Olszowy

So my first day here, I learned how to actually say my last name in true Polish. I completely forgot about it, but wanted to write about it now that I've remembered!

When one of the program coordinators here was doing attendance, he said it right and then started talking to me about my Polish name. In the states, my family pronounces it Ols-zowy, just like it's spelt-- so many people like to add in k's and other weird sounds though! In Polish though, it is pronounced Ol-sho-whey. But, for me, being a female, it is Ol-show-wa.

Olszowy, I learned, is a type of tree. Olszowy Kiesz is also a settlement in Northern Poland. It was just really interesting to hear from someone how to actually pronounce my name and what it actually meant!