Dominika Szmyd
09.30.07
ESL.100
Third Draft

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The day my family and I decided to move to the U.S.A was about two and a half years ago. I can remember it as if it was yesterday. I was really happy because I had never been in foreign country before, but at that time I didn’t know how it would look. I can also remember how big my excitement was. I wasn’t thinking any longer about my school and my graduation which was coming soon. I even wanted to quit school because I thought it will be useless in the U.S.A fortunately I didn’t do it. My happiness lasted until the day of leaving came. I got up early because I wanted to finish packing my stuff and suddenly I realized that I have to leave behind everything I had and everything I loved. I had to leave my grandparents, my friends, my cat and finally my country. I think at that moment I realized what I was losing. I realized how wonderful it was to live in my own country and what I will lose forever by moving to the U.S.A.

Of course there is an endless list of things which are common in Poland and hard to understand for people hear in America, but thinking about the most important three come to mind. The first thing that causes many problems and actually creates the huge barrier is the language. I am not talking only about the ability of communicating with others but about understanding the meaning of words in this language. Even though I can speak English now pretty good I still don’t feel comfortable speaking about everything. Sometimes I feel that I want to say something to someone , to tell my story or to explain my problems, but in some way I can’t do it. I feel like words which I want to say and words I am saying are completely different. I feel that I can’t express myself in English even if I could spoke perfect. What I mean is that even though Polish and English words have the same or similar meaning, they are completely different for me. It’s easier to explain this by using an example with swearing. When I was in high school in one of my English classes, there were half Polish students and half Mexican. Every time students sweares, teacher punished them. Of course I am not the kind of person who likes to swear but even if I could said a bad word in English I wouldn’t feel that it’s significance. Bad words in English don’t mean anything for me just like every other word in this language. The same problem is with humour, I am not able to understand specific English humour and I can’t even talk about Polish humour in the U.S.A . Polish people like every other foreign people have their own wisecracks and proverbs that only native speakers can understand. I really miss that part of Polish culture. I miss also the time I used to spend with my friends or my family. Even though I have my family in the U.S.A with me, everyone is busy with his life.

The second thing I will talk about is that food is a really important part in my life. Food or even the way of thinking about it. By looking at American people, I feel that they think of food as something that fills theirs stomach and keeps them alive. I can’t understand how the idea about food can be so meaningless and joyless. In Poland, the most important thing is that we prepared meals at home , not buy them ready in the store. There is nothing more wonderful than dinner made by my mother. Everything is so fresh and tasty. Even though I don’t look like a person who likes to eat so much, I can say that it is very important for me to fill my stomach with something special. Also the other important thing about food is to eat this with the whole family. I don’t actually agree with the idea about not talking while eating dinner. I can’t think of something more pleasant than talking and laughing on dinner table. The situation is similar with preparing meals for Christmas. I can’t imagine myself eating something that I bought before at the store on Christmas. Fortunately, I can say that I have a piece of Poland hear because since I moved to U.S.A I haven’t ate anything which was prepared by someone else than my mother or me. We are trying to keep that habit even though we are living right now in the U.S.A, and I hope it won’t change.

Finally, the last but the most important thing for me is spending time with friends. I left all my the most wonderful friends in Poland. Even though I met couple in the U.S.A, I feel that the real ones stayed in Poland. People here are completely different than people I know from Poland, even though sometimes they are Polish too. I can’t find a real friend among them. I miss also the way I was meeting with my friends. We didn’t meet at the clubs like many people in Chicago, but usually we went on a little trips. Mostly, we used to take walk in the mountains. During the day we walked in small group and we spent nights in a tent. I also loved moments when we all ghatered in one place to make a big fire place and to eat grilled sausages while laughing and talking all night. I remember it as the most wonderful moments in my life. I hate the idea that I can’t do some crazy and funny things anymore with the people I love so much. I feel that people in the U.S.A have a completely different, idea than my of spending free time. I really miss that part of my life.The truth is that people usually appreciate what they had after they lose it. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I am different. When I was living in Poland I always complained about something like that in Poland is too cold or that the life is too hard or that my everyday life is boring.The truth is that it was all my fault, not my country’s fault. Now I miss the fresh air , beautiful views and crazy things I did with my friends. I am a very sentimental person, that why it’s really hard for me to adapt here and maby I never will be able to do it. I still feel like I left part of me in Poland. I know for sure that America or any other foreign country won’t be my home because I have only one home in Poland. During these two years, I have been in the U.S.A I have a lot of time to think about what I have lost forever. I realized that these three things I come up with are only a little drop in the ocean of many others.