Why are Poles always so miserable? Why do they never smile?

- Now you're talkin', darlin'!
:)

i totally agree about the media point, i am admittedly a victim of this as the media some what seemed to have changed my mind on immigration in the last week or so, i know its only scare tactics but there are some definite facts been laid down, what annoys me though is that people like the BNP use them for their racist views and when people like me speak up about having controlled/restricted immigration i get banded with the BNP when that is in fact not the case.



well i was hanging round in the south of england last week knocking of a few tiles and throwing some chimneys of the top of houses :(, on a serious note i started back at uni last Tuesday so my visits will not be as regular as they used to be but i'm sure i'l make it spicy when i'm here :)


why?? what has changed??

Nothing :) I've just had a lot of things to do...


Lol. Not sure about the 'spicy' but certainly very 'debatable' <g>


Yeah, your views may well depend on which newspaper you read on a regular basis........then, you choose the newspaper that best fits in with your views. Having formed those views initially by what you read in the newspaper you regularly bought !!

Get it, lol.........:)

I will fetch a little irony to this topic and confess that i am usually the one that gets wrong off the polish for not smilling enough.

Although they are really bad at getting english jokes. by the time i explain it is usually dead and buried.

It's not true. I know Poles who are always smile. You must meet wrong people:)))))))))))

Every Pole I know smiles all the time, they are very optimistic and happy in life

We do too smile much. all the time no,no. sometimes has to be serious. We are happy people for a lot of time. ;-)

That's because of those notorious European bad teeth.
This is me before I've fixed my teeth: and this is me after:

People always say I look unhappy, but maybe its my face?

Same here. People often think I'm angry or very sincere when I'm not engaged in conversation. This is just the way we Poles look. I saw somewhere on this forum, someone said that Poles try to get maximum effect from minimum effort. Why contort you're face into a smile constantly, getting wrinkles and wearing you're face out. We reserve our wonderful smiles for when we speak to people.

no my dear just put a lovely smile on that face of yours and then you will look happy :):):):):):):):):)

I think there is a general feeling here in England that the Polish are missing a bit of a smile and look of happyness sometimes, to be honest i have noticed it but not with my friends, usually those who are meant to be customer service people.

Many Poles I know do smile and have a GSOH but I have to agree that too many have dejected looks on their faces. This is a view shared by most foreigners here. I just get peeved when it becomes fashionable to have this 'mina' on u.

In my humble opinion, the good part of expression of unhappiness is due to the weather. It takes an effort to smile when you are cold and wet most of the time. Remember going for camping trips when my things and myself got soaked on the first day and got dry when returned home three weeks later.

There is also a way of telling jokes, it is considered to be a poor way of doing it if the person telling a joke laughs.

Lack of enforcement: Americans have employer enforced happiness(employers of funeral homes are excluded), it looks rather silly to me to see happy face regardless of circumstance.

Lack of a laugh track: TV programs in the anglo cultures prompt people to laugh regardless of what is being shown, I myself like to laugh when I consider things are funny.

Overall and seriously, expressions of emotions in most Slavic cultures are considered to be in poor taste.

To answer the original question...if you have ever had to LIVE in Poland you know why.

In answer to OP [even if I think I've responded to it already]

Funny, one of the Polish guys was creating most of the laughs at work today for everone around him and he was smilling and joining in the laughter :O

He's a crazy fecker [a good thing imo :D], makes me laugh non-stop when he's er..'at it'

Where the heck did that come from? What an unsubstantiated statement to make. Does it mean that nobody is happy after 5 p.m? :) lol. Americans still have plenty to smile and laugh about, no matter what anybody outside of the borders think.

A simple smile does wonders, it makes you more approachable, open, friendly and yes, prettier (forget the wrinkles). You can accomplish so much more over the phone or in person, when you take care of issues with a smile.

I know quite a lot of Polish living in Southampton. I have to say a good 80-90% of them are not miserable. They are fun, lively and unlike most of the meatheads in the area, are not aggressive when drunk.

Mind you there is one of the doorman at one of my local pubs, you try to be friendly to him and say hello or goodnight to him (in Polish) he just scowls at you, gets aggressive and accuses you of taking the ****.

you guys are weird thinking about whole nation they are miserable lol. it's so stupid haha

Isn't it just what I said. The smile, in a society, serves some purpose and is not an expression of inner happiness I would say is fake and dishonest (or at least defeats its original purpose). For that very reason wearing a smile is required by some employers (I have heard that in America managers insist that service people smile) as it allows them to "accomplish so much more over the phone or in person, when you take care of issues with a smile". I had an unpleasant experience myself when using my much less than perfect English was using banter with the fellow who was smiling and not giving any signal that he was feeling being offended, at the end he exploded telling me that I was rude. Would he stop smiling I will get a signal and for sure will not be pushing farther.

Is that the McDonalds smile Eurola, u know, the one when they know the customer is leaving in a minute or two? Just curious.

I'll never get this "miserable" thing. It's an unnatural thing to walk about with a big grin on your face so therefore most people will not be smiling when you see them, particularly if they are alone.

Wouldnt say Polish people were miserable, they are just serious. Besides as PolskaDoll said, why would you be walking around smiling when youre by yourself? Youd look like a nutter! British people force their smiles often, i know quite a few of them and its hillarious when their smile disappears from their faces almost as soon as it appeared, its so fake! You can see their lips form a smile and then in a matter of seconds they look all miserable again. It is true that a regular shop assistant in Poland will not smile at you, some of them dont even look at you. They must hate their jobs. Costumer service is much more friendly and relaxed, an probably more helpful in UK, than it is in Poland. Hate the ladies in the counters at the train or bus stations, they are right grumpy cows! Some shop assisntants will smile if youre in a perfume or jewlery shop and youre about to spend a lot of money ha ha... In general, people in Poland tend to look serious and maybe arent as chirpy as the British folk. But then you should realise that they might have more worries than people in UK.

i noticed when i was in poland u dont see many people smiling. i also seen that most guys dont hold girls hands. but people in the streets on england i also notice dont smile.

This made me laugh because I'm picturing someone leaving their house with a big smile on their face the entire time. Who does that?

I find people in Poland to be happy and laid back (sometimes a little too laid back).

I do admit that my grandmother will never smile in a picture. She wants people to think she's a serious woman, lol

because Pole's are just that poles.. they stand there, not doing anything at all
and wouldnt you be not smiling if someone attached a electric wiring to you and
you had to stand in the rain ,sleet, snow, weather all year around and hold up
wire all day??

Little humor there for ya.. cheesy I know. lol

if they said, why are Polish folks ( some) why do they never smile.. then .. my
answer would be.. probably cause they have alot on their minds and alot of
memories that just wont go away..

but if you see one not smiling, maybe offer up a smile and concern and ya might
be surprised at the results.. especially if ya smile back.

Well, I dont know who to believe.

If I come to Poland , the whole country will be smiling and then my work shall be complete.

believe me believe me lol
:P
:P
:P
:P
:D

no believe me! do i look like i'd lie to you?? ha ha

If you are waiting in a bank in Belgium, I guess you'll change your opinion. I had lived in Poland about two years, and was satisfied with the bank clearks, but now in Belgium, it really make me crazy , they are so so so ....slow!!!