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dont stop saying your opinion even if the dislike ratio suffers people here respect it more the complainers are bunch of bitches and it comes from insecurity
everybody thinks we are racist, but studies show poland is the least racist country in the eu. Quote: The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found Poland second least racist country in European Union, with only 19% of respondents experiencing discrimination based on their race or ethnicity. Poland is believed to be racist because it is conservative and European and world establishment is mostly left-leaning, so they don't like that. Even in the US big part of the population believes that if you are conservative, then you are a racist. I have a black wife living with me in Poland and she never experienced any racism. It's the opposite. We live in a village near to small town and people are usually too friendly because it's a novelty and while there are many foreigners in big cities in cities smaller than 100k it's rather rare to see them. In cities below 10k they are
My parent always told me, that education is important because it's the only thing no one can take from you. They can take you land, your home but never your skills and knowledge.
Czasy się zmieniły. Dzisiaj wyższe ma prawie każdy. Nie jest to element wyróżniający. A jeśli chodzi o języki to są juz tłumacze tak wiec imbecyl.poradzi sobie znakomicie. Umiejętności i da w cenie ale taż już coraz.rzsdzien.
I appreciate you speaking honestly about the flaws of Poland. This was the most level headed foreigners opinion on my country. The national postal service you should never use, and no one does. Inpost is a Polish privat company that does an amazing job.
BS. Co ty p....sz? Nie chce mu sie uczyc jezyka bo jest za genialny zeby poswiecic na to czas. Bedzie go zmienial. To jest wywazona opinia?? Zarozumialy gosciu z hameryki co po 100 latach odkryl kraj gdzie moze zarobic pare zl. uzwnetrzajac swoje ograniczone i powierzchowne opinie. To jest obraza dla tych wszystkich ambitnych i chcacych nauczyc sie jezyka i jego piekna. Jego sprawa jak mu sie nie chce ale przekonywanie swiata, ze tak bedzie lepiej to jakis absurd.
@@albu318 etam może tak myśleć. Inna kultura. Inna mentalność. U nas tez się zmienia język - co pare lat błędy oficjalnie są dopuszczalna wersja. On jest dość miły i rozsądny. Da się lubić.
polish sensitivity to critique comes from last ~200 year being treated as subhumans and falsely accused of many horrible things by people from other countries, especially from west, it made us to develop very strong complex
Yeah that's an oversimplification. If I take many people from all over the world I could say similar stuff. Meanwhile, though this list is limited there are many famous people with Polish blood such as Lisa Loeb, Keith Urban, Martha Stewart, Izabella Miko, Maria Sklodowska Curie, Chopin,Copernicus, Wozniak, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Ashkenazi Jews I think have some European blood so many of them may end of being Polish. A country is a country at the end of the day. I care about who you are rather than where you are from. Also, Jews had high ranking positions and maybe some were feared as they may have been seen as a threat. We have to thank a Hungarian Jew for the invention of computers. Also many other eastern/central Europeans for inventions.
Polish people and many countries in Europe have been mixing for a while. Scotland and Poland have relations as both Polish people lived in Scotland and Scottish have been in Poland for a while. Trade happens and traditions get mixed.
We aren’t sensitive to criticism. Foreigners don’t understand our behaviour and misinterpret it which is conspicuous when it comes to our so called rudeness.
Poland has fought many wars and enemies. Look up the GK Chesterton quote about Poland and Polish people. We fought against slavery, helped Scottish people be free and also against the evils of nazism and communism and for the land of Poland.
I was in Warsaw for two weeks last month, partly because of your vlogs. I completely agree with your balanced perspective. I am a Korean-Canadian and I was always treated with respect and polite help when I asked for it. I experienced absolutely no racism. The city was spotless, except for the rampant graffiti, which seemed strange. I went out to a local pub at 3 AM (time change) and felt welcomed and safe. I wish we had Żabka 🐸 in Canada! Bar mleczka was good but confusing at first; they seem to have unspoken rules and I had to learn them through trial and error. Everyone I met spoke at least some English and I met lots of people who spoke French. I would definitely consider moving there, now that Canada has become a sh*thole country because of uncontrolled immigration from third world countries. Poland got controlled immigration policies just right. Immigrants have a responsibility to assimilate into their host country, and I am speaking as a first generation immigrant to Canada.
