the wrocław international, december 2011

News from Wrocław’s City of Culture 2016 team on Page 8, Also on Page 8 you can read about The Regional Strategies for Disaster Prevention, CivPro. Hala Stulecia news and Christmas Wreath Making on Page 9, on 0 James Solomon tells us about his first impressions of Wrocław, having come here from the Caribbean. The IFW has a new conker champion on P 11.

See pictures from The W r o c ła w I n t e r n a t i o n a l Celebration on Page 2. Catch up on recent news, Page 3.

A review of 2011 with ARAW and learn about investors visiting from Ireland on Page 4. Lukas Bank became Crédit Agricole, find out more on Page 5. We learn what HP is doing for Christmas and one English businessman’s view of the Polish workforce on Page

6, Make Tax Savings on P. 7.

With a mere seven months to

Euro 2012, Poland found out

its future opponents in what is

arguably the biggest event to

be held in the country. In the

opening fixture on June 8th,

Poland play Greece in War-

saw, followed four days later

by a crunch match against old

foes Russ ia . So uthern

neighbours Czech Republic

were also drawn in group A,

and will take on the co-hosts in

the final group game in Wro-

cław on June 16th. All four

nations will play in Wrocław.

Zinedine Zidane and Marco Van Basten proved lucky charms for Poland, as the football legends drew the seemingly „easiest‟ sides from each pot. The news of Poland‟s opponents was met with increasingly bigger cheers on Wrocław’s Rynek, where the draw was beamed-back onto a massive screen. Despite the opti-mism that the draw brought to Poland‟s prospects, head coach Franciszek Smuda remained cautious after the draw: “This is not the group of death, but the points will not be easy either”.

Russia will most certainly prove

stern opposition with top stars like Andrei Arshavin and Yuri Zhirkov amongst their ranks. Compare their squad with the might of Spain and Holland however, and it is clear Poland have dodged a bullet. An ageing Czech team are there for the taking, while the Greek‟s outing at the last World Cup shows they are no world beaters either.

The draw might have been kind to Poland, but the lack of top sides in Wrocław has left some disappointed. With Poznań and Gdańsk set to welcome group C‟s cultural mix of fans from Spain, Italy, Croatia and Ireland, Wrocławians could be forgiven for being a tad jealous. The dif-ference in quality between group C and A also provides a reason to be envious.

It’s not all bad news for Wro-cław though. Austerity hit Greece will arrive in the city looking for a good excuse to party, while Russian fans will be keen to make up for lost time having not qualified for the World Cup in South Africa.

Wrocław’s excellent flight con-nections with Spain, Ireland and Italy will inevitably result in those fans making a quick visit to the city as well. With Poznań just a two and a half hour train

journey away, Wrocław is in a prime position to accommodate Group B fans before they travel to the city on matchday.

Moreover, hoards of Czech fans are set to make the short trip across the border, with Prague just a 300km drive away. W r o c ł a w M a y o r R a f a ł Dutkiewicz has confirmed that he has had talks with the head of the Czech football federation, with a view to having the Czechs use Wrocław or Lower Silesia as their base. The location suits Czech team coach Michal Bilek, while Karel Haring from the Czech paper Daily Sport also believes their draw has been kind: “It's the least attractive group in terms of football, but geographically we are very close to Wrocław”

The draw itself was hosted in Kiev, and featured peformances by Ukranian artists Virsky and Jamala, as well as a speech from Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovich.

Additionally, Presentation clips for each host city took pride of place. Wrocław’s own 30 second offering showed the city in all its glory, featuring sublime shots of the Rynek, Hala Stulecia, the University and Ostrów Tumski.

Before any balls were drawn, a

moment was taken to remember football legend and Welsh coach Gary Speed who died tragically last month. Another moving moment during the ceremony came in the shape of Viktor Ponedelnik’s stage appearance. The visually impaired star who was part of USSR’S 1960 euro championship winning side, was one of 13 former champions present at the ceremomy including Marco Van Basten, Zinedine Zidane, Peter Schmeichel and current Spanish international Joan Capdevila .

In addition to the actual draw, the ceremony incorporated the launch of the official Euro 2012 football. Former Ukranian pole vaulting champion Sergei Bubka presented the ball which has been named the ‘Tango 12’ by Adidas. The German sports firm claim it is the most tested football in history, and that it offers players the best compromise between close con-trol and spin. Sporting both the colours of Poland and Ukraine, the Tango 12 was also revealed as part of Wrocław’s live draw beamback on the Rynek.

Our regular columns on Polish Language and Culture appear on Pages 12 and 13 together with our second instalment of stories from a French Classroom.

We have articles in French, and Spanish for our multi-lingual readers on Pages 14 and 15

Spicy Delight introduces you to some Polish Christmas delicacies, and we learn how to make delicious stuffing, Page 16. Of course, there must be sparkling wine for Christmas, and Christmas Market treats, Page 17.

Pilates explained on Page 18, How to find your stolen bike Page 19, Polish football jersey controversy explained Page 19,

15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostr%C3%B3w_Tumski,_Wroc%C5%82aw

The Wrocław International December 2011

We all make journeys from time to time. Sometimes you know exactly where you are going and sometimes you get there by chance. The team at The Wro-cław International have been on such a journey for the past year and are proud to be still publish-ing despite the highs and lows which come with a new venture.

As we stare a new year in the face, we ready ourselves for the coming twelve months, steeled with a new logo, additional writ-ers and ambitious plans for im-provement and innovation.

As Editor, I would like to thank our dedicated editorial team, our photographer, graphic designers and all the writers who have voluntarily contributed to the paper for the past twelve months. A band of people from

eighteen different countries, four continents. Our sponsors and friends of the paper have be-lieved in us, in the need for such a paper in Wrocław and their backing has been invaluable. They are true investors in our local community.

For our first anniversary we or-ganised an event to celebrate the cultural diversity and talent la-tent in this city. Through our differences we have found a commonality in this city that we call home, a shared connection. Our paper aims to build that connection and give a voice to all these wonderful communi-ties. Seasons Greetings to you, our readers.

Grace Sexton [email protected]

On November 17, 2011, The Wrocław International, in partnership with the International Friends of Wrocław, hosted the First Annual Celebration of International Life in Wrocław. The event, which was held in the Wrocław City Hall (Ratusz), was intended to spotlight the wide diversity of people and businesses living and operating in Wrocław as well as commemorate the first birthday of the newspaper whose aim it is each month to highlight this diversity.

The evening kicked off with performances from many of the talented local and international artists living in Wrocław. The artists who graciously volunteered to perform at the event included: Adrian Foltyn (Pianist); Ekaterina Unterberger (Pianist) and Przemysław Borys (Tenor); Romain Ravenel (Dancer/Actor) and Edgar de Poray (Photographer and Filmmaker); Jim and Anka Williams (Liquidmime); Julieta Gonzalez (Soprano) and Maciej Posłuszny (Guitarist); Esther Kim, Sally Kim, Duyeon Ko, Bon Sang Koo, Sanna Paavolainen, Hong Sl Park, Kyoung Ah Park (Violinists) with Beata Biernkiewicz (Pianist); Ishtar/Patrycja Marczewska (Belly Dancer); Salila/Magdalena Gruszka and Hayatim/Urszula Szarek (Bollywood Dancers); Hiroko Nagai (Solo Pianist); and Bente Kahan (Singer). In addition to these performers, artists Marianna Stuhr, Ewa Rossano and Yoav Rossano had their artwork on display and were on-hand to discuss their art with guests. Local filmmaker, Michał Poddębniak, filmed, directed and produced mini-biographical films of each of the artists that were played prior to their performances. He also produced a film about The Wrocław International newspaper that featured interviews with several members of the newspapers’ staff. Klementyna Patalas and TWI Editor-in-Chief Grace Sexton served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies and Hostess.

After the performances all in attendance were invited to enjoy light appetizers, wine and cake while meeting and mingling with fellow international and local Wrocław residents and enjoying the artwork that was on display. Over 250 people attended the event, and The Wrocław International and International Friends of Wrocław were especially excited to have in attendance long-standing supporters of the international community in Wrocław, as well as Eugene Hutchison, the Irish Ambassador to Poland.

The event would not have been possible or successful without the generous sponsors, including: the City of Wrocław, PWC, ARAW, NICO Electronic Systems, Inc., Research & Engineering Center Sp. Z o.o., Audio Expert, and Centrum Sztuki Impart.

A letter from

the Mayor of Wrocław, Rafał Dutkiewicz,

to The Wrocław International

Thank you sincerely for the invitation to the event in honor of the birthday of the first English-language news-paper in Wrocław.

Please receive my congratulations and my compliments for your determination in publishing The Wrocław Inter-national and your wonderful work in inspiring the com-munity of multilingual Wrocławians.

I wish you the best regards in future endeavors and you have my utmost respect for your work.

Rafał Dutkiewicz

President of Wrocław


.

The Political and Economic Fo-rum in Krzyżowa passed this year without the presence of leading figures from the worlds of Polish politics and public life. The event was to be at-tended by, among others, psy-chologist Jacek Santorski and Monetary Policy Council mem-ber Jerzy Hausner; however, both decided not to partici-pate. The Forum’s second day guest was to be Economic and European Affairs minister Hen-ning Heidemanns, who also failed to attend. The Forum in Krzyżowa has been compared to those at Davos or Krynica, which is perhaps a slight exag-geration. This year’s Forum was

decidedly more low key, with fewer guests in attendance than usual. Whispers could be heard in the corridors that the Forum would die out unless the organis-ers could come up with a new idea to revive the event.

For three days, the participants debated regional cooperation between Lower Silesia and the German Lands, energy policy and business in times of cri-sis. Perhaps the low turnout in Krzyżowa is a symptom of the crisis? This cannot be ruled out. Those in attendance in-cluded: Prof. Witold Orłowski–Business School Director at Warsaw Polytechnic, Prof. Georg Milbradt–TU Dresden, Lidia Geringer d'Oedenberg–MEP, Serhij Tereszko–Office of

the President of Ukraine. There was also the traditional eco-nomic awards ceremony. This Polish-German mini-summit was held under the patronage of Pol-ish Economic Minister Walde-mar Pawlak and Germany’s Eco-nomic and Technology Minister Philipp Rösler. Jarosław Kur-zawa read a letter on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister. A Polish-German Economic Award was also presented. During this year’s Forum, much time was devoted to copper mining and KGHM S.A, although, as is cus-tomary, the banquet attracted the greatest enthusiasm, with the evening’s special guest, Jose Torres.

www.komentator.strefa.pl

Political and Economic Forum in Krzyżowa, More Modest Than in the Past

Agnieszka Orłowska has been promoted to the position of Presi-dent at the Hewlett-Packard Global Business Centre in Wro-cław, starting from the 1st of January 2012.

Since the 1st of December 2011 she has been working as the Managing Director of the Centre. As a president of HP’s Wrocław entity she will be responsible for development, supervision and coordination of strategic projects as well as managing the organi-zation that hires 2,300 employ-

ees.

Agnieszka Orłowska has 15-years of experience in the field of business management and has been working for Hewlett–Packard since 2007. She gradu-ated from Wrocław University of Economics and her fields of spe-cialization are Human Resources Management, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and man-agement of knowledge, quality, operations and client relations.

Hewlett–Packard’s Centre in Wrocław is well known for pro-

moting women to managerial positions – with women making up 60% of the managers at the Centre.

President Barosso visited Wrocław on 1st of December, giving him the opportunity to visit the regional Representation for the first time since it was opened in July by Vice President Reding and European Parliament President, Buzek.

President Barosso had a full programme packed into a few hours before flying to Warsaw to meet with Prime Minister Tusk. He was shown the city square, the Christmas market, the Cloth Hall/Sukiennice, the House under the Golden Sun/Ossolineum the White Stork centre and the City Hall in the company of Mayor Dutkiewicz, and the respective Heads of Representation of Poland, Ewa Synowiec, and Wrocław, Natalia Szczucka. During the walk about he heard a presentation about the history, ambitions of and future plans of

the city.

At the Wrocław University of Technology, the President received the prestigious honour of the 'doktor honoris causa ' in a formal ceremony presided by the R e c t o r P r o f e s s o r Tadeusz Więckowski and witnessed by members of the Senate of Wrocław University of Technology and invited guests, including members of his cabinet a n d o f f i c i a l s o f t h e Representation in Poland and local dignitaries.

In his twenty-five minute speech during the ceremony, President Barroso called for more Europe and to 'make Europe a centre of confidence'.

The final visit for the President was to the new Europe House in Wrocław where he met the Commission and European

Parliament staff. He also actively participated in a European class attended by Wrocław school children( school number 30). This was not so much a 'Back to School' day for the new Honorary Doctor of Wrocław U of T, more a school coming to him and from the smiles of the schoolchildren and the President during the class, everybody enjoyed themselves.

Wrocław News-in-Brief

Aquapark Wrocław As of the beginning of the month, Wrocławski Park Wodny (Aquapark) is officially trading under the name Aquapark Wrocław. Following a competition, a new logo has been created to compliment the name change. The logo and name change were introduced to the public on the 2nd of December in the Rynek when the draw was announced for the team groups in the European Football Championship taking place here next year.

Senior Card Scheme Seeks Partners The Wrocław Center for Seniors is searching for partners for its Senior Card program. Once registering, people over the age of 60 can take advantage of promotions and offers from firms and other institutions. The Wrocław Center for Seniors (Wrocławskiego Centrum Seniora WCS) is looking for partners who would like to offer giveaways, free entrances, discounts or just promote themselves as being senior friendly. The list of existing partners commited to the scheme includes recreational centers, language schools, museums and other institutions. You can find ‘Wrocławskie Centrum Seniora’ at pl. Dominikańskim 6, or telephone: 071 772 49 13.

New Art Exhibitions on Show A new exhibition by artist Maksa Cieślaka will be held until the 16th of January. The exhibition, titled ‘Art is from the forbidden marmalade fruit’ (Sztuka to z zakazanego owocu marmelada) will be held at the Muzeum Współczesnym Wrocławia (Contemporary Museum of Wrocław). Another new exhibition of paintings by XY ankamierzejewska, titled "series Alien DNA" will also be displayed until 30th December in the City Museum of Wrocław.

