A Chip Shop in Poznan: My Unlikely Year in Poland

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I particularly enjoyed Ben’s stint as an ESL teacher, having personally supported non English speaking students, I found his newly acquired skills and experiences familiar and hilarious! For instance, chapter 12 highlights Aitken’s experiences roaming around Freedom Square in Poznań to hear people’s opinions on Brexit.

This book is very much like the stereotypes of the English abroad and I did cringe quite a bit reading it. 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.Not because I’m a stewy kind of guy, but rather because I’ve never really attempted to make any signature Polish dishes myself. Certainly, with my first journey to Polandand getting used to a wholly new culture, I sought to find myself – to have my character reset. I've lived in Poland for the last twelve years, and so having a chance to compare my own experiences to those enjoyed by Ben Aitken meant that this was a diverting, enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the footnotes, which often added some welcome exposition to the main text and complimented the diary style.

One such promise is the quote on the front cover that claims this is 'One of the funniest books of the year'. Ben Aitkin did his homework and was well-versed in historical facts but this is not a history book but one trying to figure out what made the locals as they were. 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. E,g he translates a replacement word for a profanity as Chicken, a bit like translating the English replacement fudge into Polish as a chocolate candy.In terms of acquisition, every language presents its own unique challenges, and Polish is no different. Another point is that Aitken really got me wondering about whether I’ve immersed myself as much as I could have done in Polish culture. He wanted to get away from England before the EU Referendum and chose Poznan in Poland: the flight was the cheapest, and the place was unlikely to have many people from other nationalities.

In February 2017 he was offered a job on a farm in Elk, in the north-east, milking cows and cleaning their sheds, but doesn’t take it.The writing style was very often too much of an attempt to be funny, so that the desired light touch became a bit strained. This is one of those engaging rambling, waffling, flaneur-ish books that is deceptively meaningful, quietly passionate.

He had a more-or-less girlfriend, Anita (she did not reciprocate his feelings for her), who asks him why he has come to Poland. All topics are narrated with sensitivity, and Askitt is often able to take a step back and admit his ignorance on a topic or even to explain complex thoughts in a light and funny manner. By the year’s end he had a better sense of what the Poles had turned their backs on – southern mountains, northern beaches, dumplings! Interestingly, opinion was split between those who like the EU for its money and those who thought the EU is just Germany. Ben’s journey to discover the relationship between Poland and Britain and why so many Poles were leaving home, which just happened to be during the year of the referendum, was so colourful and witty that I literally couldn’t wait to meet the next chapter.Aitken includes interactions with a very wide range of folks, including ones who didn't speak (much) English from across the country (he makes several "field trips" to other cities). There is something exciting yet comforting in being somewhere new, being lost on a new map, finding a supermarket or a bus stop. In a strange twist of Immigration, Aitken sets off to discover for himself through moving to Poland for a year. The concept seemed interesting and I found the beginning of the book amusing, especially the chapter on teaching English to Polish students. The diary entries are a curious mixture between, on the one hand, scrappy, fairly light-hearted, at times funny, but often boring day-to-day accounts of Ben’s life in Poland, and, on the other, more sustained and serious reflections which are mainly about the EU and about, immigration to England and to Poland.