The History of Veterans Day (USA)
November 11th [eleventh] is a national holiday in both America and Poland, although most people in both countries are unaware of the other's holiday! In Poland, today is Narodowe Święto Niepodległości (National Independence Day). It celebrates Poland becoming an independent state in 1918, after 123 years of not existing. In the United States, today is Veterans Day, a day to celebrate veterans of all wars. Both holidays have their origins in World War I.
Watch the video about the history of Veterans Day and read the transcript below!
Read more for the transcript.
The Polish Alphabet is Easy!
When people unfamiliar with Polish see it written, they are often struck by the strange marks and all the consonants in a row. How can you pronounce words like "szczęśliwy" or "brzmieć"? Although it looks a little strange, the Polish alphabet is actually quite easy.
In English, spelling doesn't relate to pronunciation in a consistent way. For example, compare the pronunciation of "oo" in the following words: book, soon, door, flood. It's different in every word! And there's no way to know that from looking at the words.
I am a native speaker of English, but even I have had the following situation happen to me several times: I know a few words from reading which I have never heard out loud. Later, I'll hear someone say a word and have no idea what it means, only to find out that I know the word, I just imagined that it was pronounced differently. Or even more embarrassingly, sometimes I'll try to say one of these words, but with with the wrong pronunciation -- and other people don't know what I'm talking about!
This can never happen in Polish! Once you have the hang of all the pronunciation rules, you will always be able to correctly pronounce any word from the spelling.
Keep reading to see resources and advice for learning the Polish alphabet!
Learn History with American Music: We Didn't Start The Fire
In 1989, the American musician Billy Joel turned forty. Reflecting on his life, he wrote the song "We Didn't Start the Fire," which makes reference to 119 cultural and historical events that occurred during his lifetime. Some of the things are of world importance, others pertain only to American pop culture.
Listen to the song and learn about all the events below!
Vlog: Wróciłem do USA! Jakie różnice zauważyłem i co dalej na moim kanale?
Czytaj transkrypcję poniżej!
Don't Start Learning Polish with the Grammar!
When we were in Kraków, Poland, I met a lot of foreigners just starting to learn Polish. One of the main complaints was that Polish grammar is so complicated. Most Polish language courses, textbooks and teachers start by saying, "Learn all the grammar rules first and then we can continue."
This can kill your motovation and won't really get you any closer to your goal: to speak and understand Polish!
Things I Love About Poland #01: Waiters leave you alone
This is the first in a series of articles called "Things I Love About Poland." In this article, I talk about the differences between America and Poland when it comes to restaurants.
Życiorys
Nazywam się David Snopek. Mam 27 [dwadzieścia siedem] lat. Urodziłem się 20 [dwudziestego] kwietnia 1983 [tysiąc dziewięćset osiemdziesiątego trzeciego] roku w mieście Milwaukee w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Moja matka ma na imię Patricia i pracuje, jako sekretarka w dużej firmie. Mój ojciec ma na imię Russell i pracuje, jako dozorca budynku w liceum. Mam młodszą siostrę, która mieszka w Kalifornii.
Moi pradziadkowie wyemigrowali z Polski około 100 [sto] lat temu. Wszyscy w mojej rodzinie są bardzo dumni z naszych polskich korzeni. Z tego powodu zainteresowała mnie Polska i jej kultura. Teraz, w rodzinie tylko ja mówię po polsku. Jedna z moich babć znała polski, ale niestety zmarła przed tym, jak zacząłem się go uczyć.
American Music: Cracker - Big Dipper
One of my favorite American bands is Cracker. They have an alternative rock sound mixed with some country stylings and intelligent but frequently funny lyrics. "Big Dipper" is a sad song but one of my favorites. Listen to the video and read the lyrics below!
Wszystkich Świętych w Polsce
Zaadaptowany od artykułu na Wikipedii:
Pierwszy dzień listopada jest w Polsce dniem wolnym od pracy, co powoduje, że wiele osób podróżuje nawet na wielkie odległości, aby odwiedzić groby swoich bliskich. Ludzie odwiedzają cmentarze, aby ozdobić groby kwiatami, zapalić znicze i pomodlić się w intencji swoich zmarłych. To święto ma charakter religijny, głównie katolicki, ale dobrym zwyczajem obchodzi je także wiele osób innych wyznań, albo nie wyznających żadnej religii. Jest to wyrazem pamięci oraz oddania czci i szacunku zmarłym.
Halloween for Adults!
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Kids get to dress up as superheroes, ghosts or monsters, go door-to-door with their friends saying "Trick or Treat" and get lots of candy. What kid wouldn't love that? Frequently, when we were children, I dressed up as a knight with a shield and sword and my sister dressed up as a princess.
But Halloween isn't only for children!
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