Hungarian Solidarity Remembered A new memorial plaque was instituted in a formal ceremony on the 21st of November, honoring Wrocław’s citizens who were in solidarity with their Hungarian brothers during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The plaque can be found near the Dwudziestolatka dormitory near Pl. Grunwaldski. The unveiling ceremony was hosted by the mayor of Wrocław, the former President of Hungary and the Director, Hungarian Culture Institute.

Euro Business Conference Held The European Research Infrastructure for Innovation and Development (ERIFID) conference was organized by Wrocławskie Centrum Badań EIT . The event, held during the 1st and 2nd of December, sought out ways to coordinate business and research and how to help make Europe become a center of global innovation and research.

MPK Give Fake Tickets Warning In the wake of fraudsters selling fake tickets posing as MPK employees, MPK has reminded passengers that neither tram inspectors nor drivers sell tickets — even in the event that the automatic machines are broken.

Care Institute Seeks Volunteers Wrocławski Opiekun Dzienny (Wrocław Day Care Institute) is searching for volunteers to help care for infants between the age of 20 weeks — 3 years. Volunteers must first finish a 40 hour training course. Children are also being recruited. Care is given for ten hours, in groups of five children. If interested please send yur CV to [email protected]

Czech President in Wrocław Czech President Vaclav Klaus paid Wrocław a visit from the 12th to 13 December. Klaus took in Wrocław’s University, where he will attend Aula Leopoldina’s book signing event for her novel ‘Where To Begin Tomorrow’. Later he joined Rafał Dutkiewicz for a stroll around the Market Square. Klaus will also visited Wrocław’s new stadium via the new tram plus link, after a presentation from Škoda Transportation Wrocław. The Czech President will no doubt be keen to see the facilities, with the Czech national team due to play three matches there at Euro 2012.

Barosso in Wrocław

President Barosso with

Wrocław school children, School

No 30

mailto:[email protected]


With the end of the year ap-proaching, we have a tendency to summarize. What was 2011 like for business in Wrocław? Has the global economic situa-tion been reflected on a local scale?

On behalf of the Wrocław Ag-glomeration Development Agency, a city company in-volved in the support of over-seas investment in Wrocław and neighbouring districts, we shall provide a brief summary of the past year.

Taking into consideration ARAW’s main scope of opera-tions, the servicing of key com-panies considering location in Wrocław, we can confirm that this has been a good year and that the global crisis has not discouraged investors. We have received many enquiries from representatives of both service industries and manufacturing, and we have had the opportu-nity to organise visits from nu-merous delegations from all over the world. Several large global concerns have decided to open offices in Wrocław, and negotiations are in progress with several others. We hope to be able to announce their final decisions in the new year.

ARAW also actively seeks in-vestors participating in eco-nomic missions organised un-der the auspices of the Polish Information and Foreign Invest-

ment Agency, a government institution. We are confident that meetings with business-men, chambers of commerce and policy makers in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, USA and Israel will bring attention to our city as a place to do busi-ness.

In 2011, with the support of exports in the field, we intro-duced a new tradition – Thurs-day business breakfasts. These are monthly meetings aimed at business community integration and an invitation to discuss selected issues associated with running commercial operations.

In cooperation with the city we have commenced realization of pilot project „Polish Champi-ons”. This project is intended to support local economy leaders in the process of gaining inter-

national markets. Companies receive support in finding the best employees, promotion and development. So far, 10 local companies have qualified for the project. But this is not the end – it is planned to support further Wrocław companies.

Creativro is another ARAW programme supporting Polish companies. It is addressed to companies in the multimedia sector and is aimed at strength-ening and integrating compa-nies within the industry. It is the city’s intention to help in-crease their visibility and credi-bility on the local market, and also ensure an appropriate num-ber of talented and well edu-cated employees.

Further information concerning our activities can be found at www.araw.pl

Business 4

Twenty Irish firms visited Wroclaw on 17/18 November seeking business links were welcomed by Regional Gover-nor Aleksander Skorupa and Marshal of Lower Silesia, Rafał Jurkowlaniec. The En-terprise Ireland trade mission from Ireland was led by Am-bassador Eugene Hutchinson who praised the region excel-lent potential for commercial links-ups.

The envoy noted that Poland is now in Ireland’s Top Ten mar-kets for Irish companies exports, due to the significant expansion of bilateral trade since 2004, adding ‘Lower Silesia’s success in attracting Foreign Direct In-vestment (FDI) in ICT, con-sumer electronics, white goods and services outsourcing, makes it a region of special interest to Irish business’.

He said that the visiting Irish contingent of ICT, construction, engineering and pharmaceutical sector businesses are keenly

aware that Wroclaw is a host city in the EURO2012 champi-onships and will be European City of Culture in 2016.

Mike Hogan, Director of Enter-prise Ireland in Poland which organised the visit, said the number of Irish companies do-ing business in Poland has grown, with success often built upon links created by Ireland’s large Polish Diaspora.

He noted that many Irish com-panies benefit from having Pol-ish employees who can assist in developing sales and marketing channels into their home coun-try and by their obvious famili-arity with the local business

culture. Several Irish firms are already operating in the region, including Project Management Group, S3 Group and Steripack.

The visitors also had the sur-prise pleasure of a memorable performance by Ellorien, the Wroclaw-based Irish dance group, thanks to the support of the Poznan-based Irish Culture Foundation. The delegation completed their first day by joining in the networking oppor-tunities offered by the Wroclaw International reception at City Hall on 17 November.

From left to right: Marshal of Lower Silesia, Rafał Jurkowlaniec,

Irish Ambassador to Poland, Eugene Hutchinson, Regional

Governor, Aleksander Skorupa and Director of Enterprise Ireland

in Poland, Mike Hogan


Business 5

On the 17th of October, I al-most saw a banker singing in the Opera house of Wrocław. The mood was grand, the venue ‘impeccable’ as they say in French, and the weather awful. But nothing could dampen the anticipation and sense of occasion that filled the air and the impressive range of guests that made their way to the Opera House that night. We had the French Ambassa-dor in town, senior members of Crédit Agricole in Paris flew in, members of staff from the Wrocław office and a range of guests that included, the head of the Polish Central Bank, the Rector of the Uni-

versity of Economics and a selection of the bank’s clients.

But what was it all in aid of? Something that has been build-ing up for the last two years. The French bank, Crédit Agri-cole, had officially arrived in Poland. The 17th of October was the day that this Polish birth took place. It was a pleasure to see these bank officials obvi-ously happy and proud of their bank, and proud of this moment when they officially open for business in a new country.

The event was a clever mixture of presentations about who Crédit Agricole is and what the group represents, together with breathtaking performances that pleased the crowd.

A night at the OperaGrace Sexton

The colours of Crédit Agricole are green, blue and red and, as the name suggests, the bank has a green past. It was started by farmers over a hundred years ago in France. They could not get credit from the banks of the day and decided to club together and form their own credit union of sorts, i.e. a bank. The bank’s history is firmly rooted in the ground. The Group prides itself on common sense policies and banking. It is even the logo they use on their advertising materials.

We met with Philippe Marié on the occasion of the launch of Crédit Agricole in Poland.

Mr Marié has been in Poland for two years and during that time he has made a point of learning the language and understanding the culture. For the past two years, he and his colleagues have been preparing for this day when their brand becomes visible in Poland and they introduce their universal bank to the local market. Mr Marié explains that the group has not been as badly affected by the crisis as other banks because of their history and the solid foundations they have. They did not gamble with the savings of their customers and maintained their traditional banking persona at all times.

Mr Marié explained that the market here in Poland is changing and it is very important to have pro-active staff that keep in contact with customers. Staff training is a key to good customer service and 3.5% of wages are spent on training, far more than the average company budget. In the Polish market , the bank is moving from a product approach to a customer approach.

Of course, there are challenges in the Polish market but the good news is that Poles open more accounts than in France. 15,000 current accounts are opened every month.

It is striking when you visit the head office in Wrocław, how many of the senior executives have been with the Group for more than 20 years.

There is a feeling of reliability and sturdiness here. Indeed, Mr Marié pointed out that the core values at the bank are reliability, availability, professionalism and friendly relations.

Regarding the history of the bank, in the late-1800’s a group of farmers established a cooperative. These earth bound men lived close to nature and this spirit still holds true in the bank today. 50% of the supervisory board of the bank are farmers. Farmers always think long term and this mirrors the long term strategic thinking of the bank.

Mr Marié and his team are keen to be a partner in the local community. They plan to get involved in restorative programmes, similar to the work they do in France and other countries.

The Bank in Wrocław recently partnered with the University of Economics as part of the Business Education Forum. The President of the Bank lectured Wrocław economics students and his lecture theatre was pretty full because he titled his discourse ‘how to become the President of a Bank’.

Mr Marié confirms Crédit Agricole is investing heavily in the Polish market and that the future looks bright for Poland.

The Crédit Agricole Group is a market leader in customer centric universal banking in France and one of the largest banks in Europe. They are one of the top 5 universal proximity banks in the world and CA is a leader in consumer finance.

The Lukas Bank branches owned by Crédit Agricole are being given a facelift for the national rebranding campaign just launched by the Group.

In Poland, there are currently 440 branches throughout the country. That number will grow to 600 in the next 3 years. The team from the head office in Wrocław are travelling around Poland to find suitable locations to open new branches. Crédit Agricole has high ambitions and they are putting their money where their mouth is with an investment in Poland of several million EURO over the next couple of years.

Universal Banking: Crédit Agricole

Crédit Agricole at a glance:


6 Business

As we are approaching the end of the year, we tend to make plans and resolutions for the upcoming months. Some of them are realistic, others require more effort and an extra mile to go in order to be completed. New Year’s resolutions in a business environment are a slightly different story. More structured and measurable. Wouldn’t it be great, if all New Year’s resolutions were as smart and achievable?

One of the great ways to step into the New Year with a solid set of resolutions might be to get inspiration from the five golden rules named SMART goals. Such an analysis will come in handy not only in professional development, but can also will be helpful when drafting per-sonal plans for the upcoming year. Effective goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achiev-

able, Relevant and Time-specific. Isn’t that simply smart?

Make sure your goals are spe-cific. Paulina Basta, Staffing Manager at HP Wroclaw says:

“If your goal has several possi-ble interpretations, it won’t be easy to achieve and measure it. You need to be as precise as possible”. In other words, if you’d like to improve your health, instead of saying “My goal is to improve health” struc-ture your commitment more exactly: “My goal is to cycle 30 kilometers per week on my bike”.

Measurable goals ensure that you can easily determine your progress and define the extent to which each goal has been al-ready achieved. “An important question that needs to be asked when setting smart goals or smart New Year’s resolutions is how to quantify your success: quantity, cost, timeliness and quality are examples of meas-urements, and it’s often good to have a mix of all four” admits Paulina Basta. If you’re ap-proaching Friday and you’ve already done 25 kilometers with your bike, your weekly commit-

ment is on the right track.

Goals that are challenging still can and should be achievable. Make sure you look before you leap, “on the other hand, ensure that realizing your goal will re-quire some effort and will actu-ally contribute to your develop-ment” encourages Paulina Basta. A smart goal is also relevant, hence represents an objective that is worth striving for and, what’s more important, the goal-setter believes it can and should be accomplished. Good health condition is surely relevant, but could it be categorized as a smart goal or is it too general and hardly measurable through your actions?

The fifth golden rule of smart goal setting is to keep the com-mitment time-specific. “This helps to easily determine the progress you’ve made along your way towards goal comple-tion. Grounding goals within a timeframe will ultimately let you

demonstrate your effectiveness” says Paulina Basta.

Not every New Year’s resolu-tion will take twelve months to be accomplished, as well as not every New Year’s resolution will be accomplished at all. With smart goals and resolutions how-ever, you will get closer to suc-cess. A set of commitments de-fined by five golden rules can be a handy compass throughout the year and the best thing about it is that it can evolve along with your development. Have a won-derful and smart start into the New Year!

Aleksandra Guzdek

Paulina Basta


"Is there a better all-round worker than your average Pole?"

I'm going to stick my neck on the block and answer that by saying: "If there is, I've yet to come across them!"

But maybe I need to first estab-lish with you, the readership, just what right has this Sean Brown got to make a compara-tive judgment on different work-ing ethics and habits from around the world?

And what right has he got to make a proposal, that in manu-facturing, "There is no better all-round worker than your average Pole?"

Well, I've been in industry since starting my career way back in late 70s. All of that time has been in manufacturing. I've been in many different industrial sec-tors (Food, Clothing, Chemicals, Ae r o s p a c e , Au t o mo t i v e , amongst others) and in many

different countries (maybe too many to list here, but let's say over 20)

I've been in many different lev-els of jobs (from a fresh-faced graduate, through first-line Su-pervision, Manager, Consultant, and on to M.D. level) and would argue that I have a relatively good depth and breadth of ex-perience that qualifies me to give an opinion.

I first came across the Poles in my home town of Hartlepool in the N.E of England, where just round the corner was a small but neat jewellers, run by a Mr Grzelaski and his family (he was a Polish émigré from Poznan who came to England in 1947) Why do I mention him? Well, maybe my opinion of Poles has been positively influenced by that man's: calmness, his reputation for scrupulous fair-ness, his winning smile, his abil-ity to make every customer feel a bit special. He was hard-working, honest and a generally nice guy.

S o h e r e I f i n d m y -self many years later in Wro-cław, where I have the privilege of being in charge of a factory making high-precision products for the Automotive industry.

The workforce is exclusively Polish (apart from me of course!)

It's not the biggest factory in the world, but at over 2000 employ-ees, it's sizeable enough and provides a considerable boost to the local economy. Not just di-rectly through jobs of course, but also deals with many local suppliers and services that also benefit from our presence.

