What about mindset? Polish people and atheism.

I gonna study in Poland, Warsaw in catholic school for girls.
I know, that they happy to people of all religions & also atheism (like me). But how u, polish, concern to atheists? Is it OK for ya? And what about morals? Can I joke about death or god? Is it OK between friends? Or u don't like black humor? It's very important for me, 'cause I gonna live there, & in my country I haven't got any problems with such topics.

sorry for my english

The question is, why would you go to a Catholic school for girls if you are an atheist, to make fun of them? There's this wise Polish saying - "jeśli wejdziesz między wrony, musisz krakać jak one" (when in Rome, do as the Romans do) - that may save you and others unnecessary stress or disappointments.

You want to exercise some restraint while you are learning how the system here works. Don't joke about death or god with teachers, it's okay with your fellow students when you know them a little better (or you hear them do the same).

Outside the school it's a mixed bag. Most Polish people respect the church as an institution that helped them survive the terrible ordeals of soviet domination and communism. I've known religious people into black humor and atheists who aren't into it so you'll need to go one by one.

Well I should imagine it's her parents who are sending her there, that's why.

As for jokes about God etc, firstly your peer group will be young people so they will be a mixed bunch, like all young Catholics. Some will have a sense of humour about religious topics, some won't. You can't generalise about things like that. As Nathans says 'when in Rome'. Take your cue from how others behave as to what's acceptable and what isn't.

Anyway, if I were you I'd be be more concerned about how I'll find the curriculum, the academic standards and what will be expected of me by my teachers, whether the other students will be nice, will I make friends etc. Just concern yourself with all the usual, normal things you would at any new school and forget about the religious aspect. But most definitely, don't make fun of things like prayers or other practices that seem odd to you etc during your first couple of weeks. It would just come across as very rude and ignorant. Keep your fat yap shut and you'll do fine :))

If she were your age then she might worry about those things.... did you worry about them when you were school age?

Well I went to a Catholic girls' school Maf so yes, you didn't have much choice really, a lot was expected of you, even if you weren't overburdened with brains :) But actually it would concern any teenager, especially if they're lazy. 'Oh God, I wonder if they'll give loads of homework, will I have to take Maths, can I give up geography, always hated it' and they might wonder about what sports the school offers, you know that kind of thing.

Well in Poland catholic schools don't necessarily have the same reputation for discipline and academic standards that they do in the US (and apparently Ireland).

Here many catholic schools are dumping grounds for rejects from other schools. I had a friend (catholic school survivor) who accepted a job at a high school run by nuns and thought at least she wouldn't have to waste too much time disciplining students - and she was wroooong. The Polish nuns were very understanding about the students various hijinx and misbehavior. She finally quit when the _nuns_ wanted her to look the other way while an entire class flagrantly cheated on a test.

There are some good catholic schools too but "catholic school" is not a high end brand in Poland the way it is in some countries.

Yes I know what you mean Maf. I was just saying that I would expect a teenager to be worrying about other things than whether her sense of humour will be accepted. This is an interesting link for the OP:

nazaretanki.edu.pl/eng

What strikes me as amusing is how it's suggested that wearing a uniform teaches students to focus on more important things than 'nail polish and skirts'. We did every possible thing to 'customize' our uniforms. The lay staff didn't take any notice of things like purple knee socks instead of regulation black or grey so the challenge was sneaking into school wearing them and getting through the day without being spotted by a NUN :) And yes, we wore nail polish, light colours to be less noticeable and mascara of course and lip gloss, you wouldn't even notice it but we KNEW we were wearing it and getting away with breaking the rules, that was the fun!

Oh eM Gee!!! What a thrilling story!!! Please tell us more about it! Gonna grab some popcorn so i won't bite my fingernails coz of all the excitement!

"Urzekła mnie twoja historia"

Well everything is relative you know Notty. Dodging past the princpal's office in your purple socks was pretty exciting for a fourteen year old girl back in the dark ages :)) Now my mother went to a boarding school and when they were juniors (under sixteen) they had a nun sleeping in the dormitory with them - horrors. She slept in a separate cubicle so they couldn't actually see her, but Mum said they gave each other a buckie up as the Scots say, so that they could see over the top of the partition and find out whether she was bald under the veil. They were most disappointed to find that she was wearing a sort of cap on her head so they were none the wiser!