My name is Sarah, I live in America, and Poland is one of the countries I am
studying this year.
Poland is a European country that is located in Central Europe. Its area is
almost as large as the American state New Mexico. This fact makes it the 7th to
largest country in all Europe.
Poland is full of lakes. There are around 9,000 of them. The country of Poland
is mostly flat, yet has some high mountains around the southern borders.
In Poland there are 6 distinct seasons: an early spring, a sunny spring, a
warm and rainy summer, a warm autumn, a cool and humid autumn, and a snowy winter.
In Poland's early history a king named Kazimierz III allowed Jewish people who
were being persecuted in other European countries to come and settle down in Poland.
This is the reason why Poland had so many Jews before World War II. This is one of
the reasons why Hitler came and invaded Poland. In response, France and Britain
declared war on Germany, which started World War II. By the end of the war the vast
Jewish population in Poland had been virtually demolished.
Now there are 38 million people living in Poland. Polish people are some times
called Polish or Poles. 97% of the people that live in Poland identify themselves
as Poles. The remaining million people are from many different countries, but most
of them are from Germany.
One sad thing about Poland is that the birth rates and death rates are around
the same per year. Men usually live to 69 years of age, while woman live to 77.
Polish people are serious about family life, manners, and soccer. Poles believe
in spending a lot of time with your family. Grandparents staying with their children
and grandchildren is not uncommon.
Before you visit Poland you have to learn your Polish manners. The Polish people
believe that manners are quite important. Eating and greeting manners are the
most important.
Soccer is Poland's favorite sport. Most all popular Internet websites in Poland
are either about soccer, or at least have some soccer links attached to them. Of course
like all other countries other than America, they call soccer, football.
There are major differences from the city life to the country life in Poland.
60% of Poles live in the city. These people are usually more prosperous, educated,
and have much more technology (like Internet access) than those who live in the country.
The people that live in the country are usually less educated and always much more
poor than those in the city. Some country villages look like they are villages from
100 years ago or more. The homes have thatched roofs. They use horses to plow fields.
Poles usually eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening
snack. The most important meal for the Poles is dinner.
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