It has a healthy balance of 50/50 males/females (indeed, gender is absolutely no barrier to career progression, and out of the top 16 positions I have,7 are female)

Productivity in the form of "Output Per Person" compares well with any other factory in our Globalised company (16 factories in 12 countries in every continent)

The level of quality and service to our customers that this dedi-cated and enthusiastic workforce provides is second to none.

Over the years the plant has evolved from it's initial creation in 1999 as a way to benefit from a lower cost-base, into a site that is at the leading edge of the company's operational innova-tions and many concepts are set-up first in Poland, before being "exported' to other plants across the world.

They are flexible, open, willing to learn new skills, willing to embrace new working methods.

Have we just been plain lucky to have such a workforce to be proud of? No, of course not! It takes time, care and effort to create the right conditions in which a workforce can flourish, progress and evolve into world-beaters.

We decided that we had to have a clear strategy (and then to demonstrate it, not just talk about it!) that every last person on-site is an extremely valuable part of a big complex enterprise, and be seen to believe in this by our actions. We created good conditions, give a relatively good salary and provide many

other compensations as well, but mostly it's by giving everyone the possibility to develop them-selves as far as they would like to go. We train people in many different skills. We encourage them to contribute way beyond 'normal' levels. We ask for their engagement and they give it. The people on the shop-floor are our first-line problem solvers, our Improvement Engineers (for example, we run a suggestion system that so far this year alone has generated over 7000 imple-mented ideas for improvement).

We set each individual goal with measurable targets. We have cordial and positive relationship with their Union representatives.

It has been, and continues to be, a long term investment in human capital that has paid-off. We've set-up the conditions for success, .and the people of Wrocław have responded magnificently.

I'll close the loop now and return to the opening statement.

If anyone can show me a better workforce than the one I enjoy working for here in Wrocław, I'll bare my behind in Fenik's win-dow in the Rynek!!

Sean Brown

As we are getting close to Christmas, it is high time to look for chances to pay less tax for 2011. The month of De-cember is the last call in this respect. In October we wrote about high level tax planning opportunities (“How to pay less income tax in Poland?”). Although Polish PIT Law is rather strict as it pertains to deductions, here are a few hints on simple actions that you can take to save a few pen-nies when the taxman knocks on your door in April. We also present the benefits of child deduction and filing a joint tax return with your spouse.

Charity and public benefit

donations Donations to organizations in-volved in charitable and public benefit activities are deductible up to 6% of taxable income. However, donations for indi-viduals and government institu-tions are excluded.

Church donations for charity and care purposes are fully deducti-ble, and those for worship activi-ties are limited up to 6% of tax-able income.

You can also allocate 1% of your tax liability to a registered public benefit organization. This

way a portion of your tax is transferred by the tax office di-rectly to the organization. You can find the list of eligible or-ganizations under this link: http://www.mpips.gov.pl/bip/wykaz-organizacji-pozytku-publicznego/#akapit1.

Blood donor deduction If you donated blood or its ele-ments, you can claim a 130 PLN deduction for each donated liter. The deduction is limited annu-ally to 6% of your taxable in-come and applies only if no cash equivalent was paid to you by the donor station. If you did re-

ceive money for the blood, it is tax exempt.

Internet deduction Internet expenses in your place of residence can be claimed as a deduction, up to 760 PLN annu-ally.

Social security and

healthcare contributions If you are employed in Poland, your employer will provide you with a statement of deductible Polish social security and health insurance contributions, which you can use to prepare your Pol-ish tax return. But if you pay social security or health insur-ance tax in the EU or in Switzer-land, you may be able to claim an additional deduction in Po-land. The foreign contributions have to be mandatory and non-deductible abroad.

Children As a rule, tax can be decreased by the amount of 1.112,40 PLN for each child below 18 and for any adult child attending school who was raised by the taxpayer. The deduction is available only for periods in which the taxpayer

had custody over the child. It is important to note that the above limit is joint for both parents.

Joint taxation with spouse A resident spouse under marital co-ownership of assets in Poland may opt for joint taxation, usu-ally resulting in a lower tax rate (maximum annual savings are around 13.000 PLN). The de-duction can be applied also by some non-resident spouses if 75% of joint income is generated in Poland. Certain other condi-tions apply.

End of Year Tax Savings What you can do before year-end to lower your 2011 income tax

Łukasz Lubicz

[email protected]

Ad

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rtis

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In the last few years, people all over the world have suffered from natural and man-made disasters. Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and droughts are becoming more intense than before; yet, there are more and more accidents being caused directly by humans, such as forest fires or those which are the side effects of economic activi t ies, e .g. chemical leaks. These often have a significant and devastating impact on people’s health, the e c o n o m y a n d t h e environment. However, when the threat ceases, the attention of the authorities often weakens and people forget that the next catastrophe could happen.

W ro c ła wia n s and o t he r inhabitants of Lower Silesia remember well the floods which ravaged the city and region in the past. The biggest flood of the Odra river and its tributaries took place in July 1997 and affected Poland, Germany and Czech Republic. In Poland, 56 people died and the damages were est imated at $3.5 billion. The flood was named the Great Flood or the Millennium Flood due to the fact that the chances for such a flood were estimated at 0.1% a year. The Wrocław area was one-third covered with water, and even now many signs on building walls commemorating the 1997 disaster can still be found. On the University Bridge, a monument to Wrocławians’ hard work to save the city from the water was

erected after the flood. In 2010, another flood within the Odra river catchment happened and, as a result, Kozanów, the western district of the city, was flooded by the retreating waters of the Ślęza and Bystrzyca rivers.

At the end of November, the 3rd Interregional Conference "The Regional Strategies for Disaster Prevention" organized by the Institute for Meteorology and Water Management, Wrocław in the frame of CivPro, INTERREG IVC project took place in Wrocław to share stakeholders' experiences and to coordinate crisis management in such situations. There are 11 EU countries engaged in the project and 7 of them met in Wrocław to share their knowledge under the leadership of Dr Kelly Saini, the Greek National Representative in EU Civil Protection and CivPro Project Director. She explained the goals of the project to us:

"What is unique in this project is the main idea of disaster prevention. We didn't establish a typical project management team because we have a common language: death as a result of disaster and our job as the prevention tool. We established a family, CivPro, with members from different countries as well different experiences. The disasters never stop, from the US Katrina Hurricane, to the forest fires in Russia and the last tsunami in Japan. We are focused on the best practices exchange for natural and industrial disaster prevention. We exchange our experience not only in natural, but also in industrial hazards prevention because the latter ones often result from the earlier ones. For example, during each extensive flood, many diverse problems with the electricity system and power station activity are often encountered. We share good practices with different approaches, from other

cities such as the City of Kosice, Slovakia, crossing the same topic on the academic or civil protection community level to national authorities level.

The conference in Wrocław helped different countries to deal with the same problems, such as Central European partners sharing flood prevention knowledge, while Greeks their forest fire prevention know-how. Even Greece, which is a Mediterranean country that suffers mainly from forest fires and earthquakes, is affected with f l o o d s f r o m t i m e t o time. Greeks do not have as much flood experience as their Polish colleagues, but they have to keep this knowledge in mind for the successful further d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i r country. The forest fires in Russia, for example, shouldn’t be forgotten. We have to prepare our citizens and our s t a t e s t o a v o i d ma j o r consequences. This cost is lower than the consequences.”

8 Culture

The distance between Wrocław (Poland) and Donostia–San Se-bastián (Spain) is over 2,000 kilometers. Winning the title of European Cities of Culture 2016 by both cities was the first step towards conquering this dis-tance. Prof. Adam Chmielewski explained that the representa-tives of both cities met during the European Culture Congress in Wrocław to talk about their common agenda. One of the themes discussed was „how to bring to the attention of fellow-Europeans our borders, both visible and invisible‟ which di-vide Europeans in all sorts of ways.

Both teams are now busy with the selection of various activities for the year 2016, but they al-ready have some ideas, for ex-ample, connecting Wrocław and Donostia-San Sebastián by train in 2016. A line drawn across the European continent between both coincides with Via Regia, the Royal Route, a long road which starts in Kiev, passing by Kraków, Wrocław, and Görlitz, all the way to Donostia-San Se-bastián, ending at Santiago de Compostela. “It is obvious that we would like to make use of this historical connection in our programmes; this road defines a

spine for Europe”, says Prof. Chmielewski.

Another example of the pro-posed activities is the idea of playing two friendly football matches between the teams of both cities. WKS Śląsk Wrocław and Real Sociedad play in first divisions in their countries. The idea is to have two matches in each city, accompanied by artis-tic performances, film showing, and exhibitions in their sports arenas. Adam Chmielewski be-lieves that sport is an important element of our culture, and is a very effective means to draw the attention of masses of people to important things. “In this way we may get closer together, not only the artistic elite, but also wide portions of the population o f b o t h c i t i e s , s t a t e s Chmielewski.

Wrocław as the European Capi-tal of Culture 2016 also wants to create stronger ties with cities close to the Lower Silesian bor-der, Görlitz in Germany and Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic. The cooperation in visual arts, theatre, music and opera may help to build a trans-national and post-national iden-tity of the region. Professor Chmielewski thinks that at the moment “we, as Poles, do not pay sufficient attention to what is going on in Czech cities that

are close to Wroclaw and which offer interesting cultural events”. Among many ideas, the Wro-cław team want to work out a programme which would enable school pupils to visit museums of Lower Silesia, Görlitz and Hradec Kralove with substantial discounts.

The director of the team which won the title of the ECoC for Wroclaw thinks that there are three main problems to be solved: first, „culture‟ is too ex-pensive for some people. Sec-ond, there are people who have insufficient training to under-stand the work of painters, archi-tects, and writers; the third ob-stacle is “public agoraphobia”. Cultural institutions should be more friendly as meeting places of artists and the public. The European City of Culture pro-gram will focus on closing this gap, symbolized by the train connection.

The Wroclaw 2016 team is fully aware that traditions in Poland are very important. They intend to continue the cultural tradi-tions of Wrocław in a novel and original way. For now, they are coping with an excess of ideas generated by themselves and those flowing in from citizens. Despite the present economic crisis, they are optimistic about the final programme of the

ECoC in Wrocław, even if it means some difficult decisions. They are also actively seeking funds to finance their ambitious programme and activities. The prize for European City of Cul-ture, 1.5 million euro which Wrocław and Donostia-San Sebastian will receive in 2016, is going to be a small fraction of the expenses planned.

With four years to prepare the activities, the Institute of Culture Wrocław 2016 hopes to become a European Capital of Culture of Poland as a whole. They cooper-ate closely with the Wrocław

Council of Culture, a body of 60 eminent managers of the cultural institutions in Wroclaw and Lower Silesia. During the com-petition the team has asked the citizens of Wrocław a question: Will Wroclaw become the Euro-pean Capital of Culture? and they answered it in a challenging way: It depends on you!

Now, after the tremendous suc-cess, they are asking another question: What kind of Capital of Culture will Wrocław be? No less provocatively, they are an-swering it in much the same way: It depends on you!

[email protected]


The excitement of Christmas time has started building up amongst the peo-ple around you. It is about time : Advent, which, concerning Chris-tians, includes the four weeks before Christmas, and began on the last Sun-day of November! And this is why, with the most recent Polish tradition, adapted from the other European countries, JDK Cultural Activities organised a workshop, for some happy volunteers, about these tradi-tions, where we made our own – and may be for most of us : first ! – Christmas Advent Wreath !...

Of course you shall find in each the four candles – each one being lit on each Advent Sunday – but, in a tradi-tional or more modern way, we let you appreciate the results of our work !

Merry Christmas to all !

Culture 9

I met with some of the team at Hala Stulecia (Centennial Hall) to find out what lies in store for us in the new year at this important cultural and architectural landmark in Wrocław.

I discovered that very ambi-tious plans are afoot to put Hala Stulecia on the map of Europe as a Congress and Trade Cen-tre. Already, the hall and cen-tre can accommodate 10,000 people standing and by 2014 this number will change to 14,000 seated. Next year, with the help of hydraulic walls and flooring, the venue will seat 10,000 people for that very popular sport in Poland, volley-ball. Work has been completed on replacing all the electrics and plumbing and what we now have is a ‘new old building’.

The energetic, forward-thinking captain at the helm of this ship is Bartłomeij Andrusiewicz. He and his team work for Wro-cław Municipality and the work they undertake forms part of the bigger picture plans that are underway for Wrocław as a whole in the coming years.

Like any public entity, funds

are limited and it is critical that good business and management skills are used to make this historic venue profitable. Two new public private partnership ventures are being drawn up, an underground car park with ca-pacity for 800 cars and a hotel to cope with the tourists and business visitors who will want to visit this amazing space.

It used to be called Hala Lu-dowa, Hall of the People. In fact, the name still applies in many ways. If you visit Hala Stulecia on different days and times you will find a very dif-ferent atmosphere, but above all, people strolling around en-joying the many facets of the space, including exhibitions, concerts, conferences, sporting

events, films, visits to the zoo or Japanese gardens next door, or just to sit quietly by the fountain. Of course, the foun-tain is closed for winter, but grab your skates, it is now an ice rink. In January, we can look forward to an exhibition which maps the history of the hall since 1913 using the latest technology.

Christmas Basket Brigade If you would like to anonymously give to a needy family this Christmas, please drop any

foodstuff or toys to our collection point at the International Friends of Wrocław Clubhouse on

Wednesday, 14th December between 10:30am to 12:30pm (ul. Piłsudskiego 44a - entrance at

rear of building through courtyard), or at The Wrocław International office, Room 101,

1st Floor, ul. Wolności 7 on Friday 16th December, from 9am to 1pm. The workshop was organised

by JDK Cultural Activities.

For info about other events

and activities

visit www.culturalactivities.pl


Culture 10

James B. Solomon

I awoke normally enough; 6 15 a.m. and even with the six hour time difference I felt re-freshed and ready to go. This was my second day in Poland and I planned to continue my fitness program that had be-gun some five months before on my Cruise Ship, a life I was now retired from. This time I did not have a cabin mate to think about as I got dressed or the guests who would be in the gym or getting to work on time, this time all I had to think about was where am I going to run?

