Poland

= Polish Culture =

My project is on Polish culture. Polish Customs, traditions and morels display a diverse mix of the East and the West a colorful vibrant Eastern ornamental style and the somber Islamic influence. Its unique character developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of Western and Eastern Europe. Over time Polish culture has been influenced with the German culture, Latino culture, and Byzantine worlds as well as dialog with the many other ethnic groups and minorities living in Poland. This culture reflects my families view on this culture because we celebrate for example, Christmas and Easter. Some surface culture would be food like Bigos a traditional stew made in Poland. Another surface culture example would be clothing. In Poland people wear there colors and mostly dress like we would here. deeper culture would be religious beliefs, and the way people view friendship. For example, Polish people believe in a god and celebrate Christmas. Stereotypes held against Poland would be polish people do not speak foreign languages, polish people never smile and they complain a lot, and Polish people abuse alcohol. Capital: Warsaw =Cultural Universals=


 * ======Language (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Slovian, Croatain, Macidonian, and Belrusian)======
 * Beliefs (roman Catholic, See God as entity and in Christ as a divine teacher, but not a God)
 * Technology (telephones, T.V's, radios, internet, cell phones, cars (and other transportation)
 * Architecture (Gothic, Modern, Renaissance, Socialist, and Wooden architecture is used in Poland)
 * Music (Folk music, Rock, Hip Hop, and all kinds of alternate music is most common)
 * Dance (Polka, Mazur (Mazurka the English name), which are Folk dances)
 * Literature (Polish literature is written in Polish as well as Ukrainian, German, and until the 18th century Latin was a major language in Polish literature.

=Cultural Diffusion=

Migration in Russia and Eastern Europe has played a big role in the civilization and culture of Poland in many ways. It also influenced the language spoken in different parts of the Continent and the culture of the people. Food has also migrated from Russia to Poland as well.

=Physical Geography=

Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers. Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border


 * The Vistula River (longest river in Poland),
 * Rysy (high peak, 2,499 m)
 * Mostly flat plain
 * Forest covers almost one third of the country and there are around 10,000 Polish lakes in Poland.

=Bibliography=

//Example Essays.com - Over 100,000 essays, term papers and book reports!// Web. 05 Jan. 2010. . //Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com//. Web. 05 Jan. 2010. . Hart, Diane. //Geography Alive!// New York: Teachers Curriculum Inst, 2006. Print. "Intute - World Guide - Poland." //Intute - Home//. Web. 05 Jan. 2010. . //Poland For Visitors - Poland Travel Guide//. Web. 05 Jan. 2010. . //Buffalo New York Tourism//. Web. 05 Jan. 2010. .