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

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posts: 474

sarah	Sep 19, 06, 10:34 #91
I just call them miserable but i always get them smiling x

♀

Sep 19, 06, 10:38 #92

We are not so miserable but I would say that we are not so good at laughing at ourselves.

I quite like it with English people - this sarcastic attitude to everything.
To be honest I must admit that I changed here. I had always sense of humour but I sometimes treated some things, sugjects too seriously. It is changed now. I have learn some distance to things.

I know one English woman she never, never smiles. Always looks so serious....so exceptions are everywhere

Shelley	Sep 19, 06, 10:41 #93
iwona - I work with some people that dont smile, they could sower milk - lucky I do enough smiling for everyone...

sarah	Sep 19, 06, 10:43 #94
Shelley None of the people in my office smile and walk around with a long face and no one here is polish hee hee x

♀

Sep 19, 06, 12:46 #95

I think that there are 2 groups of people cheerful and happy in general and sad, grumpy.

And both groups are in any nationalities.
There was a girl ( luckily left) in my current work who smiled, and laughed but was so grumpy and whingey that I never met somethone like her before.
She moaned non-stop about everything and was so sensitive about herself that I didn't even dare to joke with her. Terrible. I don't rememeber this English saying.... treating someone like egg shell?....

PPATRYKK	Sep 20, 06, 17:57 #96
At First-I am proud to be a Polish. At Second-I am not proud that people whose govern here are sucks. Cash - not enough to live, and this is problem - not big smile etc.... I think this is the biggest reason of this fact that polish people aren's so smile like english.

PPATRYKK	Sep 20, 06, 17:58 #97
You live too much in ENGLISH GL THERE MY FRIENDS

PPATRYKK	Sep 20, 06, 17:59 #98
*England, sorry for my english, I don't use it as often as I want.

lefThreads: 13 Posts: 564 Joined: Jun 27, 06 ♂	Sep 20, 06, 20:29 #99
Quoting: PPATRYKK, Post #120 Cash - not enough to live The point is that if you are poor doesn't mean you carn't smile, people living in the poorest countries in the world smile more than the poles....remember money doesn't make you happy?

iwonaThreads: 13 Posts: 639 Joined: Aug 6, 06 ♀	Sep 21, 06, 02:44 #100
polish don;t smile so much comparing to.....whom? When I was i France I didn't see many smiling faces.....the same Germany or Austria....

sarah	Sep 21, 06, 04:22 #101
Everyone from one time to another are not going to smile no one can walk around with a permant smile on there face (imagine the lines in there cheeks heee hee) x

tammy	Sep 21, 06, 04:49 #102
hey babe are you talking about my lines again????? lol

sarah	Sep 21, 06, 06:03 #103
Yeap your wrikles smilley x

iwonaThreads: 13 Posts: 639 Joined: Aug 6, 06 ♀	Sep 21, 06, 06:53 #104
exactly too much smile to many wrinkles

sarah	Sep 21, 06, 09:13 #105
Exactly my point iwona hee hee x

tammy	Sep 21, 06, 09:31 #106
now who has more me or the other one we both know ????? lol

sarah	Sep 21, 06, 09:33 #107
Hee Heee well too much smilling for anyone would cause wrinkles lol x

tammy	Sep 21, 06, 09:41 #108
so does that mean after the weekend we had last weekend and with this one coming up we are both gonna have loads of wrinkles ?????

sarah	Sep 21, 06, 09:45 #109
One day when were old well when i am you age just kidding x

♀

Edited by: krysia Sep 22, 06, 19:22 #110

OK. Getting back to the point.
I just got back from Poland and I got the same impression about people waiting for the bus, tramwaj, walking their dogs, shopping etc. Sad faces. Everybody looks the same. The girls all have the same hair-cut, short, straight, colored hair. Guys really short crew-cuts. And everybody sad.
But it all starts from the earliest years. I went to school there for ten years starting in third grade. We had school on Saturdays. We had to learn Russian. The teachers were really strict, you had to show respect for them, you had to wear a uniform with your school's logo on your left forearm, you were afraid to smile. There were only two TV channels. Lot of political talks. Now there are about 4, but you get more if you can afford a dish. So I understand why they don't have much to smile about. Life is very serious in Poland. Some know how to find humor in situations, some don't. And the concentration camps are a reminder of the sadness which will never go away. But it is instilled in people from the earliest years and they don't see life from another point of view.

♀

Sep 23, 06, 06:59 #111

I suppose Polish have different mentality than English, American.... English laugh-off everything it is like defensive reaction. Polish are more serious about things ....

