Friday, September 26, 2008

I’m an International Superstar!



Okay, well, maybe I’m still working on the superstardom thing… but one of my books has gone international! This week I got copies of the Polish version of my first book, Spying in High Heels! It’s been released as Sledztwo na wysokich obcasach in Poland by Amber publishing. Check out the cover - cool, huh? I have no idea what it says, but I spent all day browsing through the book. The most fun part about it are the little footnotes explaining my many Americanisms – like why “Dewey, Cheatum, & Howe” is a funny name for an attorney’s office, and what Six Flags is. I love it!

Since I don’t speak Polish in the least, I spent a good chunk of time yesterday trying to find a Polish to English dictionary online that I could use to translate the title. No such luck. Still searching. The best I can find so far is it says something "to soaring heel". Interesting…

But, in the course of my searches, I did stumble upon some very interesting facts about Poland. Did you know:

Pizza in Poland does not contain tomato sauce. The waiters bring sauce to the table in a pitcher, and you pour it on top. Sometimes the sauce is just catsup.

When American movies are dubbed for Polish TV, one man reads all the parts, even those of women and children.

The biggest section of any grocery store is the candy section.

Some Polish beer is ten per-cent alcohol.

There is a Pope channel on TV. Anytime one needs to see the pope, one can tune him in.

Polish toilet paper is made of crepe.

There is an M.D. on board every ambulance.

Doctors do not make as much as English teachers do in Poland.

The teaching of the German language at any level was forbidden in Poland for forty years after the end of World War II.

Poles peel bananas from the blossom end, not from the stem end.

Poles always carry cut flowers upside down.

Amongst all the members of the European Union, the residents of Poland marry the youngest – at and average age of 23 for women.

In Poland people wear wedding ring on the right hand.

In Polish, the English word “no” means “yeah, sure”. So, if a Polish man asks you out to dinner, don’t say “no” unless he’s really hot.

And my favorite…

Poland is currently run by identical twin brothers who serve as Prime Minister and President. They were once too-cute child stars and appeared in the 1962 movie, The Two Who Stole the Moon. (Who knows, maybe the Olsen twins have a future in politics yet!)


~Trigger Happy (or as they say in Poland, Spust Zadowolony) Halliday

8 comments:

Christie Craig said...

Gemma, I love the cover.

And hey, I'm for the Polish tradition of Candy being the biggest section in the grocery store. Of course, I think Chocolate needs its own aisle.

CC

Terri Osburn said...

Congrats on going global! I bet the fan mail from that one should be fun to read. And I tried to help with the translation and only got "on high heels Sledztwo". Tried a couple of sites and they kept saying there was no translation for Sledztwo.

Gemma Halliday said...

I'm so with you. Though... I'm not sure I'd ever leave that aisle.

~Gemma

Gemma Halliday said...

Me too, Terrio! I'm hoping sledztwo means spying... or some equivalent.

~Gemma

Estella said...

Congrats on going global!

Anonymous said...

Love the Polish cover! Have you tried using Google's language tools?

Keri Ford said...

Cool cover and facts! I thought the pizza picture was a cookie with ketchup on it!

Gemma Halliday said...

Tori - no I haven't tried that! Uh... how do I do it?

Yeah, I'm a techno-blonde.

~Gemma