It also comes from Polish experience. Poles have ancestors that were in other countries and never received anything for free and had to work hard (my two great grandpas too). They came back and shared this experience - we just reciprocate.
@@betelgezaa I agree with @JoesephL0403. I was raised (1978 born) in this culture, but milk bars are essense of Poland and the ones outside of tourist routes are concetrated Polish culture: be quiet, pick your choices quick (super detailed wall menu), soup is given out separately etc.
Poland in the 90's was extremely grey and depressing, so graffiti was making it actually better (unless ugly and vulgar). Most of us either like it or at least grew accustomed to it. For me, graffiti makes the streets feel alive. When they're "too clean," it feels photoshopped lol.
Man, you figured us out in one year. Great analysis. Sometimes I get the impression that Poles are like a pack of wolves, in which there are constant fights, but they attack the enemy together. Personally, it pisses me off that some countries look at Poland as "that country from Eastern Europe". I think our worldview is no worse than that of Western Europe. Putting family, friends and your own country first should be an advantage, that's my opinion. As for racism - I think that in every country there are groups with such views. I think that the negative reactions have intensified after the escalation of problems on our eastern border. If we don't know who is friendly to us and wants to hurt us, we treat everyone with distrust. For our own safety.
The image some people have of Poland is very disconnected from reality, based on stereotypes and a general lack of knowledge. It's not really surprising, since we only regained our own voice 30 years ago. The opinion that the country has in the world is largely shaped by media marketing and contacts with other nations. We need some more time to actually show ourselves, but seeing how quickly these opinions change, just in the few years since we started having more newcomers and tourists, I'm optimistic that the false images will fade pretty fast. As for racism, honestly, there are obviously some nutjobs, but it feels like they are exceptions completely unrepresentative of the general population. It's just that they get shown a lot in the media because of how 'controversial' they are. It's also blatant on the internet, because honestly, I can see more racist comments in one day than I've ever met actual racist people in my life. The internet is a hive for some pathetic individuals that nobody wants to listen to in real life. Also, there are plenty of Russian trolls now, and they often pretend to be citizens of some countries and post racist comments. That's their tactic to portray countries opposed to Russia in a bad light.
We are the nation of fighters, if we don't fight with the invaders, we need to fighter with one another to stay sharp - just like our ancestors Slavic warriors of Vikings did.
We are and always were part of the West. The West is Catholicism - we were the eastern flank of the Vatican. It's only when those fuckers sold us in Yalta to ruskies, we got branded as worse
NOT REALLY, he just tries to be nice, or maybe other countries are really that shit, but majority of the things he said are simply not true. (or maybe he has so low standards)
I did make a bit fun out of your ideas of how to reform Polish language... but I also have no doubt Polish is difficult! And I do appreciate those who study it and don't give up. Yes, it's difficult, but there's not much you can do about it. It's a bit like telling musicians they should get rid of some of their notes and sounds so that they're not so overwhelming, especially for students in musical schools. You have to admit, it's cute, but also funny! I can't help giggle :). Your criticism is correct, it's rare to hear fair criticism (as opposed to emotionally or politically motivated). I can't keep up with how big the road infrastructure is getting, but railroads are falling back and there's a lot of debate about it. There's even a CPK project which is opening an enormous airport close to Warsaw and precisely a large high-speed train network to go with it. It's not even controversial by now, the political parties are fighting over it only to get political credit for it (and not the other party). The postal service is yes, a disaster, probably worse than the worst stereotypes about the US Postal Service. That's why we use it as a literal last resort only, companies like Inpost or the half dozen courier services do provide much better service in every aspect, except price. Complaining - yes, it's annoying, but believe me, it was much much worse 10 and 20 years ago, so it's on the decline. It was customary small talk to complain about something, we would bond through our perceived (although often real) misery. The buses are late, the weather is terrible, the husband earns too little, the boss at work is unfair etc etc etc. and on and on.
Poczta Polska seems to be on its last legs. One exception to its bad conditions, however, is the electronic transfers through the post office (I just had to use this because my ID expired, and I couldn't make the transfer from my account). It went very smoothly and without any problems.
9:36 well, Wes, I think that most of the people commenting didn't mind you thinking that polish is hard, as that's nothing new for us. The main "problem" was your take about simplifying the language :) I also was like - "Wait, what?". Still, you're doing a great job. Keep it up!
