Lucky Us...

Came across this article today and found it interesting, so here is an excerpt.  It's a good thing that Tom and I are researching Polish language lessons now.  Apparently it is most effective to have a private tutor come to your house for lessons, so that is our plan.  We are hoping to start taking them in the next week or so and will probably take them twice a week.

 

Most Difficult Languages - Polish

http://hubpages.com/hub/Most_Difficult_Languages_-_Polish

February 22, 2011

I've read about the supposed difficulty of many languages. Some I don't know at all (like Chinese or Arabic, which I'd imagine are difficult), but I did have the opportunity to learn one of the hardest, and supposedly the most grammatically-complex Slavic language, Polish. It is certainly harder than Croatian, which I already knew when I started to learn Polish.
Here's one (somewhat trivial, but illustrative) example of the relative complexity of languages: the number 2.

English, Spanish, Dutch: 1 form (two, dos, twee)

Portuguese: 2 forms (dois/duas) - depending on gender (2 - masculine & feminine)

Croatian: 7 forms (dva, dvije, dvoje, dvojica, dvojice, dvojici, dvojicu) - depending on gender (3 - masculine, feminine, and neuter) and case in one specific form. There were other variants historically but they're not used anymore.

Polish: 17 forms. Depends on gender (3), case for all forms. Pretty much all these forms occur in regular speech (6-11 less often than the others)

Dwa palce

17 grammatical forms for the number 2

1. dwa
2. dwie
3. dwoje
4. dwóch (or dwu)
5. dwaj
6. dwiema
7. dwom (or dwóm)
8. dwoma
9. dwojga
10. dwojgu
11. dwojgiem
12. dwójka
13. dwójki
14. dwójkę
15. dwójką
16. dwójce
17. dwójko

Why is Polish so complex?

Poland's history is one of being attacked and subjugated by its neighbors throughout most of its history, either by Germans, Austrians, Swedes or Russians. Many times the speaking of Polish was forbidden, so people were understandably protective of their language and less likely to have foreign intrusion into it. (English readily absorbs foreign words because American, Brits, Australians, etc don't feel like their language is threatened.) Also, "world languages" simplify much more rapidly, while "niche languages" don't have the same sort of pressure.
Even the names of months, which are usually similar in all the languages of the world, retain old Slavonic forms in Polish:

• January - styczeń (from the Polish word for joining, since January joins two years together)
• February - luty (from the Polish word for freezing cold; this is the only month that is grammatically an adjective, not a noun)
• March - marzec (from Mars - the 3rd month is the Roman god Mars's month, as it is in English)
• April - kwiecień (from the Polish word for flower, since this is the month when flowers bloom)
• May - maj (the only one adopted from the Roman calendar)
• June - czerwiec (from the Polish word for reddening...named after the Polish cochineal, a red insect that is used for red dye and is harvested in June - thanks, Lola!)
• July - lipiec (from the Polish word for linden tree, which blooms in July in Poland)
• August - sierpień (from the Polish for for sickle, since this is the month of harvest)
• September - wrzesień (from the Polish word for heather, which turns a brilliant shade of purple then)
• October - październik (from the Polish word for a type of flax mulch used in the fields during this month)
• November - listopad (almost literally - falling leaves)
• December - grudzień (from the Polish word for hardened, frozen ground)

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Our Weekend in Pictures

Tom and I had a great weekend exploring Warsaw...here are some of the highlights in pictures.

Charlie ready for a day of exploring

Part of the original wall to the Jewish Ghetto

Our new apartment building...only kidding.  One of the few buildings that survived the war.

Historic Church

Wonderful weekly farmer's market with produce, meat and eggs

More farmer's market

The boys in the park

Beautiful building on the edge of the park

In the park

Charlie playing in the park....he thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Charlie was very enamored with the large stick he found.

Tom and I walking around after a wonderful anniversary dinner at a local Polish restaurant.  We enjoyed great local specialties.

Palace of Science and Culture

We checked out the English speaking mass on Sunday

European Snow Blowing....

No snowblowers here...but an effective snow removal method!

Europe Learning #2

Somehow, Tom and I brought the Chicago winter weather with us.  The week prior to arrival in Warsaw the weather was in the 40's and this week it has been in the Teens and snowing.  But, supposedly the warm weather is coming soon.  While out and about I have been wearing my ear muffs to keep my ears nice and toasty.  And, I have noticed a lot of Polish people giving me a second look.  At first, I assumed it was simply because I am an American.  But, then I started looking for other ear muff wearers....and in my almost week here I have not found a single one!  And, the Poles really bundle up here in the weather...hats, scarfs, gloves, mittens, but...NO earmuffs!  Maybe I'll start importing them and start my own earmuff business, although by the looks I am getting I am not sure how popular it will be.  My earmuffs are keeping my ears warm and my hair looking good, so I have no plans to change my plans.  : )

As a side note, Tom and I had a low key anniversary celebration last night.  We went and picked up kebabs (or k-bobs as the Polish pronounce it) for dinner.  Kebabs are pretty much the Polish version of a gyro sandwich.  Chicken or lamb meat inside of an extra thin pita bread filled with lots of shredded cabbage (surprise surprise!).  They are really delicious and made for a nice quick dinner after a long day at work for Tom.

Europe Learning #2:  The Polsih don't wear earmuffs....or at least I haven't found the ones that do!

Step By Step...

Well, it's offically been 3 days and we are feeling more and more comfortable over here.  I feel like with each passing day we learn something new that helps us feel like we might know a little bit what about what we are doing.  It is truly an odd feeling being in a new country.  I was telling Tom that I feel like I am a little kid again that needs to learn everything...the language, the location, cultural differences (who knew you kiss someone 3 times when greeting them but only if you know them well), and more.  But, we are taking it one step at a time and each day feels like a big accomplishment with as we learn something new or venture into a new area of town. 

