Poland 2012: Polish people and their dogs (Céline, Germany)

My Polish host family has got a small dog. His name is Benio. He is three years old and - unlike the dogs in Germany -he never has to wear a collar.

Benio is allowed to stay outside around the house the whole day and in the evening the door opens and he goes in for eating and sleeping.

The food he is given consists of remnants of the food the family has eaten before. Next to his bowl are those of the cats, which every evening get their cat food.

After my schoolmate Sabrina, our Polish partner Aleksandra and I had eaten our breakfast, we had to go to school by train.

When we left the house in order to go to the train station, Benio ran along and went with us. On the first day I had to laugh because you will never see an unaccompanied dog like him in a town like Bensheim. There, all dogs have to be taken on a leash, except outside of town e.g. on footpaths.

On the way to the station Benio meets his dog friends every day and sometimes he barks, if he doesn’t like the dog in front of him. But he is a very friendly dog, when you want to stroke him. At the station there always is another dog walking around freely and Benio wants to play with him. So he just does it, because he is his own master.

Aleksandra said to me that Benio only could be free, because he is always attentive and very obedient. To achieve that, she has to train really hard with him, but for her this is much fun.

When the train arrived, we entered it and then Aleksandra told Benio he had to go home on his own – and he does just that.

This is so extraordinary!!! I’ve never seen a dog like him before. My dog isn’t able to do something like that. And Benio does this every day, it is routine for him.

We stayed the day at our Polish partner school in Klodzko and had a funny and interesting schedule. And at the end of our school day, we went home with Aleksandra. At home Benio was still waiting for us, especially for Aleksandra.

When we were having dinner Benio sat next to the table or lay on his own chair, because he had to wait until we had finished our dinner before getting his own.

I think that Benio is very intelligent, because he has managed  to learn so many tricks in the three years of his life which German dogs would never have to learn in their whole lifetime.

Poland 2012: My host family - Supporting tourism in Silesia (Mathis, Germany)

My host family lives in the little spa town Kudowa Zdrój. My host family doesn’t live in a normal house, but in a hotel that they own.                                                     

I was very surprised when I saw the big house and the large garden. It was very comfortable, I had my own room, a very kind family, internet and above all a pool table downstairs, which my host brother used often.

On my first day my host father and my host brother took me on a walk to the park in the city centre. They showed me the park, the springs, and the big lake. The lake in the park was full of fish, which we fed with bread.

Kudowa Zdrój is famous for its good air and special water that is rich in iron and helpful for some diseases. As a matter of fact many people visit the town: My host brother told me that every summer thousands of tourists visit the little spa town to drink the healthy water that tastes like iron.

Therefore, the hotel of my host family isn't the only hotel in Kudowa Zdroj. There are pensions and other hotels making tourism the most profitable branch of the town.

All in all I enjoyed a lot to stay with my host family. It was very interesting to see how they treat their hotel guests, who I felt to belong to, too. They always asked if I was hungry or if I wanted something from the supermarket. My host brother told me that guests in Poland would be treated very well.

In the greater area there are more tourist attractions. So, the participants of the ‘’Comenius Project’’ took a tour of the fortress of Klodzko, which has never been conquered. Our guide also told us how the people lived in Poland hundreds of years ago. Above all, the fortress is famous for its underground tunnel system. The tunnels are unique in Poland and very interesting. It was a shame that most of the teachers didn’t want to enter the narrow tunnels. One hour later we left the tunnels, impressed by this big underground building. After the exciting tour through Polish history we left and all participants went back to their families.

Poland 2012: Polish traditions - Dances (Sima, Germany)

On our trip to Poland for the Comenius Project we learned something about traditional dances like the Polish polonaise. The Polish polonaise is one of the most important dances: It is not only tradition but also obligatory for graduates.

The polonaise originated in the 16^th century, when it was danced as an ovation to Poland. The steps are really easy and taught in school. For this reason, however, young people find it boring and don’t have real ambitions to learn it. Anyway, by Studniówka, a traditional ball 100 days before the students write their exam (“matura”), it is necessary to know the polonaise. Studniówka is organized by parents and it is a party that should bring luck for the “matura”. It is also the first time when students have the permission to drink alcohol, especially champagne, with their teachers. The tradition of Studniówka also says that it brings luck to the students if girls and boys wear red underwear.
Apart from the polonaise there are four other traditional dances named Mazurka, Kujawiak, Krakowiak and Oberek.

First of all there is Krakowiak: It is a dance for couples and the choreography should imitate horses, which were well loved in Krakow, the region where Krakowiak was danced the first time.

Next there is the Oberek: The name means “to spin” and it is a very fast dance, composed of lifts and jumps. Oberek is also one of the most popular dances in the Polish-American music and also one of the fastest dances. The beauty of the dance depends on the dancer and his skills. Furthermore, Oberek shares some moves with the Mazurka, which I will mention now.
Mazurka is a version derived from the Mazurek which is always found to have a triplet, trill, dotted eighth note pair, or an ordinary eighth note pair before two quarter notes. In the 19^th century this Mazurek became very popular in other parts of Europe as well, where it is known as Mazurka. Mazurka was also promoted in Saxony but it didn’t work well. Almost 80 years later, Mazurka was re-introduced in Germany and gained in importance.

Frédéric Chopin, the famous Polish composer, produced many tracks for Mazurka, Krakowiak and other polish folkdances.  For example, he composed 60 Mazurkas. 

Finally, there is the Kujawiak: It is named after the region of Kujawy. Kujawy is a slow, sometimes perceived as sleepy, dance for couples.