In the Polish school I meet with the people who have similar backgrounds as I have. It is really cool when I am speaking to them because of the fact that we can talk about the things that we have in common, and what we are doing in Sweden, and how we experience the Swedish culture. When there are people who have just moved to Sweden, it is good to have someone that you can talk to in your own language, since it is impossible to learn Swedish that fast to can speak Swedish with the Swedish people. We are trying to help the newcomers to feel good in the foreign country and to meet new people.
I meet them also outside the school. We usually meet at the weekends and on holidays. We speak Polish. Some people have been leaving in Sweden since they were born and they have whole different experiences about the Poland. My friend has Polish parents but she does not speak so much Polish except that, which she talks in Polish school and with her parents. Her vocabulary is not that broad in Polish as it is in Swedish. Sometimes she cannot express her feelings in the language that her parents talk. It is sad because languages are really important in our lives. We cannot talk in a language that we do not understand. It is important to give the children the culture and the language that their parents are speaking. When we lose the language of our parents, the language becomes poor.
In the multicultural world which we live in, the words from different cultures are meeting each other and the languages become also mixed. There are plenty of English words in Polish, because of the fact that English is really influential nowadays. Programs on the computers and plenty of technological stuff are made in English. Instructions to how use some things sometimes are written just in English so we have to be able to use English in order to use every day things, like toaster or microwave. Sometimes I feel sorry for people people that are little order and that did not have that opportunity to learn that many languages at school. My grandma though she is trying, she has difficulties in learning new languages. It is not because of the fact that she is not smart, it is just because she is old and does not have that many place in her brain to remember that many words. It is sad but true.
Day #2 (Tuesday 26 May 2009)
I do like reading books and I do it in every language that I am learning and that I can. Reading books is the one of the best ways to improve the vocabulary and to get know what the language look like. It is also a good way to know what the people in that country are. The authors describe the country that they are connected to; e.g. where they lived. These descriptions of the countries are a good way to get know how the people in the country behave and what they like to do.
I have always read a lot of books, due to the fact that my parents also read a lot. In that way I can imagine what the life in the other parts of the world look like. Since the world is so multi-cultural there are almost every book translated into English. So it is easy to read even the books of the authors from foreign countries. Through the books we can get knowledge about the country that we are interested about.
I read plenty of Polish books since Polish is my first language and I do not have any difficulties in reading in that language. It makes the reading easier and gives more time to think about the book and what the author wanted to say through the book. Sometimes when you are reading in a foreign language that you are not feeling comfortable in, you pay more attention to understand the text and the language, rather than its meaning and the message that the author wants to give through the book.
I experience the Polish, the English and the Swedish culture through reading the books. It is the best way: to improve the language and the vocabulary; and to get know what the people in another countries behave like. I can learn plenty of things not only about myself and but also about the society that I live in. Sometimes when I have read some psychological or sociological book, I go out to the street and if the situations that the author described in the book occur in the society surrounding me. Sometimes the author´s view on the society is the whole different than the one from my perspective.
The only problem in reading books is that it takes a while to read the book. When we are studying it is hard to have a while to read a book that is not necessary connected to the school work. The other problem is that the book describes the world from the author´s perspective. It is amazing how much the author´s experiences can be different than the reader´s. I read some books that talked about the places than I actually have visited or lived. The society that the authors´ describe was whole different than my experiences.
In my opinion a good way to experience the culture is also to read daily newspapers of the country that you are living in or want to know more about. In that way you get know what the population of the country wants to read in daily newspapers. The newspapers are controlled in that way to sell as many copies as possible, so they have to satisfy the reader.
Day #3 (Wednesday 27 May 2009)
Music plays a big role in our everyday life. It is especially important for the youths. When I am listening to the radio, I experience the Swedish culture since I am listening to the Swedish radio stations. However I experience plenty of different cultures without even knowing about this. It is because the artists and the singers have different background and they are singing about that. We usually just listen to the artists´ song without even knowing anything about the artists. We do not really analyse the message of the song; we just listen to relax or to entertain ourselves.
I listen also a lot to the Polish artists, who maybe are not that popular on worldwide scale however they are good in my eyes. I can experience Polish culture in that way. The artists give usually plenty of messages through their songs. Poland is not that rich country so the artists sometimes come from poor families, and they did a lot to pierce through the poverty of their families. It is really nice to see people from different societies which sing about their childhood with no money to e.g. buy bread. We can get know that money does not fall from heaven and we have to work to survive.
The music is more literal and has a wider range of recipients than the books have. It is because people do not have time to read books; it is just easier to listen to the radio or to the song on your mp3 player or on IPod than to read a book. It is also because while listening to the music, you can do some other things too, while when you are reading a book you cannot do anything else than reading the book.
I try to divide up my free time in such a way that I have time to do both things. I try to e.g. read book while I am going to school on the train, and while I am walking home from the train I am listening to music. Thus I can experience the culture in both ways.
Due to the fact that the world is so much international, I also listen to the American performers. I have some favorite bands that I like listening to and in that way I am experiencing the American culture also. I get to know what experiences the artists had, because they are singing about that.
Day #4 (Thursday 28 May 2009)
In the last part of my Culture Diary I would like to focus on food. When it comes to food, the problem becomes bigger than the music or the books. Food that I eat is really multi-cultural. My mother cooks really well and I like dishes that she prepares. However when it comes to judge which culture most of the everyday dishes comes from, it is hard to say. Of course during holidays like Christmas, my mother prepares traditional Polish food, but sometimes on our table comes also dishes from other cultures as well.
On my every day I eat food from all over the world. I do like to eat almost everything what is eatable. Today I did not eat anything that comes from Polish culture. The dishes were mixed however there was nothing that is just in my culture; there was nothing specific for my culture.
