Cultural readjustment... returning to Poland from the West.

There is saying than France is culture of wine and Poland is culture of vodka.

What it means.

Polish people are not interested in raltionships like

"Hello how are you ?

Hi fine, and you ?

Fine.

so see ya tomorow"

... and that is all.

Polish people prefere to have less friends or mates and have deeper relationship with those who they like.

In the result for somebody form foreign country it can look that we are cold or not friendly in public places.

I think you have noticed that it looks much different when you visit somebodys house or you go to party with your friends ...

£ukasz, when I go to a grocery store or a post office i don't expect to have a "friend" on the other side, but i want and expect the person to be friendly towards me and i want to feel that I'm welcomed.

"Hi, How are you" does not mean that the person is taking a personal interst in me. It is just a "small talk", which is better than than a silence.

It never hurts to have a welcome smile, which makes me feel...well - welcomed.
I don't want to see a clerk who does his/her job like a robot.
It might seem "phony" to some, but it really is not.
You still get to choose your friends to associate with on Saturday night...I will pay attention to it next time I'm in Poland...and that's May 7th.

From the people in the airport, to the grocery store, to the people on the street, to the people in dental office. Everything.

have a great trip Eurola:)

I WILL!!! Thanks. I can't wait! :)

When I walk in a store, I smile and say Hello! Nice weather! (or something to that effect), and I get a smile back almost every time :-)

Of course there are gonna be surly people out there as well, but some of them actually do crack half a smile too...
I don't wait for the other person to be nice to me first just because I happen to be the customer. If you want smiles, smile yourself. :-))))

I expect an interesting report when you get back from your trip Eurola. :)

Seriously though, it really would be interesting to see how you experienced Poland, especially as it was a long time since you have been to Poland the last time.(am I right?) Have fun. :)

youtube.com/watch?v=l-fVuPsoTJs, this guys seems fair, I like such sorts

He's Scottish, quel surprise!!

I think it has alot to do with the weather just as everywhere except the polish dont bother with mindless chitchat about the weather. When its sunny they are happy, cloudy much more reserved. Many people have much harder lives here than in the "west". Inflation is rising for food throughout the world and these old people have to get by on very little. As well if one considers some of the times these people have suffered through one perhaps can understand the mood at times. Perhaps if you walked around with a smile in communist times people were suspicious. And visiting a place and living there are two completely different experiences. As far as the workers many of them are pissed off because they dont feel that they make enough money to give a damn and considering their wages they probably have to live with many people in a small flat. Not always fun and games.

Many older Poles tend to be more gloomy, it's a thing we got from the Russians I think. Younger Poles are much more outgoing, friendly, smiling, with a positive outlook on life.


I don't know why, but every time I hear a person w/ a Scottish accent I can't help but think of Scottish Ale 60. Hmmmm beeer....

Is that 60 shilling?
(Written 60/-)

Agree. It makes your day so much easier. Plus, that clerk's face is in the eyes of the customer the face of the company. No matter how many millions the company will spend on fancy office buildings, advertising - it all comes down to that one person behind the desk...


that's the one ;) I've had Scottish ales 60/-, 70/-, all the way to Strong Scotch Ale, yet the 60/- is my favorite. Just a nice balance, slightly creamy, not to heavy, relaxing, kick back and enjoy sort of a thing. LOVE IT. I've had the originals in a bar, but I also brewed it myself (my hobby) a few times already. It's a very pleasant winter beer I must say.

i would say that is 100% true ..... and i am British but from what i notice ... you are bang on the mark .. !

Scottish ales are legendary, as are English. Hey telefonitika :)

Oh! You made me jump.

Long time no see.
Okay, so I lied.

jumping donkey .... :D


hey matey :)

I think that dcchris is right.

Most of the Polish people aren't happy because they are forced to pay prices often exceeding those of the western countries (for cars, motorcycles, electronics...), while earning much less than one earns in England or Germany for example, so it's hard to make ends meet.

Another thing is that during communism Poles were denied self-development and cultivating their traditional culture, all thanks to the Russians.

And communism wouldn't be possible to introduce to Poland without the second world war, which was started by Hitler and his Germans and later Russians joined them as well in their efforts to make Poland disappear.

