USA, Canada /
Life in Poland as a Polish heritage American [3]
Hi.
I tried to get to know Poland by studying for one semester at the Academy of Fine Arts. It was a pleasant experience but I got a lot more out of a combination of efforts:
1. Learning the language
2. Learning about the history (especially WWII and Communism)
3. Going to social events (film festivals, industry groups, clubs etc.)
4. Forcing oneself to watch tv in Polish, see Polish movies, and listen to Polish music.
If you do all these during your year of study, you'll get more than if you just hang out with people from school.
Polish people tend to care what country your were born but in what city. For example if you are from the USA but your parents were born in Warsaw you have a slightly easier time than if you are from the USA and your parents were from villages or small towns. Again I am not being scientific here, so you just have to play it by ear.