What Americans think will happen when they visit Poland

9 comments

1. Amazing

2. The video is geolocked :/

3. Well since you’re wondering, “half-Polish” Canadian here, still lurking to see if Poland is safe enough to eat my favourite soup of China in.

   I’ve been casually “learning” the language somewhat half-assedly through mostly smartphone apps, which is unsurprisingly not going too great, and I have the forms to apply for confirmation of citizenship lying around on my desk, waiting for me to get some spare time to work out what I need to do to fill them out.

   I’ve also been to Poland twice on vacation. I had quite a lot of fun and really enjoyed myself. Knowing that nobody gives a fuck where my grandparents are from, I kept that to myself. Malbork Castle was probably my favourite place to visit. I’m hoping I can go back with some degree of regularity and see more of the country. Poznań in particular had a lot of things I want to see, but didn’t have the time to last time I was there. Maybe one day I’ll even be able to order food at a restaurant in Polish.

   I greatly regret not learning Polish when I was younger now. My grandparents tried, but I told them not to bother. Even half-assedly “learning” it now, I really wish I hadn’t done that. Even considering the limitations I’d have had from learning it from my grandparents, whose Polish was stuck in the ’40s, it’d have been way easier for me now to learn it properly if I had a foundation in it from when I was a kid.

   Also, I learned how to make bigos. Can’t be “whatever-Polish” without overemphasizing the food.

   Anyways, I know you were probably being sarcastic, but whatever. Poland was a very interesting, fun, and even educational country to visit, and I hope to go back to see more of it.

4. Poznan has things worth seeing? That’s a first. Hit me up if you ever visit the capital of pyra!

5. I’m sorry to tell you guys, but the onslaught of Polish-Americans has only begun. Italy and Ireland have decades of experience dealing with Irish/Italian-Americans. As knowledge of Poland actually being a pretty cool place to visit becomes more and more common, you’ll have more and more American tourists that have some tiny piece of Polish ancestry, have very little understanding of Polish history, expect to see communism or trad-Caths, etc.

   My advice- as annoying as it might be, just be nice about it and take their money.

6. Realistically, I’ll be considered a tourist; I don’t know the language, the only thing that I know of country is where my grandfather was a child before getting placed in a German camp. Once the family was liberated, they all moved to America and assimilated. We only kept a few traditions, which I can’t tell if they came from nor how to spell any of the phrases I know how to say “Voz iz loz” (absolutely butchering that one)?

   I would be nice to see “where I came from”, but I also spent a considerable amount of time living in a beach town, so I’ve seen a fair share of tourists. They bring money in, but there’s always those little annoyances like not knowing where things are. I just worry I’d get “in the way” and be the stereotypical ignorant American tourist.

7. I really hope to meet members of my family, but I also know that anyone who meets me will think they know a lot more about Americans than they think.

8. I’m one of those!
   Well, I’m a Polish citizen (my parents are both born in Poland), but I’ve only been there once 30 years ago.

   As for the language, I spoke it at home as a child, but lost it now….

9. I’m half Irish, half Polish. Second/first generation American. What it boils down to is that how the person is in the video is truly just American culture. America commodifies everything, so substance is usually just not there. Americans like to act like we’re better than everyone and have a better understanding of things than we actually do. I would even say most Americans feel like they “own” most things and can be quite entitled. 

   However, to say that your family origins have nothing to do with your circumstances and have zero impact on your worldview is wrong. Of course, it is dependent on how long your family has been in the states, etc. 

   In Chicago, the polish and Irish communities are very strong and rooted. But to go somewhere and think you’re special or kin is kind of a ridiculous notion. 

   Language is really important. But for the Irish Gaelic is not very well-known even in Ireland due to British occupation. 

   Everything is a crapshoot. Being humble and open-minded enough to understand we have a different experience is necessary. No one chooses to be born where they are, but it’s important to understand how that creates your lens of reality. 

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