American Muslim girl thinking to go to Medical school in Poland...

Hey, everyone.

I am considering going to med school in Poland, and I just wanted to know what I should expect. I heard that there are many skinhead bigots there. Is that really true? Should I be worried? Thanks

Hello emoh,
And welcome to the Polish Forum.
Where did you here such things?
Perhaps you should introduce yourself.

and maybe even sign up to this site, eh?

hi
Racism is not a big problem in Poland. You should be carefull in some places but it is everywhere the same. Nazi skinheads are b..rds and it does not matter where. I think that the situation in POland is much better then in Germany. I live in UK in small town and here I have seen few skins for the first time in England.

If you are openminded you would enjoy your study in Poland.
Regards
Jarek

i guess it depends on where you are in poland just as in the usa. people in big cities are more open minded

do what your heart says girl. Don't listen to others who will put you down.

I don't think you're going to have to deal with skinhead idiots while going to med school.

But if you happen to dress too different from the crowd, people are going to accost you or shout out stupid comments about you in the streets. The best thing to do is to ignore them.

Do you wear a kerchief or any traditional clothes?

Thanks, for the welcome. I appreciate it.

When I told my family/friends/and co-workers about my intentions to pursue my MD degree in Poland, they told me that it was not such a good idea. They all had the same things to say about the people Poland...that they were racists, etc., et.,.

I guess in my original post, I left out an important info about me, and that is the fact that I am an AFRICAN American. I dont know if that makes any difference, but if it does let me know. I dont want to head over there and then find out that I am like the only Black person there, and as a result get treated differently.

The school that I am considering is Medical university of Lodz. If anyone knows anything about Lodz that would be important for me to know, please share with me. Thanks

Switezianka,

Yes, I wear traditional Islamic clothing (headscarf, skirts, and or long dress shirts and pants).

Hi emoh,
Nice to make your acquaintance.
I am Irish and I live south of Krakow in Poland.
I am not qualified to answer your question.
I can only recommend certain things,

1) Come over here for a visit first.
2) Some of the people on this forum do not know Poland now.
3) When doing anything for the first time, try to be positive.
(I understand your worry because of what people have said to you).

I wish you luck in your decision and let us know how you get on and what you do and why.

There might be a problem. Not at Medical Uni, where idiots have no access, but in the streets, shops etc. - it can be irritating. There aren't too many non-white people in Poland, so you're going to attract attention, anyway; and people can be very rude to people who wear clothes that are different from average. So you must be prepared to be stared at, called names etc.

I live in £ódź, so if you've got any specific questions, PM me.

Why dont she wear normal cloths... like full skirts...of jeans... or pants.... there are good polite and less showy cloths in Poland too! ... I mean... why you need to look like a martian on the street. But if that is what you prefer... I think you should be ready for some attention. Its natural too isnt it?


:) ... me too


Why on Earth... :s ... you can get better in USA!!!

Natural? I can't see any justification for verbal abuse or taunts just because someone looks different. It's natural to pay attention or to peep at somebody who looks interesting, but people don't limit themselves to staring.

I'd like to see more 'martians' in Polish streets. What I love about UK cities was the fact that people wear whatever they want in the streets - alternative fashion, ethnic clothing; Pakistani women with their beautiful colourful gowns, traditional African clothes, anything, Muslim women in burkahs - and nobody pays attention. In Poland it's enough to wear a hat to provoke taunts.

Polish fashion is not that bad.Not at all I think.

I have seen some african female students in traditional african clothing in Lodz, but most of the time they walk together as gang.lol Don't worry girl there would be plenty of foreign students in medical university from around the globe. You won't have problems unless You plan on going for excursion in small towns alone :D

Or to Limanka, Koziny, Widzew or any other blokowisko in £ódź.

Yeah, You're right. don't come girl :D

With all possible respect, what makes you qualified to say these things?

My experience.

I do not understand, you are not giving away much with that very short statement.

When I walk down the road here, people do not notice me because I look northern European.
I say I am not qualified to answer her question because I do not stand out much.
Do you stand out here?
Do you think here would be worse for emoh than where she is?

I live in £ódź and I'm a goth, so I know where and how people react to individuals who dress different. I have several years' experience in standing out in Poland; I also know other people who look different and their experiences.

I even don't dress in a shocking way (usually). I used to wear more fancy clothes, but now I've got tired of it. People sometimes get at me just because I wear a big hat or a long black coat. You don't need much to attract attention and provoke aggression.

I've never paraded in traditional Muslim clothing but I know one thing: the more you stand out, the more irritating the taunts get. It's something one can't cope with, but it might be a bit of a culture shock for someone who comes from a multicultural society. That's why I'm writing about it.

hey emoh. i come from the states and although i am not black i grew up in a mixed neighborhood. I live in warsaw not lodz. my friends from lodz tell me there are some africans there in medical school concerning you not being the only black person. of course you will stand out in a almost exclusively white catholic nation. it doesnt mean you will be harassed or bothered any more than if you were in the white parts of the states. I met a turkish girl here in warsaw who wore the head scarf and she was in school and seemed to like it here just fine. Personally I think you would be better off in warsaw as there are substantially more foreigners here but I am a bit biased

Fair enough :)

I suppose we would need to know more about how life is for emoh, where she is.
Too often people who are different get picked on.

I like gothic appearance.

What's normal to you might not be normal to me. We are all different.

tnx, I wish more folks see things like you.

agree...

I finally decided that I am going to Poland to study medicine. I will be there for about 4 or so years (not including summers, and breaks). I have decided against Lodz, instead I am going to school in Katowice. Does anyone know more about that city? Once again, I will ask the same question, will I be the only Black person there? Thanks

my cousin study medicine in Katowice on the Silesian University. He told me that there are many foreign studens of different colours ( of benetton ;) )from all around the world ( mainly americans and scandinavians).

isn't it 6 years? or different rules?

Awesome...glad to hear that.

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[quote=pgtx]
isn't it 6 years? or different rules?[/quote

6 years if you do your 2 years of clinicals in Poland but students from the US can choose to do their clinicals in the US.

You won't be the only black person there but you will be in an even smaller minority than you would be in Lodz. And Katowice is not as nice a town as Lodz.

Personally I'd say that you're going to get a lot more hassle because you're a muslim than you will because you're black. Last week I was on the tram and saw three teenage boys spitting on a woman who was wearing a headscarf. This was in the very centre of Warsaw. From what I'm told by the few non-white people I know in Poland, Warsaw is a lot better than other places in Poland when it comes to racism.