nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Nov 29, 2005 19:47:54 GMT -7
A few days ago I received an email from a woman in Rzeszow. The note was in Polish, but thanks to my excellent dictionary sent from my friend in Warsaw, and our forum friend Frank making me work at the language, I was able to translate her note (and Jaga confirmed my translation, thanks, Jaga!!)
Ala was not sure if she had written to the right person, and was very apologetic if I was the "wrong" person. But - I am her second cousin, twice removed!
She was already in my family tree, based on information from other relatives - but apparently they had not told her about her American cousins ( she will be astonished at how many American cousins she has!)
So now we will exchange emails and information. I know little Polish, but I am surprised that I can actually understand some of her sentences. A little work brings many rewards!
Just as I thought my Polish heritage was fading away, it seems reborn again with these new contacts. I am so happy....
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Nov 30, 2005 19:05:21 GMT -7
oh boy, the more Ala writes, the harder I have to work! I have to ask her to write very simple sentences.
this exchange has convinced me to go to Rzeszow in 2007 ( I wonder how many cousins I can convince to meet me there!!)
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Post by suzanne on Nov 30, 2005 19:28:18 GMT -7
Wow, how exciting! What a thrill this must be for you, on 2 counts: finding a relative, and getting proof that your Polish is now evidently good enough for you to communicate in! ;D
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zooba
Full Pole
Posts: 369
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Post by zooba on Dec 1, 2005 4:52:55 GMT -7
Nancy, if you need help with translating or you just want to make sure if you understand the letters correctly, you can ask me. I'd be happy to help.
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Dec 1, 2005 8:31:25 GMT -7
Suzanne,
My Polish is practically non-existant, but I have picked up a few things over the past months. I can picture myself visitng in Poland, and forcing my relatives to write simple sentences, then waiting while I look up each word (well, now I can recognize a few...very few ;D
Zooba,
thank you/dziekuje bardzo for the offer, I might take you up on it one of these days!! I really appreciate your willingness to help me.
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piwo
Citizen of the World
Co Słychać?
Posts: 1,189
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Post by piwo on Dec 1, 2005 11:03:10 GMT -7
Bardzo gratulacja!!!! Now, it really gets fun!!!!! You will be like me and waiting everyday for another treasure to show up in the mailbox! It is the same issue I've been dealing with for now going on two years. Learning the language on the fly is difficult! I asked them to write and speak using "prosty slowa", which gave them a good laugh, but they did, and it helped!  When in Poland, my speaking was adequate (not good, just adequate), but my understanding of the spoken sentence was terrible: I told them " Moje ucha pracuja powoli". ;D  Fortunately, my cousin could understand pretty well, but couldn't talk a lick.. we made a good team! She listened, I spoke, and everybody laughed (and drank)!  If you have a scanner, you could always scan the documents and take someone up on their offer to "officially translate". I do that even when I think I have it all understood, just in case. Plus, it's nice to read the letter that sounds more like fluid language, then my crude translations. |
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Dec 1, 2005 12:16:14 GMT -7
"prosty slowa" = simple words ? I will have to use that one myself! I have been doing the language dance for a couple of years now, it is slow going. Jaga has helped me with some translations, and I have relied a great deal on my friend in Warsaw. He is one smart fellow - taught himself English from books and tapes, and since he helped me on my trip in 2004 and other projects, we have become friends. He has become very interested in helping people find family in Poland and set up a little business: www.inpassa.comThe new cousin (Ala) said she is checking her mail box every 10 minutes for more news, so I sent her a PDF of the family tree (the US half is a good bit larger than the Polish half). he he - I let the diagram do the talking! |
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Post by Theo on Dec 2, 2005 20:54:30 GMT -7
What a fantastic story Nancy! Perhaps some day my wife and I might also find relatives in Poland. We are doing some research now but are not yet ready to make the jump across to Poland yet, but we are close I think. I wish you all the best as you continue to learn polish. I have been trying to learn this language for 2 years now and I find it enjoyable but difficult. I am using some CD's which have been very helpful to me. |
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Dec 3, 2005 11:26:30 GMT -7
Hi Theo,
Welcome to the forum. Learning Polish is not easy! I like the sound of it though, it is much more sibilant than I had expected.
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theo
Freshman Pole
Posts: 1
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Post by theo on Dec 3, 2005 21:04:28 GMT -7
Thank you for the warm welcome Nancy. I have been to this site before a long time ago and you helped me at that time as well. I think I was called 'baby driver' at that time. I will check out the site you suggested for the friend who lives in Warsaw. My wife's aunt just wrote me and said she has found the names of the parents who stayed in Poland. So now we are already thinking about how to research these names in Poland.
I cannot imagine how much fun it must be for you and for Ala to be able to get to know one another. What a great story! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Theo
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Dec 4, 2005 8:12:37 GMT -7
yes, Theo, I remember you from the other forum! I am glad to see that you found us again. |
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franek80
Cosmopolitan
From Sea To Shining Sea
Posts: 875
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Post by franek80 on Dec 10, 2005 10:48:14 GMT -7
Nancy;
You are srelling yourself too short..I watched you over the past year.. You have really improved.. Sure it,s hard.. You were cheated out of having your parents teach you.. Most of learning is by the sound.. Hey, Jaga got my .. he loves it.
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Post by gardenmoma on Dec 13, 2005 15:46:35 GMT -7
A few days ago I received an email from a woman in Rzeszow. The note was in Polish, but thanks to my excellent dictionary sent from my friend in Warsaw, and our forum friend Frank making me work at the language, I was able to translate her note (and Jaga confirmed my translation, thanks, Jaga!!) Ala was not sure if she had written to the right person, and was very apologetic if I was the "wrong" person. But - I am her second cousin, twice removed! She was already in my family tree, based on information from other relatives - but apparently they had not told her about her American cousins ( she will be astonished at how many American cousins she has!) So now we will exchange emails and information. I know little Polish, but I am surprised that I can actually understand some of her sentences. A little work brings many rewards! Just as I thought my Polish heritage was fading away, it seems reborn again with these new contacts. I am so happy.... Nancy, I've followed this discussion since you announced your good news Perhaps, I've missed something somewhere along the line...but how did this new cousin come to have your e-mail address? Thanks |
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nancy
European
Posts: 2,144
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Post by nancy on Dec 13, 2005 17:17:18 GMT -7
As near as I can tell, she stumbled across my webshots album of pictures from Poland. Maybe she was using google or maybe just looking through the webshots albums - I don't know how she got there in the first place. One of the albums has a photo from the 1970s of some of "our" relatives, and of course she recognized her aunts and uncles. Then, I have a link from webshots to the Polish Culture website, and she wrote to me at that address. I just love webshots! ;D community.webshots.com/user/nancyjmblakeP.S. It would have been way too easy if one of my other cousins in Poland had given her my address. |
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Post by gardenmoma on Dec 13, 2005 22:16:23 GMT -7
Thanks |
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