My girlfriend was not yet up; she had decided that eight o‟ clock was good enough for her and so, I spent some time online catching up with friends who were now scattered around the globe, soon she was up and I made us some tea. The sky was overcast and it was a little cool, the thermometer read 15 degrees Celsius much cooler than in the Caribbean, cold for me usually, but with the tea in my body and once moving, surprisingly, I hardly noticed it.

It was approaching nine a.m. when we stepped out, we began walking along the pavements of the apartment complex and headed on to the main road lead-ing in. People passing by noticed us, I am not a small man, stand-ing six foot five inches to her five foot four inch stature. I am not Polish nor do I look it, being of African Caribbean descent with a mix of French, Indian, Portuguese, Spanish and indige-nous Indian of the Caribbean known as the Carib, people looked at us, and Ela whispered “That one was for you.” Indicat-ing who had stared at me. Some-times you could see the surprise in their faces especially when we turned a corner, to see me, this

towering black man in the neighborhood. The stares aside, I was amused and at the same time happy, as I felt only curios-ity, followed by a dismissal of my presence, I „blended‟ in eas-ily and felt no discomfort as we made our way to Grabiszyński park.

Once there, we began our jog, it was beautiful, the ground was packed yet had a spring to it, the trees formed a canopy and it was cool, all I could hear was the sound of my feet hitting the ground in a rhythmic beat as “Let the River Run” piped from my iPod entered my brain; I fell into step next to Ela. We passed others heading in the opposite direction, their eyes would meet mine for an instant then go to Ela and then look straight ahead as they focused on their morning exercise routine. Our path took us next to wide open fields and continued on through the trees. I was happy I was fit as I did not know the distance or the topog-raphy, I just knew that it was all so beautiful with the fresh cool air and all the greenery around me, I felt very much alive!

Nothing was said during this time, we just ran along the path that took us through the park, we came to a path with all the trees perfectly lined on either side, a carpet of yellowing leaves lay on the dark springy skin of the earth, “beautiful!” I exclaimed. “Just beautiful!” my first words of the run, I was overwhelmed, I had seen some wonderful things this morning, I Knew that I would spend many relaxing days here. A part of me wished I did bring my camera yet I was happy I did not because these are the moments that you just want to cherish and not mind-lessly record them. Soon enough, we came upon a hill, on top of which stood two pillars, a monument of some kind. We got to the bottom, a wide set of steps. “I know that you hate

steps,” she said “but it‟s not steps all the way.” As I as-cended, I muttered out loud, “when you people build monu-ments, you go all out.” I thought that this would be a great place for the „stations of the cross‟ as I observed the huge cross at the top. I then noticed rows of con-crete slabs laid out on the ground, to my right, and stretch-ing out behind, neatly laid out in rows. “Are those graves?” I asked, “mm hmm” was all she said as she nodded her head, and then I realized that I was stand-ing in a very neat cemetery all at the top of this hill, the sculpture that was these two pillars behind the cross had helmets of soldiers atop their faces with their guns held at the ready. I was standing in a cemetery to the fallen sol-diers from the Second World War. Many of the graves bore no names… Unknown, but yet still honored.

Our run continued back to the apartment along the banks of the river that flowed behind the apartment complex, the river to our right, and fields of grass and wild flowers to our left. I know that we arrived back to the apart-ment a sight, and with the tem-perature now at 20 degrees Cel-sius, I was sweating, smiling and happy, this was a really wonder-ful start of my Polish adventure.

Breakfast this day was a differ-ent affair, after years of walking into the staff mess selecting what was to be my meal, today was different as I would be pre-paring my meal, a wonderful feeling and a little time consum-ing. I used to consume up to nine hardboiled egg whites daily where all I had to do was peel the eggs, now I was boiling and peeling my own. I was not too happy with the results as they were a little soft (the next day I did better), some oats completed my meal and we were ready to face the day.

Mama‟s car had to be picked up and we had the option the take the tram or walk. I preferred the

one hour walk as did Ela, enjoy-ing all the sights along the way. The people were all very friendly, some giving us stares and glances, mainly at me then at Ela, she does look rather petit next to me and I at times imag-ined with a little smile what some of them were thinking, especially the women. I was the only person of African heritage around for miles as I did not see any on our walks, I found it amusing however, as a black man to have crossed paths with a couple of Polish men and women wearing Rastafarian dreadlocks while wearing a Bob Marley T shirt and my hair cut short. I hid my smile and chuck-led once out of earshot at the irony of it all.

We collected the car and went on to visit the Europe exhibit in the Wroclaw Centennial Hall, but first, we sampled the grilled Polish sausage and meats out-side the Exhibit hall. It all smelled so good. “We can‟t let mama know that we ate this.” Ela said to me, “not to worry,” I said, “mama‟s cooking will be well taken care of.” Mama‟s cooking is so good and even when full I want more, we fin-ished our meal (snack) and went in to view the exhibit. This time I wished I had brought along my camera. Upon entering we were greeted by row upon row of boots suspended from the ceil-ing, all neatly laid out in row upon row as if marching in uni-son, left boot on the ground right boot in the air marching in goose step. One could imagine the sol-diers filling those shoes, hanging there as puppets ready to go into battle to kill and destroy all who stood in the way of their leader‟s despotic vision. The stories of the deaths, destruction and even-tual rebuilding of Europe, a poignant start to my time here, I could not have asked for a better beginning to my visit, and yet something funny is yet about to happen in the hours to come…

We visited the dancing fountain

enjoying the music and the rain-bow that the spray created. I could see the lights that were shining through the spray but its effect was diminished by the daylight; the rainbow however, had a beauty all its own. As we stood there taking it all in, a lit-tle boy ran to the water‟s edge and started creating his own water show, sticking his hand into the water, scooping and throwing it into the air. His mother, as most mothers the world over would, admonished him to stop playing with the water and to instead, look at the display. I too wished I could join him and create my own wa-ter show. It was soon over and we went to Mama, where a sim-ple, welcoming and tasty meal was served, soup, various Polish sausage and potatoes. I finished both servings and was happy that we were walking back home. Standing at the traffic light a car slowed down, all the occupants were staring. This was now a little too much, I had no-ticed the staring all day long and I took it all in stride, they were mainly glances where I was just observed and dismissed, I was comfortable with this and took it all in stride. This however, was blatant and I muttered, “all right it‟s a freak show now.” They stopped and asked Ela a ques-tion, I was a little agitated, but then I heard that she was re-sponding in English. It dawned on me and I had to ask them, “How did you know that she spoke English?” the ladies in the back seat started to laugh, I re-peated the question and this time could not help myself as I too was laughing, the men in front were also beginning to laugh, turning red in the face, Ela fin-ished giving them directions and they continued on. I am sure they must have been relieved to see me and of course someone who would understand their lan-guage and their plight.

Up the steps to honor the fallen Polish soldiers… I incorporated this place into my morning workouts, I felt humbled by their sacrifice and most alive as I ran up, down and around the edge.

Park Grabiszyński on my morning run.

Details depicting their sacrifice -”When you people build monuments, you go all out!”


Culture 11

During one of Alice Renard's explore Wroclaw walks through Szczytnicki Park we happened to come upon many horse chest-nuts laying upon the ground. These nuts are inedible to all except squirrels and Alice won-dered if they had a use. A few ideas were put forward but no-body seemed to believe David Smith when he insisted that in the UK we put string through them and do battle. At that very moment, David and I decided that it would be a good idea to have an IFW International Conker Championship.

The fruit of the Horse Chestnut tree in Britain is known collo-quially as a "conker", in the USA it is known as a "buckeye" and no doubt it has a special name in other countries. The first recorded game of "conkers" apparently took place on the Isle of Wight, an island off the southern coast of England in 1848 and has been a favourite pastime of schoolboys and schoolgirls every autumn/fall since. Until that is, the Health and Safety "gestapo" banned it in school playgrounds in the 1980's because the poor little

darlings were going home with bruised knuckles. Well, mathe-matics used to give me a head-ache but they never banned that!

Since 1965 there has been a World Conker Championship held annually in the English town of Ashton, near Oundle in Northamptonshire. The English are an eccentric lot, we even have an annual "Pooh Stick" World Championship, but that's another story. This year's World Conker Championship was un-fortunately postponed due to high wind, so in a way the com-petition held at the IFW club-house on Wednesday October 12th can be considered the unof-ficial world championship. We even decided to adopt the Ashton Conker Club World Championship Rules for our own event.

Sixteen people entered, repre-senting eight different countries and each of them chose a nick-name in good sporting tradition. For the record the following contestants took part;

David "Mr Nice Guy" Smith (England) , Rober t "The Conkerer" Baylis (England), Mags "The Mauler" Andrews (England), Steve "Oggy" An-drews (England), Debbie "The Destroyer" Hagan (USA), Almut

"Napolean" Schiek (Germany), Mav "Hotshot" Hall (Canada), Kate "The Buckeye" Getty (USA), Piotr "Killer" Krupski (Poland), Gareth "Nut Crusher" Wrend (England), Amanda "Punky" Anthony (USA), Julie "Chabal" Lombard (France), Lisa "Let's Go Conkers" Macleod (Scotland), Ji l l "Conkerlicious" Whinfield (Scotland), Beata "Janeiro" Bar-tolome (USA), and Nisrine "Sexy Lady" Assi (Lebanon).

The first round of matches was rather uneventful, nearly all of the games going to extra time as no winner could be decided in the allocated 5 minutes. The exceptions being Mav "Hotshot" Hall's disqualification due to 3 "snags" and Kate "The Buckeye" Getty's total destruction of one of Scotland's finest. Robert "The Conkerer" Baylis also pro-gressed due to a little games-manship, and the rules were slightly modified for the second round as a result.

The second round of matches was also close, three of them decided in extra time and one of them going to sudden death. The Semi finals were an all Eng-lish affair. In the first semi final Steve "Oggy" Andrews de-stroyed the conker of David "Mr

Nice Guy" Smith with only his sixth shot but the second semi final between Gareth "Nut Crusher" Wrend and Robert "The Conkerer" Baylis seemed to take an eternity. "The Conkerer" coming up trumps in what seemed like the fifteenth minute of sudden death.

So the first IFW International Conker Championship was an all English affair between "Oggy" and "The Conkerer", but in a way it was an anti-climax as "Oggy" once again destroyed his opponent's nut with only his

sixth shot. Steve "Oggy" An-drews was presented with the "Golden Conker" award, after which he admitted to playing the game regularly in the past and it was only his discovery of women that saved him from a misspent youth.

International Friends of Wroclaw

[email protected]

'New Year, New Start; Work-ing Together as a Community'

International Friends of Wroc aw International Conker Championship

Richard Jeffery

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It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. W. T. Ellis

Amidst the Christmas festive mood, the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, preparations for the grand Christmas Feast, families getting together, some of us secretly wish for a white Christmas. Whether a snowfall or a snow shower, snow makes Christmas altogether more magical. Last year, a week be-fore Christmas, I learned about French Christmas in my class-room at Alliance Française (AF), while it snowed outside. Quel

beau spectacle!

Christmas is a family affair in France. The month of December is all about family, kids, gifts, good food and togetherness. Even though Christmas tradi-tions vary regionally, the spirit is indistinguishable. Season’s fes-tivities may, depending on the region, begin on December 6th and end with Mardi gras cele-brations in February.

Streets, homes, workplaces and shops are decorated beforehand. Despite Christmas trees’ im-mense popularity, a nativity scene still remains a major Christmas holiday decoration. At homes, children and adults deco-rate Christmas trees and la crèche with various ornaments, lights and figurines accrued over the years. Christmas mistletoe is hung above the door of the homes, hoping for good fortune throughout the year.

On Christmas Eve, kids place their shoes in front of the fire-place or around the Christmas tree filled with treats for Santa’s reindeer, Gui, in hopes of pre-

sents from Santa Claus. The mysterious Santa Claus accepts the treats and leaves gifts for well-behaved kids in their shoes or around the Christmas tree.

The Christmas Feast, served as a late supper pre midnight mass, holds the utmost importance. Chestnuts are an essential ingre-dient and must be included in the meal either in a savoury or sweet form. The luxurious dinner may include appetizers like oysters, escargots or foie gras; turkey stuffed with chestnuts or goose, pork or beef dishes for main course, alongside ham, salads, cheese, fruit and wine. After-wards the traditional dessert called La bûche de Noël, a log-shaped cake made of chestnuts and chocolates, is served at Christmas dinner to signify win-

ter and fire.

On the 1st Sunday of January, the Three Kings Cake is baked in remembrance of the three kings who visited Jesus on Epiphany. The lucky person to find the hidden bean/figurine in the cake is crowned as the King or Queen for the day and is sup-posed to provide the next cake. Two of my classmates attended the Galette des Rois celebrations in AF this year. One of them was crowned the Queen and was obliged to bring the Three Kings Cake for the entire class the next morning.

So whether you’ll be lucky enough to celebrate Christmas with your family this year or you’ll be watching Home Alone at home, alone, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will continue my French journey with you next year. Until then, au revoir!

Renu Singh is a second semester student at Alliance Française in Wrocław. Through Bonjour! from a French classroom… she will share her learning experience with us.

Culture 12

Bonjour! from a French Classroom... Renu Singh [email protected]

Christmas - Noël Christmas Feast - le Réveillon White Christmas - Noël sous la neige Snowfall - les chutes de neige Snow shower - une averse de neige Snow - la neige Magical - magique Quel beau spectacle! - What a sight it was! Family affair - une affaire de famille Gift - un cadeau Mardi gras - Fat Tuesday A nativity scene - la crèche Mistletoe - la branche de gui Christmas Eve - la veille de Noël Shoes - les chaussures Fireplace - la cheminée

Christmas tree - le sapin de Noël, l'arbre de Noël Reindeer - le renne Santa Claus - le Père Noël, Papa Noël Midnight mass - la Messe de Minuit la bûche de Noël - a log-shaped cake Chestnuts and chocolate - des marrons et du chocolat Winter - l’hiver Fire - le feu The Kings Cake - la Galette des Rois A figurine - la fève King or Queen - le roi ou la reine Merry Christmas - Joyeux Noël Happy New Year - Bonne année

G L O S S A R Y

Carp for Christmas!

