Yesterday, in front of our apartment :-)

When we met new people in Kraków, Poland, they'd frequently say things like, "You're the first American I've ever met," or even, "You're the first native speaker I've ever met!"

I wouldn't necessarily say this, but I'd be thinking: "Seriously? There are a TON of Americans living in Poland!"

In fact, when we first arrived in Poland we had trouble meeting Poles! We normally expand our social circle by meeting the friends of our friends. But when you don't know anyone, it's hard to get started.

However, we had no trouble meeting other Americans! I could recognize them from across the street or hear their accents when we were at a restaurant or cafe. And all we had to say was, "Hey, what are you doing in Poland?" And then we'd have a new American friend. ;-)

If I had to guess, there are at least hundreds if not thousands of Americans living in Kraków alone. When I'd tell this to Poles and they wouldn't beleive me! Well, today I have some proof. :-)

Read more to learn about 5 blogs written by Americans living in Poland!

A zapiekanka. Photo by Mariuszjbie.

This is the sixth installment in my series of articles called "Things I Love About Poland," in which I discuss differences between Poland and the USA.

It's been awhile since I wrote an article in this series! Right when we got back from our last trip to Poland (in October 2010), I made a list of over twenty ideas to write about. :-)

I was hoping to visit Poland again in the fall this year, but with all the work we're doing on Bibliobird, it looks like that will be impossible. :-/

(BTW, our paid product to help Poles learn English - "Real Life in the USA" - is going to be launched on Monday, October 1st. Learn more here and get a discount!)

So, now that fall has come, I'm feeling a little nostalgic!

In my first article in this series, I wrote about one thing I love about going out to eat in Poland - and today I'm going to tell you three more!

Read more to find out what they are!

Today we have an interesting article from Marcin at sprachcaffe.com, which offers language courses and camps abroad. It's a mix of tourism and language learning. :-)

(Note #1: I don't receive any kind of payment for publishing this article or the links to their page - I only received this awesome article!)

(Note #2: I translated this article from the original Polish version.)

Photo by woodleywonderworks

We all know that watching films in English helps us learn the language. We also know the surprise that comes with seeing traces of Poland in them!

Any reference to Poland in American films usually suprises Poles... postively or negatively. Here is a quick overview of Polish references found in American films.

Read more to find out about them!

To jest bardzo interesująca historia o dziewczynce w USA, która nie ma polskich korzeni ale zakochała się w Polsce w prosty sposób.

Czytaj cały list Brooke tutaj.

Proszę podaj mi poprawki w serwisie Lang-8.

Czytaj transkrypcję poniżej!

Photo by Erika Tricroche

We just got an email from my mother-in-law that I am sooo excited about!

She works as a 1st grade teacher near Appleton, Wisconsin. When my wife and I were in Poland, we worked as English teachers. Although our students were a little older than hers, we set up a penpal project with her students in the USA.

So, our students in Poland wrote letters to her students in the USA. Then they wrote back - and so on. I think both groups managed to write two letters in the course of a school year.

My wife returned to the USA a few times to visit family. One of those times she went to her mother's class to talk about Poland. She told a few fairy tales about Kraków (from the book Legends of Cracow), including the one about the Wawel dragon. This was already almost two years ago.

Then, at the end of last month, Brooke, one of my mother-in-law's former students, wrote her a letter. This little girl - who has no Polish heritage - is still thinking about Poland! It appears we've managed to spread our love of Poland to her.

I think it's contagious. ;-)

Read more to see her actual letter!

To jest pierwszy artykuł z serii, który jest bezpośrednio wzięty z ogromnej ilości maili, które dostaję na temat nauki języków, Stanów i Polski.

Kilka dni temu dostałem ten mail:

Witam David.

Chciałbym zadać ci jedno pytanie odnośnie stereotypów o Polakach. Nie wiem czy już o tym mówiłeś w swoich filmach(nie widzałem ich wszystkich bo jest ich całkiem sporo) więc jeśli już o tym mówiłeś to przepraszam. Więc...

Tutaj w Polsce często słyszę, że Amerykanie, Niemcy, Brytyjczycy śmieją sie z nas, że kradnimy, że pijemy i wiele innych obraźliwych opini.

Wiem, że kochasz Polske i wiem, że masz o nas dobrą opinie ale czy słyszałeś żeby inni Amerykanie mówili tak o nas? Jestem bardzo ciekaw czy jest to prawda, że mamy tak złą opinie za granicą. Z niecierpliwościa czekam na odpowiedź. Pozdrawiam.

Czytaj dalej, żeby poznać moją odpowiedź!

One of the Engima machines. Photo by J Brew.

The Enigma machine was invented near the end of World War I. An electro-mechanical cypher machine that allowed the German military to send encoded messages, the Enigma evolved to become a powerful tool the Nazis would soon use before and during World War II.

But did you know that this powerful and complicated machine was deconstructed and decoded by a clever group of Polish mathematicians? Plus, as a result of their efforts, many agree the war in Europe ended two years sooner than it could have!

Read more to learn about this great (and often overlooked) moment in Polish history!

My wife with some of her students.

Want to travel to Poland for a long period of time but don't know how to afford it? Teach English!

If you are a native speaker of English or speak English at an advanced level, working as an English teacher can be a great way to support yourself while you travel abroad. In Poland, language learning is very popular and there are tons of private language schools (something completely unheard of in the States).

Even if your native language isn't English, you can probably find a school that teaches it. When we were living in Kraków, I knew Italian, German and Russian native speakers who were teaching their native languages!

Don't speak very good Polish? No problem! It's not required, and in fact, you will be encourage to never use the students' native language in the classroom.

From October 2009 to June 2010, my wife and I were working as English teachers in Poland. In this article, I'd like to give a little advice for people who want to do the same.

Read more for my advice!

People relaxing near the Wisła river, next to Wawel castle. Photo by bazylek100 on Flikr.

This is the fifth installment in my series of articles called "Things I Love About Poland," in which I discuss differences between Poland and the USA. In this article, I talk about Poland's old-world character and wonderful museums.

Polish bills. Photo by Niels Heidenreich.

This is the fourth installment in my series of articles called "Things I Love About Poland," in which I discuss differences between Poland and the USA. In this article, I talk about money.