Life /
Is Poland a safe country for people of color? [241]
z_ darius :
"Waidda minute! Your mother was a food broker so that makes YOU a food specialist? My friend's dad is a doctor, a really good gastroenterologist. If you are still suffering from the results of the terrible Polish food perhaps you'd like the his son's number? By your logic that'll be as good as being consulted by the doctor.
And what does your mother's being a food broker have to do with the taste of food in Poland? After all she has not visited the country. Besides, food broker is pretty much a sales person, moving food between the producers and the buyers, i.e. a merchant. You seem to be confusing the job with that of a food critic. Even if your mother was one, that still wouldn't put YOU in a position you're trying to present yourself you're in.
I'm not saying that people are entitled to their taste and if you didn't like it that's fine. But to say Polish food is "bad" because you mom is a food saleswoman so you know better is a little far fetched. Polish food may lack a lot of artificial garbage that typical food in the US abounds in, but does that make Polish food "bad"? You're just used to preservatives, artificial flavors and colorants."
Im sorry you also seem to be having a problem comprehending, but if you look at my original posts I said the food from the grocery stores was of poor quality, and I had to go to Germany to get better food. I never said the Polish food that was cooked for me did not taste good, I only said it was better when Przemeks mother cooked it. But that is because everything tastes better homemade. With that being said none of what you wrote about tastes & food critics (lol) makes sense because I never said it tasted bad. I didn't go out to eat everyday because I felt uncomfortable with all the stares, so I cooked at home a lot & the food at the grocery stores in Poland - like produce, meat etc was not up to par for me. Its just a preference, some people do not care as long as its cheap, but I would rather pay more for something else.
The fact that my mother was a food broker means that she was more picky about the things she purchased for her own home & she told me the reasons why & taught me how to shop. Food brokers receive many products to test that they bring home to their families & give to their employees to try. They begin to recognize good products for 100 different reasons. Even the packaging can give you a clue sometimes. The same thing goes for raw foods. If there was no difference on the quality of food here & there, then why is there advice on cooking shows, books, magazines, the internet & sometimes in the grocery stores about how to pick a good _____? I did work for my mom for many years & even if I hadn't: A person with any career passes on information to their children. They live with them, you think they don't ever go home and talk about work? Or find something useful that they think would benefit their children in life? Further I do not eat packaged food full of "preservatives, artificial flavors & colorants". I also do not shop at grocery stores, I shop at markets. At markets in the US, the food is mostly organic which makes it more expensive. It costs a lot more money to produce organic foods. They are more worried about quality than quantity.
"I'm with you on that one. I felt pretty crappy myself when I got lost on the subway in NYC and somehow I found myself in the Bronx. All eyes were on me. It looks like none of those Americans who stared at me had been taught that staring is impolite."
Exactly, and clearly those people were not taught that it was not polite. Im sorry for you're bad experience.
asik:
Will you pleas get a life! Now you are truly hallucinating because you are reading into something that really is not there. Its obvious you just want to pick a fight because you seem to be upset I did not like Poland. I did NOT like it.. SO what? Is English your first language? Because if it is not, you really should find someone to help you with comprehension. If it is, you really ought to be ashamed of yourself. You're arguments for you're ranting make no sense whatsoever. It truly is amusing.
"The reason I put the comments on your posts was purely because of your sooo very undecided and confusing opinion about Poland. I don't care if you liked the country and it's people, this is not the case (anyway you should at least try to like the country because of your boyfriend, it's your loss if you don't).
Read your posts again and see for yourself how in every second sentence you have completely different opinion , here we go, your sentences (I had a really good laugh reading you).
You are the only one who seems to be confused. Do not lump everyone in the same category as you. Its insulting to the other users. Never said I didn't like the people, I in FACT said they were very nice. BUT they did stare & acted very strangely and that was not cool. But they were never mean to me or displayed any type of behavior to make me think they were racist and make me feel unsafe. Uncomfortable yes, unsafe, no. This was the point of the initial question. Why dont you get that? People of non European decent or who look different than the people in Poland that have to travel to Poland for business or any other reason may want to know that other people such as have been there and back with no serious problems. I also think they should know what to expect, why do you have such a problem with that?!?
And even though you have no place to tell me what I should and shouldn't do, I DID try to like it. I stayed for THREE months, not THREE weeks, does it sound like I didn't give it a chance?
Also he is my fiance, not my boyfriend. There is a big difference.
*I did not have fun in Poland & will never go back.
And not long after
*Now I have to wait until July to go back to Europe & Im sad that I did not enjoy myself while I was there."
