Having my parents here with us constantly reminds me of things I used to do when living in Poland. I've been living in the US for a bit over 10 years now, and as much as I'd like to remember my Polish culture, I seem to drift off on some of its parts.
Social life, for instance, is very well developed in Poland. Not a single week passes without seeing/talking to/or even having a neighbor over for a cup of coffee in the afternoon. Here, however, weeks can pass before I see a neighbor or two, and our social life ends with saying Hi to each other and exchanging quick smiles.
I was extremely surprised when to my comment to my parents one day: Nobody knows you here, my mom replied: What about the Asian couple, and the Indian lady? So, my parents' daily activities have been taking the little one for a couple of walks every day. It turns out, there are more people walking every single day around our little park, and my parents managed to make some friends (with NO knowledge of English). As a language teacher, I have to say, I'm impressed.
Today, for example, my mom asked me if the Polish meaning of the word BOY was what she was thinking. I confirmed her expectation and asked where she heard it. She said that during their conversation (!!!) with their Indian friend, they were asked if Weronika, my sister's baby, was a boy. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! They actually talked about my sister and her baby without knowing any English.
Supposedly the Indian friend is not the only one they've talked to (BTW, they've already been to her house!!! She needed help taking the crying baby home, so my dad helped her with pushing the stroller). There are others! The cutest thing is when right before they are about to leave for a walk, I hear them saying: I hope the Asian couple is there today.
But there is one more thing that puts a smile on my face each time I think about it. Every morning we have a few people in our park practicing Tai Chi. Well, my parents have NEVER seen it before, so one day before the walk, I overheard them saying: Do you think the butterfly catchers will be there today?
July 22: King Clan
9 months ago
1 comment:
I always thought it was just American culture that we are so independent as to not know anyone else around us. But maybe it is just individual Americans that perpetuate this feeling and, if we were more like your parents, we would connect more with our neighbors. Or perhaps we just need to learn Polish so we can communicate, too... :)
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