Polish? Well… Country, people… language... Not as well known as English or French of course, neither can it compete with certain other languages which managed to acquire an internationally recognised reputation. But still one cannot deny that it is one of the biggest European languages. This European perspective may however appear to be only a popular misconception… at least when you happen to be out of Europe. But on the other hand… you never know and a sophisticated surprise is welcome. So what may be reactions to a declaration of being Polish, nowhere else but in Africa…
I
In the bus on my way back from the hotel in Casablanca to the airport I was “cross-questioned” by a fellow passenger from one of the Mediterranean countries (he was not from Italy as the title may suggest). The conversation was actually in French which cannot be omitted in order to retell its essence.
-Tu viens de?
-Je suis Polonaise.
-Bolognaise? Alors, tu parles Italienne!
-Je suis Polonaise, pas Bolognaise!
II
Approaching gate at the airport there was another person who asked me the fundamental question where I came from. On my answering I heard this time that a friend of my interlocutor did speak Polish. I took it with a pinch of salt, expecting more another Polonaise-Bolognaise misunderstanding than a Malian speaking Polish in Casablanca. Not strange I was truly taken aback when the woman greeted me by “Jak się masz?” with a perfect Polish accent! Time is changing. And it seems that before 1989 the student exchange at Polish universities was not in as bad condition. At least within the fellow countries, included Mali. It turned out that the Malian lady studied at the academy of sport in Poland during the 1980’s. Even in Gdańsk! Can you imagine!
I
In the bus on my way back from the hotel in Casablanca to the airport I was “cross-questioned” by a fellow passenger from one of the Mediterranean countries (he was not from Italy as the title may suggest). The conversation was actually in French which cannot be omitted in order to retell its essence.
-Tu viens de?
-Je suis Polonaise.
-Bolognaise? Alors, tu parles Italienne!
-Je suis Polonaise, pas Bolognaise!
II
Approaching gate at the airport there was another person who asked me the fundamental question where I came from. On my answering I heard this time that a friend of my interlocutor did speak Polish. I took it with a pinch of salt, expecting more another Polonaise-Bolognaise misunderstanding than a Malian speaking Polish in Casablanca. Not strange I was truly taken aback when the woman greeted me by “Jak się masz?” with a perfect Polish accent! Time is changing. And it seems that before 1989 the student exchange at Polish universities was not in as bad condition. At least within the fellow countries, included Mali. It turned out that the Malian lady studied at the academy of sport in Poland during the 1980’s. Even in Gdańsk! Can you imagine!
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