"What do you think about the Polish people?" This is one of many questions I am frequently asked by Poles on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is no word or sentence that I can specifically say which will perfectly describe my thoughts about the Poles. Nonetheless, I experienced three different scenarios in Katowice which I would love to share with you.
I have just left the city centre heading home by tram. It was a rush hour so the tram was quite crowded but I managed to get a seat and just like every other day, people gazed at me with amusement. On approaching the second tram stop, I suddenly noticed that majority of the commuters on the tram quickly alighted. Then I wondered what was going on. Before I could say Jack! Three Police vans with their sirens on arrived at the scene.
Surprisingly a larger crowd boarded the tram almost immediately but it was very obvious that they were not normal commuters. This group of people had similar shirts, scarf, hats and they were shouting furiously while banging the tram windows. Yes, they were angry (visiting team) football fans who had just lost a match. Knowing this I said to myself "What the hell am I doing on this tram?:(" with the knowledge that such football fans could be very violent, I felt like sinking into the seat.
To add insult to injury, I am an obvious foreigner. How worse could it get?:( Although the tram was being escorted by the Police, it still doesn't guarantee my safety. A few seconds later I heard a whisper "murzyn, murzyn" negro, negro...that says it all, I got their attention immediately. The tram became awkwardly silent while the closest guy to me began a conversation "Skąd jesteś?" where are you from?, I replied "Jestem z Nigerii" I'm from Nigeria. They were all amazed that I was able to understand and reply in polish language. Luckily for me, at this time I knew a few sentences ;).
The guy continued with the conversation in polish, but then I was lost and I replied "Nie rozumiem, I don't understand." But they were all so interested in having a conversation with me, so they had to ask one of them who could speak english to come over and help with translation. The conversation continued with many questions asked and also they told me how much they love the ex-Polish national team football player Emmanuel Olisadebe a Nigerian.
Hearing all these made me feel so relieved, seeing that my presence could make angry football fans stay calm (at least for a while :D) and willing to have a small talk. My second encounter was also on a tram but this time, it was a more cheerful experience. A man was seated with his little sister/daughter, little did I know that they were talking about me. The man spoke to me in polish but I did not understand much of what he said :( which was a pity. On getting to my tram stop the little girl ran towards me and pointed at my wrist. I didn't understand much but I rolled up my jacket sleeves, not until then that I could understand that she was requesting for one of my wrist bands which I cheerfully gave to her.
Finally, the third experience is very fresh in my memory and it would forever last in my mind. This happened just last Saturday (5.3.2011) at a photo studio where I was to get an express passport photograph. There I met an old man, who gracefully welcomed me despite the fact that he is not the owner of the studio. He could only speak in polish but the owner of the studio helped with translations. The old man was very passionate about his speech telling me how much he loves Africa so much and also told me that he has a friend who is currently in Ghana and how much he would also love to visit Africa someday.
To round it off when I was about leaving, the man shook my hands firmly and kissed the back of my hand saying "Kocham Afryka, I love Africa". I was overwhelmed by his speech that I almost had tears in my eyes to hear one out of many say such about Africa. Having these three different experiences with the young, youth and old explains the compassion of the Poles.
Now, I would let you choose the right words or sentence to describe these poles. But there is one thing that is certain, katowice is a place where not only the University's staff are warm and kind hearted.
I have just left the city centre heading home by tram. It was a rush hour so the tram was quite crowded but I managed to get a seat and just like every other day, people gazed at me with amusement. On approaching the second tram stop, I suddenly noticed that majority of the commuters on the tram quickly alighted. Then I wondered what was going on. Before I could say Jack! Three Police vans with their sirens on arrived at the scene.
Surprisingly a larger crowd boarded the tram almost immediately but it was very obvious that they were not normal commuters. This group of people had similar shirts, scarf, hats and they were shouting furiously while banging the tram windows. Yes, they were angry (visiting team) football fans who had just lost a match. Knowing this I said to myself "What the hell am I doing on this tram?:(" with the knowledge that such football fans could be very violent, I felt like sinking into the seat.
To add insult to injury, I am an obvious foreigner. How worse could it get?:( Although the tram was being escorted by the Police, it still doesn't guarantee my safety. A few seconds later I heard a whisper "murzyn, murzyn" negro, negro...that says it all, I got their attention immediately. The tram became awkwardly silent while the closest guy to me began a conversation "Skąd jesteś?" where are you from?, I replied "Jestem z Nigerii" I'm from Nigeria. They were all amazed that I was able to understand and reply in polish language. Luckily for me, at this time I knew a few sentences ;).
The guy continued with the conversation in polish, but then I was lost and I replied "Nie rozumiem, I don't understand." But they were all so interested in having a conversation with me, so they had to ask one of them who could speak english to come over and help with translation. The conversation continued with many questions asked and also they told me how much they love the ex-Polish national team football player Emmanuel Olisadebe a Nigerian.
Finally, the third experience is very fresh in my memory and it would forever last in my mind. This happened just last Saturday (5.3.2011) at a photo studio where I was to get an express passport photograph. There I met an old man, who gracefully welcomed me despite the fact that he is not the owner of the studio. He could only speak in polish but the owner of the studio helped with translations. The old man was very passionate about his speech telling me how much he loves Africa so much and also told me that he has a friend who is currently in Ghana and how much he would also love to visit Africa someday.
To round it off when I was about leaving, the man shook my hands firmly and kissed the back of my hand saying "Kocham Afryka, I love Africa". I was overwhelmed by his speech that I almost had tears in my eyes to hear one out of many say such about Africa. Having these three different experiences with the young, youth and old explains the compassion of the Poles.
Now, I would let you choose the right words or sentence to describe these poles. But there is one thing that is certain, katowice is a place where not only the University's staff are warm and kind hearted.
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