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5 blogs by Americans living in Poland

31 Dec 2013
Turkey in the road
Yesterday, in front of our apartment :-)

When we met new people in Kraków, Poland, they'd frequently say things like, "You're the first American I've ever met," or even, "You're the first native speaker I've ever met!"

I wouldn't necessarily say this, but I'd be thinking: "Seriously? There are a TON of Americans living in Poland!"

In fact, when we first arrived in Poland we had trouble meeting Poles! We normally expand our social circle by meeting the friends of our friends. But when you don't know anyone, it's hard to get started.

However, we had no trouble meeting other Americans! I could recognize them from across the street or hear their accents when we were at a restaurant or cafe. And all we had to say was, "Hey, what are you doing in Poland?" And then we'd have a new American friend. ;-)

If I had to guess, there are at least hundreds if not thousands of Americans living in Kraków alone. When I'd tell this to Poles and they wouldn't beleive me! Well, today I have some proof. :-)

Read more to learn about 5 blogs written by Americans living in Poland!

1. Kielbasa stories

"How I moved to Poland and survived"

This one is my favorite. :-) It's written by Chris, an American woman who has a wonderful (and sometimes unusual) sense of humor. She even writes in Polish sometimes!

I highly recommend her most recent post. It's a very funnny story (in Polish) about waiting for the bus.

2. The Road to Poland

Olivia, a mother of three (soon to be four!), writes a lot about family life and the struggles of a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual family. Reading her blog reminds me the most of our short time in Poland and some of the difficulties that Carrie experienced in living abroad.

Also, take a look at the comments on her About page - they're from even more Americans living in Poland!

3. Poland - Our Future

David writes about the daily things that happen. But the best part is that he writes every post in both Polish and English!

He's also used Real Polish, which is a Polish language blog and series of courses that I recommend.

4. Never a Dull Day in Poland

"My CRAZY adventures and challenges while living here!"

It's written by Kelly, an American woman who's married to a man who is NOT Polish. :-)

The blog post I related to the most was The time I dread the most, about the process of applying for a resident card in Poland. We also had to do this twice (most info in the comments!) - it's super painful and time-consuming.

5. Morning Kawa

Jackie writes not only about her experiences in Poland, but also travels extensively around Europe and takes really beautiful photographs. I highly recommend taking a look at her photos on Instagram.

PS: Some final thoughts...

The ability to recognize your countrymen at a distance is a universal skill! A friend of mine who moved to the US from Ireland used to play "Spot the spud" with her sister. The game went like this: one of them would notice an Irish person somewhere near by, say "Spot the spud" and the other would have to find them too.

If you were worried, I did eventually make several Polish friends, by doing language exchanges and joining clubs. I'd highly recommend that to anyone living abroad.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Carrie (my wife) took the picture at the beginning of this post. It's a TURKEY just walking around in front of our apartment! We live in the city - this is the first time I've ever seen a turkey. :-)

And one last thing: when we were living in Poland, we also kept a travel blog similar to the ones mentioned above - Snopek.tv. It's super old now, but might have something interesting on it. :-)

Have a Happy New Year!

Do you know any other blogs written by people living in a foreign country? Please share them in the comments below!

Anonymous's picture

The head of the Jewish Community Center is American, as is the chief rabbi of Poland.

Posted by: Anonymous (not verified) | Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - 11:22
Anonymous's picture

Merry Christmas, David!
Thanks for your latest post. Always a pleasure to read your work! I think foreigners are particularly tuned in to hearing their mother tongue, so when a Brit, an Aussie or an American hears someone speaking English it is almost with a sense of relief (for me anyway).

That turkey is also interesting. It must have escaped from an American or British household, as Poles don't consider it a Christmas dish :)

All the best for 2014,
Jeremy

Posted by: Jeremy Walters (not verified) | Wednesday, January 1, 2014 - 03:24
Anonymous's picture

Hi David and Happy New Year! I enjoy reading your posts and especially like the one about people living in a foreign country. I have the pleasure of traveling to Poland annually to teach English to adults in Wroclaw (mainly through music, which is very fun.)

On one trip, our team decided to take describing some uniquely American holidays to a whole new level and actually put on a real Thanksgiving dinner. The cook at the pension was very excited to show us the large fresh turkey he was able to find. We were excited, too until we entered the kitchen and found two tiny ovens! You guessed it - that turkey was split straight down the middle and stuffed in both ovens for cooking. The women enjoyed shredded turkey meat that day while viewing photos of the big bird as served ala American style!

Posted by: Ann (not verified) | Thursday, January 2, 2014 - 16:36
David Snopek's picture

Heh, WOW, that's awesome! Do you have any photos from your Thanksgiving? Thanks for sharing. :-)

Posted by: David Snopek | Thursday, January 2, 2014 - 21:49
Anonymous's picture

I'm an American living in Wroclaw. I don't keep a blog (I did on Live Journal during my first year here back in 2004), but for the last year and a half I have been doing stand-up comedy and a lot of my material deals with the ex-pat experience.

http://www.youtube.com/user/derrekcarriveau/videos

Posted by: Derrek Carriveau (not verified) | Friday, January 3, 2014 - 01:42