The reason why i still regularly watch your channel is because you're more level headed and give some criticism, which is great because saying only positive stuff is rather toxic in general. Keep it up
Wes, I've been following your videos for a while and have really enjoyed seeing your journey in Poland. Please don’t stop sharing your critiques. Constructive criticism is so valuable. Hearing feedback from foreigners about one’s own country is a blessing; it gives us a chance to reflect and, hopefully, improve. Also, take it easy with learning Polish - don’t burn yourself out. Progress takes time, and taking breaks is important. Trust me, perfect Polish isn’t a must! As a Polish-American, my Polish isn’t great, but it hasn’t held me back. Occasionally, people ask where I’m from, but it’s more out of curiosity than anything else. Wishing you the best in Poland, and I’m looking forward to those Warsaw videos next year!
Wydaje mi się (i może to tylko moja perspektywa), że bardziej akceptujemy krytykę kiedy wiemy, że ktoś żyje w naszym kraju wiele lat zaadaptował się do kultury i mówi w naszym języku. Patrząc na międzynarodową arenę i jak jest przedstawiana Polska przez inne kraje i przez nasz własny rząd (niestety) musimy walczyć o opinię Polski sami jako obywatele. I też trzeba pamiętać, że każdy przyjeżdża z jakąś swoją kulturą i wartościami i nie zawsze co my chcemy do danego kraju jak nam się wydaje dodać jest dobrym pomysłem. We wszystkim potrzeba balansu.
Agreed, Poczta Polska is a national company and so performs much worse than the private companies which need to fight for the customers keep up on the market. I do recommend using private couriers like inPost, DPD or DHL. For small parcels, I think inPost would be the cheapest and best. Also, I noticed that in comparisons to other European countries, parcel lockers are very popular and especially inPost has a lot of them and they seem to be very convenient as you don't need to be at home to have parcel delivered. You can simply deliver it to the most convienient parcel locker for you and collect it whenever you can.
Nie mogę się z tym zgodzić, poczta polska to bardzo fajne miejsce, wspaniali ludzie tam pracują, a że jest zarządzana jak jest to tylko wina nas samych, naszych rządów, sami ich wybieramy, trzeba zrobić porządek u góry, w tym problem
The difference is that the post brings your package to your home but you are expected to be at home whereas the couriers leave packages at destined machines for self collection.
@@betelgezaa no, you can get the courier to deliver to your home, but then you must be at home. They don't leave packages at your door like I seen in some videos about Ameruca.
7:34 You'd be equally protective of your culture if it were the only means of preserving your national identity during times when your homeland was erased from the map.
Hey Wes, loved this one! Your experience in Poland really highlights the country's incredible resilience and warmth! 🇵🇱 I completely agree that once you get to know Polish people, their loyalty and hospitality shine through. Let's connect soon so we discuss having you on our show!
I can’t believe that some people told you that it’s your fault for not learning Polish quick enough. Polish is my first language, so yes, I thought it was easy, till I learned another language. It is commonly known as one of the hardest languages to learn. Thanks for your point of view. All in all, no country or people are perfect
What I remember from growing up in Poland in the 90's and my college years in the early/mid 00s was the excitement when a celebrity visited or said something nice about the country or claimed Polish heritage in some way, so I get what you're saying. We've always had a need for external validation while curiously perceiving ourselves as an European empire betrayed by its neighbors and wronged by history.
There is proverb in Polish that states: "Nie ma złego co by na dobre nie wyszło." which can be translates into English as:" There is no evil that does not come to good" or "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger”. And this is the upside of our Polish history, because of our hard, painful history, the nation as a whole is resilient , hardened, and wiser. That actually gives me hope that Poland will become a regional power in the Central-Eastern Europe because it is destined to. We just need to wait for geopolitics to line up in the Eastern Europe.
There is a great book about Polish trauma and why are we so grumpy and overprotective about out culture and history. Traumaland by Michał Bilewicz. Idk if its available in English tho😅
This postal situation is definitely not the norm, you should intervene because it sounds like whatever you sent got mispalced or something. It's usually up to three days for the delivery with the national postal services. Plus, we have a bunch of alternative postal services, with InPost being a big player. So whereas Poczta Polska is not the quickest or most efficient, it's not as bad as you seen to believe 😂 It should not take a couple of weeks to deliver anything from Kraków to Warszawa.
