catsoldier: Does anyone feel that they are not normal for learning Polish?
People get fascinated by other cultures quite often. Listen to this:
a book: "The Polish people will skin you alive," he warned. "And the Americans will kick your ass." This cruel caution came from my best friend.(...) "You're not Polish." "You've never seen Poland." "You can't speak a word of Polish." "You don't know the Polish people." "You are not Catholic." "Worse, you are not even Christian." (...) But it was my little daughter who did me in. "James Mitchener is a white man. You are not even white, Daddy." The bottom fell off.
From a book "Polonia, and the Man Who Saw God", by Ansara Ali, 1995.
Of Indian parentage, he grew up in Trinidad, but he has since lived in India, England, New York, Toronto, Florida and American Rockies. (...) He gave up journalism to see the world and spent the next ten years of his life "seeing the world" in a taxi.
"But let me say in all sincerity that of all the people I have met under the roof of my taxi, none fascinated me more than these same Poles."
So he decided to write a book about Poles.
Yes, the book has some trivial sections, and he sees Poland quite shallowly at times - although probably no shallower than some "plastic Poles" do, and the book is not a classic, and it will never be such, but the man has to be commended for his passion and courage. And for his sense of humor. Some of his scenes are full of action and are really funny.
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