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Posts by MadisonMedizon  

Joined: 11 Sep 2009 / Female ♀
Last Post: 12 Sep 2009
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Posts: 1
From: NY,NY and Warsaw
Speaks Polish?: trying to learn Polish
Interests: art

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MadisonMedizon   
12 Sep 2009
Genealogy / What are common Polish character traits? [417]

I love making sweeping generalizations. Although sometimes there is some truth in stereotypes. Reading through people's responses I agree with the stubborn part, my fiance admits this of himself and also believes it somewhat typical of Polishness. His mother once pointed to a carving of a donkey and then to him and called him a donkey in Polish hahaha.

They do seem like hard workers when they put their mind to it and have very big hearts and are very loyal (again, this is based on the Poles I have been fortunate to meet and yes I had my wallet stolen in Krakow, but I also had identity theft in America. I think it's just a problem of being in a big city and the economic situation). A lot of Poles also seem to be very self-deprecating and sarcastic in their humor. Adults even would jooke about subjects I as an American am sometimes embarrassed or shocked to hear people joke about. They are just pretty matter of fact and don't have quite so many years and pressure and watchfulness that we have in america to always, no matter what, try to remain politically correct and act like certain situations don't exist because it's too rude to talk about. Poles just talk about it, which is something I find refreshing.

As for physical traits, what I noticed about Poles I've met abroad and all the Poles I saw in Poland, is they do have some common traits that many do exhibit. The adorable soft kind of chipmunk cheeks, the really smooth faces (I explained it to my fiance that it looks like Polish people's faces, including his, often look like water has passed over them like a river passes over pebbles and smooths them out, very rounded and soft.

Of course not everyone I met looked like this, but quite many from what i noticed, being an observer from outside of their country and from first glance. I can speak Slovak pretty well, but the first few times I heard Polish I heard almost literally to my ear "wish wash wish wash wish wash". After a week that started to go away though and it became difficult to capture that sound again for me.

I think it's interesting to hear an outsider's opinion because often times they can spot the impression your country has in the eyes of the rest of the world. Some generaliations can be interesting and have some truth.

Others, like Poles saying everything is better in Poland, is a bit specific of a behavior that almost any foreigner is sometimes likely to take on when visiting a country and everything is weird and different to them and not necessarily good tasting or good looking to them.