Hey What are you complaining about Poland, you're right that we react like that, you shouldn't worry about it because a large part of us just want to listen to someone objective and hear what we are really like from the point of view of a person from abroad. Personally, I really like watching these videos where you present your opinion about us from your own experience and it doesn't matter to me whether you talk about advantages or disadvantages because only the truth counts for me. And also you should visit a Olsztyn, very beautiful and green City.
There's probably no country in the world where locals would appreciate your criticism or "reform" ideas when you've barely lived in the country for a year as foreigner.
Especially when presented with such manner of "this should be improved, that should be better and more convenient for me and my allmighty dollars" as if he was speaking about adapting a dish in a restaurant and not complex socioeconomics and billion PLN investments. In a country that is doing ok for maybe last 30 years, which shows he knows nothing about recent history here. Stay here, pay some taxes apart from store purchase vat and then have expectations for things to change.
@@elizakowalska9811 Exactly. The person behind this channel seems to be simply seeking a way to promote himself like many others. It's less out of love for our culture and history and more of using Poland as means to achieve some sort of traction for his target career until he moves on to the next best thing. See how he speaks of looking to collaborate with polish musicians or being a judge on The Voice. In his mind, being a foreigner in Poland makes him THAT special. And while we tend to love feel-good content about our country, to his disappointment we're no longer as desperate to be noticed and appreciated as some years back, so there's push-back. I don't hate on the hustle, but it takes some self-awarness what kind of content you're selling and who your audience is. Again, nothing this guy says is even some sort of novelty or hot take. Those are all very generic, common issues related to living abroad. Ask any Pole living abroad how many times they heard they should go back to their own country.
@@morderczyarbuz7244 yes, very well put. I commented separately about The Voice thing. I would not blame him if he said that on the fly, but he said it, recorded it, cut it and put it on the internet for people to comment on. I am wondering if he is fishing for "hate comments from mean Poles" to later address or if it's straight up rage baiting for clout. Even now we are just pushing his numbers with those comments.
@@elizakowalska9811 All the power to him, I'm not even hating on the guy. He's doing what he can to put his foot in the door. In couple of weeks there'll be another foreigner of the month pushed by the alogrithm, reacting to the same clips and saying very same things.
Nice video! I'm glad you're enjoying it in my homeland. Regarding the language, take it easy-Polish is notoriously difficult to learn. I live in the UK, and even though it’s my mother tongue, I’ve only come to fully appreciate its truly mind-boggling complexity by watching my bilingual kids struggle with it, especially the grammar. Apparently, there are well over twenty ways to say “two” in Polish, so don’t pay attention to those fools who expect you to master it quickly. Most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself if you ever feel you haven’t made as much progress as you’d like.
You're very right about the down sides of Poles,your comments are actually spot on and it can clearly be seen you've lived here for a while. Thanks for talking about it, I'm so tired of this holding back of foreign youtubers on our flaws just to get attention and positive reactions.
As a Pole, I find your psychoanalysis spot on. Be patient with this patient, we've been through a lot, and those things just leave their mark on the collective soul. But keep speaking your mind, we can't be expecting special treatment forever if we are to keep growing.
11:50 as far as asylum seekers this is abit different story. What Poles were against is bringing in migrants from Western Europe who mostly came from Africa. We were against "sharing" them around the UE, and we do see what is now happening in the "old EU". We dont want that here. But on the other side when war broke up in Ukraine Poland took in over 1 mil of refugees. And that part is often not seen. And yes, Poles usually dont have anything against migrants, as long as they come here legally, and that they do not try to force theyr world view on us. After 123 years off the map we know how hard is to regain and keep your country/nation as a whole (yes after that the WW1 and a sequel WW2 happened).
Sorry buddy, but "should be' improved" instead of 'could be' is the reason we are so protective. Too many a time had a pole heard these words from an occupier to let them slide even from a supportive foreigner. We alone decide what Poland 'should be' .
in Poland there is often popular saying among siblings: "only I can beat my brother", and i belive that casts broader into all areas. In general, if you're "inside the circe", you may be nagative about the circle, but if you're outside, better stay put
I live in Poland (born here) and I really enjoy your videos. You put not only positive things but cons as well. I guess this is the Slavic nature (soul) - we cannot be fully happy ;) But what I want to emphasize is you get (pick up) these small things while living in Poland for only a year. Your a good observer - at least this is what I think of you. Yeah, we don't like when someone criticizes, but your videos were not criticism (at least in my perception) - these were observations on where to improve. And that is something we need - a fresh point of view from someone outside of our bubble. Post office - never use it. Use InPost app - you can send and receive with it. Other things I agree - more trains to smaller cities, etc. After all, these are individual opinions, you are not protesting on the streets and burning cars to have it ;) Racism - also agree. Once you don't expect anyone to handle your stuff and pay for you, we are fine. Or even happy to have you in Poland. But if you come to rest and wait - that is no-no in Poland. You take care of your own shit. Of course, there are some Poles who do the same, but it is margin... And those people are also being pointed as a "lazy ones".
