What comes to your mind when you think; "Poland"?

[polska_potega_swiatowa]

This is quick survey, so if you can please be short and straight to
the point. What clue words come to your mind when you
think: "Poland"?

For instance when I hear; "Switzerland" I think; kookoo clocks,
fancy watches, cheese, financial institutions, neutrality,
mountains, snow, herbs, livestock, Zurich, rich people heaven,
Geneva convention, and secret banks accounts. Of course you might
think otherwise, but those are only my ideas and those are not
necessary representative.

Most countries even small, have some icons, landmarks, brands or
others that are easly recognizable worldwide. I think Eastern
European states still are the victim of the identity crisis and need
do redefine themselves. So please kindly help!

What clue words come to your mind when you hear the word; "Poland"?

[usenetposts]

Lech, Jaroslaw, etc....

[hardenfelt]

+ words: Kiełbasa, wódka, dziwki,
- words: navel contemplation, inferiority complex

[usenetposts]

Hi Michael, how's tricks? We must sink more beers in the near future!

[hardenfelt]

Great. Loads of work. I'll mail you next week about beer. Great idea
if you'll leave the car at home.

[isana3]

Well, kiełbasa, wódka... nothing more?????
I think: four seasons of the year, but summer could be a little bit hot

[wuenschentroff]

When you ask a question, you will usually get a terse "no" or "yes". Nothing
beyond that. Rude!

[mafketis]

wuenschentroff napisał:

> When you ask a question, you will usually get a terse "no" or "yes". Nothing
> beyond that. Rude!

If you're not Polish it's up to you to figure out how to deal with local habits
of this kind. I find that if I keep asking questions (pleasantly) making some
small talk along the way (if possible) I get all the info I need. It's true that
it takes some time to learn what kind of questions to keep asking but that's the
fun part of living in a foreign country, finding out how to do things differently.

A hint: You need to show that you care about getting the info in Poland and are
grateful for it, otherwise they assume you're just going thru the motions and
they will too.

[wuenschentroff]

> If you're not Polish it's up to you to figure out how to deal with local habits
> of this kind.

This is not a "local habit". This is something I have encountered on a number of
occasions - countrywide. It's not about asking questions but having a plain
conversation. If I need any info, I know how to find it myself.

> fun part of living in a foreign country, finding out how to do things different
> ly.

"Yes" and "no" answers feel strange to say the least but it sure takes some
getting used to. Still, it pales in comparison to pot holes and dismal
stretches of construction on road sites.

that was simple question :)

[polska_potega_swiatowa]

it's funny how asking about ones opinion of country he is quest of
can cause such an offence and consternation...

[longinharden]

oh,god...maggie is back! Are you that dumb or just a sucker for punishment?

lol lol lol

[polska_potega_swiatowa]

longinharden napisał:

> oh,god...maggie is back! Are you that dumb or just a sucker for
> punishment? lol lol lol

I can sense a mental problem in you, sorry but I don't know the
other way to interpret your psycho comment.

[longinharden]

I don't know the
> other way to interpret your psycho comment.

"Psycho?" - that alone tells me you ARE maggie. I was right.
You blonde too? You gotta be.

[nearlypolish]

First: The nightmare bureaucracy in just about everything, even
buying from shops like Saturn in Arkadia
Second: The horrendous roads (I won't say motorway, as these do not
exist in Poland yet)
Third: The ridiculous speeds that Poles drive at on these bad roads
in all conditions
Fourth: Fruit & veg! In season there is a wonderful array of local
fruits & vegetables
Five: The enormous hospitality of the Polish people
Six: The enormous amount of depressive atitudes in older
people..."since communism fell.....things are worse...."
Seven: Polish women, used to be the best, but now they copy the
stupid trends such as "tatoos" & short hair styles (yes I'm a little
conservative in attitude), so they are only just ahead of the other
former eastern block countries (for now).
Eight: Crap domestic football teams!
Nine: Hilarious politicians
ten: Very good transport systems in cities
eleven: very bad at organising & completing major infrastructure
projects (where are the motorways promised over 10 years ago????),
new airport terminal....when will it open???
Ten:

corrupt minds,every knows better,nothing gets done

[polska_potega_swiatowa]

nearlypolish napisał:

> First: The nightmare bureaucracy in just about everything, even
> buying from shops like Saturn in Arkadia

Well, this is what happens when you devoid people of everything
including freedom, for almost 200 years. As a result of German,
Russian and Austrian occupation Poles have learned to cheat the
occupier. Proplem is that this bad habbit persists in Polish psyche
even after 18 years of freedom.


> Second: The horrendous roads (I won't say motorway, as these do
> not exist in Poland yet)

True, here again Poles are paying the price for their corrupt ways,
which is a direct reason why large public projects are so hard to
fordge in Poland. There's always a reason not to complete what's
planned, or cut corners..result is the current terrible state of the
roads in Poland.


> Third: The ridiculous speeds that Poles drive at on these bad
> roads in all conditions

A lot of Poles do not know how the good roads should look like, so
they do the most of what they got, so to speak

> Fourth: Fruit & veg! In season there is a wonderful array of local
> fruits & vegetables

True, I meet a lot of Poles who come to the USA and are dissapointed
of the produce grown in America, fruits are often grown on
pesticides and hormones. They look perfect but unfortunatelly at the
expense of the taste/flavor.

> Five: The enormous hospitality of the Polish people

sharing what you got with others, is considered great honor; "Czym
hata bogata", "Gosc w dom, Bog w dom".


> Six: The enormous amount of depressive atitudes in older
> people..."since communism fell.....things are worse...."

Well, people in Poland have suffered a lot, but foreigners
especially those from the western Europe do not want to hear about
it, because they did not share the same experiences, that the Poles
did.

> Seven: Polish women, used to be the best, but now they copy the
> stupid trends such as "tatoos" & short hair styles (yes I'm a
> little conservative in attitude), so they are only just ahead of
> the other former eastern block countries (for now).

quite agree, that is indeed a horrible trend. Appearantly it gives
Polish women that feeling of "being free to express themselves"....
In my opinion, this acount to nothing else but monkeying the
westerners.


> Eight: Crap domestic football teams!

Here the corrupt mentality, does it evil again. Most Poles consider
it naive or bluntly...stupid to work hard for something. Which is
the reason their game falles behind even the average European
football clubs.

> Nine: Hilarious politicians.

I do not consider Kaczynskis hilarious, they know that they want,
and they the strongest leaders since...Marshal Pilsudski...


> ten: Very good transport systems in cities

I have just recently read in Warsaws case, it is due to the WWII
distruction, which cleared way to accesible roads sysems within the
city, and secondly because most Poles do use public transport.


> eleven: very bad at organising & completing major infrastructure
> projects (where are the motorways promised over 10 years ago????),
> new airport terminal....when will it open???

Well, Poles have a bad habit of avoiding cooperation, simply put
everyone "knows better" and as a result nothing gets done. The brand
new terminal at the Chopin Airport in Warsaw was completed but
ther's a conflict between the builder and the airport
managament...over the money of course.