Changing Poland

The english are tought as children from a very young age (as soon as a child learns to speak) to say please and thank you, its not false, its the way we are brought up the same as saying excuse me when you want to get past someone. We have a saying in the UK, "manners maketh a man"

Thank you. :) Although I prefer manly to cute. :P



Double personality, eh? Is Ama going to be the good guy/girl and Shelley the bad one? You know, the good cop bad cop thingy? :)

Sorry Maty, but anyone who's young enough to be my....ahhemmm....nephew is cute....;)

Poles are also tought that! Come on...

I think Maty and Bunia have a point here , there's a slight language difference or a cultural thing and you don't have to say please and thank you every 5 words, one is enough.
But the ladies in shops and especially post office are not polite at all as if they were angry that you're there and interupt them... it's changing slowly

While in Poland I've experienced a lot of good manners. Most shops I've walked into I was greeted with a "Dzien Dobry" and a "Prosze Bardzo" after purchasing sth. Are these fake greetings like we have in the US?

sure... they don't wish you a good day .. they just want you to leave your money there...
good manners are fake

We are tought that aswell, but not every 5 sec. Like making a transaction in the shop you dont say in polan thank you 7 times within 3 min as you do in england. Once is enough. Being polite is very important and poles are polite.

The lady today looked like she wanted to wish me dead for interrupting her knitting:) How do i dare to ask for assistance :)

No they are not fake. You will be greeted and thanked for purchase you made. But once :)

When I was in the country I noticed it more. We were staying in Boleslawow and even where it wasn't necessary to purchase anything we were greeted. Maybe PL attitude is different throughout the region? Similar in the USA. In the souther states we have the most hospitable people. In NYC you can go fek yourself :) no not really, just an NYC joke.

another thing is with word please when you ask some1 for something.
In poland form "Czy moglbys mi podac cukier" is already considered as polite. (Could you pass me sugar" In England automatically you would add please at the end. You dont do that in poland. Thats why English people always correct me and add please at the end.

That's what I usually experience in the US....I'm greeted once and then thanked for my business.....I always say thank you to a sales person, be it a waiter/waitress, cashier/checkout person and it's not fake....I truly appreciate people in the service industry....I was taught it's polite to acknowledge people and to ignore them is just plain rude.

I was afraid that you are going to comment on my boyish look, but you are a very good diplomat. :)




Thanks Fisz. It's a great mixture of nationalities here on this forum. I'm not going to offend the whole nation just because one individual has something against my people. Although venting is human and definitely healthy. :)

PS: I didn't notice you slagging off other nationalities as well. :)

It is being built with british money being pumped into the polish economy by polish immigrants in the uk.

And don't forget the german money! Bratwurst people would feel offended if we did not to mention their input

Thank you for pointing that out :) I don't like to because I know that people are people no matter where you are. I do notice negative things in Poland and some other countries that I've travelled to including my own (understatement), but these can be discussed in a respectable manner. I't all has to do with respect for others.

As you may see with some of my replies; I do get defensive when people who don't know better make fun of Americans without even being here, but I have to take a step back and ultimately feel sorry for them :)

I am guilty of some personal attacks though...and probably not that bad since I've never been suspended. I try to keep cool though.

I've noticed that this money goes into the Baltic region mostly..maybe some ski resorts. Do Germans also travel elsewhere in PL?

Don't forget us Americans that travel to PL to see our loved ones :) We like to spend lots of money there too :) We also tip ;)

I know of one shopping mall/ office complex that was built in Warsaw that was paid for in cash in Deutchmarks just before the Euro was introduced. Not that I'm suggesting there was anything suspicious about this of course.

Yep, us Brits are paying for everything in Poland, either in used ten pound notes or indirectly via subsidising the EU. Have a look at the inward investment figures published by the IMF to find out who really is paying mate and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

I am wondering if Poland can ever change. Some years ago, I was in Gdansk and visied an area where I stayed during the Communist era. It is called Orunia, if I am not mistaken. You get there by bus. I remember I stayed on a street called Podmiejska. Her house has since been bulldozed to make way for a road expansion scheme. A really dreadful place. Sad. cold, dirty, rundown and empty of any soul. I walked home from the bus stop with a young schoolgirl from Poland. She has been living here in England for the last two years. I asked her if she would want to go back and she said to visit her family and friends, yes, but to live-never! Her mother has exchanged Poland for the Tesco supermarket shelf filling department on a night shift. 600,000 of Poland's young have followed her. Can Poland ever be strong with such an exodus? They always complain about their voting rights in the EU but under Russia they had none.

Orunia isn't that bad. i was visting family there recently and would glady live there as apartments are cheap and it is a 5 minute bus ride to downtown Gdansk.

Yes, they are probably cheap but my God, have you ever looked at the place? I would prefer to live in Kingston Upon Hull!

Yes, I do remember it very well and it was awfull. Dirty wet streets-something like a film script of England in the 17th. century. I have heard that there is a lot of crime there but then again I weas there twenty years ago. Not a place to bring up a family, but then again. where in Poland is?

Yeah... A chance that It happened is as "big" as that you are studying law and working in management of anything.

What does that mean? O co chodzi? Nie rozumiem.

alot of retired people and young unemployed people live in the old apartment blocks in Orunia. however there are also beautiful new apartment bulding where the middle class live.

here is a pic of new development in Orunia

orunia.jpg

I think I know where that is to be built. I imagine that is an architect's drawiing. As I say, I have not been back for several years now.

they are already built.