German here, the music in Europe (especially Central Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Czech) etc. is much better than the now relatively limited US music scene (e.g. .in NY where you get now mostly just mostly primitive Hiphop/Reggaeton/Latino like stuff - and just very reduced other options. It sounds partly like being in a cheap monothematic third world country. Very reduced diversity and thats a MINUS - especially if it is not the most evolved music. Poland (like every higher culture) still appreciate a lot more classical music, jazz, traditional,. rock/pop/metal and electronic Music which is by far a better music mixture. Its like with fashion or food etc. - Europe has still a better style (the US has other advantages but the music (and actually also party) scene is partly really horrible. and the US was most of the time one of the best!). And yep, 4 season climate is the best! (by fact btw... its the most prosperous climate zone, its the most interesting due to the change of the reality/cultural behavior (people who never experience a golden autumn are simply missing something in life, same is true for a snow atmosphere in combination with for instance Christkindl Markets or other things - its a different atmosphere. And lets face it, the summer in Central Europe are more comfy than the 'too hot weather) is not really comfy - more ideological better. Life between AC room and beach/palms is also one of the most boring/static settings (which are great for temporary fun but living there for long? => low culture!)
Yeah, I also love the fact that we have 4 seasons here. I adore the momentum of change within my internal mood. I'm a little bit shocked that somebody has been telling you that you are not pushing yourself more regarding polish language. Overall I can tell you did nice balanced analysis. Thanks!
1. Ok, weird take. The part about they just poles just scolding you to just study harder? I think it is just the way many of us try to motivate others, the idea is, for you to get angry and actually prove that you are able to do better. Since we are pretty contrarian, we just love to prove others wrong. I think it is coming from that, but who knows. 2. Complaining for us is like talking to a therapist in USA (I think?). We just unload stress this way. Sure, not much get done this way, but its a way to selfregulate. 3. Our weather is moody AF. That being said, would it be boring if you just had the same weather every day? Or if you could trust forecast? Our weather is a pole too, moody and chaotic, and spiteful.
I love this video! I feel like all your observations are truly on point! As a polish immigrant living in Scandinavia and before in the UK I can tell that poles have to face a lot of nasty bias and stereotypes from westerners. I had a period when I stopped responding to question ' where are you from', because I was tired of what comes with my answer :\ So in my case that's what makes me furious when a foreigner dares to say something bad about Poland 😅 However you're right with everything! Hope you'll still enjoy polish adventure, thanks for sharing!
As a Pole, I think you are doing a great job speaking honestly about the pros and cons of this country...I really respect that! Most channels only speak positively about their experiences in this country... but I think they do it because it is easier to get subscribers.... you noticed perfectly that a Pole has the right to complain about his country but when a visitor does it, they get angry 🎯 so true and quite funny... This is a results from our history which made us feel like an inferior nation but when a foreigner attacks this nationality in some way, Poles automatically can change and stand thogheder in defense of their blood... it is beautiful because not many countries have this feature these days... Being honest, you can gain here true friends for years! All the best 👊
Thank you for your honest opinion. Don't worry about the backlash. As you said, we love to complain, so the backlashers just complain about you complaining. A normal thing :D
Thank You for this balanced yet very positive view on Poland and polish people - it’s actually Interesting to hear all these opinions and see our country from the outside 😊🫶
nothing will escape your attention. I'm glad you see that today's attitude of Poles has its roots in the national trauma that still persists. We still do not feel safe and are afraid that we will lose our country, as has happened several times in history.
If you’d like to perform in Kraków check out places like Harris Piano Jazz Bar, they do a lot of jam sessions themed in variety of musical styles, arranging a gig shouldn’t be a problem either.
