{"id":153,"date":"2008-08-01T12:22:38","date_gmt":"2008-08-01T16:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=153"},"modified":"2008-08-01T12:22:38","modified_gmt":"2008-08-01T16:22:38","slug":"from-chopin-to-szarlotka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/from-chopin-to-szarlotka\/","title":{"rendered":"From Chopin to Szarlotka"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019m always very surprised when I hear that people with absolutely no prior connection to Poland want to learn Polish. It\u2019s one thing when someone has Polish roots, or a Polish name, or a polish spouse, or plans to move there. But it\u2019s completely another when someone wants to learn Polish \u201cjust because.\u201d Just because they think Polish is a beautiful language, or just because they love Chopin. And it really does happen!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s happened today, as a matter of fact. I got a phone call from my old friend in Japan. He\u2019s not Polish, he\u2019s very much Japanese. So he woke me up (hello! Forgot about the time difference!) and said:
\n\u201cAn acquaintance at work wants to rearn Porish. Can you help her?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

How dude? How? I\u2019m a few thousands miles away!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no probrem. She aready takes a class in Tokyo, but needs more practice.\u201d<\/em> And then in a very uncharacteristically assertive for a Japanese way he added, \u201cI gave her your contact info,\u201d<\/em> and hung up.<\/p>\n

I rolled over and went back to sleep. And then I promptly woke up.<\/p>\n

What? They have Polish classes in Tokyo? Since when??? People in Japan actually want to learn Polish? For what? Some things are just those great mysteries of life, and I guess this is one of them.<\/p>\n

I decided to wait for Atsuko (the Japanese lady who I was going to have Polish conversation lessons with) and ask her what the deal was. I was really very curious, because it was exactly the fifth time this week, and since today\u2019s Friday, it means that about once a day I heard that someone over in Asia was busy learning Polish. Seemingly for no particular reason at all.<\/p>\n

When Atsuko did call, I flooded her with questions, in Japanese \u2013 just to be on the safe side. And here\u2019s the scoop:<\/p>\n

As always, it had all started with Chopin. As many Japanese, Atsuko had learned to play the piano and fell in love with Chopin\u2019s music. A couple of years ago she traveled to Poland, toured the country and her love of the music morphed into the love of all things Polish, including szarlotka<\/strong>. She has been studying Polish for two years now, and finally was ready to test her language abilities with a real Pole, and that would be me.<\/p>\n

I asked her if learning Polish was a popular hobby in Japan, because I surely never came across it during my days in the Land of Hello Kitty.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes,\u201d<\/em> Atsuko assured me, \u201cthere are 30 people in my class.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And then she very politely demanded a recipe for szarlotka<\/strong> that can be made in a Japanese kitchen using Japanese ingredients. And because I felt really bad admitting that szarlotka<\/strong> is not my strong point when it comes to baking (I\u2019m more of a Vienna cheesecake \u2013 sernik wiede\u0144ski<\/a><\/strong> kinda gal), I told her I would do my best to find something suitable for her.
\nAnd this is what Atsuko had to say about Poland:<\/p>\n