What are common Polish character traits?

i think a very polish custom and trait is being a great host to ones guests. when in Poland im always taken care of very well by my hosts, even if they are poor there is always a table full of food and alcohol ready for the guests. you won't go hungry being a guest in a polish household

very true, laleczka!

Welcome here! Have fun :)

Aw, I have to lose 10 pounds before my spring trip to Poland, so I can gain it back in 3 weeks while there... :)

Don't even worry about it :) food in Poland is different then in the US, more... natural made... you won't gain weight for such a short period of time....

I always do when in Poland. God forbid I visit 3 different cousins in one day...I just go from one table to another!

lol. i definitely gained weight while in polish care ;)
it's not the food itself....it's the amount...and how many times you eat :)

Are there common physical traits? I was adopted and raised by a Croation mom and my father was a mix many things. When I was 27, I found my biological mother and found out I was Polish. I am blonde haired, blue eyed, short (5'5"), and kinda stocky. Although I am female, I tended to build muscle mass very quickly when I was bodybuilding. I have always been slightly heavy and have a hard time controlling my weight. I am trying to figure out how much of me is genetic and how much is environmental.

thanks for your help.
Lauri

actually i've heard evidence that Poles at least have the genetic ability to handle a higher blood alcohol level without being "drunk."

I would never refer to Poles as a laid back people, more like competitive to a fault. Observe the driving culture of a nation, this is a good indicator of how "laid back" people are or aren't.

Please elaborate Ian. On what do u base ur competitiveness opinion? I'm not doubting it, just curious

I'm 1/3 polish. I have to say I carry a lot of these traits.. Drink like a fish, people say i complain a lot.. ( but i dont think so !! ) and im a bit stubborn.. But stealing stuff?

um.. sure.

Is that your Mum, your Dad or your err...?

Aren't you confusing Poles with another nation?


The same comment goes to you.

complains a lot, stubborn as an ox, seriously moody, no-one can cook like his mother, minor ailments are major, Poland is the best at everything and centre of the universe (although he doesnt want to live there), most English people are lazy and stupid, other Poles in the UK are mostly ******rs, Indians and Jews are not to be trusted to pay you for work, distrusting of women and drinks like a fish... these are just some of the nicer traits of my Polish other half :o) I love him really.

I dont want to join in the Pole bashing so I'll balance a criticism with a compliment.

I think Poles have even less of an ability to accept blame then other nationalities. In my experience even when confronted with damning evidence there is an inability to say ' yep, sorry about that, I fuked up.' A lot of people in different nationalities have this characteristic of course, however I've noticed that the Polish people I know and have met will never hold there hands up to anything. I think its a pride thing.

However I do think a good characteristic of Poles is that they tend not to over-react in pressure situations. They keep their heads and stay calm.

Polish character traits? Thats easy;

1. Stubborness (Our Nation, Blood and Culture will always survive!)
2. Loyalty (A Pole is loyal to his friends. Cross him at you peril!)
3. Bravery (Just read about Polish History-'God's Playground' by Prof Norman Davies is essential).
4. Imaginative (Copernicus, Marie Curie, Frederyck Chopin, Lech Walesa etc etc)
5. Patient (Pilsudski, Sikorski, Walesa to name a few)

All this and so much more - a love of life, freedom and good beer!

I've found that polish people can be very warm and caring people. They will welcome you into their homes and lives. Apparently at Christmas dinner it is a tradition to leave a spare seat at the table in case a stranger knocks at your door... :S

Theres also a great sadness amongst polish people and i think most of the negative traits such as stubbornness, cynicism, complaining and moodiness comes from years of poor social and economic conditions and these days are probably more so passed on from the previous generations. I don't think any of these traits are necessarily genetic.

Parents can seem to be overwhelmingly controlling. And you have to remember that most parents of the younger generation have lived through some pretty harsh times. Poland might seem like the only place in the world that exists to some because it is only recently that poles have been able to freely travel to a lot of destinations whether it be from financial restrictions or travel restrictions.. so a large portion of the older generations have never even left Poland.

