Poland - Culture Smart!

Author: Gregory Allen
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 1787023311
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Book Description
Don't just see the sights&―get to know the people. Culture Smart! guides provide travelers with vital information about the values and attitudes of the people they will meet, and practical advice on how to make the most of their time abroad. Travelers to Poland in particular, a country in transition from its Communist past, need to be open-minded and well-informed. Today's Poland is very much a mix of the old and the new, and the two are not always in harmony. Background knowledge of the land, people, and history is crucial to understanding who the Poles are today: the Polish sense of identity has been forged by history, and the reader is introduced to the main events of Poland's turbulent past. A chapter on values and attitudes provides essential insights into this relationship-based society, and will help visitors understand why things are done the way they are. Further chapters describe important festivals and rites of passage, as well as how Poles go about their daily social and work lives. Valuable advice is also offered on how to get along with them. The Polish people are warm and generous and place great value on personal relationships. Show an interest in their history and an awareness of their culture, and your welcome will be warmer still. Have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Poland - Culture Smart!

Author: Greg Allen
Publisher: Bravo Limited
ISBN: 1857335899
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * do's, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken "Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel "... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel "...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer "...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine "...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore

Author: Sophie Hodorowicz Knab
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
Polish Customs, Traditions, & Folklore is organized by months beginning with December and Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the Wigilia (Christmas Eve) nativity plays, caroling and then New Year celebrations. It proceeds from the Shrovetide period to Ash Wednesday, Lent, the celebration of spring, Holy Week customs then superstitions, beliefs and rituals associated with farming, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, midsummer celebrations, harvest festivities, wedding rites, nameday celebrations, birth and death rituals. Line illustrations enhance this rich and varied treasury of folklore. Many of the customs and traditions found herein are extinct even in today's Poland. World wars, massive immigration, the loss of the oral tradition, urbanization and politics have changed the face of a once agrarian people and their accompanying life style. In the U.S., the desire for membership within the "melting pot", marriages outside one's ethnic group, movement to the suburbs away from the "old" communities where customs and traditions were once strong, further weakened the link. Although the purpose and meaning may have been lost and forgotten, the oczepiny ceremony (the unveiling) is still the mainstay of almost every wedding where the bride declares Polish heritage. Many Polish American communities still reenact the harvest celebrations, reminding themselves of their ancestors' reverence for the grains and gifts of bread. Eight million Americans still claim their ancestry as Polish, many still diligently practicing that which they learned at their parents' and grandparents' knees. Much has also been neglected or completely forgotten.

Romania - Culture Smart!

Author: Debbie Stowe
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 178702976X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
A land of mountains, hills, and fertile plains, Romania is a tourist destination waiting to be discovered. It is a rich and complex country: a place whose cities are home to beautiful parks and vibrant cultural scenes; whose people welcome guests warmly into their homes, sharing the best of whatever they have, and party into the night, suffused by Latin joie de vivre. Buffeted over time between three great powers—the West, Russia, and Turkey—Romania betrays the cultural influences of each, and it can be a difficult place to get a handle on. Culture Smart! Romania provides an indispensable tool for the foreign visitor, digging deep behind the clichés, explaining many of the behavioral quirks of the people, smoothing your path toward better understanding, and outlining the many attractions—cultural, social, and geographical—that await you in this underexplored part of Europe.

A Chip Shop in Poznań

Author: Ben Aitken
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785785591
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 325

Book Description
'One of the funniest books of the year' - Paul Ross, talkRADIO WARNING: CONTAINS AN UNLIKELY IMMIGRANT, AN UNSUNG COUNTRY, A BUMPY ROMANCE, SEVERAL SHATTERED PRECONCEPTIONS, TRACES OF INSIGHT, A DOZEN NUNS AND A REFERENDUM. Not many Brits move to Poland to work in a fish and chip shop. Fewer still come back wanting to be a Member of the European Parliament. In 2016 Ben Aitken moved to Poland while he still could. It wasn't love that took him but curiosity: he wanted to know what the Poles in the UK had left behind. He flew to a place he'd never heard of and then accepted a job in a chip shop on the minimum wage. When he wasn't peeling potatoes he was on the road scratching the country's surface: he milked cows with a Eurosceptic farmer; missed the bus to Auschwitz; spent Christmas with complete strangers and went to Gdansk to learn how communism got the chop. By the year's end he had a better sense of what the Poles had turned their backs on - southern mountains, northern beaches, dumplings! - and an uncanny ability to bone cod. This is a candid, funny and offbeat tale of a year as an unlikely immigrant.

