My Study Abroad Trip to Poland

by Joan K.

I went to Poland, of all places, for my study abroad experience in college. It was not my intention to ever go to Poland, but the study abroad program at my college is very competitive and I did not get my application in in time to go to London. I didn’t speak a foreign language, especially Polish, so I was really nervous about studying abroad in Poland, but I knew that I would not be happy if I graduated from college without actually doing a study abroad program.  My school’s program in Poland is in Warsaw. I was assigned to live with a Polish family that, thank goodness, spoke fluent English. I had a mom, dad and brother to look out for me while I was over there.  I’m a history major, so it actually turns out that studying abroad in Poland, especially Warsaw, was a valuable thing for me to do in college, not only for the experience of living abroad, but also for the in-depth look at the culture and history of a war-torn city and it’s rebuilding. Warsaw is divided into two halves by the Vistula River. On the Western side of the river is where most of the older parts of Warsaw are. It’s also where the new city center is along with other things for tourists to do. I lived on the eastern side though, with my family and most of the other families. The eastern side is really known to be more industrial and business - oriented, kind of like a suburb.  After World War II, people of Poland spent a lot of time and money trying to restore the old town to what it looked like in the 18th century. They rebuilt homes and buildings and relined the streets. The also maintained the old market square in the center of the city so that people would also have hope of further restoration and proliferation of classic Polish culture. My study abroad experience helped me to learn about what makes up a general city-wide feel and taught me a lot about city planning and rebuilding, that’s for sure! My favorite spot to spend my Saturday’s in Warsaw was the Historical Museum of Warsaw, which is actually three stories tall. I became something of a fan of city reconstructing especially after seeing the in-depth documentary at the museum about how to go about rebuilding Warsaw. The film was made up of footage that the Nazi’s took with the cameras while they destroyed the city. It’s remarkable to see and understand how far they have come from where they have been.  

After my study abroad experience in Poland, I have a new appreciation for history, which is good since it’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. I understand the effect that cultural events have on people and know a little about how to maintain morale during rebuilding efforts. I think that every history major, particularly those that are interested in European and World War II history, would greatly benefit from spending a semester on a study abroad program to Poland. Take time to look around Warsaw and really think about what happened in the city and how it became a sort of Phoenix.

Next great city to visit is Cracow (south east of Poland), a city wrapped in legend, where time flows differently, and where every moment becomes a moment of history. For centuries Cracow (Krakow) was the capital of Poland, the seat of kings, drawing great scholars and artists from the whole world. It is their talents and imagination we must thank for the city’s rich legacy of unique historical relics, which reflect the most important trends in European culture.
 But by all means - go to Poland! You’ll be so glad you did (I am.) 

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 4th, 2007 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Study Abroad Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.