We are excited to announce our second keynote speaker—Ellen Ericson. As a business etiquette and international protocol consultant, she teaches Fortune 500 companies, law firms, non-profit organizations, and business professionals how to refine their corporate culture and communication skills to benefit their top line growth. Her philosophy is, “If you show others respect you build [...]
Just a super quick note that PISK’s high school outreach program, the Iskra Project, has just announced the opening of registration for their upcoming Iskra University Prep Conference, happening at McMaster University in Hamilton on August 11-12, 2012. For senior high school students: Summed up quickly, the conference will give you a chance to meet [...]
How do you say “please” in Polish? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not “proszę”. That’s right. Forget everything you ever learned in Polish school; forget all your parents ever told you—it’s all fantasy and lies. The secret magic word to get what you want in the world of Polish customer service is (are you [...]
Magda just wrote a post on biculturality within Polonia where she mentioned Danny Pudi, a favourite Polonian of mine. Why? Because he knows more about Polish customs and traditions than many of my “Polish” friends, because his Polish is near flawless, and because he identifies closely with the community. Asked what his dream webisode would [...]
Being bi… cultural: it’s all the rage in Polonia right now. As society becomes increasingly culturally diverse, particularly here in North America, cross-cultural partnerships are pretty much becoming the standard. Once we step past the boundaries of the immigrant generation and venture into the first generation and beyond, we start seeing more diversity in our cultural [...]
The other day, I was sitting at the office, trying to stay awake during a night shift, something which was made all the easier by the fact that somewhere, hidden in a cubicle or strategically placed under a filing cabinet, was a chirping cricket. It was incredibly annoying, and I spent the better part of [...]
Before I begin, I will fully acknowledge how hypocritical this post is. In blog posts past, I have heavily condemned this Polish vodka connection we continually reinforce. I fully recognize that in writing this, I’m not really helping my case. But… but… (insert defensive yet condescending finger wagging here: ____) I assure you I have [...]
Receiving a small flurry of emails on this topic, both official and unofficial, I’d like to take a minute to wish everyone a veri heppi Polonia Day! Coincidence that it falls in the same week as Kitchener’s “Polish Day” celebrations? I think not… The Polish government apparently instilled this holiday in a neat PR move [...]
“Czy to bajka, czy nie bajka, Myślcie sobie, jak tam chcecie. A ja przecież wam powiadam: Krasnoludki są na świecie.” —Maria Konopnicka: O Kranoludkach i o sierotce Marysi Turns out Konopnicka was quite right: krasnale (dwarves) do exist! Well, alright, the ones of which I speak are actually cast iron statuettes that are scattered about the [...]
A few years back I had a pleasure to meet Nelli Turzanska-Szymborska. The setting was beautiful: a cozy room in one of the most prestigious hotels in Toronto filled with prominent personalities. They all gathered there to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a foundation Nelli and her late husband, Wladyslaw, created. I was personally moved [...]