Terence Clark-Ward Christmas is a special time throughout the world - we all know that, but in Poland it is a rather condensed affair. Christmas Eve is the big day - I write day, but I really should clarify that this means eve-ning. The 24th of December is a half-working day for many Poles. Once they come back home around lunch time, there is a mad rush to prepare 12 traditional dishes, put on their Sunday best, stuff hay (often a free gift with festive editions of newspapers) under a lace ta-blecloth and wait for the first star in the sky to appear, which traditionally is the sign to begin the feast.

The truth is, every family has a different angle on it. It has be-come quite common to pick and choose the traditions that you like and reject the others. Not everyone goes to midnight Mass, many people believe the number of dishes is just a guide and make fewer of them and after sharing the holy wafer (this is a truly magical experience) and giving each other very sincere blessings, some families will happily start eating and enjoy being together. Others will do this accompanied by television with the dominant patter of a monotonous voice-over man (he is known only as Lektor) reading through the lines of 'Kevin Home alone' for the 20th year in a row. In Poland, it is so popu-lar to watch 'Home Alone' films at Christmas time that the title is simply shortened to 'Kevin' - everyone, even those who can-not speak a word of English, know 'Kevin'.

One thing that never seems to change though, is the presence of carp. The freshwater fish was adopted by Poles as the main Yule-time dish for religious and practical reasons: meat should not be eaten on such a holy day; carp is a cheap enough fish to allow the whole country to af-ford it and voluntarily unite. I remember asking people about

the whole carp eating tradition. “You have to buy it live, you know. My father always kills it on the day – you won’t get a fresher fish” and in more detail “You have to break its neck with a sharp blow from a large knife handle; “…a quick stab to the brain – won’t feel a thing”; “Stun it with a hammer and hack its head off”. What a lot of vari-ety in the fish murder trade, I thought.

Anyhow, back in 2001, I de-cided to get more involved in Christmas. I went to a super-market and bought a live carp. They were kept in some kind of industrial waste tank with a lot of foam and bubbles and almost no room to swim. Astonish-ingly, it survived the 45-minute bus-ride home. My girlfriend at the time wasn’t very impressed with the jumping carrier bag I casually threw onto the bed she was actually sleeping in and told me to be reasonable and run a bath for it. Good point - always wash before dinner. After a while, it stopped twitching and jerking and began to glide ele-gantly in the water. I was sure I couldn’t harm it now. Just then, an old friend of mine popped over and told me to overcome my squeamishness and get the job done. He suggested letting out the bath water and making a nice cup of tea. “You won’t even know it has slipped away.”

Half an hour later the carp looked pretty much finished.

The time had come. I laid it down square on a chopping board and paused to think which method to use. The moment I took out a large carving knife, the little fish suddenly came to life, flapping about and looking distressed. I held it down under the safe confines of a plastic bag, raised the knife in my hand and looked down. I couldn’t… I just couldn’t. I suddenly heard an internal voice boom “Polish tradition” and I struck down and killed it. Her parents gutted it and cooked it in 2 inches of vegetable oil. I almost vomited and couldn’t even look at the poor fish, let alone eat it. Need-less to say, this never happened again.

I’ve come to terms with being an untried, self-confessed carp kil-ler and now realise that such a ritual should only be done by people who really know what they’re doing. With a humane method and the correct prepara-tion, carp is a rather delicious meal – so I am told.

Happy Christmas everyone and Smacznego Karpia!

HELP!

We have run out of clothes!!! Office:

ul. J. Kaczmarskiego 7/9/1

(9am to 5pm every weekday)

Our charity shop:

ul. J. Rubczaka 17/17A

(9-5pm weekdays/8-1pm Saturdays)

www.emmaus.org.pl

[email protected]

Tel.: +48 71 716 47 98/517 506 688

emmaus… the association supporting

people in crisis situation, mainly focusing on the

homeless, the long-term unemployed and the

handicapped… will gladly and with gratitude

collect your used clothes, shoes, furniture or any

household or kitchen items. We can arrange

transportation or invite you to drop the donations

at our office in the centre of Wrocław.

Stop! Hammer time!


13 Culture

Christmas (Boże Narodzenie) is the most important celebra-tion in Poland, similar to the rest of Europe and America. In Poland we have a combina-tion of old pagan traditions and religion ones. Most of the traditions are related to the 24th day of December, called “Wigilia”–Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve Supper. Even if you are not spending Christ-mas in Poland, it will be nice to know some Christmas vo-cabulary just in case.

According to tradition, on the 24th of December, people should decorate their Christmas tree, called a “choinka”. Nowa-days, Christmas trees are done much earlier. “Choinka” can be artificial or live trees called “świerk” (spruce), “sosna” (pine

-tree) or “jodła” (fir-tree). A coniferous tree is a symbol of life and rebirth, fertility and en-durance. The tradition of having a Christmas tree came to Poland from Germany in the 18th/19th century. In villages, the father of the family went to the forest on the 24th of December to “steal” the tree from another world (the forest had a symbolic meaning of another magic world) and bring it home for good luck.

All Christmas tree decorations have a special meaning. We put many ornaments of different shapes on the Christmas tree. “ G w i a z d a B e t l e j e m s k a “ (Bethlehem star) is put on the top of the tree in order to help guide people coming back home f r o m m i l e s a w a y . “Światła” (lights) on the tree protect a home against bad forces and turn away bad wishes. “Jabłka” (apples) hung

on the branches of a Christmas tree are a symbol of fruit from heaven and would assure health and beauty. “Orzechy” (nuts) on the Christmas tree are a symbol of strength and prosperity. “Papierowe łańcuchy” (paper chains) on the tree protect a home from problems and sym-bolize close family relationships. “Dzwonki” (Bells) represent good news and happy moments in life. “Anioły” and “aniołki” (angels) should take care of home and family mem-bers. So, as you see, every sin-gle thing means something be-cause for this magic family time, people were trying to cast a spell on reality and keep all the bad forces far far away. Decorating the Christmas tree is also a lot of fun, especially for children. From the moment when all the lights–sometimes tons of lights–turn on, the magic is automati-cally on!

Below the Christmas tree we put Christmas gifts (Prezenty) brought by Święty Mikołaj (Santa Claus) or an Angel (Anioł) or Star (Gwiazdka), de-pending on the region. Święty Mikołaj (Santa Claus) is very busy in Poland because before Christmas, he brings presents for children on his name-day, the 6th of December. In many places, he must come and work again on Christmas. He is the busiest Saint in Poland!

Below the Christmas tree we can find also Christmas nativity scenes (szopka) with figures of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, shep-herds (Pasterze), Three Wise Men (Trzej Królowie) and ani-mals (zwierzęta) like sheep (owce), camels (wielbłądy), ele-phants (słoń) and farm animals. After Christmas Eve supper and

sharing the Host (opłatek) and all those good wishes (życzenia), all the members of a family used to sing “ kolędy” (carols) around the Christmas tree. And you must know that in Poland, we have the most beautiful, oldest and most melancholic carols in the world.

The biggest difference regarding the Christmas tree in Poland is that some of them are left stand-ing until February 2nd, which is the feast of Saint Mary of the Candle of Lightning in the Catholic Church. I believe it's a bit exotic for foreigners to see Christmas trees left up for so long.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (Życzę Wam Wesołych Świąt i Szczęś-liwego Nowego Roku). I also hope that magic touches your homes and that you have safe and comfortable Christmas trav-els! Talk to you again in the New Year! (Do zobaczenia w Nowym Roku).

Edyta Juszczyszyn is a qualified and experienced teacher of Pol-ish for foreigners. You may reach her at:

[email protected]

Grammar Secrets 8: Christmas Dictionary Edyta Juszczyszyn

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Christmas tree at Rynek, Wrocław, 2011


14

Pour 8 à 10 pers. (suivant l’ap-pétit… et le menu qui précè-de !) – à préparer de préféren-ce la veille

INGREDIENTS:

Génoise: * ou 3 œufs, 80 g de sucre en poudre (semoule), 100 g de farine, 1 pincée de sel, 50 g de beurre fondu

Crème aux Marrons & Choco-lat: 250 g de chocolat à pâtisser, 200 g de beurre fin, mou, 1 boîte de purée de marrons (500 g) au naturel, 100 g de sucre et – éventuellement et suivant les goûts – 1 verre à liqueur de Co-gnac ou Rhum ou Whisky

Décor: sujets de Noël* et / ou pâte d’amande (colorée – verte) et colorants à pâtisserie, éven-tuellement marrons glacés, ou tout autre décor au choix.

*ou acheté (e/s) dans le commerce

PREPARATION:

Génoise: Prép.: 30 mn Cuisson: 30 mn

Dans un bol placé dans un bain-marie d’eau très chaude, battre les œufs, le sucre et le sel au batteur électrique durant 10/12 mn: le mélange doit doubler et être ferme. Ajouter alors la fari-

ne, tamisée (en 2 ou 3 fois) sur l’appareil, puis le beurre: mélan-ger avec soin à la spatule, en soulevant la pâte pour ne pas qu’elle retombe. Verser dans le moule – ici, à cake, pour obtenir un socle long de bûche – puis cuire à four doux (170C - Th. 5) durant 30 mn. A la sortie, cou-vrir 5 mn pour démouler et re-froidir sur grille.

Créme Marrons / Chocolat: Prép.: 20 mn Sans cuisson.

Faire fondre le chocolat; lors-qu’il est ramolli, ajouter la moi-tié du beurre (100 g) et bien mé-langer à la spatule. Ajouter éventuellement l’alcool, mélan-ger. Laisser refroidir l’appareil (le mélange).

Dans un bol à mixer (muni d’un couvercle anti-éclaboussures), mélanger au batteur électr. la purée de marrons, le sucre et le reste du beurre pour que ce mé-lange soit léger. Ajouter, en continuant de battre, cet appareil à celui au chocolat dès que ce dernier est froid. Verser la pré-paration dans un moule à cake huilé (ou en silicone) et raffer-mir au réfrigérateur – au mini-mum durant 3 h.!

Décor: sujets de Noël

Démouler sur le socle en génoi-se; couper les extrémités en bi-seau et les utiliser au besoin pour faire un «nœud» de décor (nœud du «bois» de la «bûche»!) qu’on peut couvrir d’un glaçage de chocolat; faire les stries du bois sur la bûche à l’aide d’une fourchette et ajouter des sujets de Noël, ou des feuilles de houx (réelles ou en pâte d’amande verte), ou des marrons glacés… ou tout autre décor de son choix!

Et que boire avec la bûche de Noël? le choix est large! Un Champagne ou un vin mousseux, toujours festif. Ou bien un vin moëlleux apprécié de ceux qui n'aiment pas les autres vins. On peut aussi rester avec le vin rouge servi avec le fromage.

Automne en Pologne Mes automnes en Pologne sont, de mélancolie, tout empre-ints. Est-ce d’avoir quitté la famille ? Ou l’été ?… Et pourtant comme un enfant je marche en faisant voler les feuilles mortes et dorées et craquant sous mes pieds. Qu’il soit pluvieux et doux gris ou ensoleillé l’automne en Pologne et comme un peu partout c’est la mort de l’été et c’est pourquoi sans doute souvent on le redoute affolés, à nos âges, qu’il soit à notre image quand on pourrait encore tout comme les petits attendre ce qui vient et non fuir ce qu’on craint. Patricia Giraud...


En cada casa, los hombres re-gresaron de sus labores en el campo o la fabrica. Ellos y los niños ya están en sus camas durmiendo y solo las madres y abuelas se encuentran aun en la cocina preparando los pan-ecitos, la comida y los tamali-tos que se van a colocar - justo antes de la media noche , junto con frutas de la estación: li-mas, tejocotes, guanábanas y chirimoyas -, en las mesas decoradas con manteles blan-quísimos en los que presidirá un pequeño altar con las foto-grafías de miembros de la fa-milia que hayan muerto siendo niños.

Pequeñas veladoras, flores ama-rillas de cempasúchil traído del campo ( o comprado en el mercadillo, en las ciudades ), florecitas blancas de "nubecilla", un vaso con leche, otro con agua, tal vez una tacita con chocolate caliente para beber y algunos dulces, en una de las expresiones mas coloridas que aun existen en el mundo para recibir a las almas de los "Santos Inocentes ": los muertos antes de nacer y los que murieron al mo-mento del parto y que vendrán a visitar la casa familiar a partir de la medianoche, guiados por el aroma del copal, el incienso y la mirra que con profusión arde sobre pequeños incensarios so-bre las mismas mesas.

Sobre los altares, colgados de los techos de paja, bajareque o aun de los de concreto - o en las casas de cartón -, muchos corde-les con una tradición que se re-monta a tiempos inmemoriales y que hoy representa otro ejemplo de la creatividad de nuestros pueblos: el 'papel picado' cuyos colores para esta ocasión, blanco y amarillo, representan la pureza y la luz del limbo en que se en-cuentran las almas puras.

Antes de 'las 12', las luces de las casas se apagan, se encienden las velas y las mujeres se ar-rodillan frente a las mesas termi-nadas de decorar para un

'Rosario' que dara la bienvenida a las almas de los angelitos que " . . . h o y e s t a r á n e n t r e nosotros.....".

'........Las casas y los pueblos todos se inundan de una infini-dad de aromas y la atmosfera se adormece en olor de santi-dad.......'.

Durante el 'Día Primero', los niños no van a la escuela y se dedican a los juegos normales de la infancia en los patios y las calles, el trompo, la rayuela y las canicas hacen presencia con el salto a la reata, el juego de 'los encantados' y 'el bote escondido'. El bullicio, la algarabía típica de los pueblos ecuatoriales y sub-tropicales solo se detiene al mo-mento en que los niños han de entrar a la casa en total silencio por respeto a las almas, que desde primera hora se encuen-tran compartiendo la atmosfera y las viandas que para ellos se han dispuesto sobre las mesas.

