Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Magdalena it is obviously not always the case but I know loads of people who had to pay a bribe to pass...so there IS still corruption in that job.

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

I will look for the recent ones I have seen with Poland at the top but this is what Google found quickly...

driveandstayalive.com/info%20section/statistics/stats-multicountry-percapita-2004.htm

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

Why are you calling Polish drivers "trees"? :=)

But really you can think I am exaggerating all you want but there are statistic available to prove the point.

Life / Thermal wear in Krakow [7]

All outdoor shops will have only PolyPro in PL and the prices are high. If you want old school woolies or cotton waffle long johns it is gonna be hard to find.

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

I agree Italy is bad...and NYC is not representative of the USA...France and Spain have lots of bad reputations that simply are not true as people who have lived there would know.

I still say none of the places you mention are worse than Poland...and Poland consistently has either the top or second from top highest road fatality rate in the EU.

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

Such as? China? India? I would agree...but you'd be hard pressed to find a developed country with worse drivers...and the statistics back that up.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

And I have not been able to sort why there is such a disparity in driving skills...the Poles have a pretty involved driver education process and hard testing much like the Germans. Hell getting a driver's license in the USA is simple and cheap compared to both and as many crap drivers as there are in the States it is much worse here.

Not sure why...

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Wow you ARE Polish....being so literal and twisting the littlest detail to argue about. My gf does it all the time and she knows and admits she does it...a genetic thing :)

I clearly meant "in large they are good drivers" not "every single person in Germany is a good driver".....geez

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

And yet another observation that will be labeled as generalization (and I cannot figure out why generalizations are bad if they are true)...but the Germans are very good drivers...they go at insanely fast speeds on the autobahn and have very few accidents and while they go fast they are safe.

They also have good roads so I am sure that helps.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

HAHAHAHA....sorry that laugh was to Krzystofs TV show....I can just see it!

I like to tell the story of when I went into a stationary shop with pens and paper and such. An entire rack of Watermann ink behind the Kasa. I asked for the blue/black which I can see over her shoulder. She looks back..."Nie ma" and goes back to her crossword puzzle. I think you could go into a light bulb shop that is fully stocked and say "one light bulb please" and they would say they don't have any if they weren't in the mood to move.

Have you ever seen Blood Diamond? You know how they always say "TIA-This Is Africa"?

I say TIP.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Say pip pip and cheerio a lot...they love that kind of thing in the states.

And wear a bow tie for sure.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

You know that is funny because with the exception of the odd clerk or crap driver I find people in the states generally more polite than many places....especially in regard to queuing and being in groups...in fact my Polish gf got sick of people asking her how she is and smiling and saying hello...hehe.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

The perceptions of every single expat I have known or talked with and many of the locals (the ones I know well) in the areas in question.

One or two people can be a viewpoint...when it is most or all it is a prevailing trend.

And Bubba I didn't mean English chavs...I meant their Polish knockoffs...it is popular here now.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

But I say it is not perspective but measurable quantity...I agree the English are more polite as a whole than most countries....chavs excluded of course.(and Warsaw has a rash of Chavs for lately...don't know what that is about)

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

How is it having th last word? It is an ongoing conversation...

Greg was a rude idiot in his post calling foreigners pussies...that is not "telling it like it is" that is being a pig.

I have a hard time understanding how you could have any idea what it is like going into another culture or how one should view it since you have never been anywhere?

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

Agreed Bubba...I see 'grown' adults driving like the Fast and Furious types all the time here.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

And I will say after living in the main places discussed here that China is more rude than Poland and Poland is more rude than the USA. On the basis of numbers of rude behaviors and people encountered as a percentage of your daily exposure.

Yeah there are rude people all over but some places have MORE than others and people are offended by that fact and make excuses.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Hmmm...I was never pushed and treated rudely by Spanish, Norwiegans, Finns, Venezuelans, Icelanders, Canadians, Kenyans...and many more. Yet I have been in Poland, China, Morocco, Russia...and a few more.

Yes you can find bad behavior anywhere but I am saying in some places it is more common and worse than others.

And the people I know and travel with have the same assessments.

Baska you have admitted to many of the things I am talking about...and you naturally have an affinity for your home...most people do. AS many things that are wrong with the USA it is still the most natural place for me.

I am simply saying what exists in a calm and rational manner yet some people don't want to believe it so they marginalize me as a basher or racist.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Not angry at all...but that would be good for you because you could point to that as me being a hypocrite...and it is clear that was you intention with the above comment.

