'Step 1: Fill pot with 2 liters of water.' Okay.
'Step 2: Boil water.' Check.
'Step 3. Endure approx. 2 minutes after departure until appropriate.' Um...
It's always amusing to me when you have to translate the translation. Luckily, China prepared me for that, and the pierogis turned out fine.
My experience learning the Polish language has been quite interesting so far. I don't have a formal tutor yet, since my schedule has been changing around a lot with the classes I teach, so the majority of my language learning has been through what I've managed to pick up here and there for practical use. So mostly my Polish is limited to an eclectic collection of words and phrases that allow me to do things such as ask for a key to the laundry room, buy a train ticket, and use a Polish copy machine.
Amusingly, my best Polish teachers are my six-year-old students. I use flashcards and pictures frequently when I'm teaching the students new words, and their first reaction is always to shout out the name of the item in Polish before I give them the English word. When I have fifteen students shouting out "pomidor!" "pomidor!" repeatedly while I'm teaching them the word for 'tomato,' it's easy for me to learn that the Polish word for tomato is pomidor. The little ones are teaching me without even meaning to! Consequently, I happen to know the names of colors, shapes, family members, and pets in Polish.
My third grade students are especially concerned with my language acquisition. Whenever they get to class early, they keep themselves occupied by writing a dictionary of Polish words for me on the board. Then, before class starts, they like for me to try and read all of the words out loud. The students get endless amusement from this, and I think it's a sneaky way to have them practice the English translations of Polish words. Some of the students write very practical things, like 'telephone,' and 'book,' while others continuously teach me the word for 'teddy bear.' They're tough teachers though. Today, after I read my weekly 'dictionary,' one of the little girls said, "It's good. But keep practicing, it's not that good." Looks like I'd better practice saying the word for teddy bear a few more times.
 |
| Today's 'dictionary' |
 |
| In case you thought Polish was easy |
