Reflections Made By a College Student

Hello everyone! My name is Madison and I am one of the four students on this trip. Throughout our travels in Poland, I have made various observations on the social norms and the culture in Poland. I have tried to pay attention to people that seem to be around my age. It is always fun to compare and contrast how young 20 something people act around the world.

One major thing I noticed is that many young Poles tend to be more independent. I am constantly seeing younger people use public transport, walk, or do activities alone. This is not really seen in America, especially the travel alone part. Does this make them more independent or is Poland just safer? I wish America had more public transportation…

Young Poles do not seem to be on their phones as much as we are in the United States. I have seen very few scrolling through their phone on the trains. Many always have headphones on but their eyes are not glued to their screen. If you were to look at young Americans, we are on our phone any chance we get- at the dinner table, in class, at a red light. It is crazy to see how that is not the case here in Poland.

I have also noticed that many young Poles can speak their native language and English. They are taught it in schools, but also they encounter the English language from travelers. I just think it is so cool to fluently know more than one language. I know parts of Spanish, German, and I guess very little Polish (that skill is still loading…) but I cannot have a full conversation like these young Poles can.

Each time I go into a restaurant for dinner, I often see more young Poles dining. The day of the week does not matter, I have seen many instances where groups of younger Poles gather together to go out to eat. This could be seen the same in the United States, maybe it is just a worldwide norm that younger people prefer to go out to dinner rather than cook?

Perhaps the aspect of the younger Poles culture that I envy the most is their fashion. Everywhere we have been I see new styles or outfit ideas. Now, you cannot go out in public looking like a bum, but you get to experiment with what you are wearing. Girls are wearing overly baggy jean shorts past their knees and it looks so cute! If someone were to try that where I am from, there may be some stares. I love that they get to create their own combinations that work for them. Maybe this is something that I could bring back to the United States because I have found myself trying out new outfit combinations while I am here!

Thanks for reading my short reflection, there will be more to come!

-- Madison Sloan

P.S. I added some of my pictures below :)