March 2009 Blogs

Sisters from Poland

SISTERS AROUND THE WORLD, March 2009, by Karen Demers

Meet Our Sisters From POLAND!

The teen girls from Jan Brzechwa school in Radawnice Poland were sweet enough to spend some time answering our questions and sharing their views with us. You’ll be amazed at how similar we really are with our sisters in Poland!

Lifestyle: STYL ¯YCIA
We wanted to know about things like music, books, slang terms, work, and when they can start driving. Currently, some of the popular ‘Polish’ artists are: Doda, Feel, Ewa Farna, Ewelina Flinta, and Gosia Andrzejewicz. They are all rock and pop musicians. If you want to hear their music you can look them up on YouTube. Check them out and let us know what you think! The cool thing is, these girls listen to some of our music too! Popular foreign artists in Poland are, you guessed it: Hanna Montana and the Jonas Brothers.

When they’re looking for quiet time and want to read, they’ll pick up one of their fave titles like “The Olsen Twins”, “Not for Mom, not for Dad, but for Each Teen”, “Princess Diaries”, and other teen topics.

Just like you, girls in Poland use letter combinations when they text with their friends. The most popular ones are KC - Kocham Cie which would translate to: LY - Love You; ZW- zaraz wrócê which would translate to: BBRA - Be Back Right Away; JJ- ju¿ jestm which would translate to: IH - I’m Here; and WW- wkrótce wróce which would translate to: BBS - Be Back Soon.

One of the most interesting differences is the age when Polish kids get their license. “In Poland you can get your Driver’s License at age 18,” they told us. “The course consists of 30 hours practical, or actual driving, and 15 hours of written tests. Once you get your license you can drive the car by yourself.”
This next fact may entice you to move to Poland… teenagers there often don’t start working until after college! “Some girls start to work during summer holidays during college but most don’t start until after college or university. This is the same time line in terms of having children and starting families.”

Culture: KULTURA
In Canada we are known as a melting pot with numerous religions and holidays. We’re a bilingual country enjoying our weekends and trying hard to take care of our environment. How does Poland compare?

“The main language is Polish and the major religion in Poland is Roman Catholicism, ‘rzymsko-katolicka’. In school, children learn up to 3 new languages including English and German, and sometimes French. The two main holidays we have are Easter and Christmas where we celebrate the day before in the form of a festive evening meal. Another very important day for Polish people is ‘The Day of the Dead’, which we celebrate on November 1 [which of course is Halloween for us in Canada]. At that time, our families get together at the grave sites of the dearly departed and pray for them.”

Just like us, the Polish weekend is Saturday “sobota” and Sunday “niedziela”. During this free time, Polish girls “listen to music, go to the beach, sit at our computers and go out with our friends.” Most often in the summertime they go to seaside towns to have fun by the sea, or visit some other interesting cities like Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk (also called Danzig in German), Poznan and Torun.

Polish girls are as serious about the environment as we are! “Yes, we all try to look after our communities and the environment. We take part in the ‘Polish Overall Cleaning of the Earth Act’, by recycling and attempting to not destroy the environment.”

Technology: TECHNOLOGIA
Here in Canada, technology has become a big part of our lifestyle and culture. What would we ever do without our computers, ‘komputery’?!

“Most homes here have one computer,” our Polish friends told us. “but there are families which have more than one computer in the home. We surf the net approximately two hours a day – sometimes more though! When we’re on the internet some examples of games we play are ‘Make-Up Barbie’, ‘Little Princess’, and ‘Mario Sonix’. In school, we have a computer lab for the students to use for studies.”
Video games are also popular in Poland. Some of the games they play are: ‘Sims’, ‘Animals’ and ‘Teken 3’. Just like many of you, they use cell phones daily and some of them also have iPods.

School: SZKO£A
Our Polish sisters told us that they spend about the same amount of time n school as we do!

At the beginning of a typical day at school, “it takes us at least an hour in the morning to get ready for school and we wear school uniforms.” And just like here in Canada, their school year begins in September and ends at the end of June. Their school day lasts 6 - 7 hours.
Classes for these girls are Polish language, math, science, German language, music, art, crafts, computers, physical education and religion. After school, there are music, ‘muzyczne’, lessons. Unfortunately our Polish friends tell us, “there are no clubs for girls, either in our school or in the community.” Maybe in the future we can inspire our sisters in Poland to start their own girl’s clubs! Another interesting difference between our Canadian schools and Polish schools is that they don’t have any mascots or particular school colours.

So what happens when girls finish high school in Poland?
“After attending elementary school from the ages of 7 to 13, we go to high school until we are 16. After that we go on to middle school which lasts until we’re 19. Then one may complete a three-year licensed study (BA) or a five-year Master’s (MA) study.” In Poland, education is free (how cool is that!?) and parents just pay for room and board if their children study away from home. There are also private schools available that parents pay for, but those students have the opportunity to receive government scholarships or bursaries.

