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

Witek, I'm very happy with my renewed contract, and also very happy with the 40.000 € that's coming with it. :)

That's good Arien if you are happy:)

I want to retire when i'm 50-55 years of age that is why i am now investing in stocks and real-estate when possible.

i one day hope to live in the beautiful city of Gdansk when i do retire:)

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Well, that's ambition. :) If I were you I'd drop the stocks, that's only a profitable bussiness if you're able to move a serious amount of units, or if you own a larger company.

I'd go for real-estate first, start small and try to expand your working area but stick to one particular region. This is because you could strengthen your own position if you get rid of competitive estate owners and corporates in your own block. I've thought about this together with some of my friends from Poland, because we're all handy, my niece is a lawyer so she could help with contracts, and the houses are so much cheaper there, so it could be an explosive market if your economy keeps growing.

Anyway, nevermind me. I wish you good luck. :) I want to stop working at that age too if it's possible. :)

Arien,

i have been investing in some juniour/ small cap mining and gold stocks here in Canada. some have been very good investments:)

real-estate prices in Poland will keep growing. however you have to know what your are doing and have contacts there as not to get "burned"

carpe diem:)

Sieze the Diem, Carpe the Day.

I love that movie :)

As a Polish-American who smiles alot, I know there is a legacy of communism in Poland. You didn't know whom to trust. I hang around with Polish-Americans who have assimilated to the American culture. (This is not the bad rap culture that is being exported. )

I do notice, because I speak Polish, that most Poles would not peg me as Polish. I feel uncomfortable in a store when I understand everything they are saying. I play a little trick. I call my kids on a cell phone. They also speak Polish (2nd generation). I look at the weird reaction of the Poles as they quickly walk away. I wonder why they don't say hi after that. It is strange behavior. We don't have many Polish speakers here and it would be nice for me to say a few words to them. Maybe a Pole could explain this to me.

witek, witek, witek...

Americans who? specify..Plain American joe? there is none. we all are immigrants
from other countries.. so which Americans

African Americans, Polish Americans, French Americans..
or the guy whos half Polish and half Irish? ah ha gotchya!!

:)

[quote= I look at the weird reaction of the Poles as they quickly walk away. I wonder why they don't say hi after that. It is strange behavior. [/quote]

I've seen this happen myself and I think I can explain the reaction: if two poles are happily speaking to each other believing no-one can understand them, they would be quite embarrassed (depending on the content) or shocked that their "privacy" has been invaded without their knowledge...even though that was not your intention...although the same situation would probably not make people walk away in fright e.g. italians or even the French might smile and acknowledge you, just to be polite - some have even included me in a chat; quite delighted by it all.

We do smile....but when no one is watching :)

But how do I know the tree in the forest has fallen?:)

Sz,
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I must be lucky, most of the Poles I know smile.... it's my fellow countrymen/women that are miserable.

Hmm. Are we being visited by a stag party from Holland who can just about see straight enough to drive a keyboard

Thanks for helping me. Because I am Polish-American, I don't know if my over-friendliness is considered rude. I just feel strange not saying hi to fellow Poles.

Over-friendliness is never considered rude. Just a bit strange maybe. :)

Hi dude. Unfortunately I am 100% of Polish origin. Both my parents were Polish, but I was born in London and brought up in England and now regard myself as English. Over the last three years thanks to the influx of 600,000 Poles into the UK, I'm now absolutely sick to death of all the Poles in the UK and wish you'd all f***ing go home. I also no longer tell people in Britain about my Polish origins, as I'm ashamed of them.

BTW - to answer your last pathetic slur - most of my friends used to think I had a great sense of humour, until I came to Poland and started to catch the 'miserable' infection from the Poles.

Anyway what is it with you stupid, bigotted Polaks, blaming everything on the Jews? It's all your own fault (well the fault of communism in general). And no, I'm not Jewish, though sometimes I think that would be preferable to being the stupid Anglo-Pole that I unfortunately am. BTW am thinking of changing my name from the -ski ending that I have to something English sounding - like "Snothead": I'm completely disgusted with Poland and all the backward, pathetic, hicksville, work-wh*rish ways that the country stands for!

