Zofia’s Big American Adventure

Zofia lived in a small town in Poland, near Kraków. She worked in an office and had never traveled far. But one day, her boss told her, “Zofia, you are going to St. Louis, USA, for six months!”

She was excited but also nervous. She had seen American movies, but was life really like that?

First Impressions

When Zofia arrived in the USA, she saw one big difference: everything was huge! The airport was big, the roads were big, even the coffee cups were big!

"Why is this small coffee bigger than my head?" she thought, trying to hold it with both hands.

People were also very friendly and smiled a lot. In Poland, people don’t always smile at strangers, but in the USA, everyone said, “Hi, how are you?”

"Do they really want to know how I am, or is this just small talk?" Zofia wondered.

Work in Poland vs. Work in the USA

Zofia’s new office was very different from her Polish office.

• In Poland, people arrived on time, started work quickly, and didn’t talk much in the morning.

• In the USA, people arrived at different times, drank coffee, and talked about sports, barbecues, and weekend plans.

  
  

Her boss called her by her first name and said, “Hey, Zofia! How was your weekend?”

"My weekend? We are at work, why does he care?" Zofia thought, but she smiled and said, “It was good!”

Meetings were also very different. In Poland, meetings were short and serious. In the USA, people started meetings with jokes, talked about their dogs, and then discussed work.

Lunch was strange too. In Poland, people sit together and eat a real meal. In the USA, people eat at their desks while working or buy big cheeseburgers.

"How do they eat and work at the same time?" Zofia thought.

Traveling for Work

Zofia’s job in the USA made her travel to different cities. She was shocked by how big the country was!

• In Poland, you can travel across the country in a few hours.

• In the USA, she took a three-hour flight and was still in the same country!

  
  

She tried different foods in each city:

• Chicago – deep-dish pizza (so heavy!)

• Texas – barbecue (people love it like a religion!)

• New York – crazy traffic (crossing the street was scary!)

  
  

One day in Los Angeles, she asked, “Where is the old town?” A man laughed and said, “Old? This city is only 200 years old!”

"Only 200 years? My grandmother’s house in Poland is older than that!" Zofia thought.

Coming Home

After six months, Zofia was happy to return to Poland. She missed her small town, the good food, and normal-sized coffee cups.

But she also liked some things about America:

• Friendly people

• Free coffee refills at restaurants

• Talking about weekends at work

  
  

On her first day back at work, she smiled at her colleagues and said, “Hey, how was your weekend?”

They looked at her like she was crazy.

"Maybe I brought back too much American culture!" Zofia thought, laughing.