multiculturalism in Poland

10.10.05, 21:12
Hi everyone, I'm a 25 year old female from Montreal Canada who is thinking
about returning to Poland after 19 years abroad and possibly staying there. I
was thinking about opening my own latin and Brazilian dance studio or
something along those lines. Having lived in one of the most multicultural
cities in the world, and having had the chance to travel in Latin America, I
have to admit that the homogenous ethnic composition of Poland scares me. What
I would like to know is if there is foreigners in Poland (especially spanish
and portuguese speaking)that might want to tell me about their experiences in
Poland.
*Me pueden escribir en espanol o tambien en portugues, por los que quiean,
aqui esta mi e-mail de la uni para comunicarnos un a un.
marta.majeranowska@mail.mcgill.ca


    • bartis_ervin Re: multiculturalism in Poland 11.10.05, 07:16

      Hello Marta,

      I am Ervin, Hungarian living in Poland. I come from Transylvania where half of
      the population is Romanian and half Hungarian, along with Ukrainians, Slovaks,
      Germans, in other words there is a great diversity.
      When I lived in Hungary for a while I didn't feel good because the population is
      quite homogenous. Because of this I was a bit afraid of coming to Poland. But
      for a reason or another I don't have any problems (maybe it's my wife's meritsmile).

      I think in Warsaw there are a lot of foreigners and there will be more and more.
      So if you look for diversity you can find it.

      I hope you will get answer from portulaco, who is Portuguese living in Poland,
      or Kathleen from Canada living in Poland. I am sure that you can relate more to
      their personal experience.

      You might need to check on how dance studios work in Poland.. I really wonder if
      that's a profitable thing to do. Having the language skills you might also
      consider starting a language school or collaborate with one. Or perhaps there is
      Cervantes instute in Warsaw? The language schools might sound a common place,
      but they seems to work.

      I wonder what is your main motivation of moving back to Polandsmile

      Take care,
      Ervin
      • usenetposts Re: multiculturalism in Poland 11.10.05, 10:55
        What I can add, on the business side, is that there are latin dance classes in
        abundance, and they seem to be thriving businesses. The advantage is that you
        don't need much in the way of seed capital as you can hire buildings for the
        classes.

        My sister in law who lives with us has been going to a couple of classes and
        she could probably be your client or maybe later even help you teach.

        As for diversity, there is less diversity here than in many places, and that's
        what makes this country diverse. If all countries were "diverse", then
        ironically they woul be the same.
    • portulaco Re: multiculturalism in Poland 11.10.05, 11:47
      Ola martita!

      I will write in English to be possible for others in this forum to understand
      ok?

      I'm living in Łódź since June 2004 and working in a Polish-German company since
      one year, as far as I know every year more and more foreigners are coming to
      start they're lifes in this country, plenty of Italians for sure but not that
      many Portuguese, Spanish and Braziliens though I'm quite surprised with the
      increasing number of Portuguese-Polish couples, one of this couples started
      dating thanks to the Gazeta foruns smile

      Please try to obtain some information about Latin world in "forum hiszpańkie
      Viva Espana" and also in "forum Lusytania (Portugalia)" and "forum Portugalia i
      portugalskie". There is a Brazilien called Gustavinho that once in a while
      posts around here too. (Gustavinho se estas lendo este post da uma resposta a
      garota ok?)

      You wrote: "I have to admit that the homogenous ethnic composition of Poland
      scares me".

      Personally I consider Poland as one of the European countries most interessed
      in other cultures and in traveling, I think that your idea of a dance studio
      can be successful, mostly in Warsaw.

      Keep in touch.

      Ricardo
      • martita8012 Re: multiculturalism in Poland 11.10.05, 14:49
        Hello again,
        First of all I would like to thank everyone for answering to my posting and
        giving me all your insights. One of you had asked me what were my motivations
        for wanting to go back to Poland. My original plan was to go work in an NGO
        somewhere in Latin -America since I had studied International Development in
        University. Upon investigation however, I got discouraged with the way many
        developpement agencies were functioning and more so with all the red tape that
        was impeding me to work in those countries. Having a valid Polish passport, I
        decided instead to see if there is any oportunities for me in Poland. Also, I
        had never identified with Polish culture saying simply that it was the place
        where I was born. As I get older I guess you can say that it is sort of a quest
        for self-identity. I'm glad you guys told me that there might be interest for
        dancing classes. I investigated a bit and know that there are some studios that
        offer Latin dabces as Salsa and Merengue but I have not seen alot of Samba,
        Afro-Samba,Rueda or other Afro-Latin dances. Once again thank you for your
        postings, I value all your insights and opinions.
        Take care. martita
        • bartis_ervin Re: multiculturalism in Poland 11.10.05, 19:59

          I work in a field more or less similar to yours (humanitarian/human rights) and
          until now I worked at three NGO and volunteered with 6-7. I thought that I will
          find an organisation which will function as a Swiss watch, but I was wrong. And
          now I think there is no such organisation. Hmmm... maybe the Norwegian Refugee
          Councilsmile

          But I would say that don't give up. There are hundreds of NGOs, you can apply to
          the ones that you like the most. And speaking Portugese gives you many
          opportunities even outside Latin America. Just think of East Timor, Mozambique
          or Angola. In most of these places development is extremely needed.

          Ervin
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