfery) and most floors there are wooden. Homes outside the city are built primarily from cement blocks (pustaki) and most have a fenced in yard. Rarely you see a wooden home, unless it's in the Zakopane region, where they have their own distinct way of building with peaked roofs.

Popular polish foods are gołąbki (cabbage rolls), bigos, pierogi, kopytka and the soups, salads and vegetables are out of this world. Not even mentioning the pastry! Pączki taste different than in the US unless you buy them in a polish store, but still better in Poland. They don't bakes pies like in America, they make 'placki" with fruits and tortes. Hazelnuts are very popular in tortes and candies.

Mushroom picking is a huge event every September. Most Poles know their mushrooms and dry them or marinate them or turn them into delicious mushroom soups.

There are lots of long-coat German Shepherds (I'll be getting one soon), dachshunds, ratlers, poodles and gaining popularity are the ugly pit-bulls. At dog shows in Poland they get medals, in the US they get ribbons.

All female first names end with the letter "a", if the last name ends in a "ski", it is for a male, "ska" is for female.

Poland has many castles and ruins full of history, many old churches and beautiful architecture. They keep building more and more churches, while in America they are shutting down more and more ( at least in Wisconsin)

They celebrate Christmas and Easter like in the US but not Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Labor Day or Memorial Day. They do have Nov. 1-st "zaduszki" similair to memorial day, where masses are performed in the cemeteries and prayers for the dead are recited. It is a very popular holiday and people burn candles (znicze). The cemetaries are totally different than in the US. They are not flat but are raised above the ground like a tomb made from marble (marmur) those who have the money, and people plant flowers or whatever they want on them.

I can write more if you want.

KRYSIA

Well done, I'm proud of you, good response.

Thank you lef. I won't even mention their toilet sand-paper. ouch!

I'm sure sure things are getting better.

double ouch!

Krysia,

Thank you! That was wonderful and full of information that my son can use for his report. Your post will help educate a class of 5th Graders in Indiana about Poland. Gold Star for you today! You are very helpful and nice but I bet you knew that already?

-Julie & Daniel

I'll have the little guy post in the morning with any specific questions he might have. He's already read some books on Poland to prepare for the 14 page report he's going to have to write too.

I found that bit about the mushroom picking interesting as I did a lot of mushroom and berry picking with my grandparents and parents while growing up. I didn't know that was a Polish tradition, I always thought it was just a Michigan tradition. I'll have to take him mushroom picking and teach him which ones are the good ones like Morels and Stumpers. I have already taught him about berries from summer hikes and wintergreen berries in the fall.

In this part of Indiana, there are few trees and even fewer forests mostly farm fields here. My people were from the Zakopane region so we have a natural liking for trees. So I take him back home to Michigan to my beloved trees and huge Lake Huron. He's into the beaches, finding freshwater snail and clam shells and collects many pretty rocks that he must bring home with him. I've found a use for those to decorate the herb garden.

We are going to make Pączki as our Polish food to share as I got that family recipe from my Lithuanian aunt who grew up in a Polish neighborhood and is married to my 1st generation Polish-American uncle. I also got some decorated eggs from her that I'm going to copy the designs onto wooden eggs because I don't trust the kids handling the delicate originals. Her mother made these so I don't want them damaged. Those are going to be his display.

Thanks again!

You very much welcome. Here's more:
They have different note-books in Poland than in the US, they are not spiral-bound and a little bit smaller. They don't have lockers but carry their books home or leave them in their desks. They have a "szatnia" where you take your coat and boots off and put other shoes on and a "woźna" who tends to it and keeps it clean and in order. Some schools have a "świetlica" where before or after school they spend their time either waiting for a parent to pick them up, play or do homework. They have lunches and sometimes serve boiled milk. It comes in bottles and they warm it up, but you can also get cold milk. Every school is different. I went to a school in Warsaw and in a wieś by Krakow then 2 other high-schools in Kraków. They have specialized high-schools. If you are talented - like I was - I attented an Art High school ( Liceum Sztuk Plastycznych) my sisters were into music so they attended Szkoła Muzyczna my brother was a brain so he attended the Liceum Fizyczne which is a high-school geared towards physics and astronomy. I also attended a Catholic High-school tought by nuns. Most nuns wear the habit and they can be very mean and strict.