'.....Los campanarios de las igle-sias no han dejado de llamar al rosario de la hora prima, la tercia la nona y las que vengan. ........en la casa las mujeres sus-penden por minutos la faena para postrarse frente al pequeño altar y elevar una oración por el alma de la angelitos..........'

Las mujeres continuaron traba-jando sin cesar en la cocina. La tarea del dia anterior no ha ce-sado y hoy se ponen en la mesa los mejores platillos de la tra-dición culinaria mexicana: Mole de Guajolote. Mixtotes. Tamales

de cerdo o de pollo. Caldo de Gallina. Barbacoa en diferentes variantes. Bandeja Paisa. Arepas y Almojábanas. Pan especial-mente elaborado para la ocasión en una multiplicidad de texturas, aromas, colores, formas y sabores, dependiendo de la región y del país. Tortillas de maíz. Arroz y carotas. Chiles Jalapeños.

Frutas: piñas, papayas, lechosa, cambures, naranjas, limas, ma-meyes, sapotes, tejocotes. Lugar especial para la calabaza en tacha, aderezada con panela, guayaba, vainilla, caña, canela y tejocotes. Y flores. Muchas flo-res. Ahora se colocan flores rojas, violetas, azules. Las ve-ladoras y candelas son ahora mas grandes. Tamaño 'adulto'. Y para adultos también se coloca-ran antes de que acabe el dia sendas botellas de mezcal y de tequila en las mesas. Alguna cerveza elaborada en casa, o la "...de la marca que le gustaba al difuntito..." ( así, en diminutivo, como se expresa el afecto en nuestros pueblos ), y cuyo espíritu vendrá esta noche a brindar con nosotros y a degus-tar sus platillos favoritos. Un jarro con aguamiel o pulque, como se bebe en Teotihuacan.

Los hombres han estado previa-mente limpiando las tumbas, retirando la maleza que usual-mente las cubre después de la temporada de lluvias. Han traido piedras lustrosas del río mas próximo y con ellas decoran los túmulos que cubren las tumbas, luego colocan floreros repletos de cempasúchil en las esquinas, grandes candelas ( velas ), a veces de un metro de alto y de gran espesor, que se consumirán durante toda la noche. Las cru-ces de las cabeceras relumbran despues de pulimentadas y en las esculturas de Ángeles, Jesús, la Virgen María se han colocado también flores. Las capillas ahora estan limpias y repintadas. Los panteones mayas relucen sus colores.

'..............Los campanarios de las Iglesias han estado anunciando la 'Misa de Gallo'....a celebrarse justo a la medianoche............'

Las mujeres saben que antes de acudir a la Iglesia para tal efecto, deben de terminar de colocar todas las viandas preparadas con antelación, en grandes mesas o tablones que ahora lucen pletóri-cos de retratos, nombres y refer-encias de todos los ancestros de que se guarde memoria. Infini-dad de "calaveritas" de azúcar, amaranto o chocolate con los nombres de los seres queridos en la frente. Como invocando su presencia en el festín.

Es la hora. Los feligreses se diri-gen circunspectos a la Iglesia, cuyo atrio y fachada también han sido adornados con papel picado. La estola del párroco luce con profusión el color púr-pura. El organista ejecuta a Bach o Verdi. La misa transcurre de acuerdo al canon.

Ya es el Día Dos.

' . . . . . . . . .Co mienza l a F i -esta ..............'...............

Justo después de la misa, las familias completas se dirigen al cementerio, donde ya se encuen-tran los Mariachis, para convivir con sus ancestros. Hombres y mujeres llevan bolsas y paquetes conteniendo candelas, mas flo-res, tequila, cigarrillos, cara-melos y dulces, café y panecil-los. Una vez en el sitio, se aco-modan para compartir lo que tienen entre ellos y con los 'vecinos' de las tumbas cercanas. Asi, entre rezos y risas, degus-taciones, chascarrillos, liba-ciones y versos, transcurren las horas en franca camaradería. Los muertos no se han ido. Siempre han estado aqui. Ya no hay que cuidarse de ellos, sino de los vivos. "...Nos bailamos la que sigue comadre...?...".

Los jefes de cada familia organi-zan a la propia para reunir din-ero suficiente para pagar al con-junto musical por las canciones que se han de solicitar. Unas, muy tristes para recordar un amor fallido, "... tóquenme otra vez: la que se fue... "...; otras - las mas -, muy alegres para el hermano o el amigo que fue muy

parrandero, aventurero y ju-gador, - "...con dinero y sin din-ero, hago siempre lo que quiero, sigo siendo el rey..."; "...echeme otro tequila compadre..."...-, algunas festivas y en broma para hacer referencia a los presentes. ".....la tertulia en cas'e Julia.....". Se comparten las viandas, se consume el café y la noche transcurre en total alegría.

Durante la noche algunos miem-bros de la familia han sido co-misionados para llevar a los más jóvenes a dormir temprano y para traer de la casa la comida y las bebidas que - a golpe de Ma-riachi -, se ha de compartir allí mismo, en el 'Camposanto'. La manera mas directa de dejar que los espíritus de los ancestros se hagan presentes en la cele-bración. A media mañana el cura de la iglesia se hace tambien presente y después de oficiar la misa solemne también comparte las viandas con los asistentes a dicho jolgorio en el mismo lugar.

Por la tarde se acabo la comida, el tequila y la gente regresa a sus casas a terminar el dia en calma, en sana paz. Las mesas y los tablones con flores, incienso, comida, han sido testigos de una celebración más en el Día de los Muertos.

International Voices 15

" .....No le temo a la muerte, mas le temo a la

vida...."

Canción popular mexicana.

'....Es la noche del ultimo día de octubre...........'


A Polish Christmas Eve Sup-per (Wigilia) is carefully planned in the weeks prior to Christmas. Family recipe boxes are sought and secret recipes examined in order to prepare this annual meal. The 12-dish supper (signifying the 12 months of the year and the 12 Apostles) is meant to be affordable for everyone and hence is kept simple.

While cabbage, mushrooms and poppy seeds are essential ele-ments of Wigilia, Wigilia would not be complete without carp. Not always a hit with every fam-ily member, the ubiquitous carp is served either fried or jellied.

So whether you love selecting your own perfect live carp straight from the fish tank or prefer store-bought ready-to-use carp, do try out a carp dish this Christmas. And don’t forget to have the much needed Wigilia compote while gorging your-selves. Smacznego!

We are thankful to Paulina Michalska, founder of No To Jemy, Wrocław’s first dinner club, for sharing her recipes with us.

16

There is not a single meal in the whole calendar year that ex-cites me half as much as Thanksgiving dinner. I spend hours pouring over glossy food magazines and scouring my favorite cooking websites in pursuit of the recipes that will tempt my guests to stuff them-selves silly and beg for more.

Thanksgiving is not only the time to give thanks for all that we are blessed with in our lives, but also to share a feast with our close relatives and friends that leaves everyone unbuckling their belts just so they can breathe a little easier. Overindulging is the norm, followed immediately by a turkey coma. There are several standard dishes that most Ameri-cans would agree must be part of the Thanksgiving meal, although the execution of these can vary from family to family: turkey, gravy, stuffing, and mashed pota-toes. Beyond these core foods, the variety is endless and families swear by their own traditions and recipes.

I hosted my annual Thanksgiving dinner for about 20 people this year. (Thanksgiving fell on 24th November this year.) One of the most-requested dishes from last year is this very simple and ultra-traditional stuffing. Although it is called a stuffing, I prefer to bake mine in a separate dish since actually stuffing the turkey can increase cooking time, lead-ing to a dry bird—and nobody wants that. This recipe is also perfect for Christmas time turkey dinners. Enjoy!

Traditional Bread Stuffing

Adapted from a Cook's Country recipe

Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:

1 loaf hearty white sandwich bread (24oz/680gr), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 16 cups)

8 tablespoons (115gr) un-salted butter

2 white onions, chopped fine

3 celery ribs, chopped fine

2 teaspoons dried sage

1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

4 large eggs

¾ cup heavy cream (30%)

¾ cup whole milk (3.2%)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 ½ teaspoons pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle posi-tions and heat oven to 325F (162C). Arrange bread in a sin-gle layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes, stirring bread and switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cool.

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter (57gr) in large skillet over me-dium heat. Cook onions and celery until golden, about 10

minutes. Stir in sage and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and soy sauce and simmer until slightly thickened and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Re-move from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

3. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Slowly whisk in warm onion mixture until incorpo-rated. Fold in toasted bread and let sit, tossing occasionally, until bread is saturated, 20 minutes.

4. Transfer stuffing to greased 13x9-inch pan (33cm x 22cm, approx). Melt remaining butter and drizzle evenly over stuffing. Bake on lower-middle rack until top is golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve.

Make Ahead: The stuffing can be prepared through step 3 and refrigerated, covered, for 1 day. When ready to bake, proceed with step 4, increasing cooking time by about 20 minutes.

FRIED MUSHROOMS

Prep Time: 1 hour to soak Cooking Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS: 16 dried mushrooms caps (podgrzybków) ½ cup flour 2 tablespoons butter salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Start with soaking mush-rooms in lukewarm water for one hour. Drain and pat dry with paper towels

2. Place each mushroom cap, one by one, on the flour, pat down, turn and pat on the other side to thoroughly coat the mushroom cap with thin layer of flour. Shake off any excess flour. Set aside.

3. Heat butter in a sauté pan on low heat. Place mushroom caps in the pan, (do not over-crowd the pan!) and cook until lightly browned on one side, about 7 to 10 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Serve.

Prep Time: 10* minutes Cooking Time: 1.5-2 hours Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 400 grams ready-to-use sour cabbage 40 grams dried mushrooms (podgrzybków)** salt to taste (optional) 1 to 2 cups of lukewarm water, as required**

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in a sauté pan or pot over low heat. Add sour cabbage and mushrooms to the

pan and mix well. If using, season with salt, and stir in 1 cup of water. Cook covered on low heat, stirring intermit-tently, for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the mixture turns brown and all the water evaporates. Keep adding little water, at regular intervals, to avoid the mixture from burning.

* Prep time will increase to one hour if mushrooms are left to soak in water.

**You may use the mush-rooms dried or soaked in luke-warm water for an hour. If you soak them, reserve the liquid, heat it and substitute it for plain water for added flavour.

FRIED CARP

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 carp slices (approx. 200 gm/person) ½ cup flour salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place a fillet on the flour, pat down, turn and pat on the other side to thoroughly coat the fillet with thin layer of flour. Shake off any excess flour. Set aside for five min-utes.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauté pan over low heat. Don’t let it brown though! Place flour-coated carp slices in the pan, leaving space between each slice. Cook on low heat until all slices brown on one side, about 7 to 10 minutes, flip over and let the other side brown as well (another 7 to 10 minutes). Serve with Christ-mas sauerkraut, bread and sau-téed mushrooms.

CHRISTMAS SAUERKRAUT

kapusta z grzybami


17 Food & Wine

Alice Renard [email protected]

The weather outside might be a touch less frightful than we are used to at this time of year, but that has not prevented the Christmas market (Jarmark Bożonarodzeniowy) from com-ing to town. In addition to booths selling beautiful hand-made goods, winter weather gear, and trinkets of all varie-ties, there are also many food stands offering traditional Pol-ish and European snacks to fortify you while you do your holiday shopping.

As you enter the main gate of the Jarmark on ul. Świdnicka, one of the first food stands you'll encounter is selling oscypek, a special Polish mountain cheese that's made from sheep's milk and then smoked. Its little sister,

redykołka, is warmed up on a small grill and served with cran-berry sauce. The saltiness of the cheese balanced against the sweet/tart cranberry flavor makes this a treat not to be missed.

As you walk into the Rynek, waste not a moment and head directly to the sausage stand opposite Feniks. They offer a variety of kielbasa and other meats grilled over charcoal and served on crusty rolls with your

choice of sauces. The white sausage, kiełbaska z Turyngii, is a good choice for those not sure where to begin.

In the same area, there are two stands specializing in spicy mulled wine that's quite warm-ing on chilly nights. Try the plum version for an extra flavor boost. If you'd like a souvenir of the market and the season, you can buy the Christmas stocking-shaped mug in which the wine is served.

Heading towards Plac Solny, there are several stands worth a visit. If you fancy trying a tradi-tional Hungarian pastry, get in the perpetually-long line for a K u r t o s z k o ł a c z ( o r "Kürtőskalács" in Hungarian). Originating in Transylvania, it is a thin yeast pastry wrapped around a wooden cylinder, baked, and then sprinkled with flavorings such as cinnamon,

coconut and vanilla sugar.

Further along is a cozy stand offering traditional food straight out of your Polish grandma's kitchen. Żurek (fermented rye soup) served in a bread bowl, along with bigos (cabbage and meat stew, long-cooked for maximum flavor development), roasted potatoes and pork knuckle with sauerkraut are all steaming in giant pots and beck-oning you with out-of-this-world aromas.

For a final treat, try a freshly-made crêpe at the stand next door, stuffed with a variety of savory ingredients or irresistibly sweet options like Nutella with slices of banana. Alternatively, you can indulge in a paper cone filled with roasted and caramel-ized nuts or chocolate-covered fruit on a stick.

Regardless of your mood, a stop at the Christmas market is guar-anteed to give you a festive boost. It will certainly leave you with vision of bigos and kiełbasa dancing in your head.

So many things have been said about Champagne… Napoléon Bonaparte: “I can’t live with-out Champagne, in the case of victory I deserve it, in the case of defeat, I need it.” Madame de Pompadour: “Champagne, the only wine which leaves a woman beautiful after drink-ing”. What can we add?

An international symbol of luxury

Champagne is very popular in festive seasons and to celebrate whatever you want. In so many films, the hero such as James Bond and his partner drink a glass of Champagne; in sporting events, the winner opens it and sprays it everywhere; a ship is baptised with a bottle of Cham-pagne thrown against her… And everyone knows Dom Pérignon, Veuve Cl i cq uo t , P ipe r -Hiedsieck, Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, Moët-et-Chandon, Roe-derer, and so on. The market is international and the prices are high. The market has more to do with luxury goods than with

wine. Marketing is as important as the product itself. However, Champagne is one of the best wines in the world. Wealthy people have enjoyed it from centuries since the Kings of France and then the kings of England began to appreciate it.

