3 reasons why you hate Poland.

no way, have u ever tried, those feckers will burn the mouth off u

3 reasons why you hate Poland?

1) Many women think they are sth special when they really need to pull the finger out

2) The endless humphing and grumphing as the modus operandi

3) The swicking that goes on in management here

No way, not brave enough :( I've seen deep fried doner kebab pizza on offer in some random chipper in Glasgow, that was enough to put me off food for a week!

I can give three things I hate here, too -

1) The driving standards are absolutely shocking. Quite why they don't just get unmarked cars to drive round with cameras fitted and fine every single incident of shockingly bad driving is beyond me - it would be very easy money!

2) 'The Incredible Sulk'.

3) People who take their children to shopping centres for Sunday entertainment. A mall is not entertainment for a small child!


Hah, I must be one of the few that knows what you mean ;)

Clear communication is not a skill here, that much is certain.

Cheating the system is laughed off and generally accepted. That doesn't augur well for the day when European inspectorates give themselves the power to conduct sweeping searches. We will see a spate of companies hiring new accountants to bail them out of a mess which has an awkward exit.

Which is fine and well if it's exploring legal grey areas (no different to athletes using substances which aren't banned - yet) - but out and out cheating seems to be seen as 'normal'.

One enduring mystery to me is why the tax offices haven't put a stop to 'umowa z dzielo/umowa zlecenia' contracts being used for teachers!

That's another good point, delph. I was under o dzieło for 3 years and I shouldn't have been. It's a nonsense. Even now, I got o zlecenie when I should have got oświadczenie usług. I even requested it. They just want money and grabbing is awful here.

It amazes me that they don't audit this kind of thing - shouldn't it be pretty clear cut that if someone's working for more than 2-3 months under a succession of those contracts, then it's clearly completely against the spirit and law of them?

There was apparently a crackdown a while ago on the usage of these contracts for schools, but I'm not seeing any evidence of this.

The number of lax waivers here is incredible. A number of inspectorates don't work as they should and need a reminder of their remits.

Frankly, they are very slack. Anyway, time for bed. Nite all :)

Number 1- I dont hate poland
Number 2- I dont hate polish food
Number 3- I dont hate Polish people

Im one of them :) I really cant think of three reasons why I hate it when I dont

Not especially true, once you know how to get things done.


Often, yes.


No. Contrary to common opinion the country's mentality hasn't changed much one way or the other during or after communism. It is what it is.


AFAICT Poles don't want western style smiley happy customer service. This hasn't bugged me in a loooonnnnggg time.


Polish raw ingredients are generally good quality, learn to cook what you want if you can't find it any other way.


It's not that hard at all if you actually speak and don't expect to understand everything at once. Comprehension is a gradual thing in any language.


Preach on brother!!!!!! The stupidest, vilest way of localizing films. The only way of translating movies that _always_ ruins the movie for native speakers of the original language (even when they know they know Polish too). If Poles want audio translations instead of subtitle they should learn to properly dub. I have nothing against dubbing (which would have made it much easier to learn Polish) but lektors are just ugly sounding.


Compared to what? Polish public transport might be grubby but it goes and works better than 99 % of public transport in the US (which mostly doesn't exist).


No real argument there.


Yes and no.


No need, we get the idea.

Been saying that for years,, Just look at the money that could be made on cocks with Mobiles stuck to theirs faces.

Uuuuuuuuchhhh! just awful, people. you can't argue with blind patriotism. the same crap i see in America. I struggle to have conversation with most of the general population there as well for the same reason.....blind patriotism. arguing with this mentality is futile.

let me guess Delphian, you walk around saying how unhealthy america is and that we all eat at fast food joints, yet at the same time, you visit your mom on the weekend and she fries you up a foot long kielbasa with some greasy pierogi on the side. Oh, then it's time for cake. Sorry for the assumption, but it's my 1st to your several ;)

for those of you waving your polish flags, convinced it's great here and that my complaints about your country are false or inaccurate, misguided, "just another American with that typical attitude", then be my guest, go on thinking that way. after all, it's people like you in the population in Poland that keep the country going. as for the mass exodus of poles to other countries once Poland became part of the EU along with the open border policy now, along with the 4-5 million Poles living in America (imagine how many Poles would be there if America didn't require VISA's....), ask them what they think of good ole' Poland.

i didn't want this to turn into a comparison war, but as an American, it's always the inevitable responses one will get from Poles because they automatically assume you're saying outright, "America is better than Poland in every way," and take every criticism of their precious Poland to mean just that. But, in Poland's defense, for every ultra-patriot i meet here, i meet another Pole who can tell it like it is and speak honestly about their country.

Unfortunately for you, I'm not Polish and don't have any particular tie to the country apart from living here. I'm anything but a Polish patriot - but the fat that you immediately assumed that anyone defending Poland must be Polish is comical.


America is unhealthy, there's no doubt about that. What's not unhealthy about unlimited refills and portions the size of Mars? And there's nothing worse than greasy pierogi!


The problem is that you sound incredibly like someone who doesn't want to be here, but can't leave. I don't understand this mentality pesonally - if the country is so bad, why on earth are you staying?


I think most people here can see you for what you are - an American who wants everything exactly the same way as it is in America.