The drivers are impatient and they like to honk their horns a lot, they like to speed and you can park on either side of the street and you can even drive up on the sidewalk to park. Some parkings you have to pay for. They don't have parking meters but they do have a booth where you can purchase a ticket and stick it inside your window to show that you paid.

American movies are very Popular in Poland. They come out at the same time as in the US and they are either translated by putting letters on the bottom of the movie, by dubbing- changing their voices into Polish or directly talking over the English words.

They make very good movies too in Poland, but they don't show them in the US. Not fair, unless you live in Chicago or other large Polish area.

They have new large grocery stores, one of the most popular is Tesco where you can buy everything, similair to a Super-Walmart in the US. And there is plenty food and items. They have big department stores, clothing stores with European styles and also private stands where American clothing is very popular. They have "bazary" like a market where you can buy fresh vegetables, clothes and other neat stuff.

More good stuff Krysia!

I went to a Catholic school myself at a Polish parish in Michigan. We used to call the nuns "penguins" but never to their faces! They treated me like royalty because of my cousin was a priest in that diocese and the diocese next to us, the Monsignor was my great uncle. I think they actually kind of feared me especially after Sister Charlotte got removed from teaching at the insistance of the Monsignor. I told him some of the crazy things she was doing and he showed up on Grandparents day for me because Grandpa had died and that was it....she was reduced to a housekeeper at the convent after that. Sister Charlotte should have retired years ago. The replacement nun was wonderful! I'll always remember Sister Lynn Anne, a wonderful teacher. My Grandfather on the Irish side died quite young so his brother the Monsignor filled in that role for us. It was kind of funny being the only one with a Monsignor on Grandparents Day at school or like graduation where I had the Monsignor and my cousin the priest giving me my diploma and a big hug while the principal gave out the diplomas to the other students.

Fr. Richard gave the benediction at my public high school graduation and I got called into the office to ask if it was ok with me if I got my diploma from him because he requested to do so. The very next day I got called to the office again as the principal got a call from the Monsignor to say he would be attending and asked if he could give me my diploma as it was "family tradition". First he asked how it was possible for me to have a Monsignor as a Grandpa. "Aren't they suppose to be celibate?" So I explained that.

That's cool! My two aunts from Poland were nuns. One went to Italy and tought Italian children, the other went to England. But they resigned because there were injustices and ill-treatment going on (probably unhappy because never had a man) and some nuns get a big head when in charge.

Thanks! I'll tell you about Indiaina after school ok?

Dan

Well unlike most of the USA Indy uses sugar on EVERYTHING from ice tea [yuck] to chili. It ruins it! Houses range from mobile homes to big wooden framed houses from the 1800s. In Auburn, we have the Auburn-Cord-Dusenburg festival and the Kruse Car Auction which attracts people from all over. We also have many museums like War Birds Airplane museum, the World War II museum, Auburn-Cord-Dusenburg Museum and the Car and Truck museum so if you like cars especially old ones or are interested in World War II, my town is the place for you. This area was settled mostly by German people so not many Polish here except for my Mom. My Dad's family came from Prussia so they were neighbors of your ancestors at one time.

People who live in Indiana are called Hoosiers. They were called that because in Southern Indiana people have accents similar to those in Kentucky. When they answered the door they would say "Who's there?" but it sounded more like "Hoosier?" I don't understand why some people would be proud of that name but they are. Basketball is a big sport here even though I and many of the younger kids prefer to play soccer in the summer leagues.

Dan

More Questions On Poland

I need more info on houses like...are those cement houses big/small how many rooms are there usually? I do need to write about what the houses are like for my report. Also is there a nick name for Poles?

Dan