CulturalFest Preview: Visit Poland at the International Expo
Visiting the CulturalFest International Expo on February 26 is a way to travel the world in just one day - and to do it for free! The Expo features booths led by University of Washington international students from all over the world who are eager to teach others about their home communities and cultures.
In the weeks leading up to the event, we'll be featuring blog posts about countries, countries, and regions represented at the Expo to give a sneak peek into what visitors can see and learn. Read on to learn more about Poland!
What do you most want people to know about your country/culture?
We would like everyone to appreciate its rich history, which produces remarkably diverse culture. Poland has belonged to nations of Western Civilization for more than one thousand years, which is a very important fact resulting in a lot of cultural traits that otherwise would be not understood well. Poland converted to Christianity in 966 AD, and even though borders and ethnic makeup of its people have changed multiple times, majority of its citizens appreciate rich traditions.
Therefore, Poles have a very strong historical identity. As a nation always fighting for freedom, we hold values of honor, valor, and courage very seriously. Many Poles have fought alongside Americans during the American Revolutionary War, and military leaders such as Tadeusz Kosciuszko or Kazimierz Pulaski served with such a distinction that many towns in the United States are named after them.
Warsaw - the new city
Many Polish cities have a history spanning many centuries, so that understanding the central-European location of Poland brings a lot of world events into focus. Just like we fought for American freedom, Polish king John III Sobieski in the seventeenth century rushed Polish army to defeat Ottoman Empire’s invasion of Central Europe in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. But the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom, which was for four centuries a powerful empire in Central Europe, declined in strength and was partitioned in the next century by three neighboring empires, Russian, Prussian , and Austro-Hungarian. Poland ceased to exist for 123 years, until the end of World War I, the day (November 11) we celebrate as our Independence Day.
Twenty years of freedom ended with start of the Second World War and more than five years of Nazi Germany’s harsh occupation of Poland. The end of the Second World War brought more than forty years of Communist Soviet oppression. Only twenty five years ago Poland has finally regained its freedom, and since that moment, in 1989, has undergone great economic and social transformations. Since 2004 is a part of the European Union. Our culture, together with faith, has survived throughout those difficult times between 18th and 20th centuries, helping Polish nation to persevere. This makes culture and religion a very patriotic matter in Poland.
Everything that one will find about its history will undoubtedly enrich understanding and appreciation of our enjoyable feasts, celebrations, customs, and national identity.
Cracow, The Market Square (www.krakow.pl)
This means that Christian feasts such as Christmas, or Easter, are national holidays, and many traditions are surrounding those two major holidays, such as special food that we bring to the table to have a special dinner during those celebrations. A very sumptuous dinner which consists of 12 dishes is consumed in most households on December 24th, that is on the Christmas Eve, and cannot contain any meat products. Thus we have various types of pierogi (cabbage- or cheese-filled dumplings, often deep fried), fried fish, poppy-seed with pasta and honey, mushroom or beetroot soup, and many others.
For Easter, the most important is Easter breakfast, consumed after attending the Holy Mass on Sunday morning. Easter breakfast has not only eggs and salad, but also various types of cakes, with a special Mazurka cake baked for that occasion. Various regions of our New Mexico-sized country have their own specialties too, but almost every single item throughout the course of history has been identified with a special symbolism.
If someone was going to travel to your country/region, where would you recommend they visit?
There are many places worth visiting in Poland, which stems from its unique geographic location, and rich history. The history described above results in towns founded in some cases almost one thousand years ago, so that cities are full of churches, buildings, and monuments from old times. Cracow, our former capital has a unique medieval market square, with many Renaissance buildings and the famous Mariacki church.
The beautiful and very narrow Hel peninsula (the Baltic Sea) www.pyrzowice.pl
In Cracow you would also visit the Wawel Castle--the court of Polish kings, and just a short drive away, a unique wonder--an underground salt mine in Wieliczka, the UNESCO World Heritage site. The Marian Sanctuary in Czestochowa contains the famous medieval icon of our Blessed Virgin Mary. A painting on a wooden panel is famous for its various features but it plays also a role of the national and cultural symbol. Warsaw, our current capital, would be an example of a more modern town, almost completely destroyed during the WWII, but rebuilt after, with almost every corner marked with martyrdom of those who fought against Nazis. Another historical important place are remnants of the notorious Nazi death camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the place of the Holocaust of Jews and many other nations during German occupation of Poland in the Second World War.
Even if history does not appeal to you, there are plenty of places where the natural beauty can speak for itself. Poland has over twenty National Parks, from the Baltic Sea to the Tatra Mountains. Poland has sandy beaches in the north, with famous resorts such as Kolobrzeg, Miedzyzdroje, or Jaroslaw. As we travel south, over the course of 400 miles, we gradually go through grass plains, forested hills and midlands, all the way to highlands, and alpine rocky mountains, to an altitude reaching more than 8000 ft. Thus for every kind of sport one can find an appropriate region, from sailing and diving (not to mention the Mazurian Lakes), to mountaineering and caving.
Who are the members of your booth and where are they from?
That information was prepared by Chris Suberlak with the little help of Jakub Tyszkiewicz. Chris comes originally from Sosnowiec in Poland, in the south, approximately one hour drive west from Cracow, from the industrial region of Silesia. Jakub is from Wroclaw in the south-west Poland, one of the most important towns in this country that has one of the biggest medieval market-squares in whole Central Europe.
In your experience as a student at UW, what’s the biggest difference between Seattle and your home country/city/community?
The Tatry Mountains – the Valley of Five Polish Lakes
Seattle is ethnically very diverse, and I would have never seen so many African or Asian people in my city. Sosnowiec is similar to Philadelphia, with a rich industrial past, and shares with the US East Coast many problems, such as redevelopment of former heavy industry sites. US West Coast is very different, and I think many differences between the East and West Coasts are reflected in differences between Sosnowiec and Seattle. The weather here reminds me much of my time in the United Kingdom, where I completed my undergraduate studies.
Since I love mountains, what struck me most was a lack of highlander culture in the mountains here, since nobody apart from natives lived there three or four centuries ago. A lot of empty space in Washington State makes a biggest difference, since Poland has much higher population density. My region is about twice the size of Seattle metro area, and has much bigger population, so many other things such as malls, cinemas, and highways, are all familiar, but I am learning much about Seattle as I stay here to continue my graduate studies. I am discovering through its history and people the uniqueness of the United States, and I really enjoy it.
The 2015 CulturalFest International Expo is a free event featuring booths representing over 35 countries, regions, and cultures. All are welcome to attend!
Thursday, February 26, 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM
University of Washington Husky Union Building
More info: www.fiuts.org/culturalfest-expo