also, being polish myself, some facts and translations were not correct and i found it weirdly frustrating - was it that hard to double or triple check with one or two of the 700k poles living in the uk during the edit? Even though I fully agree with him on these points a book like this is not the platform to share your political views and other convictions (do not feed bread to the ducks people, do not! You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. As someone who very vaguely studied Poland's diaspora in England for geography, I was quite intrigued by the prospect of learning more about a country so antagonised by the British media. But, among the thoughts he recounts when he leaves Poland in April 2017 is this one: “When I am in Poland, I could be anywhere”, which sums up the feeling I had that he had not noted all that much that made that country different from others.

When Poles ask the question, do they assume that Poland is such a dirt-poor country with zero opportunities? An engaging romp through Polish culture, with a resonant political message of the importance of interacting with other cultures and preserving our ties with Europe.It wasn't love that took him but curiosity: he wanted to know what the Poles in the UK had left behind. There are also times when reading this you wonder should Ben be left leave the country considering the daft and dangerous situations he manages to find himself in. However, further on the writing got very boring, with whole chapters describing insignificant events, uninteresting characters and too many hangovers.

The premise is brilliant - do to the Eastern Europeans what they do to the Brits - come over legally and work hard at the jobs we don't want. His task was to peel an interminable number of potatoes, then to chip them with a gadget, then to do the complicated work of de-boning kilos of cod. By the year’s end he had a better sense of what the Poles had turned their backs on – southern mountains, northern beaches, dumplings! When I saw Polish words like przepraszam (excuse me) and dziękuję (thank you) for the first time, I was a little taken aback.i have bought the book sold on the seemingly interesting concept of ‘reverse migration’ of a brit to poland, however this entire book has just screamed ‘privilege’ to me. Therefore, if you are interested in Poland and want to read the authors' memoirs of his time there, I would recommend you to give it a go.

In Poland he recounts his experiences of showing up uninvited to a stranger's house on Christmas, discovering how bad he is at making fish and chips as well as teaching, and visiting Auschwitz. In a strange twist of Immigration, Aitken sets off to discover for himself through moving to Poland for a year. However, I think whether you enjoy this book or not depends on whether you like the author and his style of writing. I was disappointed that the book ended with barely any resolution and the quote of another author/poet in place of the author's own words. In June, his job as a teacher came to an end (we are not told why – perhaps because he was so often unpunctual?

Overall, it’s an effortless task to empathise with Aitken, especially when you’ve been in his shoes. In terms of acquisition, every language presents its own unique challenges, and Polish is no different. I also admire that the author is so comfortable going up to people and just asking them questions, which is something I would certainly struggle with.