How Learning Polish on Duolingo Led to Reuniting a Family in Poland
By
David Sawicki
Crisp on the outside, thoughtful on the inside. A keeper.
Summary
A personal narrative about how the author used Duolingo to learn Polish before a trip to Poland with his father and brother. During the trip, a humorous incident involving a dropped kielbasa sausage led to a conversation with a Polish woman who turned out to be his father's long-lost cousin, ultimately reuniting two branches of the family that had been separated for decades. The story spans from 2019 to the author's eventual employment at Duolingo, highlighting how language learning can lead to unexpected and profound human connections.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe kiełbasa fell to the ground. 'Great,' I thought to myself. 'Now I have to figure out how to say, My kiełbasa fell on the ground. May I have another? in Polish.'
Of all the weird phrases that Duolingo taught me in the app, why couldn't they have taught that one?
It was the end of a week-long tour of Poland with my dad and brother to celebrate our dad's 60th birthday, which was also the very first time either my dad or I had set foot in Poland.
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