Well at least Antimonopole you aren't depressed about your whole Polish thingy you got goin' on...........

Gee whizz, if you are so keen to have nothing to do with anything Polish, why do you bother posting on this board?

Also given the general "bent over and ****** in the national arse history" Poland has, surely a little sympathy and understanding to your fellow kin would be honourable. And finally are you pissed of 600,000 ( try 2 million) mainly young Poles are trying to do something for their lives and country?

Hmm, definately a little illogical. Its a sad day when you hate your own race.
But it is your choice.

Sorry not you Frank, Mr.Antipole

Giles...don't worry the old hide is holding up.............have you had your diaper changed in the last 2 hours....lol

:)

Sorry Giles....I gotta a bit of cyber steak here...you'll be ok in a while.....

that hurt...

Sad.. I agree with Giles, what are you doing here then?

if you dont care, why do you think we would care to hear your pathetic
rants?

BUH BYEEEEE.

Hi Giles,
I enjoy your posts on this forum - one of the very few reasons I occasionally pop in here.

Yep, agree with you that Poland has not had a healthy history. I spend a LOT of my time pondering over such problems.

I also think it's a good thing that the young Poles are trying to improver themselves. But unfortunately I'm also a NIMBY, I don't like it when someone plops a motorway "In My Back Yard", or for that matter 600K (or 2 million, which I agree may be more accurate) Poles in my backyard which is what has happened since 2004. The UK is a tiny country. Two million Poles has made the whole country rock sideways in the water. It's just too much. 100?200K would have been OK, manageable. But with towns like Southampton and Slough now having Polish population in excess of 10%, it's just too much. The Brits themselves are starting to resent it.

As for hating my own race. Yup afraid I do. I can't come to terms with it. Which is why I'm posting here to try to make sense of it all... If I was happy with it I wouldn't waste my time here.

I loathe the lack of innovation, and lack of originality of Poles. The fact that people like the fashion designer Arkady get run out of Poland for daring to be different. And that there are so few Poles with the balls to stand and up and declare they are different.

Not a bad thread... 277 replies to date. Guess I must've hit a soft spot!
Still maintain my question: Why do Poles never smile?

It's not just bad dental hygiene (btw, Poles have MUCH worse teeth than Brits, so don't get me started on that one!)

On Saturday, I dropped in at a Polish wedding in a beautiful wooden church in the open country near Bialystok. There were perhaps 100+ people in attendance. Yet bizarrely, when they all came out of church after the ceremony hardly anyone was smilling, or cheering the newlyweds, or greeting old friends... It was stony faces all around. Quite completely incomprehensible and bizarre.

All I could good figure out was these folks were all peasants who rarely saw other people and so had inadequate skills for dealing with intense social situations. No doubt they started smiling after a few vodkas...

Perhaps smiling was banned under communism? (under Dziennik Ustaw of 1956, Civil Procedure Code, section 7, item 204)??? Boy you Polaks sure love quoting the Dziennik Ustaw, it's quoted everywhere, even in public toilets!

Well then you as an Anglopole perhaps could be someone to help bring some englightenment to you fellow kin. I do understand that the large influx has been a bit of a shock for certain sections of UK society. However, part of the reason the UK is doing well financially is because of this huge influx of Poles. They are the ones w

ho are helping keep the inflation rates down. Secondly I think the Poles integrate well into multicultural Britian. Given that the new wave Poles have been here for less than 5 years, I think generally the UK and the new wave have blended well.

Imagine if the UK had received say 1 to 2 million Somali's or another racial group with a none European heritage and a non christian religion, I'm sure there would be a far greater problem with integration and acceptance by the UK populace.

Many of the traits you dislike within the Polish culture are the residues of a communist legacy. These are issues that will take a few generations to wash through, but they will. The UK and Poland are now (whether we like it or not), involved in a very symbiotic relationship which will continue to develop.

