Kangurek
31 Aug 2010
Life / Polish pride. PL stickers, flags and the white eagle! Where does our obsession come from? [79]
Tak. But we left when I was 6.
Kangurek
Tak. But we left when I was 6.
Kangurek
Kangurek
31 Aug 2010
Life / Polish pride. PL stickers, flags and the white eagle! Where does our obsession come from? [79]
Hey,
While driving through the Polish countryside last month, I noticed that 99% of PL licenced TIR truck drivers invariably have some sort of Polish monument emblazoned on their truck! These include one or more of:
- PL stickers
- little numberplates in the cabin which usually spell their name (there were a lot of Tomeks and Bogdans)
- massive flags at the rear of the cabin
- Polska scarves along their dashboard
- red/white stringers along the top of their cabin
Interestingly, when TIRs from other countries drove by (i.e. RU, BY, D, CZ) there was very little (if any) national pride on show!
Now to the grand prix at Spa, Belgium. Whenever panning shots of the crowd were broadcast, the red and white flags would absolutely always totally outnumber any other nations, in number and size. I would say that it would be a tussle between Great Britain and Brazil for a distant second place! Now, I don't watch too many sports on TV, but when I see highlights of boxing or world strongman or whatever event that has at least 1 Pole competing, the support is always there in a big big way! Honestly, this sort of $hit almost brings a tear to my eye!
Now to my own obsessions! Although I currently live in Oz, I have a PL sticker on the car. I own a selection of Polska, Warsaw and Zywiec shirts, PL soccer scarves and wear them with pride. I get goosebumps whenever I see the white eagle, even if it is during some lame Polish news telecast about local polical matters (they love displaying the white eagle in all government institutions don't they!). I almost always get overprotective and aggressive whenever I hear crap being said about my beloved Polska (this includes called Gdańsk f#$king Danzig).
I can't help but think that Polish people display their nationalism/patriotism far more than other nationalities! Maybe I haven't noticed others!
What do you guys think?
Kangurek
Hey,
While driving through the Polish countryside last month, I noticed that 99% of PL licenced TIR truck drivers invariably have some sort of Polish monument emblazoned on their truck! These include one or more of:
- PL stickers
- little numberplates in the cabin which usually spell their name (there were a lot of Tomeks and Bogdans)
- massive flags at the rear of the cabin
- Polska scarves along their dashboard
- red/white stringers along the top of their cabin
Interestingly, when TIRs from other countries drove by (i.e. RU, BY, D, CZ) there was very little (if any) national pride on show!
Now to the grand prix at Spa, Belgium. Whenever panning shots of the crowd were broadcast, the red and white flags would absolutely always totally outnumber any other nations, in number and size. I would say that it would be a tussle between Great Britain and Brazil for a distant second place! Now, I don't watch too many sports on TV, but when I see highlights of boxing or world strongman or whatever event that has at least 1 Pole competing, the support is always there in a big big way! Honestly, this sort of $hit almost brings a tear to my eye!
Now to my own obsessions! Although I currently live in Oz, I have a PL sticker on the car. I own a selection of Polska, Warsaw and Zywiec shirts, PL soccer scarves and wear them with pride. I get goosebumps whenever I see the white eagle, even if it is during some lame Polish news telecast about local polical matters (they love displaying the white eagle in all government institutions don't they!). I almost always get overprotective and aggressive whenever I hear crap being said about my beloved Polska (this includes called Gdańsk f#$king Danzig).
I can't help but think that Polish people display their nationalism/patriotism far more than other nationalities! Maybe I haven't noticed others!
What do you guys think?
Kangurek
Kangurek
30 Aug 2010
Life / My own thoughts about life in Poland (have lived here for two years) [133]
Hey,
I've just spent a month in Polska. Awesome experience. Here are some observations (a rant) from a Polski-Australian perspective:
Materialism and "Wielki pan" syndrome:
Poland has been a free market economy for such a short time! 1989? Joining the EU has also obviously opened up new opportunities for the Poles. No longer will Poles have to work "na czarno" to ensure a better standard of living for themselves and their kids! (thanks to Mum and Dad for working na czarno in Germany, so that we could afford the airplane tickets to OZ!).
A lot of money earned cross-border is being poured back in Poland. A lot of foreign investment is taking place (firms + individuals). New and better paid jobs are available for the taking.
I think Poles are using their "new money" to improve their quality of life, their status in society, and to buy cool $hit. There has been an explosion in wealth, particularly in Wawa, and obviously not everyone is silently placing their new found wealth in term deposits etc. A lot of it is on show. The amount of Mercedes, BMW and Porsches on Warsaw roads also surprised me. I only saw a handful of "maluchs" in the CBD.
There is an unmistakable perception that western goods are desirable! I visited Galeria Mokotów, and thought that some prices were OK, others not. 335zl for a Lacoste polo shirt. LOL. 1700zl for a Joop jumper. LOL!! I saw a few guys and gals dressed from head to toe in designer wear brand names. "Ale wielki pan" I thought to myself. It kind of reminded me of rather tacky Russian oligarchs and the way they show off their money in a distasteful manner. But who cares? Everyone spends their money differently. Some people feel it is important to show off their status, others are more reserved. I'm sure some Poles see material goods as goals to attain/achieve.
