Artykuł pochodzi z pisma "New Warsaw Express"

East for Adventure

Steffen Moller didn't have a clue what he would find in Poland when, in 1993, he decided to attend a six-week language course in Krakow, but he certainly did not imagine that he would become a local celebrity in a few years.
"I think I was expecting to see white bears on the streets," he quips.
Although he didn't find any polar bears, he did find himself intrigued by both the language and the location.
"I was fascinated by Polish," he says. "It was awfully difficult... My brothers like to go to Spain or France, but for me that's not at all exotic - I prefer to go east."
So taken was he by the experience that he returned to Poland immediately after finishing his philosophy degree. After six years of teaching German, he decided his Polish was good enough to try his hand at stand-up comedy. This led him to a part in a soap opera and a regular slot on the "Europa da sie lubic" ("Europe Can Be Liked") panel. This award-winning show aims to show Polish people the light-hearted side of life in other EU countries. The panel is made up of Polish-speaking expats, who compare various aspects of their homelands to Poland.
Steffen believes he has become a popular comedian because he is not afraid to make light of Poland's and Germany's turbulent history. Although his humour is provocative, his aim is to promote understanding and acceptance through laughter.
"Polish people sometimes say to me that they never imagined being able to laugh at a German guy on stage, and for the first time they have to admit that Germans are also human beings," he says.
Steffen loves his Polish audience because of what he terms their "sense of the absurd". His worry is that Poland will become a "normal" country now that it's in the European Union, and that the Poles will lose this unique national characteristic.

WILLIAM BURKE

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