You are judging by saying I am simply generalizing rather than reporting reality as seen by nearly everyone I have spoken to living in these places. If I say the Earth is round is that simply my opinion?

Regarding your talking about Poland I meant in the sense that you say my assessment of people here is wrong simply because you think it to be a generalization..yet you have

never lived here. I am saying every single expat I know here and a good percent of the Poles will tell you the same. That is not my opinion that is a reality.

Edited to answer you...I was referring to your smarmy "getting angry now dear?" comment when I said you wanted me to be a hypocrite.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

You are the one judging now dear....I have done your job...lived in the country you talk about like you live in it...and know loads of people who say the same things about the same cultures...so it is not simply ONE person's opinion.

GO to China...talk to expats AND locals and I will assure you you will hear how rude people are in public. You will also hear how wonderful they are in private...that is a statement of reality not one man's observation. It is not one person having a bad day....it is a cultural phenomenon.

Most of the people you say bash the USA for the reasons you mentioned have never been there (I hear it all the time from people that have never left W-Wa_...I HAVE lived here in PL and China...and so have the other's I have heard the same things from so this is not a bunch of uni students sitting around talking about what they THINK they know from TV.

You denying something is true makes it no less true...if you want to live in your own created reality that is your right. I truly hope you enjoy your life.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Why is it the people who always complain about judgment are doing it themselves? Funny how hypocritical humans are.

I don;t have my eyes closed OR scream help...I expect polite respectful treatment and do not get it in W-Wa most times.

You have USA in your profile...can I ask how long if ever you lived in Poland? I ask because I find some of the biggest Poland supporters don't even live here or have not lived here since they were children and truly don't know what it is like. Not saying that IS you but it could be.

And again I am not bashing I am stating facts...The Chinese ARE very rude in public (and very calm and respectful in private)...ask anyone who has lived there and even most Chinese will tell you this...unlike the Polish who often can't seem to admit their faults. Just like Americans who are loud and oblivious as tourists quite often (see I am not picking on Poles and can even criticize my own) It is not bashing to state the obvious.

Life / Whats driving like in Poland? [70]

The bribe thing is pretty much gone anywhere near the cities...they are cracking down on it.

Rurally however old school rules still apply.

I also wouldn't say PL is the worse place in the world to drive (Asia comes to mind) but it for sure is not safe....horrible road conditions combined with poor and aggressive drivers is not a good combination. Poland has consistently the highest or second highest road fatality rate in the EU depending on the year...this is not my opinion...look it up.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Bubba I find the tendency toward violence and rudeness greater in Poland but then maybe it was because I lived in the midwest of the USA and in smaller communities not NYC.

I also agree it is worse with youth...young people think they know everything...or at least more than everyone else and can't imagine that they will be wiser when older.

If Pati19 IS 19yo then she is in the exact age I am talking about so I take it with a grain of salt.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

I have never truly physically threatened anyone...no. I am mature enough to control my anger to a level that avoids physical conflict. Whether you believe that or not doesn't matter to me as the truth doesn;t change because someone denies it.

I am not bashing...just stating a repeated behavior I observe....sometimes stereotypes are true no matter how much we are insulted by them.

You are a hypocrite as you did not condemn Greg's generalization and insult of foreigners yet you do accuse me of it.

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]

Lukasz is in the USA? AHAHAHAHA...that makes his nonsense even funnier....

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


This is apparently taught in Polish education systems...I know many Poles who have told me this and they believe it wholeheartedly.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Well I am grey...there are things I like here but MANY I do not. For me I just want people to be respectful and polite no matter the skin color, nationality, etc etc...pushing, shoving, dishonesty are not polite in any culture..they are just accepted as the 'way things are'

Treat me well and you will get it in return more so...treat me poorly and I will not put up with it.

And if the English/Polish thing is a debate of my origins I was born in the USA...dirty yank.

And Greg's comments about pussies shows the mentality of a lower class of person...everything is about conflict..."You don't like it?" "I'll kick your @ss!"

It is typical of a Polish male to make excuses and blame others rather than admit to the rude social behaviors that exist.

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

Your quote just has my username..I don't understand what you are trying to say,

Life / Local Poles taking advantage of foreigners living in Poland [235]

I just shove back now...and it is funny to see how shocked they are like YOU are the rude one...hypocrites. I also refuse to buy things if I know they are jacking up the price...I tell them I know the normal price and they can shove it up their arse.

The only culture I have been around that is more rude are Chinese...everything Poles do that is nasty the Chinese do much worse.

And the funny thing is in private situations both cultures are VERY polite and respectful...dinners in homes etc...but in public forget it...animals.