Most of the post-WW2 emigrants are quite homesick for their country, actually. The amount of post-2004 Poles that have returned from the UK alone is quite considerable - these poeple are nothing but economic migrants. You've never been to the UK, you don't know who actually left - in many cases, these were uneducated idiots who didn't have much chance in Poland, but could do menial work in the UK for very good money (to them).

It's simply lunacy to expect American standards from a country that was devastated by two world wars and then 44 years of communism.

no, it's the norm.


why is america unhealthy. why.

other questions: how long have you lived in Poland? why are you here? what's your occupation?

Will visit in about two weeks time and I'll get a real sense I guess. I doubt I'll hate the country (I'm attending Jagiellonian Univ. next year!), but there are pros and cons to everything so I assume I'll find something.

1. I've been spoiled in Switzerland with the public transportation being probably the best in the world so that might be one point.
2. I'm also hoping it's not too expensive...
3. The language is somewhat difficult for an American English speaker to learn. It's not any more difficult than I would expect other eastern European languages to be, but going from English (Germanic) and German (Germanic) with knowledge of Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian) to Slavic Polish....bahh. Hard work :)

We will simply wait and see.

The public transportation here can be described as reliable and functional. It might not be the most luxurious in some cases, but they do generally turn up on time and can be relied upon.


Oh, definitely not. If you can cook from raw ingredients, Poland will be unbelievably cheap for you.


You'll be surprised, I think - if you know German, French and English, there's quite a lot of similarities in there.

I agree. Switzerland public transport is second to none. Polish is not even near but at least a lot cheaper :-) With exception of some trains, in general is reliable and functional too.

Swiss public may be second to none in Europe but Japan is the model of punctuality and high standards.

Seanus, have you used both? I've never used the Japanese, so I can't accurately compare.

jwojcie, it is expensive, but if you live here and do it right - it's not bad at all. First off, everything here is expensive. Second of all, if you get a half pass for ~140CHF then for an entire year everything is half-price. If you get that and add an after 7 pass (total ~240CHF) then you can travel anywhere with public transport for free after 7.

I've only been here about 4 months and I have used the half and after 7 passes to the fullest. I've spent in the range of 300 CHF (plus the pass), but have saved 970 CHF in just 1/3 of the passes life.

Thread isn't about Switzerland, though so if you visit I hope that helps. PM if you want :P

Well, I haven't used the Swiss but it's nigh on impossible to be as efficient as the Japanese system. It is the model of efficiency.

Hmm, well we'll have to try them out and report back. ;)

Delphin, by your blatant disregard for my questions in my last post which you conveniently skipped past and commented on another post immediately following mine, until you respond, I can only assume that the information I asked for would lessen the credibility of your posts and be in some way self incriminating. you did nothing but challenge, quite directly, every other post of mine before that, but after a direct challenge, you have, thus far, balked on it.

still patiently waiting......

1. The way strangers maintain eye contact on the street for too long.
2. The way shop assistants laugh when they gabble something and then expect a foreigner to understand it.
3. The way that the Communist mentality seems so entrenched. When did the Berlin Wall come down?

IMHO, that's nothing unusual and can be found in all former East Bloc countries.

Try to take staring with a grain of salt. I moved from the U.S to Switzerland and some of the Swiss people stare horribly bad. Just because it is rude in the U.S to stare, does not mean it necessarily is so in other cultures (or at least to the extent that it is in the U.S). Humans are naturally curious beings - it is in ones nature to gain as much information about their surroundings through this. Even Americans do it, but when they are caught they'll quickly look away...

I was on vacation there with Euro train ticket, so I was travelling whenever I wanted whereever I wanted and it was great :-)

I've never used the Japanese too, so I can't compare it either. But I wonder isn't Japan a little overcrowded, especially in public transport?

Well, ok it is an offtop... sorry :-)

That's the downside of Japanese transport. They are so stupid that they actually forcibly push people onto trains. Have a look at this and laugh. youtube.com/watch?v=33qxTMA9XTA this cracks me up every time. Friggin zombies!

What's worse is that they have chikan (train perverts). They touch up and grope young girls. I was mortified at that. The little lemming sardines.

So, overall, the Swiss system may be for choice.

As for Poland, I think PKP gets a bad rap but they shouldn't. The only criticism would be the doors which can be a bi*ch to open. I love the Scottish trains, more comfortable and you only need to press a light button to open the doors when activated. Not wrench a door off of its hinges.

OMG it must be a joke! How old is that video? 2008? Japanese are strange people, I suppose in Poland most of the time such "pushers" would end under the train, pushed there by angry mob... :-) Unimaginable, though I have to say that in my youth I traveled in such packed train in Poland too, but it was train full of youth headed toward music event (of course PKP and event organizers didn't foresee unusual influx of people...).


Believe me, I have much more against them :-) They are complex problem. They are like dinozaur from previous era. They survived because PKP was one of the biggest employer in PRL, influential labor unions etc., nobody dared to touch them. Yes, they are changing... with a speed of tanker.

In what way?? and wot has a GERMAN wall got to do with Poland??

The Wall and the fortified border between the GDR and West Germany was there to keep everybody in - including the Poles.