How long have I been obsessed with Poland?
Despite being at least the 3rd generation born in America, all of my ancestors are Polish. Two of my great-grandparents were born in Poland, as well as most of my great-great-grandparents.
When we were growing up, everyone in the family told us we were Polish and that we should be very proud. Particularly, my father's father used to stress this fact. When we would say, "I'm hungry," he'd respond with, "No, you're Polish." ;-)
My grandfather's influence has always stuck with me and I have been obsessed with Poland for as long as I can remember.
Recently, when he was cleaning out his attic, my grandfather found a paper I had written for school in 1993 when I was only 9 years old. Until he gave me this, I didn't know that I'd been obsessed with Poland for that long!
Read more to read the actual paper!
School paper
Apparently, I had a school assignment to interview my grandfather and write a paper. I don't know what I was supposed to interview him about, but we talked about Poland.
Scans
Click to see a bigger image!
Transcript
I interviewed my grandpa. He is a very determined man. When he wants something he won't stop until he gets it. He is also very intelligent because he has been around so long.
My grandpa's family left Poland because there were no jobs. When they got to America, they went to St. Louis. When his mom was 3 years old they decided to go to Milwaukee by train. After his mom eleven more children were born. This means their family consisted of 9 girls and 3 boys.
My grandpa's family continued to practice some of their customs after they came to America. However, the only ones grandpa can remember are Easter and Christmas. His family also continued practicing their religion. Their religion was Catholic and still is. Some of my relatives are very devout Catholics. My grandpa remembers his family celebrating Polish holidays but he can't remember what they are anymore.
The father of my grandpa took care of horses that pulled carriages for a rich man. His family was poor but it wasn't hard because everyone was poor. I know I said they came to America but that was the main reason. The other reason was they couldn't find enough food.
The father of my grandpa came to America in a coal-powered steamship. It took approximately a month to get to America. They took just a little food and money. They left a little less than 100% of their belongings behind.
Food is a very good thing to have in Poland. Normally, Polish people would eat cabbage soup. Cabbage soup is the most popular food in Poland. On a special occasion or holiday, Polish people eat chicken soup. In Poland, you can grow everything you can grow in Wisconsin. Foods that are good for planting in Poland are apple and pear trees.
I love my grandpa very much. He can make some boring things fun, such as watching football on T.V.
Hilarious!
Some of my favorite quotes include:
- "He is also very intelligent because he has been around so long."
- "His family was poor but it wasn't hard because everyone was poor."
- "Food is a very good thing to have in Poland."
English
Polski
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It's great that your family kept cultivating Polish customs after moving to USA.
BTW, that chicken soup is called rosół. In most Polish houses it is served every Sunday for the first course. Have you ever eaten it? Some people believe that it is a good hangover remedy;)
Yes, but not recently! The first time I was in Poland I tried it but all the subsequent times I have been a vegetarian and I don't eat chicken soup or rosół anymore. :-)
Regards,
David.
Rosół is very important soup for Poles. I have a tip for people which will going to drink with us "wódka";)
If you know that you are going to polish party, remember to drink ~1 hour earlier a cup of hot rosół or barszcz (borscht). This may help you avoid stomach problems ;)
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Rosół jest bardzo ważna zupą dla nas - polaków. Mam wskazówkę dla osób, które będą z nami pić wódkę ;)
Jeżeli wiesz, że będziesz szedł na polską impreze, pamiętaj by wypić jakąś godzinę wcześniej kubek gorącego rosołu lub barszczu. To może Ci pomóc uniknąć problemów żąłądkowych ;)
yes, I remember that you are vegetarian, and you are don't drink an alcohol, but you always can share this tip with friends ;)
Przypadkiem trafiłam na ten blog. Gratuluję! Wiem, jak trudno nauczyć się tak dobrze polskiego.
Pozdrawiam!
Agnieszka
[...] the language of your ancestors! That's why I started learning Polish. (I've talked about it in Polish [...]
Jeej w wieku 9 lat miał pan ładniejsze pismo niż ja teraz :P
Nie wiem, czy to widać w skanach ale bardzo dużo "wymazałem" (nie wiem jak to powiedzieć po polsku, po angielsku "erased"?) i znowu napisałem. Na pewno było z powodu, że rodzice lub nauczyciel mi powiedzieli, że napisałem nie wyraźnie. ;-)
Pozdrawiam serdecznie,
David.
erased to usunąłem, ale wymazałem też jest poprawnie.
Wielki szacunek dla Pana za to, jak (tak naprawdę) szybko i dobrze nauczył się języka polskiego. Szkoda, że ja tak bardzo nie przykładam się do angielskiego.
Pozdrawiam :)
Autor użył słowa "wymazałem" zgodnie z jego podstawowym znaczeniem.
erase - wymazywać
remove - usuwać, zdejmować
delete - kasować
clean - czyścić
"Na pewno było z powodu"
Powinno być:
Na pewno było to spowodowane tym, że....
lub:
Na pewno było to z tego powodu, że...
:))
Dziękuję bardzo za poprawki. :-) Pozdrawiam, David.
...lub najprościej na pewno dlatego ,ze ;-)))
dzisiaj ,za kilka godzin mam spotkanie wirtualne z Davidem;-))Wspaniała niespodzianka - nagroda za subskrypcje bloga...Nie spodziewałam sie tego-bo byam chyba 300 w kolejce chetnych;-)) POzdrawiam Was wszystkich tutaj- ten blog to wspaniała lekcja zywego języka- bardzo dobry pomysł;-)))
Dziękuję za poradę, Boshka! Było bardzo miło z Tobą rozmawiać dzisiaj. :-) Pozdrawiam serdecznie, David.
[...] - who has no Polish heritage - is still thinking about Poland! It appears we've managed to spread our love of Poland to [...]
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