Boys: ‘CH£OPCY’
In Poland, boys are big into soccer, computer games and cars. The girls said, “Around the ages of 13-14, girls begin to be interested in boys and develop crushes. Our parents allow us to be alone with boys on walks and invite them to our homes. Some of us do have boyfriends and we like to go for a walk, go dancing ‘dyskotekê’, and hang out talking.” However, we learned that boys and girls don’t hang out together just when they date. They spend a lot of time together just as friends ‘przyjaciele’ too. It wasn’t so long ago in Canada that there were some things that boys could do that girls couldn’t, and in some countries this is still a custom. When we asked our sisters in Poland about this, the answer was simple - “There are no such things!” Go Poland!

Alright, let’s be honest for a minute ladies; while boys are fun to talk about and crush over, we would never be who we are without our close friends – our BFF’s! This is a bond felt among girls in Poland too! “When we have free time we mostly get together with our friends to gossip ‘plotkujemy’ and go for walks. Typically, our hobbies with our friends include dancing, singing ‘œpiewac’ and playing ball ‘grac w pi³kê’.” Just like here in Canada, girls often get together at each others’ houses for sleepovers. They also celebrate birthdays ‘urodziny’ in their homes by inviting friends for a party.

Family: ‘RODZINA’
“Our daily family traditions are family meals, walks with our families, talking and watching television together. In the home, our chores include cleaning our bedrooms and sometimes the entire house, babysitting younger siblings and looking after pets.” Their typical pets are much the same as ours; hamsters ‘Chomiki’, dogs ‘psy’, cats ‘koty’, parrots ‘papugi’ and canaries ‘kanarki’.

Health: ‘ZDROWIE’
When it comes to staying fit the girls told us, “We mostly love doing aerobics to music.” Typically meals for the day include ‘another’ breakfast at school brought from home, and they eat lunch in the school cafeteria. “Of course,” they say, “like all teens we love sweets and eat a lot of them!” To get enough sleep each day they go to bed between 10 - 11 pm and get up at 7:00 am on school days. On weekends they sleep until 9:00 or 10:00. Girls get their first period between the ages of 11 to 14 and they shave their legs and under arms.

Being a girl: ‘Byæ dziewczynk¹’
How is body image portrayed in the media and how do girls live up to that in Poland? “In Poland, magazines, television, and movies portray the ideal look as thin with an ideal figure. Many girls go to great lengths to try and identify with the girls portrayed in magazines and on television. It doesn’t always work out for them and then they lose their sense of self-worth.” It seems that Canadian teens share this same struggle with our sisters in Poland. “Certainly there is a lot of talk with families, at school, and amongst peers about the subject of how to behave, in order to have respect for oneself and to know how to value oneself. Amongst girls of similar age, the most frequent topics are appearance, fashion and problems at school. We have troubles just like all teens do. Sometimes we rebel against family and school rules. We feel badly when things don’t work out well”. To help teens deal with the struggles of self-esteem they read a girl’s magazine called ‘Bravo Girl’.

What about fashion trends for teenagers? When do girls start wearing make-up? “We dress mostly like all teens do around the world. Our favourite clothes are jeans and a blouse or a sweatshirt. Of course in the summer we like to wear skirts. Girls begin to use cosmetics when they become teens around ages 12-13. This would include makeup and of course deodorants and perfume.”

And in the end, their goals for the future are much the same as ours here in Canada. “Of course each of us would like, in the future, to obtain an education and have a good job. Some of us would like to have a professional career, and of course in the future we’d like to start a family.”

When asked what they would do with a million dollars, I think most of you would agree with them!, “If we had a million dollars then we’d definitely buy lots of stylish clothes, some of us would buy beautiful homes, others would spend the money for fun, and yet others would give a portion of the money to their parents, and for sure also a portion of the money would be used for travel!”

Our new friends and beloved sisters from around the world in Poland were so gracious and happy to participate in this article with us, that they wanted to send you a final message…
“We are very happy that at least in this way we could make contact with our age peers from another part of the world. For us that is truly amazing. We think that, really, we aren’t that different from you. We probably have the same joys and troubles like any teens in the world. We send you sincere greetings.”

I’d certainly have to agree... wouldn’t you?!

With gratitude and special thanks to GCDA’s own ‘Discovering You’ writer, Alicja Zajac, for the Polish to English translation (Alicja visited Jan Brzechwa, this beautiful modern school in 2007); to teacher Basia Mrozik (Alicja’s cousin) for presenting the idea to her school; to principal Magorzata Wojtkiewicz for her support; to teacher Ewa Skrzypa and her students Marta, Kinga, Patrycja, Ewelina, Paulina, Monika, Aleksandra, Justyna, Klaudia, Julia and Anita, for their efforts and participation in helping their Canadian sisters get to know and appreciate them better... THANK YOU!

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March 2009 Blogs

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