vdondera
16 Sep 2011 / #1
My impressions on Poland, part one
The 1930s guidebook I browsed before the trip described Poland as 'nothing particular apart from being the gateway to Russia'. The defining features would be the German and Russian (tsarist, not soviet) architecture, poor and uneducated people and - here the guidebook was a bit anti-semitic - powerful Jewish community, practically ruling over the major swaths of land. Today, in 2011 things have changed a little - though the Jews are practically extinct.
The People
I speak four languages at least good enough to form sentences. Most of the Poles don't even understand English - a necessity in the modern world. Most of the time, I could count on Miroslaw, my interpreter, host and excellent friend - but even then many Poles were too afraid to even answer simple questions. In a small town near Wroclaw a middle-aged gentleman with a walrus mustache answered to Mirek's question about the museum thusly: "Aeeeeyyyeeeeh". At first I thought that was Polish for "No, thank you", but later on I learned that, though very common it in fact meant "go away, you annoying little person" in the universal language of grunts. When I explored Warsaw on my own literally one single person over the age of 40 dared to answer me in English.
It's no wonder the Poles aren't famous for their hippie movements - the youth, though talented and resourceful are incapable of defying their elders. That's the reason why the Church has been dominating the country for millennia, or why the seats in trams are to be exclusively used by the elderly. The revolution of 89 was conducted by serious-minded forty year olds - because the sixty-year-olds were comfortable with the status quo and the twenty-year-olds genetically had to obey. Middle-aged is apparently the quintessential Polish age. With this obedience goes the Polish school system - I imagine that there are very few Pink Floyd fans in Poland.
Customer service stinks on ice. Mirek explained to me that in Communist times the store did not depend on the customer as the source of income - they received wares each month from the supplier, and they'd sell regardless of service. But, and that was not the first nor the last time I cried, exasperated - that was thirty years ago! I truly can't understand how the phantom of Stalin can still force the Polish salesman to stare dumb and said "do it yourself".
Some people claim that that Poles do not show emotion - it's wrong, they only don't like strangers (which is perfectly understandable given their history). My friends and their friends, as well as the various people became the paragons of politeness and friendliness... once we knew each other's names. Once you get past this barrier (which was to me a very formal act) you've graduated from "suspicious foreigner" to "trusted acquaintance".
Politics
I had the pleasure to meet both the President of Poland, Bronislav Komorovski, and the leader of opposition, Mr Kaczynski.
Komorowksi, to be honest, reminded me of a jovial uncle, or a doddering fool. I could not understand how the Poles could've elected such a buffoon... until I met the alternative.
Mr Kaczynski does not know English but (I was involved with Euro 2012 preparations) by Mirek's translation eagerly informed me that his party was attempting to purge the corruption from the football league and in fact is responsible for the Euro 2012 organization - two facts I didn't need to hear (I don't even look Polish - I'm a Latin American, originally from Chile), and as Mirek informed me, were both bold-faced lies. In person, Kaczynski seemed like a cartoon character brought to life - but understandably also he seemed like a nervous wreck.
I honestly think that the plane crash that killed his twin brother was not a coincidence, and I understand that he could genuinely fear for his life - but I expect that he'll leave the country if he loses the upcoming election.
Frankly, the Polish TV (my hosts, like many American families often left the TV running in the background) devotes too much time to politics and politicians. The "public" TV is actually a propaganda tool of the government, and private stations tend to have agendas of their own. The two major parties aren't really that different (like in the US), yet they constantly bicker.
What surprises me is how smoothly the revolutionaries of 1989 seem to agree with the ex-Communist. Despite his anti-communist stance Kaczenski party seems to contain a lot of former communists. Pragmaticism or genuine reconciliation?
The Countryside and Infrastructure
I'm used to much southern climates, and felt depressed by the rainy and stormy Polish summer. Still, the polish countryside would be beautiful - if not for random communist sheds or unfinished (EU?) investments. There are people living in conditions worse than, say, favelas in Brazil, with walls strengthened by fruit crates - while the cities are also full of empty buildings, and the countryside is dotted by abandoned factories. It's terrible.
The Public Transportation system is brilliant. Even in the smaller cities like Rzeszow or Balystok the buses were new, shiny, on time, and only occasionally overcrowded. And yet Poles complain about it. I didn't have much experience with cross-country buses and trains but people told me that they were much much worse.
Polish Police is underfunded and overworked. I don't understand why the Poles invest so much money in their military (who it'd fight?) and skimp on the Police. That has to change.