What is Champagne?

Champagne is a French region, 100 to 150 km east from Paris, near the Marne and Seine val-leys, around Reims, Epernay, Châlons-en-Champagne ou Troyes. The wines from the re-gion take the name of the region but are now more famous that the region itself. For most peo-ple, Champagne just means spar-kling wine. But “Champagne” is a very protected name that can only be used for sparkling wine from the Champagne area in AOC (Appellation d’origine controlée) which is a very strict French label for wines. And le-gal proceedings are extremely frequent in the case of contra-vention of the rules of name usage.

The history of Champagne

Mostly three different types of vines are used: for about a third, the well known Chardonnay

with the name “blanc de blancs, referring to the white colour of the grapes. The others two thirds are from 2 kinds of Pinot, white juice with black grapes. In fact it is quite surprising to know that most Champagne is white but made from black grapes. In the past, the natural tendency of the wine to sparkle was a problem for the wine grower. The wine was called “devil’s wine” or “jump cork” until that sparkling ability was controlled and changed quite a poor wine into such a famous one. Dom Pérignon (1638-1715), a Bene-dictine monk, is supposed to have found the method to make Champagne. After hand harvest, a first fermentation is done in vats, as is usual for wine. The second fermentation occurs in the bottles inside the cave and produces natural CO2 (carbonic gas) captive in the bottle. This traditional method is known as “méthode champenoise” but no one is allowed to use that name as it belongs to Champagne.

How to drink Champagne

The wine must be cold, between 4 degree and 8 degree Celsius. A special bucket called a Cham-pagne bucket, full of ice and

water can be useful, especially in a warm room or in summer-time. A special glass is needed, always with a long stem: flute glass, long and thin, perfect to look at the bubbles sparkling, or a goblet, wide top, perfect to build a fountain and to fill the glass from pouring Champagne only in the glass at the very top. Champagne can be drunk as an

aperitif, with a dessert, during the whole meal, alone.

In January, we will get some more information about others sparkling wines other than Champagne. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, with a glass of Cham-pagne, of course.

Champagne, a Festive Wine

Champagne, a festive toast for all seasons

Christmas Market Food Shannon Soesbe [email protected]

Oscypek Redykolka

Bigos

Chocolate-covered fruit

Mulled wine

Roasted & caramelized nuts

Wroc aw Christmas market

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There is so much to tell you about Pilates and I have only 500 words so let's get straight to the point. Pilates training method is absolutely good for everybody regardless of age, sex or physical shape so if you have not tried it yet, here are just some of the reasons you should.

Unique in its nature, Pilates is a perfect combination of strength-ening and stretching exercises that target your lower back and abdominal muscles, so called "core" or "power house mus-cles. Pilates works your body from head to toe so whether your goal is to tone your body, get a flatter stomach, improve your body posture, get rid of spinal problems or simply feel better, then Pilates might be just the right answer.

Pilates training is universal and can be easily adjusted to the individual needs of seniors, youngsters, moms-to-be, ath-letes, dancers, and even celebri-ties. Importantly, since it is pe-fectly safe to do it at any age and stage of life, it has been recom-

mended by doctors who point out multiple benefits people get from regular Pilates exercise. It is not just a way of making you stronger, leaner or healthier but Pilates also teaches you self-control, coordination and bal-ance – all the things that we are looking for in every day life. Of course, it takes time, effort and discipline to see the lasting re-sults but Pilates training will pay off.

Pilates has been around for over 90 years and has come a long way since it was developed by Joseph H. Pilates. He was born in Germany and he was deter-mined to overcome his health problems so he started the Pi-lates program (also known as "contrology"), and became stronger and healthier. Mr. Pi-lates went on to become an ex-cellent boxer, circus performer and self-defence trainer. The Pilates method was first used for rehabilitation during WWI and in 1926 this exercise pro-gram was brought to New York City where it immediately be-came very popular with famous dancer s and choreo gra-phers. And during the early 90s i t w a s r e - d i s c o v e r e d by Hollywood stars who just fell in love with the Pilates training

and all of them swear by it in-cluding Madonna, Sharon Stone and Gwyneth Paltrow, among others. Today, Pilates is a must class offered at most gyms around the globe.

Boredom is out of the question when it comes to Pilates because there are so many teaching styles and a wide variety of over 300 exercises to do either on special machines or a mat with or with-out the use of small equipment such as stability balls, rubber bands, dumbbells or magic cir-cle. Each class is different rang-ing from lower to higher inten-sity with some being more ath-letic or challenging and others slower but it all depends on what you are ready for. You can cer-tainly expect to progress at your own pace and you will be sur-prised the things you will be able to do!

On a personal note, I just love it and I have been practicing Pi-lates for the past 7 years. It was an instant fascination for me the moment I discovered it back in 2002 when I lived in Atlanta, USA. Once I tried it, I was hooked and soon I got certified in Power Pilates teaching method which is an authentic style based on Joseph Pilates' core principles. It has been an

amazing journey with Pilates for me and I hope you are ready to join the ride; your body will thank you for it, mine already has.

Don’t be surprised that my email is [email protected], I am keeping it for life just like my Pilates training.

For groups classes join us:

Every Tuesday 5-6pm, Torres Art Studio (www.torres.com.pl)ul. Św. Antoniego 2-4, Gate C (3rd floor)

If you prefer personal or duet Pilates, contact me via email.

The New Year is just around the corner so what better present to your mind and body than Pilates.

Active Life

Why Pilates? Doctors love it, Superstars do it and... So can you!

Klementyna Patalas

18

Fish Spa Cafe is a unique place where you take care of your

feet in an innovative, natural and hygenic way, relaxed and rested, you

will enjoy an unforgettable experience and taste while tasting fine coffee

and tea.

You will have beautifully manicured feet in a natural way, as well

enjoying a memorable and relaxing peeling treatment with simultaneous

massage, performed by tiny Garra Rufa fish, known as Dr Fish.

We offer treatments, 15 and 30 minutes long, during which the fish will

deal with your skin, cleaning it of dead skin and imperfections. Fish do

not damage healthy skin. They do not have teeth, bite or cause injury.

Address (200 meters from Rynek): ul. Ofiar Oświęcimskich36,

Wrocław

Tel: +48 532 771 934 or 532 771 935

Email: [email protected]

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 11am to 6pm and Saturday 11am to

3pm

We also host meetings for close friends, ladies’ night, or informal team

READER OFFER

The first 10 readers to write to The Wrocław International telling us why

they read the paper will win a free 15 minute fish Spa. Write to

[email protected]


Bicycles are more popular than ever in Wrocław and as a result more and more are sto-len. There are ways to protect your bike against theft how-ever, and the Wrocław Inter-national is at hand to show you how.

So how can you prevent your bike from theft?

Visit the police stat ion (Komisariat) nearest to your home with your bicycle, the in-voice (faktura), your passport or identity card and proof you live in Wrocław (zameldowanie). Then you must fill in a form which describes your bike. Once completed, you will be given a

bike number and a card in 2 parts. One card is stuck on the bike; the other one is to be kept with you. The policeman makes a special mark on the bike which is secret, simple and clever. So why not go there with your bike to see what it is? Best of all, it is completely free of charge.

What can you do if your bike is stolen anyway?

Go to the police station with your passport and the registra-tion card you were given. That will help them find it. Every week, the police find stolen bikes but they do not know the owners. People also frequently come to declare their bike theft without giving a proper descrip-tion to help spot it. Registered bikes are far more likely to be found and returned to their own-ers.

The old-town police station is located at ul. Trzemeska 12, and is open from 7am to 3pm. Offi-cer Gajek took care of our bikes (see picture). He is managing this operation and he is actively involved in preventing bike theft. Without registering, there is no chance of finding your stolen bike again, unless you are lucky enough to rent your own stolen bike somewhere at the Baltic seaside!

The winter may be here but fine weather will come again. Do you like cycling in Wrocław or in the surrounding area? Have any suggestions about your ex-periences, tours, or cycle routes? If so, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to send us an email at:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Poland’s much lamented na-tional football association (PZPN) has never really suc-ceeded in winning the coun-try's hearts. Nevertheless, their decision to remove the national emblem from the team’s shirts sunk them to new lowly depths. Despite since electing to row back on their contro-versial move, fatal damage to its tarnished name has already been done.

PZPN’s idea of replacing the traditional eagle with their own modern interpretation was al-ways going to turn heads. Never-theless, they seemed to be only people in Poland that couldn’t see a barrage of complaints and protests forthcoming.

Still for any foreigners looking in, one might wonder what all the fuss was about. Every other association in the world is bene-fiting financially from their na-tional teams logo, so why should Poland be any different?

Well the truth is that it is differ-ent. Unlike other national foot-ball associations such as Eng-land, Scotland, Holland, France and Germany - PZPN did not fully incorporate its county’s

national emblem in its logo when it was founded. In choosing back then to have their own separate logo, they gave themselves a quite unique headache. Whereas in England for example, the three lions has forever repre-sented both the country and its football association, in Poland the national team and PZPN have been viewed as completely different entities. Thus until re-cently, the eagle has always been on the shirt, occasionally supple-mented by the Polish FA’s logo (with exception of the crownless eagle during the communist era).

The main motivation behind PZPN’s controversial move was to allow them to cash in on Euro 2012. Their own unique logo would have in theory allowed them to copyright merchandise and profit substantially in the process. The eagle cannot be copyrighted, and as a result any manufacturer can produce goods with the eagle on it. PZPN be-lieved the exclusivity of having their own logo on the shirt would help them push sales of its mer-chandise such as pens, T-shirts and flags.

The obvious problem with this

plan however is that virtually the entire Polish nation detests PZPN, and thus also the logo that goes along with it. Last month many Poles boycotted the Hungary game in Poznan, with some even referring to the na-tional team as the ‘PZPN select’. The Italy match in Wrocław four days later was full, but anti-PZPN chanting featured through-out. ‘Where’s the eagle?’ could be heard in all four corners of the stadium, promptly followed by the match announcer’s futile attempts to drown out the chants with score updates.

The scale of hatred towards PZPN cannot be underestimated. The Polish FA is arguably the most disliked institution in the whole country, largely due to a history of corruption and thoughtless decisions. This ha-tred is partly fuelled by the or-ganizations inability to modern-ise at the same pace as other Pol-ish institutions. For many Poles, PZPN represents the last surviv-ing organizational dinosaur of the communist period. Those in charge, namely its President Grzegorz Lato (who is now cur-rently engulfed in a corruption scandal) resemble arrogant, lazy

fat-cats, solely interested in lin-ing their own wallets. With such connotations surrounding PZPN, who would be proud to wear a shirt bearing that logo as ap-posed to the eagle? Given the scale of the outcry and protests - nobody.

The other main issue surround-ing the eagle vs PZPN logo issue is undoubtedly the strength and popularity of Poland’s national symbol. Every public building and coin carries the image of the eagle, so how could the football shirts not?

PZPN had been banking on the hope that the enthusiasm for protests would wane. It didn’t. After two weeks of seemingly constant discussion in the press, PZPN caved into the country’s demands and went back on its decision. Grzegorz Lato’s apol-ogy was typical of the arrogance associated with PZPN’s senior members:

“I apologise to football fans. To justify it, I'll say that only he who does nothing makes no mis-takes.’’

One must wonder how PZPN can get away with being so pom-pous in spite of such incompe-tence. One explanation lies in the FIFA regulations that have pro-tected them for years. The Polish FA, like all other football asso-ciations - must remain an inde-pendent body under FIFA rules. In 2008, the Polish Government tried to suspend PZPN after a corruption scandal, only to be thwarted by FIFA. Had the Pol-ish Government ignored the ruling, the national team would have been suspended from all FIFA and UEFA competitions.

With fresh allegations of corrup-tion hitting the Polish press last month, its difficult to see PZPN digging themselves out of the self inflicted hole they now lie in. Big changes are clearly needed. New people, a new im-age and new ideas would be a start. Fans also need to see where the profits are going, especially regarding grass roots investment. PZPN need to start working to-gether in unison with fans in-stead of engaging in fighting and bickering. The cold hard truth though, is that PZPN are light years away from regaining the trust of the Polish nation.


Expats in poor countries such as Cambodia need to be wary of some typical downfalls. And this requires acknowledgement and discipline. Here are 7 tips that can help you along the way.

1. Being a friend to all expats

Phnom Penh has such a small expat community that foreigners should discard whatever cultural, social differences they have be-cause, yes, they will bump into each other at some point in time. It is actually refreshing, there is less gossiping doing the rounds.

2. Knowing how to calculate

Most items need to be negotiated in dollars or riels, the local cur-rency. Our precarious euro-zone has numbed our math skills, so to avoid annoying people behind you in the queues, train yourself. When you hand in a dollar note, you get the change back in riel so learn how to convert. There are all sorts of surcharges and discounts, so know your percentages. And learning to quickly flip banknotes is always useful and appreciated by the cashier who just handed you a huge pile of riels.

3. Learning the art of tipping

A tuk-tuk fare (motorcycle taxi

that pulls a little cabin) is 2 US dollars one-way. Some expats consider that if you go far and if they help you with your bags, baby or you make them wait, you could pay more and what is two dollars anyway? so foreigners often treble the fee. This could make sense if it wasn't for the fact that a white collar employee who works from 8 to 8 at an office desk, 6 days a week makes an average of 5 US dollars a day.

You see tipping discrepancies around the world but they are linked to different reasons (in the US for instance it's clearly a mat-ter of prestige to over-tip the waiter, here it's more out of lazi-ness or a misplaced sense of char-ity). You understand the implica-tion much better when you negoti-ate for any product at a market place, you can sometimes haggle for ages for a price difference of 1000 riels (more or less 0.2 euro).

4. Ants

If you do not already, learn to live in harmony with ants. You don't need to like them but be aware that you cannot defeat them.

