Welcome Letter

Welcome to Poland!

Dear YFU Exchange Student, Cześć! - this is the most often used Polish word for “Hello”. Dzień dobry is the official phrase for “Good day”. These will be some of the first words you will learn during your exchange year. Here in YFU Poland we are very happy that we can spend this upcoming year with YOU. We are glad that you have chosen our country to learn about our culture, traditions and people living here. We hope you will find our language, history and geography interesting and that you will find many wonderful people to share your experiences with, exchange opinions and learn about each other's cultures. You probably cannot wait to receive some information about the country you will live in for a year. Consider this Welcome Letter as a glimpse into what you will experience during your stay in Poland. There will be much more to come! We are looking forward to meeting you.

Małgorzata Górzna Chairman of YFU Poland

Basic information Full name: The Republic of Poland Location: Central Europe Area: 312 685 km² Population: 38,5 million Currency: złoty (PLN) Official language: Polish Neighbouring countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad)

People A typical Polish family consists of a mother, a father and one or two children. Most parents work professionally and come back home from work about 4:00 or 5:00 PM. Teenagers are used to close family life and parental control. Polish families are said to lead a traditional way of living: visiting friends and relatives, celebrating holidays together, watching TV or organising trips and leisure time. Contemporary Poland has a homogeneous population. Poles form over 98% of the population. Polish language, which belongs to Slavic languages, is spoken all over the country. Younger generation can also speak English, German, French or Spanish. You will easily learn basic phrases in the Polish language after living for a few days with a Polish family.

History History has always played an important role in Polish mentality and way of thinking. If you want to understand Poles, you should first learn their history. Poland’s history is a fascinating tale. Forever stuck between two powerful and hostile neighbours, it has over the past thousand years struggled to defended its sovereignty and freedom on innumerable occasions – often to be invaded and subjugated to occupation by foreign powers over and over again. It has gone from being the largest country in Europe to completely disappearing off the world map, and has seen its population destroyed in two world wars. However, it is testament to the extraordinary resilience of the Polish people that Poland has not only recovered from every crushing defeat but also had the strength to hold onto its own values, gradually becoming a modern Europe’s economic success story. Poland’s turbulent history may be traced through various cultural, architectural and religious monuments – breathtaking reminiscences of the past centuries, starting from numerous medieval

castles and baroque palaces to industrial heritage sites. The origins of Poland, which found itself in central Europe, where the North, South, East and West come together, resulted in a diverse and multicultural style of customs and traditions that are cherished within each of its regions. Throughout centuries the Roman Catholic Church has held a very strong position in Poland and nowadays its importance can be seen through a great number of monumental historical churches that can be found all around the country. Until today the Church remains an important social institution, especially in the rural areas and small towns, where many parish cultural and sport organizations function. Big and modern cities, however, represent a whole different story. After regaining it’s full sovereignty in 1989, Poland has began a fundamental process of political changes and economic recovery, becoming one of the fastestdeveloping countries in Europe. Interesting fact: Many Poles enjoy historic reenactments of great battles. For example, the 15th century’s Battle of Grunwald is each year staged by as many as 1500 participants playing medieval knights.

School & language In Poland school year begins on September 1st and is divided into two semesters, each lasting approximately 5 months. Apart from 2-month summer holiday, there are three longer breaks during the school year. The first one is during the Christmas and New Year season, the second one is a two-week winter holiday, which usually falls in January or February and the third break comes during the Easter season. Generally, classes are held five days a week, from Monday to Friday. They usually start at 8.00 am, although in some schools it may be a bit later. In upper secondary schools there is usually 7-8 classes a day, each lasting 45 minutes, with 5- or 10-minute breaks in between. Around midday there is usually one longer break for lunch. Subjects taught in secondary school are: Polish language, two modern foreign languages, Geography, History, Cultural studies, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry, Biology, Knowledge about society, Information Technology, Physical Education, Introduction to entrepreneurship, Safety Education and Religion or Ethics. Pupils' learning achievements are assessed using a grading scale from 1 to 6, where consecutive numbers stand for: 6 – excellent, 5 – very good, 4 – good, 3 – satisfactory, 2 – acceptable, 1 – unsatisfactory (fail). Pupils also receive marks for their behaviour in school.

Polish secondary school students follow a previously elected profile throughout 3 years of education. It means that they have to decide beforehand whether they want to major in humanities, mathematics, biology, physics or foreign languages. Afterwards they are assigned to groups of students with the same interests and these 25-30 students later form a class.

very interesting one. Most of the exchange students manage to learn it very well during their year in Poland. Interesting fact: According to international research, Polish education is rated as 4th best in Europe and 10th best in the world.

Cuisine Typical Polish meals are very opulent. Just sampling them is enough to discover that they are absolutely delicious and worth having a try.

Students stay with the same group of people during all the courses; they have the same schedule of courses and graduate together after 3 years. Each class has its own tutor, who apart from teaching one of the subjects in school, acts as an advisor to students. Working together during three years gives a possibility for both students and teachers to learn about one another and for students to start longlasting friendships. In most schools all classes are taught in Polish. It belongs to the group of Indo-European languages and the subgroup of West Slavic languages. Polish alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 32 letters. It includes nine letters formed using special dots, slashes or tails (ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż), seven digraphs (sz, rz, cz, ch, dz, dż, dź) and one trigraph (dzi). Polish is believed to be one of the most difficult languages in the world, but at the same time a

Some of the most recommendable dishes are: pierogi – traditional Polish dumplings, which can be filled with all kinds of savoury or sweet and fruity fillings, bigos – spicy stew made out of sauerkraut, meat and mushrooms, placki ziemniaczane – deep fried potato pancakes or kotlet schabowy – breaded pork schnitzel. Typical Polish meals owe their unique taste to various herbs and spices used, such as ground pepper, marjoram, dill or parsley. Poland is also known for a number of traditional soups, which are an inseparable part of a typical dinner. When in Poland, the must-try soups are: żurek – a unique sour rye soup, often served in a loaf of bread, rosół – chicken broth with noodles,

traditionally eaten on Sunday, kapuśniak – white cabbage or sauerkraut soup, krupnik – thick vegetable soup with potatoes and barley groats and barszcz czerwony – beetroot soup, often served with boiled egg or small, tortelloni-like dumplings.

