Archive for 'Culture'
Polish Independence Day Posted by Anna on Nov 12, 2008
Yesterday (November 11th) was the Polish Independence Day (Dzień Niepodległości), but according to my contact in Gdańsk, the celebrations were mostly invisible. The white and red flags appeared on street corners, but I was told that was about the extent of it. Most people were just happy to get an extra day off. And what…
Stary Piernik and Other Expressions, part 1 Posted by Anna on Nov 8, 2008
John H. came up with an excellent suggestion for a blog post and I gotta say that neither I nor my friends have ever had so much fun gathering material and doing “linguistic” research. Some of those expressions – I even forgot they existed. Like “stary piernik” for example. When translated literally, it becomes “old…
Diversity or Political Correctness? Posted by Anna on Nov 5, 2008
A while back I pledged that I wouldn’t write here about politics and religion, and for the most part, I stuck to my promise. But today, I will break it and talk about religion, albeit vaguely and not in the way you think. People abroad always think that Poland is a uniformly Catholic country. And…
All Saints’ Day in Poland Posted by Anna on Nov 2, 2008
Yesterday the entire Poland celebrated the holiday of All Saints’ Day (Wszystkich Świętych) and initially, I wasn’t going to write about it. I’ve always found this occasion to be totally and utterly depressing, regardless of how beautiful all those flickering candles may look. There is something about it that I just can’t wrap my mind…
Unfortunate Polish Menu Translations Posted by Anna on Oct 28, 2008
Though I am no longer in Gdańsk, I will keep writing about it until either I run out of things to say, or you, my dear readers – get bored. I didn’t go to Hel this time, but no worries, I’m returning to Poland in about three weeks to pick up my ID card (dowód…
Reporting From Gdańsk, part 2 Posted by Anna on Oct 25, 2008
I feel terribly uncouth and totally under-dressed. These women here walk on cobblestones in heels. HIGH heels. And then there’s me with my sensible walking shoes (read: hiking boots). I can’t walk in heels even on a regular smooth sidewalk, and just imagining the ordeal of walking on cobblestones gives me instant foot and back…
Reporting From Gdańsk Posted by Anna on Oct 22, 2008
Al from the Polish-American Genealogy blog, which by the way is a great resource for anyone interested in tracing their Polish roots, tagged me with the 10 Years Ago tag… I’m not much for blog tags and normally ignore them, but how could I say “no” to a fellow Kashub (“Kaszub” in Polish)? I couldn’t…