CULTURE SHOCK! (of my Polish finance who visited the US)

OK. My Polish fiance just came to the US. First time ever. Talking about Culture Shock!!!! He can't get over these 4-way stop signs!! Mailboxes on the side of the roads and nobody steals the mail!!! I live in the rural area and never lock the house. I don't even know where the key is, he doesn't get it!!! Nobody fences in yards!!! My horses sleep outside at night!!!! Cars have air-conditioning!!! Hot water is on the left!!!Everybody stops at a stop sign even when there is nothing coming!!!And the list goes on and on.
I'm taking him to church today. He'll freak out when he sees carpets and bathrooms in a church!!!!

hehe culture shock indeed!

i cant understand why most people stop at the red man at a pedestrian crossing when there is NO TRAFFIC!!! and push and shove then in the supermarkets!!!

weird eh?!

Well, you should buy him a very dark sunglasses. After a while give him a bit lighter ones. And so on. Perhaps that'll attenuate the whole culture shock

Yeah weird. In Polish grocery stores you have to bag your own groceries, in the US they ask "paper or plastic". Another shocking experience!!!!

lol

The Roy Orbison method yep

Sunglasses!! heh, heh. I like that.

well, we gotta bag our own in Ireland too (if they bag it its usually a charity gig - or Christmas and they want you in and out quickly :P)

In US they always say: "Have a nice day" and smile when you shop. Never hear that in Poland. SHOCK!!!!

thats right, we say hi, how are ya? or hello, just being friendly and polite and its not done in poland (thats not to say they are impolite, just a wee difference i miss)

Thanks K for the reminder, i'd forgotten.

Poland is a big bad backwater where crime is rife, no one is friendly and there is no hope, only vodka.
America is the land of the polite with their walmarts, stop signs and automatic weapons.

Next.

Well, don't think they care, though.

But that feature is absolutely worth introducing in Poland.

Drivers in Poland are terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They go fast then slam on their breaks and get in front of you and pass whenever they feel like it and when you see a car heading your way so you better get off on the side of the road or you're dead meat!!! SHOCK!!!!!!

well there IS vodka, but i know your taking the p1ss. I love the family values in Poland and find my many friends there are great! but to paraphrase pulp fiction 'it's the little things, i mean they got the same **** we got here but its just different'

we all grow up in our own society and WILL of course notice these little things from another society. I for one, find it fascinating.

Next

YES!!! Me too. The family is close and important. When I was kidnapping my fiance from Poland, his sisters were crying, his mother, his nieces. I felt terrible. Like a criminal or somrething.

Did i miss the general thrust of this thread then D? I thought that was an accurate summary.

Here's an answer for your 'hamster question', Hueg.

i havent said you have or have not. are you saying you werent being a little tongue in cheek?

That's usually where I keep my tongue.

lol

You've got me pegged then, yep.

edit: I'm going to cross polinate the above.

Should have told me sooner about that hamster. I could have gotten you one. What else did I have to loose. Tranported two dogs from Poland, what's one more lousy little hamster? Dogs are in culture shock as well, but handling it very good.

then that was my reply

so we be happy

in most stores i bag my own shopping but i do get asked "do you want any help with your packing"

culture shock number 1 in Austria is the fact you have to buy your plastic shopping bags. SHOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nah, its the same here envoirnment levy.

Just like you have to in Poland.

really? ive been to tesco's there and other skelpi and never paid for the plastic bags?

Have you ever been in New York? What do you expect if you live in the middle of nowhere.

here in the uk some stores like lidl, aldi and nettos charge between 3pence and 9pence dependant on the strength of the bag if you need them (hence why i take my own if i go there (mainly lidl) as in tescos .. sainsburys .. asda/walmart here in the uk they are free)

Another myth. Not in New York.

well, it's gonna take a while for him to adjust, especially if he's never been to US. You could help him by being understanding Krysia.

As for culture shock on general, I have poeple coming from smalller parts of the province(60 km away) and experiancing a cultural shock, since I live in a very busy city.

I guess rural life is very different form the city life and it is a shock for most people.
There is nothing wrong with it.

This encourages people to recycle which is good for the environment. people dont like paying for their bags but when they get them for free they use so much more!

Tell me something. Is he really from Polad? Or maybe he is just making fun of you?

oh big time spot on m! i hope none of us implied there is!

as with all changes in life, time will allow us to acustom/aclimatise.

Well,
I am a city slicker myself and sometimes I find it difficult to tolerate people who are shocked at many things. I guess that depends on open one is to any experiance and how well travelled and curious about life one is. Some people are more set in their ways than others and it doesn't depend on nationality but on the preson. I find that people who are not open to experiance (not the ones crossing ones boundries and hurting one in any way) have easier life in general. Having tolerance is important, having a balanced tolerance is even better.
Luck of tolerance is driven by fear of not being able to cope with the unknown.

That was good. High five.

Look at North Pole`s post:
polishforums.com/polish_women_serious_demand-9_8512_1.html#msg121452

Krysia, thanks for sharing the new experiences and welcome back. Right on the button. I miss the "Have a nice days" when in Poland. Yes, our big main stream grocery stores still offer paper or plastic. They even ask If I need help with carrying them outside. I would not mind if I had to take my own bags to the store.

I frequently buy at Trader Joe's however and they appreciate bringing your own bags. You even fill out a little ticket for weekly draws of $25.oo (never won yet).

As for air-conditioning in cars or homes in Poland, they exist, but they are too expensive for most.

As Miranda mentioned, small town folks in America are experiencing a huge culture shock as well when going to a big city. Some suburban people NEVER drove a car in downtown Chicago ( too scared). When I came over here, I was renting an attic apartment at a house owned by nice American couple in their 60's. They never drove in downtown Chicago. If they flew anywhere for a couple of days, they called a taxi because "they would get lost at O'Hare" airport. Later, I drove them to O'Hare or pick them up.

I also lived in NY (late 80's)and drove in Manhattan every day (loved it). Downtown Chicago has a "small town" feel when you comeback from NY...

Well then, it appears that some shops charge for plastic bags and some don't.
Yeah, it's a good thing, my family uses bags made of strong fibre, so no amount of shoppings can be scary (especially for my mum).

Here we buy a "green bag" that you take with you each time you go to the grocery store. By having your green bag, you get 10% off the bill. And they save on stocking paper and plastic bag supplies

Sounds like Phoenix LOL! A white-knuckle ride to any destination. And if it is raining and the desert flash floods pop up over the freeway, oh my god! It is hard to brake down from 70 mph to stopping!
I'd rather drive in Los Angeles!

Exactly. Stop spreading lies, krysia. Stupid b(word).