Today Tom and I are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary!  Who would have thought 4 years ago that we would be living in Warsaw.  : )  To celebrate the occassion I decided I wanted to get Tom a card.  After passing a lot of various stores on walks with Charlie none of them seemed like they sold cards.  In the states, I would have turned to Walgreens or CVS, but here a drug store is literally a drug store...not much more.  So, I asked the concierge at the hotel (who thought I was looking for playing cards for a good 3 minutes).  After we got our communication straight he suggested that I walk to the mall, about 10 minutes away, and go to the stationary store.  I didn't have a chance to go there today because I was out looking at apartments with a real estate agent and it is snowing here and quite cold.  But, I wonder where else in Poland you can buy a greeting card besides a stationary store?  Who knows...we'll figure it out.  This year I'll simply tell Tom how much he means to me.  ; )

Tom has been working hard trying to get settled into the office. He definitely has his hands full trying to understand the personalities in the office, deal with the cultural differences, and clean up a bunch of administration messes.  He got his new laptop for work today and had to call the IT department in France for help...needless to say he was on the phone with them for over an hour and its still not working.  I do have to say that I am really proud of him for taking all of this in stride.  He is chipping away at it a little bit at a time and doing his best to stay calm.  Charlie and I have been walking over to his office every day at lunch time to take a quick walk together.  It is great getting to see him in the middle of the day!

Last night we met up with an International group that we found through facebook.  They hold events every week or so.  We met them for drinks at a trendy bar downtown.  We were both tired, but glad that we went.  We met a nice group of people - some International expats and some Poles who have moved to Warsaw for work.  It was a welcome relief to get some basic help on things like bank accounts with different currency and the cheapest ways to talk to family at home.  It makes it easier talking with people who have gone through the same experiences.

Tom and I are planning a low key night of celebrating our anniversary! 

We Made It!

Wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely and soundly to Warsaw!  We took the overnight flight on Sunday night and arrived on Monday afternoon.  The flight was uneventful, except for Tom and I worrying quite a bit about Charlie in the cargo area for pets under the plane.  When we picked Charlie up in the airport he was thrilled to see us and seemed to be just fine...which was a welcome relief.  We then took our 7 bags and Charlie and headed to our short term home- the Westin Warsaw.

The Westin is a great hotel and is located right downtown, only a few blocks from Tom's office (which is really convenient)!  We also were able to get an executive level room which gives us free internet, free breakfast and free cocktails from 5-7pm.  After showering and trying to unpack all of our bags in our room we took Charlie for a nice long walk around the city.  He thoroughly enjoyed all of the new sights, smells and sounds.  He was quite inquisitive.  We went against the Polsih norms and picked up his feces...although it is quite apparent that what we heard is true...the Poles don't pick up after their dogs.  : )

The Westin - Our Interim Home

Charlie checking out his Food

Charlie's New Dog Bed

Then we headed to the 19th floor for our free cocktails.  I enjoyed a glass of champagne and Tom had a glass of red wine to celebrate our arrival.  I could defintiely get use to champagne every day!  We then went out to grab dinner but had trouble finding a spot to eat since it was Valentine's Day and we did not have reservations.  Apparently, the Poles adopted Valentine's Day about 5 years ago and it has been super popular ever since.  At this point we were totally exhausted and hungry, so we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a quick bite at the hotel bar.

Charlie relaxing under the beautiful flowers that Tom brought me home from the market for Valentine's Day!

After an okay night sleep (we both woke up in the middle of the night wide awake)  Tom got ready and headed off to work.  Charlie and I slept in and then went for a walk.  When we woke up we had a quick skype session with my parents, which was great!  We later met Tom at lunch time for a quick walk which was nice. 

It feels great to finally be here and in some ways we still feel like we are in limbo until we are in a real new home (e.g. our apartment).  But, that will come soon enough.  I also feel a bit lost....as if I am in the middle of this city with no idea what is going on and where I am. I know that this will change over time as we get more and more adjusted.  Charlie and I have plans for different walks each day to start getting our bearings.

Thank you all for your emails, messages and notes of support!  It means the world to us as we undergo this transition.  Please note that my cell phone number does not work over here...so if you text me or call me on it I will not get it.  We are working on getting me a local cell phone this weekend...so stay tuned.  And, I will provide updates on the cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch.  In the interim, log on to skype so we can try and reach one another.  And, if you are a verizon customer or own an iphone you can download skype mobile/skype to your cell phone and we can talk for free! 

Counting Down

After a couple of cancelled flights and close to 24 hours of straight travel, Tom finally made it back to Chicago.  We are now officially counting down before our departure.  We will be leaving in 7-9 days...depending on how quickly our visa's get finalized.  We are super excited to finally be off on our adventure!  For a few weeks now, it seems like it has been a bit of a waiting game so we are anxious to get over there. 

But, as excited as we are, we are equally if not more sad to be leaving our favorite people.  We were so fortunate to spend Saturday night with Tom's family having a nice family dinner and get together.  We decided to spend the night over there to get some extra precious time in with our nieces, Estella and Ana Lucia, and sleep in a real bed instead of on an air mattress.  Thanks for a great dinner Katie!  It's funny how once you are aware of the finite time you have before you will be leaving how you really become aware of each and every moment and feel so blessed to have it!  Fortunately, with all of the great technology we will only be a quick skype call away!

Our niece, Ana Lucia

Baby Tom, Mrs. Sullivan, Olivia, Ana Lucia and Estella (our 3 nieces and nephew and Tom's Mom)