Movies in Polish

Last night, a warm (35 degree Fahrenheit) and drizzly night, we decided to get out of the house at about 4:30 or 5:00 in complete darkness of course since we are so far latitudinally north, practically in the North Pole it seems! We decided to walk up to the Rynek (our usual 10 minute walk to the market centre) to check out the Christmas market in the square, and to see if the movie we noticed online was in English or Polish. So, we decided to go to the movie theater first and check it out so we could know how to plan our evening. We went in and asked if Mr. McGorium's Emporium was in English or Polish. In spite of extensive Polish classes for me and Chris, we are still not worthy of watching a movie in Polish.

The woman spoke very good English, so she clearly understood our request. She said "English." I said, "Like the words are heard in English when they speak?" and she replied "Yes, English with Polish Subtitles." So, we said great and asked to purchase tickets. This is a high tech place, so they had a seating chart and we selected our seats, 2 in the front row and 2 in the back row. More later about the theater.

We then headed back to the Rynek and did some browsing in the market. The market is really buzzing with both locals and tourists. They were stringing up lights and have a new stage and a large lighted tree also. We didn't buy anything, but my shopping habits (or lack there of) are well known in these parts of the world.

Then we decided to go to the Babcia Maliny (Gramma's Kitchen) for some of our favorite local cuisine. The kids always get the roasted Russian Perogi's and Chris and I get a selection of salads (all cabbage salads like slaw) and a boiled beef with horseradish and mashed potatoes. That was great and we headed back to the theater a block away.

We got there in plenty of time to find our seats. Not hard. There were 3 rows of 5 or 6 seats each, and the screen was hung above the door. Our "rich" friends in Lakewood and Southlake have bigger home theaters than this place. It was pretty funny, but the movie was good quality. So, I sat there, somewhat optimistic that English would actually prevail. The credits passed and all the music was English at first, but no dialogue. Then, a guy snoring (universal language). Then the narrator began...in POLISH of course, because we are in Poland you knuckleheads! I had some lingering hope that actual dialogue (not the narrator) would be English...yeah, right.

So, what would you do after paying 60 zl (about 25 bucks) for the movie? You would sit there and watch it too. Chris and I did our best to pick out words and phrases that we knew, about 5% of the total dialogue. The kids just enjoyed the funny actions taking place.

Then, with the best Sylvia Cohen imitation I could come up with, I went to the counter after the movie, with my tail between my legs, and said..."you know the movie is dubbed in Polish, right? Can I get my money back or a coupon for future use?" She got a very distraught look on her face, apologized and gave us our 60zl back. Just like Nordstrom's return policy!

Welcome to Poland! The end.