It doesn't matter if you have the Guinness world record, a Pole will always say he can drink more than you.

thats me! =D LOL my guy get annoyed with my sarcasm attitude =P

anndd I can't help it with me being stubborn =(

I am not Polish, but my Jewish mother was born in Poland.
My Family never suffered from antisemites. On the contrary, they had many Polish friends. My mother's father was so popular with the "Gentiles" (not Jewish people), that they asked him (he was a lawyer) to become a judge.

My mother said polish people had a gift for painting (Jews do not have this talent), and she said they were very honourable (Polish Honour) and used to quote:

"usram sie i niedam sie" (please forgive the vulgarity as well as my spelling).

I think that many Polish people are saintly. So many of them endangered themselves to save Jews in WW2.
I also think that Poles are (at least when compared to Jews) very naive.
From your Jewish Polophil,
Talila

Well, I seem to have quite a similar impression, and it doesn't concern me only; Me, my cousin and some of my friends all look slenderly and proportionally, in a "healthy" way. But...everytime we talk about how much we weigh it always turns out that we surprisingly exceed the weigh "matching" our look even by 15-20 kilos (I'm talking about my family and close friends). At least I can eat a lot of fatty stuff without pricks of conscience. As far as the accusation of stealing or dishonesty is concerned-we're not that bad:

readersdigest.com.au/content/global-mobile-phone-test/
The trait that is considered a national one which is ingrained in my behaviour is:
I hate authority of all kinds.

So it's not just my girlfriend then, I thought she was a fembot after trying to pick her up.

I bet they couldn,t drink more Guiness tho...

I am Polish

I find Poles:

1)brave

2)recalcitrant

3)hospitable

and meaning of our flag (we teach our children to know it)

red means blood

white means scar

;)

HELLO! I am Polish and so is my whole family. No one in my family has ever stolen anything. We have a lot of Polish traditions and a lot of what people would consider to be polish qualities. But stealing is not something that is bred into Polish people. We may be stubborn but not thieves and classifying a whole ethnic group as such is just plain ridiculous. I have the records of were my grandparents came to America through Elis Island. And they worked very hard to achieve everything they have. I am sorry if you had a bad experience with a Polish person but you cannot judge a whole culture on that experience. If you do then all you are doing is breeding discrimination.

this has to be true my moms side of the family is always drinking during parties for no reason cuz the feel like it ect. & never even get the bit drunk, my great grandfather did run the local ice factory during prohabition & supplied ice to the gangsters that where running the speak easies, & had there kids(when they where adults) bring alcohal to oklahoma cuz it was still illegal there lol


wow thats me oh you forgot a # 6. complianer
everyday before lunch i complian to my freind how i am about to die of starvation because the last time i ate was like 3 or 4 hours ago & then she goes off on how there are people that are too poor to buy food & howe hungary they are but she dosent understand that i like to complian


opps forgot to add this one! my friends always call me naive but i dont know why!

"No one in my family has ever stolen anything". One in a million then, Guest?

tackyness but this is for all eastren europe even if you're completly americanized you still got a little tackyness in ya!

They are laid back,loose and philosophers.They complain but if you pay attention to what they say,they are funny.

personally i think im funny but i talk to much so nobody listens to what i say :( i always try to tell jokes but everyone is like "shut up, you talk to much!"

I have the same thing! I eat and eat and eat but hardly ever gain any weight! i'm only 145 and will work out 4-5 times a week but hardly make any progress between 140-155. the funny thing is I eat 5 times a day for 2 weeks and shoot up to 150-155. then i eat 2-3 times a day (atleast a full plate per meal) for a week and shoot down to 145-140! :/

Yes, for those of you who have read this, you understand that I'm clearly polish...
1. Complaining
2. Eating
3. Hard-working