But I was in Krakow about 2 weeks ago and didn't notice so many sad faces. Lots student ready to start ....some tourists......local people.

I could say the same about english streets ( I mean Peterborough) lots of fat women in too tight clothes with similar haircuts and look.....

pfawaz	Sep 23, 06, 08:49 #112
Do all Polish women automatically expect marriage once they start dating- are there alot of pressure from their parents to get married after a certain age??

polacaThreads: 1 Posts: 80 Joined: Sep 4, 06 ♀	Sep 23, 06, 08:58 #113
I dont think polish women expect marriage when they start dating, it wouldnt be normal

jazzjack	Sep 24, 06, 01:41 #114
AntiMonoPole#1 ........Next time you visit Poland (I understand you spend a lot of time over there) ,before you hit the street -TAKE a SHOWER ,USE DEODORANT and do everybody a favor -fix those croocket (world famous) roten british teeth.........everybody will start smiling when they see you.

jazzjack

Sep 24, 06, 02:04 #115

KRYSIA.! .........Person who is smiling when waitng for a bus is an idiot . People in western (normal?) world pay money to wear school uniforms (only the best schools require this) ,they also pay money to learn russian and go to school on saturdays........so what is your point? Is this discussion about smiling without any reason? If so -BRITISH people allways look like their waiting for a bus . Must be the genes.

♂

Edited by: Tom_Poland Sep 24, 06, 03:05 #116

jazzjack - not the genes but rather an influence of a particular culture/history/occurences. Poles for many centuries hardly had any reasons to be happy and satisfied with their lives. Long-lasting repressions and persecutions for almost the whole 19th and 20th century like the german-russian occupation during WW2, repressions and persecutions of Poles during the second half of the 20th, constant struggle with somebody just to keep the head under the water, just to survive. Now, it's over, but for many people any attempt to change their attitudes towards new reality is unbelievably hard. In my opinion it's very noticable especially when you look at some elder Poles (let's say 40 or more) - they often are so pessimistic and worried about everything and everyone that it is sometimes hard to imagine, especially for a foreigner just like you.
Personally speaking, I'm a representative of a young generation of Poles - I'm 23 - and a bit experienced with life - have 2 kids, been married for 3 years, work as hard as I can, and know that sometimes life can kick you in the gut, but I move on.
And, as Jerry Springer would sum it up in his 'final thought'

Being happy and optimistic bloke certainly helps you with your life and the way how other people perceive you. Nevertheless if somebody doesn't want to smile or he/she simply cannot show their possitive emotions to others, it doesn't mean that they should be excluded from the rest of their society - maybe such way of existence is deeply rooted in their minds. Or maybe they are introverts and actually are on cloud 9

That's all folks - see you later !

jazzjack	Sep 24, 06, 03:18 #117
TOM_POLAND........Whatever it is you`re smoking my friend ,it`s not good for you.

Lara	Sep 24, 06, 05:11 #118
Quoting: opts, Post #76 You complain that Poles are too serious and do not smile. Reverse that. When walking the street of Warsaw, SMILE at the people you see. Start a trend, craze, fad. opts, I agree with AntiMonoPole and I'm a Pole myself - only living 25 years in the West. If I smile at people in Poland as I'm used to do, they don't smile back. They just look back unfriendly at me

Lara

Sep 24, 06, 05:28 #119

Quoting: Marzena, Post #98

you are largely underestimating people and show complete lack of empathy.

I don't think so, Marzena. The gay has lots of empathy precisely because he so clearly sees the misery in this world - in this case in Poland.

Quoting: Marzena, Post #98

nobody will empathize with you and nobody will care about you

The gay said the truth and I for sure can feel what he is writing about.

♀

Sep 24, 06, 09:40 #120

with AntiMonoPole and I'm a Pole myself - only living 25 years in the West.
If I smile at people in Poland as I'm used to do, they don't smile back. They just look back unfriendly at me

Lara, not unfriendly just aware....
I think that polish are quite reserved that is the problem. We , smile,laugh are friendly with people that we know. It is not polish custom to smile to strangers on the street( it is maybe English, American) But is it ....French or German ? No really.

I seeme that everone here compare Polish to Anglo-Saxon culture we are slavs so we are different.

I went today to polish mass in our church and when priest says "give each other sign of peace"- some people chake hands some not just move head and say peace with you.
I think that lots poeple are so reserved I noticed as I first give hand out everyone is happy to shake it.

On English mass everyone shake hands, smile, some snuggle even. For me it is little theatrical- Especially English who not much time ago invaded big part of the world spreading ? "peace". Maybe I sound sarcastic now but that is what I think.

We are not miserable we are just different.

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