Nature

While travelling around Poland, one must also try some of the regional foods only available in certain parts of the country, such as oscypek – Tatra mountains' smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk, kluski śląskie – potato dumplings typical for the region of Silesia or rogal świętomarciński – sweet pastry with white poppy seeds, raisins and nuts, popular in the Greater Poland.

Surrounded by Carpathian Mountains and Sudetes in the South and the Baltic Sea in the North, Poland is located in the very centre of Europe. It lies in the temperate climate zone, which enables a large variety of the natural environment to coexist within its boarders.

From less traditional, yet highly popular foods, zapiekanka is undoubtedly the queen of Polish street food. Basic zapiekanka is a halved baguette roasted in the oven until crispy with a lot of melted cheese and mushrooms on top, often spiced up with ketchup. Its simplicity and number of variations available has made it one the most loved quick bites among young Poles and tourists alike. There are three or four main meals traditionally served in a Polish home: breakfast (7:00-9:00 AM), second breakfast (10:00-12:00 AM), dinner (2:00-4:00 PM) and supper (7:00- 9:00 PM). A typical dinner begins with soup. Then comes the main course and after that a fascinating range of pastries and cakes with tea or coffee for dessert. The entire family usually eats dinner together. Very often that is the only time they meet during whole busy day. Interesting fact: Traditional Christmas Eve supper in Poland includes twelve dishes and desserts, some of which are only cooked and served during this time of year. It is customary for everyone to try a bit of each.

High mountains, sea, thick forests, green plains, crystal-clear lakes, rich flora and wildlife can all be found in Poland.

Poland is also a haven for storks and eagles, and the mountain area is a home to many wolves and lynxes. Water is one of Poland’s greatest treasures, with over 9,000 lakes and the Vistula River, the last of the great European rivers not to have been completely regulated. Forests account for around 30% of Poland's territory. In order to protect this natural wealth, Poland has 23 natural parks and over a hundred national heritage sites. The oldest national park in Poland is also the last primeval forest of Europe untouched by humans, dating back 10 000 years. This unique virgin land provides a habitat for the largest bison herd and many other wild animals. It is also known for its

record-breaking trees, in terms of both age and size. In the North of Poland, the most unusual sands, can be found: monumental shifting dunes which move with the speed of 10 metres per year. Meteorologists refer to the Polish climate as moderate. In practice it means that the weather is changeable and varied. The most frequent temperature in the summer is between 20° C and 30° C), while in winter the temperature usually goes below -10° C. Some claim that autumn is the best season of the year. The golden Polish autumn is quite famous: fine, warm, sunny weather usually continues well into the second half of October. This part of the year is especially beautiful in the mountains. Interesting fact: The only desert-like area on the continent may also be found in Poland. Błędowska Desert, also called “Polish Sahara”, has been for years a research site for geologists and other scientists. Nowadays it is mainly used as a site for military trainings, sports and cultural events.

Sport The variety and quality of geographical conditions in Poland make it possible for any kind of sport to be practised all year round. Water sports, skiing, cycling or horse-back riding are only some of the many options one might choose from.

The undeniable highlight of Poland are its mountain ranges, which offer innumerable opportunities for outdoor activities. The Polish mountains are a perfect place for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract tourists from all over the world. The heart of water sports is the sea region in the North and the lake district in the North-East, which are the most popular locations for sailing, fishing, canoeing and many other water-themed sports. As for indoor activities, the most admired sport is football. Co-hosting of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament with Ukraine made almost every Pole a passionate football fan. Following the spectacular championship of the Polish team in 2014, also volleyball is rapidly gaining more and more enthusiasts. Other sports that enjoy a growing popularity are speedway, basketball, handball, track & field, tennis, boxing, ice hockey, swimming and weightlifting. Interesting fact: The second most-watched sport in Poland is ski-jumping, which gained its popularity years ago, thanks to Adam Małysz – the only ski-jumper to win the World Cup three times in a row and receive the most titles in the history of individual World Championships. Ever since, ski-jumping gathers thousands of Polish people in front of their TVs.

Exchange year in Poland The exchange year programme in Poland starts in August and ends in July of the following year. There are three main seminars throughout the year, all of which are held in different regions of Poland, allowing students to visit and experience more of what Poland has to offer. The year begins with a 2-week language course. It takes place in the Imperial Castle of Poznań, where YFU Poland's office is located. At that time students get to know the basics of Polish language and culture. It is also when they visit Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, during a one-day trip led by volunteers. In January, all exchange students and their host siblings meet in Cracow, the country's second largest and the most loved city. During this threeday event they summarise their progress over the past six months and visit some of the most

important parts of the city, learning about Poland's rich history. Since 2015, students also get a chance to meet their counterparts spending exchange year in Poland's neighbouring country – the Czech Republic. Last but not least, in springtime all students and their host siblings spend one of May weekends at the beautiful Polish seaside, where they get to know the, so called, tricity of the region: Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. This event wraps up the students' exchange year in Poland and prepares them for their journey back home.

Let this year be the year you discover Poland.