Let me explain something to you that should be common knowledge. Poland is simply a country in Europe, NOT Europe itself LOL. There are 47 countries in Europe, is this not something that people learn in school when they are about 8 years old? There are 25 countries in what is called the "Schengen agreement" OK? If you are traveling within the Schengen countries & you are an American citizen like myself (or any other non EU passport holder), you are only allowed 90 days within the Schengen countries in a 180 day period. This means that because I spent just about 90 days in the SCHENGEN area this winter, I have to wait to go back to ANY country within that area if I want to go without getting a visa. Just because you don't understand clearly doesn't mean im contradicting myself :) I do not want to go back to Poland. I do want to go back to other countries in the Schengen area BUT CANT until JULY. Ok???
"Another one, where in short I'd describe as "Polish people are not racists but run for your life if you see Poles"
*i did not feel that people in Poland were racist. I did not feel like it wasnt safe
and :
*it was just plain rude the way people were staring & following me around (not the men at the bars, but others... like they would purposely follow me around a store so they were able to gape at me) . For the two reasons listed above I will never go back.
Men were coming up to me ..he could have started a fight, . One guy even followed us outside of the bar for awhile, ..
The staring was so bad .."
Oh dear God, now you are putting words in my mouth. And chopping up the sentences I wrote & grouping them together as you please so you can interpret them how you please. You dont change someones writing. That is just pure idiocy to think you understand what it is they are trying to say when you do that. The MEN that were talking to me in the few bars I went to on my LAST two days there, wanted something else. You have shown that you cant read clearly, so maybe that means you cannot pick up on body language and when someone likes you as more than just a friend. I do not share the same problem. That is not the same as groups of people & individuals following me around in stores, and pointing at me, taking pictures etc because they had never seen a person of color in their life, other than on the TV. Don't understand that difference either? LMFAO
"Or this:
[i]*but I never went to any bars or clubs.
And:
*Actually when i was in Warsaw at the end of my trip I did go to a few bars
In the English language, the word actually means IN REALITY. I had forgotten that I went to a few bars on my last couple days there, then i corrected myself. Its easy to forget because its not like i went out power drinking. I had two beers at one SMALL bar & two glasses of wine at another SMALL bar. I dont think forgetting, then correction yourself is a contradiction. Its youre problem if you are confused.
"In my opinion you have a low self-esteem. This can influence the way you behave or see other people. That's why you were too observant and were obsessively checking if anyone stares at you and if you stare, people stare back or even follow you thinking about some chances with you.
It happened just in Poland because your boyfriend is Polish and it was important - in other countries it didn't annoy you because you didn't observe others as much."
1) I didn't ask your opinion and anybody who is reading this thread will be looking for the answer behind the question in my experience, not for your opinion about me. You're not that special, sorry for the bad news.
2) There is no such thing as too observant. When you are a female, traveling alone (was with my fiance but did go places alone. Wanna clear that up right now as you have a tendency of twisting words, making things up and getting confused) in a foreign country -one that you are not sure will be safe or not at that- with lots of money and a passport that people love to steal, it would be very unwise not to watch your back. You may not realize such things that should be common sense, but again I don't share the same problem. Another thing, the point of traveling for me is to see things & learn about the culture & people. You think observing things wont help me achieve my goal while there?
3) Obsessively checking to see if anyone is staring at me? I didnt know you were following me around for three months checking out my behavior lol. What do you think I walk around staring at the ground? You don't HAVE to obsessively check to see if people are staring at you because its very blatant: they do it without even attempting to hide it. Check the posts on Polish forums & all over the internet from people of color who have been to Poland. They all say the same thing - people there stare a lot. So we all have a low self esteem for noticing it? Please.
4) Another thing that SHOULD be common knowledge is the fact that in other countries in western Europe, there are people of color so this is nothing new to them, why would they stare? I didn't notice in any other countries that anyone staring because it was not happening. Poland was a communist country up until 1989 so to most people it would be obvious they are not use to outsiders at all. They have not had lots of immigration like the US, Canada, UK, France, Spain etc etc. They are not even use to people from western Europe. This is why they stare. Does it make it right? No.
You really are something else, aren't you?
If anyone has any questions for me about my experience, as long as you dont want to pick a fight please do not hesitate to ask. I was very afraid before I left and if anything I have to say may help those who are now in that position, please don't be shy. There is another guy I met from here named Harold and he has been more than once so he could also be very helpful. He is going to tell you that they stare as well, but he has lots of good stories.
