Poznan - My Other City Is My Home

Food, food and food!

Just like the seven blind men called on to touch an elephant and give an account of what they thought they had just touched, studying in Poznan meant a lot different things to the many international students here. To every Rahul, Adebola, Vanessa, Feng or Mohamed though, it all meant one thing: Awe-inspiring. If you're already planning a trip to Poland, having a discernment of Polish hospitality is of considerable importance to you. This is something you really can't find in any guide book, it's to be experienced first-hand and you could probably make do with some of the rules I garnered from my own experience. The first rule: Make sure you go on an empty stomach! You don't necessarily need to have a cast iron stomach but make sure it's empty when you're honoring an invitation to dine with a Polish family. Gracing my first invitation to a proper, traditional Polish cook-out taught me all I needed to know. Luckily for me, I'd left my apartment without having a proper food so that by the time I arrived, my stomach was grumbling loudly. What I saw on the dining table though, was everything but the kitchen sink. Even my grumbling guts miraculously calmed down as we all settled down to chow down the food. By the time the last piece of food had been gobbled, I was ready to roll back to my apartment. I was filled to the brim yet my hosts still insisted I had more food. What!!

Simply appetizing!

Second rule: Wear your heart on your sleeve. When you sit at the feast table with your Polish hosts, feel free and smile. Don't hold anything back but be tactful. One unguarded statement could ruin the fun. Make sure not to reject any food offered, and if you have to say no, say it with your laundry-soap commercial smile. On the table were lots of dishes I'd never tasted. The Polish kielbasa (sausages) looked different from the everyday sausages I was used to likewise the "chrzan" (horseradish). I couldn't reject trying them all out. My task was how to eat them without grimacing and making my hosts feel bad. I looked at the patron of the house who had been around the world and whom I'd been discussing politics with and tried a very old trick. "Sir, the kielbasa looks really different. Is it usually made from veal" I asked. He was eager to proudly tell me what the sausage was made from and thus my trick worked. My plan was to be in the middle of a discourse while I tried out the kielbasa. I'd already put on my poker face and now if the kielbasa tasted really strange, I could grimace without basically betraying any expression on my face. As the patron of the house lectured me about kielbasa, I quickly tried it, found out it wasn't bad at all, saw it off with a gulp of tea and gave my Redford smile again.

Third rule: Don't fail to praise the culinary skills of the cook (who's usually the matron of the family). Well, apart from getting a taste of Polish hospitality, be ready to experience some kind of "old-school love". The old man wouldn't stop telling everyone who sat at the table how his wife bakes the best cake or cooks the best soup in town. I had to take a cue from that. I looked at his wife and told her how much I admired her cooking and how well it tasted.

Fourth rule: Keep a conversation going and bring your table manners along: Don't shuffle your feet, belch loudly or make your phone the center of your attention. Converse lightly about general topics. I muted my phone and buried myself deep in the rituals of chowing down the food. Lighthearted conversations went on while we all dined. Also, remember to keep your guffawing till after the meal. You don't want to expose the spinach that just got stuck in your teeth to your host. Remember, wear your heart at your sleeve but be tactful!

Fifth rule: At the end of the meal, smile, smile and smile. You can tell your hosts how much you've enjoyed the meal even if your tummy is starting to make funny sounds. Don't be an ungrateful guest and brag about how you're not used to eating traditional stuff. Poles like their traditional food and won't take it lightly to it being berated. Another wonderful time to have a taste of Polish hospitality at the dining table is at Christmas. Get ready to be treated to a twelve-dish Christmas eve banquet. Christmas is just a couple of months away and ain't we all looking forward to that again?

To be sure I wasn't hallucinating about my experience in Poznan as an international student, I ventured to ask  other students to examine in contrast how their adventure had been so far and below are the excerpts.

A view of the Malta lake

Me: So, Amy, how's it been like?
Amy: Well, there have been ups and downs and some tribulations at the beginning when I was adjusting but overall, it's been pretty good.
Me: How was it like adjusting here when you first arrived? 
Amy: It's been more of an anticipation scare than reality. I'd never been to Poland before I came here as a student so I was suffering from too much anxiety after reading all the different things on the Internet.
Me: So, do you have a different opinion about Poland and Poznan after you adjusted as a student?
Amy: By all means. I was proven wrong about everything and the good thing was that it turned out to be much better than I expected.
Me: Describe Poznan in three words.
Amy: Culture, motion and spirit.
Me: Thanks Amy!
Amy: Anytime!

That was an account. Let's see what some other person thinks. This time, a guy.

Me: Hey pal! How's it been like studying here as an International Student?
Raj: It's been an experience. Although I wouldn't call it a piece of cake, it's been challenging and interesting so far.
Me: What are the challenges?
Raj: The main challenges for me was the Polish language and the weather. Good thing though is that most locals speak English and I'm fast adapting to the weather. I can't say I miss the food because there's an Indian restaurant downtown.
Me: In your own opinion, what sets this city straight for International Students?
Raj: This city is full of young people from all over the world. It's dynamic, modern and at the same time has a flavor of old European traditions.
Me: Describe Poznan in three words.
Raj: Drive, students, beauty.
Me: Thanks Raj!
Raj: You're welcome!

The bouncing bridge

So like Amy and Raj, Poznan means different things to all of us. The most important thing though, is that we have all come to love this city that presents many life-time opportunities to its teeming student population. And as we all come and go, holding close to our hearts the experience of studying in Poznan, we say from the bottom of our hearts, Venimus, Vidimus, Vincemus - We came, We saw, We will conquer.