I spent most of the day today at the Polish State Archives (AGAD) in Warsaw with my cousin Christa. For the most part, we searched through books of Polish Court Records and did, indeed, find records of our families. I did sneak out to take some photos, though.<\/p>\n
We also met up with Christa’s friend Adam for supper and, during dessert, we got into a discussion that started to sound like an Abbott and Costello routine.<\/p>\n
Steve: “Once\u00c2\u00a0I made the mistake of\u00c2\u00a0asking for ‘jeszcze jeden kot’ (another cat) instead of ‘jeszcze jeden koc’ (another blanket).”<\/p>\n
Adam: “Why would you say\u00c2\u00a0‘blankiet’? Blankiet\u00c2\u00a0is a blank piece of paper, a blank form.”<\/p>\n
Christa: “No a blanket is something you pull over you to keep warm.”<\/p>\n
Steve: “My grand aunt Stefania’s will<\/a> was written in Polish, but used the word ‘blenkiet’ rather than ‘koc’.”<\/p>\n Christa: “So, what is\u00c2\u00a0‘blanket’ in Polish?”<\/p>\n Adam: “‘Blankiet’ is Polish for a blank form.”<\/p>\n Steve: “No, the word you want is ‘blanket’, not ‘blankiet’.<\/p>\n Christa: “We just always called blankets, blankets.”<\/p>\n OK, the conversation didn’t proceed exactly<\/em> like that, but you get the idea. And,\u00a0would you believe we got into this discussion after Christa brought us to a stationery store to buy a pillow?<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2009 by Stephen J. Danko<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I spent most of the day at the Archives with my cousin Christa today. For the most part, we searched through books of Polish Court Records and did, indeed, find records of our families. Continue reading