Some of the aforementioned "Wielkich panów i panienek" definitely had an attitude and thought of themselves as superior due to their new-found socioeconomic status etc. Maybe putting such an importance on materialism is unhealthy! Maybe I should have a chat with the 4 guys in my IT group back in Australia who have just bought $900AUD iPhone 4.0!
I must stress that the vast majority of Poles that I met/saw did not exhibit this materialistic trait. I would strongly argue that I would easily qualify as more materialistic if you considered my accessories + clothes + car + house etc.
Wages:
I've read consistantly that the average is about 3200zl per month. I think some Poles are doing quite well 8,000zl to 20,000zl per month, which affords them an inner city "Śródmieście, Mokotów, Wilanów" lifestyle. I'm sure on a killer salary you don't have to put up with a 20m2 "kawalerka" in a crappy suburb.
However, there is no question that there are some bad salaries going around. 1400zl isn't that much! Not for my lifestyle. But then again, my Babcia could live off 5zl per month. OK .. . maybe 10zl. :) The war made her the biggest saver/tight-ass ever!
Taxes. . . homophobia etc. I didn't see/hear enough to comment.
I'm a little surprised at how much of a "czynsz" gran has to pay on her mieszkanie though! FARK! 400zl for what??
Got my "dowód osobisty" done, and the amount of beurocracy associated with getting it was beyond a joke (this is in part where your taxes go!).
The roads from Warsaw to Krakow were terrible! Some of the potholes were big enough to lose your whole car in!
Here are some other issues: Corruption. Taxi mafia. Too many people "kombinują".
Cheers,
Kangurek
Hey,
I've just spent a month in Polska. Awesome experience. Here are some observations (a rant) from a Polski-Australian perspective:
Materialism and "Wielki pan" syndrome:
Poland has been a free market economy for such a short time! 1989? Joining the EU has also obviously opened up new opportunities for the Poles. No longer will Poles have to work "na czarno" to ensure a better standard of living for themselves and their kids! (thanks to Mum and Dad for working na czarno in Germany, so that we could afford the airplane tickets to OZ!).
A lot of money earned cross-border is being poured back in Poland. A lot of foreign investment is taking place (firms + individuals). New and better paid jobs are available for the taking.
I think Poles are using their "new money" to improve their quality of life, their status in society, and to buy cool $hit. There has been an explosion in wealth, particularly in Wawa, and obviously not everyone is silently placing their new found wealth in term deposits etc. A lot of it is on show. The amount of Mercedes, BMW and Porsches on Warsaw roads also surprised me. I only saw a handful of "maluchs" in the CBD.
There is an unmistakable perception that western goods are desirable! I visited Galeria Mokotów, and thought that some prices were OK, others not. 335zl for a Lacoste polo shirt. LOL. 1700zl for a Joop jumper. LOL!! I saw a few guys and gals dressed from head to toe in designer wear brand names. "Ale wielki pan" I thought to myself. It kind of reminded me of rather tacky Russian oligarchs and the way they show off their money in a distasteful manner. But who cares? Everyone spends their money differently. Some people feel it is important to show off their status, others are more reserved. I'm sure some Poles see material goods as goals to attain/achieve.
Some of the aforementioned "Wielkich panów i panienek" definitely had an attitude and thought of themselves as superior due to their new-found socioeconomic status etc. Maybe putting such an importance on materialism is unhealthy! Maybe I should have a chat with the 4 guys in my IT group back in Australia who have just bought $900AUD iPhone 4.0!
I must stress that the vast majority of Poles that I met/saw did not exhibit this materialistic trait. I would strongly argue that I would easily qualify as more materialistic if you considered my accessories + clothes + car + house etc.
Wages:
I've read consistantly that the average is about 3200zl per month. I think some Poles are doing quite well 8,000zl to 20,000zl per month, which affords them an inner city "Śródmieście, Mokotów, Wilanów" lifestyle. I'm sure on a killer salary you don't have to put up with a 20m2 "kawalerka" in a crappy suburb.
However, there is no question that there are some bad salaries going around. 1400zl isn't that much! Not for my lifestyle. But then again, my Babcia could live off 5zl per month. OK .. . maybe 10zl. :) The war made her the biggest saver/tight-ass ever!
Taxes. . . homophobia etc. I didn't see/hear enough to comment.
I'm a little surprised at how much of a "czynsz" gran has to pay on her mieszkanie though! FARK! 400zl for what??
Got my "dowód osobisty" done, and the amount of beurocracy associated with getting it was beyond a joke (this is in part where your taxes go!).
The roads from Warsaw to Krakow were terrible! Some of the potholes were big enough to lose your whole car in!
Here are some other issues: Corruption. Taxi mafia. Too many people "kombinują".
Cheers,
Kangurek