And remember it's Hitler and his Germans, not Hitler and his nazis or some other bs you hear in german or western television.

In conclusion, if someone you care for gets depressed because of visiting Poland, you should blame mainly Hans and Yuriy, and not those poor, not smiling Poles. May the situation in Poland improve everyday.

Please do respond if you believe what I've written is total heresy.

It's Hitler and his Germans, what crap!! It was Hitler and his Nazis, how could u possibly say otherwise? U really need to understand the fear inducing tactics of psychopaths at the top. I get cheesed off with people who say bad things about German people because of what Hitler did. Have u even read the prelude to the Nurember Trials? Stop being so anti-German, this generation of Germans reviles what happened.

In the east "Stalin" was doing what "Hitler" was doing right from the start. The plan was to take out Poles and split the country. Look who ended up with Poland, not Germany.

Seanus,
I'd like you to know that I'm not as anti-German as you may think. Maybe it's the lack of skills in using English that made me post a not entirely unequivocal message.

I certainly do not think that each and every German who lived during the WW2 has Jewish or Polish blood on their hands, and that is not what I tried to say.

What I ment was that a powerful group of Germans and their perverted leader Hitler wouldn't manage turning Germany into what it became, if they hadn't had this sort of silent support, or maybe lack of opposition, from the society. I also recognize that it's hard to stand by your beliefs when there is terror on the streets and you're surrounded by people ready to report on you. What's more Germans cultivated the cult of power and obedience for hundreds of years, so they had it even harder.

And the reason why I wrote Germans instead of nazis is I want to protest against shifting the responsibility for the war from real people who were behind all this to some virtual group of people called "nazis", or even, as you stated in your post, Hitler alone:


I know that's not what you mean, but this kind of expressions, along with "Polish concentration camps", published in western media may cause some people to actually believe that Germans were the true victims of their own war. I think that's what Erika Steinbach thinks.

I'd like to think that contemporary Germans have changed their ways, but from what I've experienced they still like to look down on Polish people, but not each and every one of them :)

Celiński, you're right, "Stalin" wanted this war as bad as "Hitler" did.

I see what u r saying but it is not so easy to overturn a powerful regime. If people spoke out against Hitler, they ran the risk of being shot. Look at Iran's leader now, he has caused a lot of suffering, together with the Ayatollah's, but Iranians won't oust them out of fear.

Some Germans have maintained their traditional arrogance and will look down at Slavs, that much is true, but what can be done?

Well we should all simply protect the historical truth from being manipulated in any way, you know - forgive but don't forget, that's all.

On that note I am going to Warsaw tomorrow for 1 week. I visit once a year and this time I will pay attention to all these things you guys mentioned in this post. If you have aquestion I will be more then glad to answer when I come back.

Ciao!

How can u forgive Hitler for that? The international community created the Genocide Convention and, on numerous occasions, has seen fit to brush it to one side. Seems like we forgot why we drafted and enacted it.

Well, you're right. I won't forgive nor forget, as I could have been living in a rich and well developed country, but I don't, thanks to Poland's neighbours from the west and the east.

I like to say Germany and other parts of Europe got the Marshal plan and Poland got the Stalin plan... not exactly the same plan

Given that more and more Poles are returning, I felt that reviving this thread would prompt more discussion

As a thread revival attmept...does anybody here actually knows a person or a family who used to live in the West and came back to Poland for good?

Yes, Two families.

One family's parents operated a camera store in Warsaw. They lived in Canada for about 10 years (her and the child more than him). He was back and forth for 4-6 months at a time. Finally, as his family's parents got older, he took over the business. They sold the home in Mississauga, and all moved back to Warszawa. She and the child want to come back to Canada though, he doesn't. Bit of a sticky situation.

The other story involves a nurse and an engineer. They both never worked in their profession here in Canada. He worked in the hotel business here, but decided to go back. He still works in the hotel business in Warszawa. I am not sure if she went back to nursing or not. I think they inherited a nice place in Central Warszawa, and renovated it quite nicely.

We still see them whenever we visit, and they drop by when they come back to Canada.