Poles influence on Australian society and culture - school assignment

hi everyone,
I am in year 11 at school and in my 'society and culture' class i have been given an assignment where i must compare the impact on communication by culture in one country (which i have chosen Poland) to Australian culture. I need to interview someone and collect some primary data so if anyone has a few spare minutes during this week or the next it would be GREATLY appreciated. Please just reply to this thread.

Thanks,
Luke

You don't live in Adelaide by any chance do you?

no sorry, sydney

Well I live in Adelaide, but was born in Poland and recently travelled in the country-part of my family lives there, so I am very familiar with all things Polish. If you won’t to PM me with all the questions or sent me an email-if that is the format you prefer, I would very happy to answer your questions. (Unless of course the person you are looking for must reside in Poland)

Cheers.

yeah that would be great:
ill post the questions on here in the next few days and then if you are unable to answer some, other people could help out

ok the first few questions are:

Q1) how do the people of Poland communitcate their
a) identity
b) customs
c) values
d) gender
In a way that is unique to other cultures

Q2) How do children or migrants learn the Polish culture? (e.g. experience, observation)

Q3) In your time both in Australia and Poland, what they main differences in culture you have noticed?

Thanks, i will let you know if any more questions come up

OK I will give it a go, although I have to say because the questions are quite general in nature the answers will me quite general in reply and probably applicable to many different nationalities.

a) Identity is a very personal thing, and many different people will manifest their identities in many different ways. Although some individuals will have variations of the same identity, most people will somewhat differ as to their identity. This is partly the result of the fact that life experience often shapes identity, and no two individuals will have identical life experiences. for instance as a Polish migrant who has lived the vast majority of his life outside of Poland I have a somewhat different identity to someone who has lived their entire life in Poland.

b) Customs are broadly similar for Polish individuals living in Poland. Most of them would be based around the catholic calendar, church holidays, saints days etc. Other customs are based around national holidays, such as Constitution day-celebrating the 3 May 1791 Constitution, the Warsaw Uprising, and independence day. Some customs tend to take on a folkloric aspect on some occasions, when individuals dress up in regional dress-Polish highlander, Krakowiak etc.

c) Values are quite personal, although if i had to generalize i would say that Poles tend to share strong family values, respect for their elders etc. Respect for the nation and a deep reverence for the sacrifice many individuals paid for Poland's independence, at various stages of Poland's history.

g) In terms of Gender, I guess they are no different to the way people express their gender here in Australia.

2) Mostly through interaction with other Poles.

3) I wouldn't say that there would be any obvious differences, apart from the fact that Australians tend to be more laid back, Poles tend to be more practicing when it comes to their religion. I guess one cultural difference that does stand out is the multicultural composition of Australia in comparison to Poland which is very homogeneous. I would also say that Australians tend to take their sport more seriously than Poles-although I am sure there are exceptions to the rule.

I hope you edit out the typos. If you have any more specific questions let me know. You will also find that if you are looking for any specific information some of the threads on this forums will be quite helpful-there is a lot of stuff covered, some of it very relevant to what you are looking for. what made you choose Poland in the first place?

hey mate, thanks for that. havent been able to reply for some reason. yeah had a look around, soke realy useful stuff. got any ideas on continuity and change in polish culture or possibly on any unique non-verbal communication processes?

Merged: Polonia Day - How do you think we should celebrate in Australia?

Happy Polonia Day to all Polish people living abroad! I just realized there is a designated Polonia Day. How do you think we should celebrate?

Vodka & Kielbasa