What are the things which cause culture shock in Poland?

@Rozu: you see! It's amazing the way we can act and think in various cultures! In fact, nobody is right and nobody is wrong. We just have different ways and that's it...

Maybe in England then. Scotland tends to be the exact opposite of Poland in this respect. I cannot remember the number of times I shivered just by seeing half naked youg lasses in the streets of Glasgow in the middle of winter. It is true that alcohol keeps the inner parts of the body warm..

In the north of Britain we're very hardy. I've known Polish people shocked at people dressed fairly lightly for an evening out in Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh etc when there's snow on the ground. I was surprised to see people in Poland really overdressed in Autumn or Winter and am still surprised about how many get ill in the wintertime despite all the patent medicines and the overdressing.

Yes, that's because the overdressing prevents Poles from developing a resistance to cold. In this respect, the Scottish method is much more efficient. Throw them half naked at a young age in the snow and those who survive are by definition the ones who are resistant! :)

Delph
No tights, even, say at -15 degrees? Just trousers? Why not, u guys have some gender issues?

I don't wear such things, so why would a child?

If it's truly dreadful (below -15c, snowstorm), then I'll throw on a pair of ski trousers on top.

-15C? Children put on tights, men would wear kalesony - I am not sure what English word is for it.
Better to keep oneself warm then end up wih a flu.

Long underwear or long johns.

I occasionally wore them in -15 degree weather in Poland but haven't for many years.

As a teacher in Irish primary schools I've seen the tights on boys business with Polish and Romanian boys. Also the Indian and African boys usually wear woolly tights under their trousers for most of the year. The foreign national parents are wary of the damp, rainy climate here and are convinced the children will succumb to pneumonia or something if they're not swaddled. Polish mothers are definitely the worst offenders for keeping children home if it's raining! The other nationalities I've noticed, tend to invest in hooded raincoats and wellies but not the Polish mothers.

In my subjective experience Poles do seem to be stricken by colds and flu quite often. I've had quite a few meetings cancelled by the 'grypa'. Sometimes quite healthy guys who play a lot of sports are bedbound for a week. I get a cold like this every 7-8 years.

Same here. And the sheer volume of patent medicines sold backs that up. Notice how many chemist shops there are - it can't just be hypochondria?

Btw, it's very on topic - the number of chemists and the obsession with health as well as the number of people who always seem to be getting sick was very much a culture shock for me.

no wonder Jon, Brits are at the opposite end of the spectrum (stiff upper lip syndrome)

Sort of yes, "don't trouble the doctor, he's busy with sick people". This is unheard of in Poland where people can (and do) tell you about all their allergies and what percent they're allergic to something. Another culture shock was someone saying they had Angina. I assumed the person had a serious heart complaint but all they meant was a sore throat!

yes, same in French where an "angine" is benign. The serious one is "angine de poitrine"