A Country In The Moon

Author: Michael Moran
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 1847084931
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
In this uproarious memoir and meticulously researched cultural journey, writer Michael Moran keeps company with a gallery of fantastic characters. In chronicling the resurrection of the nation from war and the Holocaust, he paints a portrait of the unknown Poland, one of monumental castles, primeval forests and, of course, the Poles themselves. This captivating journey into the heart of a country is a timely and brilliant celebration of a valiant and richly cultured people.

Rick Steves Snapshot Kraków, Warsaw & Gdansk

Author: Rick Steves
Publisher: Rick Steves
ISBN: 1631216244
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 348

Book Description
You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk. In this compact guide, Rick Steves and Cameron Hewitt cover the essentials of Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk, including The Tri-City. Visit Krakow's stunning Main Market Square, Warsaw's historical Royal Way, or Gdansk's Main Town Hall, featuring Golden Age decorations. You'll get firsthand advice on the best sights, eating, sleeping, and nightlife, and the maps and self-guided tours will ensure you make the most of your experience. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves Snapshot guide is a tour guide in your pocket.

Germany - Culture Smart!

Author: Culture Smart!
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 1787028852
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
Don't just see the sights—get to know the people. Germany powerhouse of Europe and pillar of the Eurozone feels reassuringly familiar. However, despite superficial appearances, this is a country that operates very differently from the USA and Britain. German history is more than a thousand years old and the relatively new German nation-state encompasses an astonishing variety of cultural and regional differences. German society is also in a state of flux, as people respond to immigration and a tough economic climate, and traditional attitudes such as formality and rigid protocol are softening as German business globalizes. Culture Smart! Germany sets out to show you how to be a good and sensitive guest. With chapters on core values and attitudes, and a practical business briefing, it is a valuable introduction to the German way of life. It tells you what treatment to expect, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to build rapport and credibility with this culturally rich and inventive people at the heart of Europe. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Belarus - Culture Smart!

Author: Anne Coombes
Publisher: Kuperard
ISBN: 1857336178
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Britain - Culture Smart!

Author: Paul Norbury
Publisher: Bravo Limited
ISBN: 1857337166
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Book Description
“Cool Britannia” is alive and well today. British culture is at the top of its game—in fashion, popular music, art and entertainment, science and technology, new inventions, and in the rediscovered skills and excellence in engineering that make it Germany’s leading trading partner in Europe. As a family of nations, the British are inventive, reflective, good humored, funny, focused, and tenacious. Today’s multicultural Britain is managing the challenges of integrating minorities in a way that remains true to its fundamental values and beliefs as a fair and open society, one that continues to see itself as a model for others to follow. Since the first edition of this guide appeared, Britain has faced huge and accelerated change in its cultural, economic, and political life. In ten years immigration has added a further five million to its population. Confidence in its banks and regulatory structures was shaken by the global financial crisis. The very unity of the United Kingdom was tested in 2014 in the referendum on Scottish independence, and although those wishing to retain the Union triumphed, it prompted a debate about national identities and rights, and the prospect of a new “fairer” settlement for the English. While the desire of Scottish nationalists for independence remains as strong as ever, the surge in support for the UK Independence Party (which wants Britain to leave the EU) may well result in a new form of power sharing in parliament. This revised and updated edition of Culture Smart! Britain examines the impact of these issues on British society and guides the reader through the quirks, customs, values, and changing ways of British life. It is a must-read for the record-breaking numbers of visitors coming to these islands.