5. Remaining gentle and good natured

Khmer people are to some extend trapped in a system where the way up is to be incredibly nice to for-eigners. Americans, Australians and Europeans tend to bow back

but ever so slightly and whether they want to admit it or not, with time humility and politeness wears off a bit if they are not care-ful. Take the doormen: at first the expat thinks: "poor man, holding the door in this heat", after a while it's such a fact of life he says 'hi' whenever they cross at the door, and after more time you see the same expat carrying heavy bags and it's raining and you hear him think: "Damn, just when I needed help, where the hell is that doorman?"

5.a) Being adventurous

Gone are the times that this place is a complete wild-west state. There is an expat supermarket, an expat cinema and an increasing number of expat restaurants and expat clothes shops. The word expat equals expensive. Services are indeed picking up, so much so that expats could nowadays easily live cocooned in their ghettos. Having travelled the distance, you might as well risk going out: there are exotic places to see and a way of life to try out.

5. b) Don't overdo it

Tasting the life-style offered in Cambodia does not automatically mean that everything must be experienced. The pressure felt by some expats to eat spiders and locust is tremendous; if you are not mentally prepared to immedi-ately refuse those who entice you

to their gourmet plates or to go on their shabby excuse of a boat, will make you suffer the consequences of your not-so-clever actions. There are other ways to prove yourself.

6. Visiting orphanages

The trend of visiting and giving donations to orphanages was growing at such a rate that elabo-rate scams popped up everywhere. Organisations (legally subscribed) were set up with non-orphans where the administrator was keep-ing the money and resell food donations. Recently banners have been put up stating that orphans are not a tourist attraction but the tendency to visit these places is not completely eradicated.

7. Looking up

Let's face it, the streets of Phnom Penh are not a pretty sight. The garbage is often layered out on the pavement for the purpose of sort-ing it out. The triage is then made

by people who look out for recy-cling items (and the rest is then burned the next day by the own-ers). Then there is the random little mount of food presented properly in front of shops and boutiques for luck as a buddhist ritual. With the heat, you can imagine the result. So once you have overcome the fear of being hit by oncoming traffic, learn to walk on the street instead of pave-ments and look up. There are very nice houses and a biodiversity worth observing and the sky is always blue.

So for those contemplating be-coming expats in this part of the world, remember, it's like your morning workout: discipline your way of thinking every day. Be nice to all, be good at math, don't walk on pavements or visit or-phanages. Live it up in Cambodia but not too much and you should be doing just fine.

20

Audrey Tugendhat

Khmer lady selling locusts, spiders and other delicacies on the riverbank in Phnom Penh.

- Catering for any event of any size

- A brand new concept in eating-out in Wrocław!

Enjoy great food and great company

at one of our Dinner Club events

- Learn to cook Polish and Indian cuisine

Enjoy Christmas with traditional Polish food…

we are now taking orders for traditional Polish Christmas food

Catering

Dinner Club

Cooking Classes

For us, it is all about food!

Paulina Michalska / +48-519-119-295; www.notojemy.pl / [email protected]


FOR ALL THESE

& OTHER PROPERTIES,

CALL +48 506 150 925

For many people, home im-provement ideas are conceived in the kitchen after the trials and tribulations of producing the perfect Christmas dinner. It’s at this point that couples realise how hopelessly small and ill-equipped their kitchen is, and how wonderful it would be next year if they could en-tertain family in a more spa-cious open room.

So what can you do? The two obvious paths are either to move to a larger property, or to reno-vate your current home. De-pending on previous experiences, moving house can either be seen as an exciting or daunting pros-pect. For those with no desire to leave home, there’s no need to stress about this predicament however. Why move when you can improve? Many properties have untapped potential, and renovations can make a home more enjoyable to live in as well as push up its market value.

Make the most of what you have by extending your house up, out or down.

The key to building a successful extension is to work with the original house even though it might be distinctly different in design. Ensure the extension is proportionate to the rest of the house and the plot. The flow of the room’s structure, finish and materials can work together with

the outside space. This in turn makes the interior feel bigger, blurring the boundaries between the inside and outside of your property.

Loft conversions are always popular as they make use of ex-isting space. Most post- Ger-manic houses in Wrocław are ideal because of their high roof pitches. If there is a 3 metre gap between the main purlins (horizontal beams that supports the rafters) on each side of the roof, the loft may be suitable for conversion. Modern trussed roofs may need more structural work though, as the roof might have to be raised or the timbers rearranged.

Another common home improve-ment dilemma is how to convert that dank cellar or dingy base-ment into a bright and cosy liv-

ing area. For buildings with shal-low foundations, an under-pinning process can be carried out to secure the extension and also to lower the floors, which increases head height. Basement conversions are the most expen-sive and specialised projects to undertake, but they can create an additional new floor so the over-all gain can be well worth the investment.

If you are feeling less adventur-ous...

If the aforementioned conver-sions seem too much, there are less radical changes which can also be effective. Sometimes simply removing internal walls can open up the room, whilst bigger windows can make a house appear more spacious. Your room layout can also be adapted to create spaces that bet-ter suit your needs.

The room that usually benefits the most from enlargement is the kitchen. With cooking such a popular pastime nowadays, open-plan kitchens are increasingly in demand. It's not only the first thing that potential buyers will

look for in the future, it's also the room you're likely to spend much of your time in. This is especially true when the kitchen is com-bined with a living area.

Squeezing in an en suite bath-room can also add value to your home. The best way to go about this is to steal space from a large bedroom, or to fit a shower room into a large cupboard.

Going Green

Unsurprisingly, ecological

friendly solutions are especially trendy right now. However, in-stalling solar panels or wind tur-bines might not suit every home. Installing new insulation in the external walls as well as in the loft and between floors, is an effective way of conserving en-ergy. Energy efficiency can also be achieved using low energy lighting and more environmen-tally sound materials such as bamboo, which is affordable, durable and eco-friendly. In the long run of course, all of these improvements will pay for them-selves as they reduce your energy bills.

As you sit down with that left-over turkey sandwich and ponder about your New Year home im-provement plans, I hope you will take on board some of these in-ventive ideas. Home is where the heart is, and it's all about making the most of what you have.

Kimmi Lee

Architect at Izyckilee Architects

[email protected]

Next month: Home again: Re-storing a post-German house into its former glory

LOCATION: Czackiego in Zacisze

DETAILS: The newly furbished detached house comprises of 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 kitch-ens arranged on three floors with a large south fac-ing secluded garden with decked area. The property is fully equipped with modern appliances. A selec-tion of double bedrooms (18 to 22 sq m) are avail-able for rent. Available from December.

RENT: Double bedroom from 1000 PLN plus bills

SMOLEC: Apartment for rent, studio 30m2, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, equipment, appliances,

partially furnished. In addition, 9m2 balcony and parking space. South facing windows. Option to

install Internet and cable TV antenna.

Price 800PLN/month + charges around 190PLN depending on the meter reading.


TIFF Festival (Trochę Inny Festiwal Fotografii) is a new and unique event on the cultural map of Wrocław, organised by the Blik Foundation in cooperation w i t h t h e E d i t h S t e i n Society. Unlike other festivals, it schedules events over an extended period of time; TIFF has been going on since spring this year and finishes in mid-December. The festival gives attendees a great opportunity to catch up with some of the latest and most inspiring trends in photography.

There have been many events worth seeing recently, held in various prestigious cultural i n s t i t u t i o n s t h r o u g h o u t Wrocław. On 25 November in the Edith Stein House, two internationally-acknowledged p h o t o g r a p h e r s , E v a Bertram (Germany) and Rafał

Milach, performed slideshow p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e i r works. The following day, Rafal Milbach ran workshops on documentary photography, a i m i n g t o p r o v i d e a n introduction to the standards of working in this field. The opening of the photo exhibition "Ofiarowanie” by Urszula Kluz-Knopek was held after the workshops were completed.

O n 2 7 N o v e m b e r , a documentary movie “Girl in a Mirror,” directed by Kathy Drayton, was shown at Edith Stein House. Afterwards, Aleksandra Loska, the artist whose photographic works revolve around the relationship between human condition and corporeality, presented a slideshow of her photos.

On the 8th of December, a preview of the photo exhibition “Przeciek” by Anna Orłowska was held in Dom Kultury Agora. The following day, a group exhibition from The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź was opened. The exhibition “Fairy Tale Element”, approaching the fantastic and romantic motives in art, also takes place in Wrocław Contemporary Museum.

For the last days of TIFF (15 -18 December) the organizers have prepared a variety of artistic events. On 15 December, Piotr

Zbierski's exhibition “White elephant” will be on display, followed the next day by a concert from punk-rock band The Kurws at Firley Club, along with the group 60 MINUTE PROJEKT a.k.a. LXMP.

Additional events can be found on the festival’s agenda: www.tiff.wroc.pl

Events 22

Kalina Iwaszko

TIFF, Photography Exhibition

W r o c l a w s ki Fe s t iv a l F o r m Muuzycznych presents prizewinning music group Mikromusic. This extraordinary Polish music band recently played a gig on the stage of club Alibi, just a few month's after an equally grandiose performance at ETER

One of the most intriguing bands on t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y P o l i s h music scene, Micromusic filled a cold, lazy Monday evening with their own summer aroma. Mikromusic's unique sound fuses together a colourful cocktail of trip-hop, jazz and down tempo. Their smooth yet dynamic and energetic performance struck a cord with fans old and new, with lead

vocalist Natalia Grosiak's deep and soulful voice spicing up the atmosphere. Introducing some new songs on top of their Polish classics, the band's positive energy enthused the entire audience present on the night.

Signed to star-studded record label EMI, Mikromusic have released 3 albums: Dobrze jest (2006), Sennik (2008), and Sova (2010). Their latest album “Sova”, was awarded with the “Warto” prize by the polish newspaper “Gazeta Wyborcza”. Micromusic's Winter concert schedule starts with “MINI ACOUSTIC TOUR” and the first concert will held in club Enerde, Torun (8.12.2011). Follow the latest news about the Micromusic on their web-site www.mikromusic.pl.

The Magic of Music Lara Kalshnikova

By Rafał Milach - 7 Rooms

By Piotr Zbierski


23 Events

December 2011 - Programme December 13, Tues 9:30 & 12:30 Golden Duck - performance for children December 13, Tues 20:00 Blues jam session December 14, Wedn 18:30 Meeting with Katarzyna Kaczorowska December 15, Thu 9.30 & 12.00 Peter Pan and the Pirates performance for children December 15, Thu 19:00 Leningrad - musical performance December 15, Thu 18:30 Christmas Concert at the Church of the Holy Cross ( December 16, Fri 9.30 and 12.00 Peter Pan and the Pirates - for children December 16, Fri 19:00 Leningrad - musical performance

January 2011 - Programme January 6, Fri 9:30 & 12:30 Golden Duck - performance for children January 7, Sat 15:00 Golden Duck - performance for children January 9, Mon 9:30 & 12:30 Golden Duck - performance for children January 13, Fri 19:00 Mariusz Lubomirski - concert January 14, Sat19:00 Katarzyna Groniec - concert January 17, Tues19:00 FEDRA January 18, Wedn19:00 FEDRA January 23, Mon19:00 The vagina monologues play January 24, Tues19:00 The vagina monologues play January 25, Wed 19:00 Jazz Debuts January 26, Thu 19:00 Leningrad - musical performance January 27, Fri 19:00 Leningrad - musical performance January 28, Sat 19:00 Stankiewicz & , Concert

Impart Art Centre ul. Mazowiecka 17

50-

www.impart.art.pl

box office: +48 71 341 94 32

FACES OF TAIWAN Impart Gallery 30.11-31.12.2011 Opening hours 30.11. 18:00 The works comprising the exhibition were taken by several leading Taiwanese photographers working with the Government Information Office (GIO). Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), is a country marked by ethnic and cultural diversity and natural beauty. The island with an area of about 36 thousand. sq km - equivalent to the size of the Netherlands, Switzerland - is located in the Western Pacific between Japan and the Philippines. It is inhabited by 23 million people. The society of the island is a unique blend of Chinese origin, Malay-Polynesian, Japanese and western. BEAUTY OF LANDSCAPE The deep blue sea, green spaces embody the vitality of Taiwan. They form the foundation on which Taiwan develops. On the map, or from space, Taiwan looks like a small piece of land. But looking through the eye of environmentalists, Taiwan looks like a small piece of land. Taiwan appears as a compact, but perfect natural paradise worthy of full investigation.

Concert: Grzegorz Frankowski Trio and milonga evening - jazz musician from Krakow will perform music in the spirit of tango. 15 December 2011, 20:00, Venue: "Pod Kolumnami" Club, PL. Świętego Macieja 21 ticket ticket price: 25 zl Spectacle: „12” - Dance spectacle, 15 December 2011, 19:00 Venue: The White Stork Synagogue, ul. Włodko-wica 7, Ticket price: 25 zl Music spectacle: Leningrad -show based on the music of Russian rock band Leningrad ( Polish arrangaments of the songs) 15, 16 December 2011, 19:00 Venue: Impart Ar Center ul. Mazowiecka 17 ticket price: 35 zl Vernissage, concert: TIFF Festival -Opening of a photo exhibition "22 histories" by Sylwester Rozmiarek followed by concerts of punk rock band The Kurws and a music collective 60 MINUTE PROJEKT a.k.a. LXMP, 16 December 2011, 19:00 Venue: Firley Club ul. Grabiszyńska 56 ticket price: free

Concert: Julieta Gonzales— Music of Manuel De Falla and Federico Garcia Lorca 17 December 2011, 20:00, Venue: "Pod Kolumnami" Club, PL. Świętego Macieja 21 ticket price: 10, 15 zl Christmas church service: 25. December 2011, 19:00 (in English), Venue: St. Christopher Church, pl. św. Krzysztofa 1.

Movie: Rum Diary Premiere: 30 December 2011 Venue: Helios Cinema ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 19a-21 ticket price: 16 - 23 zl New Year’s Eve show at Wrocław’s Rynek – concerts of many Polish and internationals artists 31 December 2011, 20:00 Venue: Wrocław’s Rynek Tickets: free

Selected Events Listing: December/January 2011

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the wrocław international, december 2011

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