I can also understand why certain attitudes towards sexuality and race are harder to justify, but these attitudes are born out of ignorance. Finally you have to remember that Poland has been not only under the yoke of communism but also of catholicism. the UK is very much a secular country, which means the prejudices and misinformation and lies that are perpetuated by organized religion have not infected the UK mindset the way they have Poland.

There are many things which are very positive about Poland and Polish people. Their work ethic here and in Eire, is one to be admired.

Their sense of family and tradition and cultural heritage is one to be admired. Most English people, are eitherr ignorant of their heritage of embarassed of it.

My interest is because of my other half, who is a blessing. Having dated many English girls and few other nationalities, i've found Polish women to be a breath of fresh air. not to mention generally far better looking than their English counter parts.

Anyway, don't be ashamed of these people, they have been to hell and back and their foibles should be understood within the context of where they are coming from.:)

Well you're lucky with your other half. My congratulations. My other half who is also Polish is a nightmare. Like many Polish women she's a total control freak. She puts her nose into all our mutual business... She MUST control anything connected with the flat, holidays, even my friends. Yet she freaks out if I start advising her what to do.

I've had far better experiences with non-E. European gals: Swedes, Germans, French, Icelandic, Americans, Brazilians, Aussies (oh, those sweet sexy Aussies, for whom sex is just a sport...) even British lasses (a small, but significant minority of which are not at all bad looking, even if the bulk are horses). Being with them was exciting, like being alive; being in Poland everything is certainty, mapped out ahead, preprogrammed...

People here in Poland have so little joy, so little energy to share. So little spontaneity, so little originality... It's all just making ends meet and keeping up with the Jones's (or Kowalskis); economics - nothing else here seems to matter. (Or perhaps they're all just painfully shy....)

In fact, I'd say life here was a living death. I know that I'm being utterly selfish, but since I'm a devout pagan and believe that I have only one life to live, I resent the misery of everyday life in Poland, the fact that people never smile here, no matter what the post-Communist history and suffering of the "brave Poles".

Like many Polish women she's a total control freak. She puts her nose into all our mutual business... She MUST control anything connected with the flat, holidays, even my friends.

er..yup. Great means I have to think less. To be straight, I don't care where I go on holiday and if she wants to book it fine. Controlling all household buisness, excellent I'm off down the pub. My friends, well she like some, hates others. But remember if they get up your nose, just tell them to shut up and walk off...go to the pub.

See controlling they might be but loyal they also tend to be, as long as you don't **** other women, you can get away with murder, give you can handle the ear bashing afterwards.

As for the Pagan thing buddy I'm no fool either and I'm hyper ware that it is one life and nothing more, but remeber we are in the minority most people believe in a higher being or force. Don't worry about it.

Hey i've just been reading this and am inclined to agree with much of what you have written. I am an american with a full-blooded polish pedigree I have been living in Poland 2 and a half years now I have 2 kids and a great wife who is Polish. I find I too must work far too much to support everybody in the family and find my face contorted like my fellow Poles here too at times. It goes beyond Poland being an abused-child nation with a tragic past. I can't answer the question about smiling and who can? But it is also the ridiculous Government and a illogically run country. My friend visited last year and all he kept saying was "This defies logic" and man is there a lot of work to be done at least America despite its vast flaws has an understandible and much more efficient means of conducting itself and a sense of humor and fun. Americans do also work a lot and struggle to make ends meet its a commom misconception here that America is a promised land, I warn everyone it is not, but it is far easier to find a decent job especially if your qualified. I wish and I say this truly and sincerely I could give Poland a big hug and say come on everything will get better. But some days I just want to jump off my fourth story balcony, but my family saves me from doing so. Lets keep up the talks and perhaps we can keep each other from going further into depression.

totally understand what youre saying

my time in poland seems to be a stark contrast between thinking what a great place this is and thinking what the fuk are you guys doing!