Over the past year of filming Kult America we met many fascinating people
and traveled to many fascinating places.
However one thing we have failed to do was thoroughly respond to your curious questions.
So on today's episode we will do just that, in an old fashion YouTube Q&A.
Can you please tell me what it takes to move to Poland?
In my case I donated 99% of my stuff to a homeless shelter in Chicago,
I took one bag with my computer, my camera, a little bit of stuff,
and I got in an airplane and I didn't come back.
I didn't exactly planned to live here forever.
Although that's probably what the outcome will be,
I just went for it.
What I would recommend is that one - you start learning the polish language, this is essential,
I think if you're not interested in learning the language, or culture, you should not come here.
And two - arrive with an open mind and be prepared to reinvent the way that you go about your life.
But the most important point is that you have to get on an airplane and actually come here.
Which country has the best food?
Be honest.
Generally speaking, I appreciate all food and the culture that it represents,
but Turkey really really made a crazy impression on me.
Are there going to be turkish subtitles?
Congratulations from Turkey.
I am very happy to tell you that a turkish viewer has been helping us and creating subtitles,
however he's busy and sometimes the subtitles arrive a little bit after the release of the video.
Also if you're feeling impatient, if you know how to speak English and you're from Turkey,
and you want to help us out, get in touch
because the more subtitles we have on this channel, the better.
Do you have any favourite YouTube channels?
My favourite YouTube channel is called Adam the Woo, and he does video adventures
and he films it in a totally crude way, the guy literally just uses his iPhone
to wander around America and give you an update on his life
and the places that he's seeing.
What I love so much about it is that there's no narcissism in his videos,
it's just honest, true reports from his travel.
Who would you like to make a collaboration with on YouTube?
One of my biggest inspirations here locally in Poland is Włodek Markowicz,
I've had the pleasure to speak some one-on-one time with him, I consider him a friend, in fact.
Maybe somehow, someway, I convince him to go on a little video adventure with me,
but I wouldn't hold my breath on that, because I think that Włodek's favorite word is "no".
Włodek, if you see this feel free to prove me wrong.
Is there anything you hate about Poland?
The reason I don't like to respond to this question publicly
is because even if I pay massive taxes here and I'm a citizen of the country
and have a Polish family now,
I still consider myself to be, honorary, a guest.
I decided to start a family here and a life
so for that reason it really seems wrong to publicly criticize my host.
The thing I don't like in Poland is racism, or close-mindedness,
and that's absolutely not to suggest that most polish people are racist or close minded,
it's just that I've known people from other cultures, who have started their life in Poland
and have battled horrifically with being stereotyped and being held back
in society because of the country that they are from.
Next question.
Man, I miss "Przeżyj to" series, will you ever continue making them?
The simple answer to that is no, "Przeżyj to" was awesome, but between my business,
my two kids, my wife, and then making Kult America of course,
there's just no room to include that show.
How was your first day in Poland?
The first time I've ever visited Poland was the year of 2000 and it was the spring,
I don't remember the exact day I came here by bus from London.
And the first sight that I vividly remember was outside of the city of Katowice.
I saw nothing but yellow fields of flowers and these big, imposing communist-built blocks.
So I felt terrified actually, because I didn't speak the language,
I didn't know where I was going.
On the other hand, I knew that I was in a mysterious place,
that I wanted to learn more about.
And here we are, what, 16 years later?
Would you do the video about learning the language itself?
I think people would be interested in how you learned and how long it took you.
That's really true, lot of people write me and ask
how can they learn Polish and what they can do.
The truth is that by now I am pretty much fluent, I have problems with grammar,
and pronunciation in Polish.
I don't speak Polish publicly anymore, but I guess you can understand why I don't want to do it,
I feel like I have so much more to say to a person in English.
Polish people speak English so much better than I speak Polish,
that in a sense to really get across ideas in a genuine way I have to speak my own language.
So the man who edits these videos doesn't speak English and any issue we have,
or plan that we make has to be made in Polish, so in my professional life, my private life,
I speak Polish regularly, but publicly, for you, I prefer to avoid doing it
because I want to keep some kind of dignity, that I'm not able to have
when I'm speaking the language which is not my own.
But if you ever meet me on the street, feel free to speak Polish, you know?
That's fun for me.
Because I just love Polish language.
But let's go back to English.
Why did you name your channel Kult America?
Because Kult is also a famous polish band.
That is true.
The band Kult is very famous and they're really cool, I really had the honor
of doing an interview with their singer years ago, but that wasn't my inspiration for the name
of this channel, I had actually thought the name of the channel about four year ago,
when I was walking through Pole Mokotowskie in Warsaw
and I imagined how my community of people, I mean people who really get me
and understand who I am is small and interconnected, almost of like a little cult.
Jokingly, of course.
And I thought it would be really interesting to make a YouTube channel with the perspective
of myself and the people who I associate with.
And why did I add America to it?
And I've been waiting a long time to answer this.
I did that in a very very sarcastic manner, in fact.
When I wear the american flag t-shirt, I do this in a very ironic way,
like I'm a stereotypical american I'm almost kind of making fun of the way
that I'm perceived by many people who initially hear about me.
The truth is that I don't honestly define myself by any flag or patriotic symbols.
I identify myself by trying my best to be a good person and
learn about the world around me in the most honest way possible.
So when you see these plays on patriotism, I'm actually being sarcastic.
What kind of camera do you use?
That's actually a question for Maciek.
We always try to use different cameras, to have a little bit of diversity.
When we need a slow-mo, we use Lumix GH4,
when we need a light frame, we use Sony Alpha 7S
and sometimes we use Canon 5D Mark 3.
So as you see, there are lots of cameras.
Włodek Markowicz actually suggested you to use Sony RX100, a tiny camera, very handy,
and it actually does magic.
What is the thing that polish girls have that american girls don't?
I think that it's pretty much universally accepted, that polish women are special.
It seems to me that mass abundance of polish women are able to maintain a family, I mean,
let's be honest, in a way be a housewife and esteller profesional at the same time.
And I don't even understand how this is possible,
and I'm not saying that you won't find a woman like this in America as well,
but I really admire the sheer ambition of polish women.
I think it's very attractive.
What is the country that you would like to visit?
We are actually working on a plan to go the DMZ.
I'm also planning to visit maybe Lithuania and we will go back to the Czech Republic and Slovakia,
because we've seen massive support from people there.
I want to make a video called "Where my ancestors walked?",
go see the village in Romania, where my great grandfather was born, maybe meet some people.
As much as we can, we will be traveling around, I don't put any limits on it.
How much time does it take you to make one episode?
Sometimes it takes 30 minutes like this one that we're filming today, other time it takes three days.
And the last question - have you ever been in trouble in Poland because of your nationality?
No, I think that my nationality has mostly worked to my advantage.
There was some unpleasant situations, one of our neighbours had a conflict with the guy
who I work with and when I intervened, he heard my accent and he asked "Where are you from?"
So the U.S.
And he's like "Oh, okay. Well that would explain why you are so limited."
So thank you so much for watching this Q&A.
If you have questions for me, or about the program or places we've been,
please feel free to write me in a comment section or email me on Facebook.
Thank you so much for watching Kult America and I will see you next week.
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