Au Pair Country & Culture Highlight: Poland

Hailing from a country where traditional values and loyalty are held in high regard, Polish au pairs are great additions to the family environment. As children are considered the most important family members in Poland, they are celebrated and cherished. A wonderfully vibrant country with strong ties to art and literature, Poland also hosts many music and art themed festivals and events. Let's explore Polish skills and attributes that may be important to you as a host family:

Country Facts: Poland has a population of 38,163,000 people and Polish is the official language. The capital language is the historic city of Warsaw.

Cooking: Knowing how to cook goes without saying in Polish culture. While your au pair candidate may not tout their cooking skills, Polish cuisine is accompanied by warm hospitality and a sumptuous meal. It tends towards meals of great variety, and focuses on healthy choices. Borscht, a spicy red beet soup, is one of their more recognized dishes. It can often be found paired with Pierogi, dumplings of unleavened dough which are first boiled, then baked or fried, usually in butter with onions. Often these are stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.

Driving: Polish drivers must complete 30 hours of driving with a professional instructor to be licensed and tend to be incredibly well prepared for their practical test, which is not easily passed. Road quality is often poor, so Polish au pairs tend to be well-prepared for difficult driving conditions, including inclement weather. Au pairs from Poland are likely to be used to much smaller vehicles and may find American cars, trucks, and SUVs to be intimidating when they first start to drive in the US.

Communication Style: Poles are direct communicators, believing that it is better to express opinions openly. They tend to listen silently and with thought. This allows them to think before responding to an idea or question. While Polish au pairs may initially seem reserved, they tend to open up quickly, and move toward incredible warmth and loyalty once a relationship is established.

English: The average Pole speaks conversational English as lessons begin in Poland at an early age, often as young as 4. They are always striving for improvement by looking for opportunities to chat with travelers who speak English.

Highlight: In Gdansk, for three weeks every July, there is the St. Dominic's fair. This tradition goes back to the thirteenth century. Every year, about 1,000 merchants, artists, artisans and collectors take part in the Fair, which is visited by an average of 70,000 people daily. The modern version of the event is infused with medieval traditions and you can find there many varieties of food stalls offering cold beer, meat, potatoes, sausages, and shish kebabs baked on a gridiron.  Learn more or search for Polish Au Pairs here.

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