I was born and raised in Kraków but i had to move after 25 years to Belgium for better live Now i will be there for Christmas and, will stay for 3 weeks Since i subscribed to you, I will now always look around on the streets for you to say Hi.
As someone born and raised in Katowice but also lived for a while in Krakow and Warsaw you will see that Silesian area is completely different - you can see industrial past everywhere
I like how you talk about good and bad stuff and also about things we dont realize we do and that foreigners would appreciate. Maybe videos like this make our inferiority complex smaller
So, about the Polish post. You just don't use it. No one uses it. Just go with private ones like inpost. And use parcel boxes. Those are almost instant.
Don't worry about polish being hard, even some polish people still struggle with it. The best way to learn language is comprehensible input. That's how I've learned English quite well, at least I think so. The way they teach you in school about anything here is they try to teach you how to drive by forcing you to learn how to assemble a car including how to manufacture its parts. That's why many Polish people speak like they are assembling a sentence word by word.
You cannot know Poland without knowing eastern Poland: Rzeszow, Lublin, Bialystok, Olsztyn and their surrounding regions. It seems like you visited places where most foreigners go. But you should leave your comfort zone and ever dig deeper. Many small towns are very atmospheric.
@@kumarro11 Ponieważ życie tam znacznie różni się od tego w Warszawie czy Krakowie - zwłaszcza jeżeli ktoś zna tylko środowisko korporacyjno-biurowe w dużym mieście, to jest niejako zamknięty w bańce i nie wie jak reszta kraju wygląda.
@@postanimus8989 Masz rację, ale to samo mogę napisać np. o Pomorzu. Co z np. Śląskiem, różnymi pasmami górskimi w Polsce i jej pozostałymi regionami? Każdy region jest na swój sposób orginalny i wyjątkowy. Za to kocham nasz kraj ❤️ Rozumiem, że dla kogoś wschód Polski może być najpiękniejszy, ale nie rozumiem czemu to on akurat miałby być wyznacznikiem poznania naszego kraju. To tylko, albo i aż kolejne z jego oblicz. Swoją drogą muszę kiedyś również osobiście odwiedzić rejony o których mowa. Słyszałem od znajomych wiele pozytywnych opinii 😊
My comment is going to ruffle some feathers here but as a Pole, I have no problem admitting that I don't find the Polish language particularly beautiful. And I think it's stupidly and unnecessarily difficult. Even for Polish people. There, I said it. 😉 With that being said, I take great pride in my country, culture and traditions. And I find it amazing when a foreigner learns Polish. Many Poles (especially from the country side) struggle with the correct pronouncation of Polish and get mocked for it. 😒So any attempt of learning Polish by a foreigner should be respected and encouraged.
Nooooo! This is so untrue! It IS extremly difficult language! Anyone telling you otherwise is a liar, are you sure they weren't trying to mock you? Love your content, Wes! Thank you! ❤
hey, complain is our love language. 😜 And yeah we have a big problem if someone criticise us because it hits our hearts so badly (we all need therapy 😆).
It might be just me but your Polish sounds great, not sure what others are on tbh. When it comes to new stuff, make sure to check out Quebonafide = Futurama 3 , especially its music video :) Keep up the good work About the criticism, you're spot on. We all love complaining about our country to the point it could be our national sport, but some people seem to be mad about foreigners doing same. However, here in Katowice we've got a lot of immigrants working in the IT industry and we all love and respect them. Hopefully old folks don't bother them too much because younger generations are thankfully not racist (nor religious) Weather is terrible though. I loved my time in SoCal and I absolutely hate november-feb here
Duuuh, why would anyone tell you you're not trying hard enough? BS. Your pronunciation is already pretty good for a foreigner, and the fact that you're trying to do this is AWESOME. It's so nice to know there are people like you who respect Polish culture and language and try to find their own way to become a part of it without losing your own identity. Kudos, man!
01:31 "Wydaje mi się, że obecnie istniej przepaść między starszym i młodszym pokoleniem. Większość Polaków, których spotkałem nie jest w ogóle wierząca"- Polecam wyjechać na wieś, odwiedzić polską prowincje a nie tylko miejski klosz.
Idealizujesz wieś. Tam się chodzi, żeby somsiad złego słowa nie powiedział. Tylko wieśniak użyje stwierdzenia "miejski klosz", jeśli już mamy sobie ubliżać po miejscu zamieszkania. Nie polaryzujmy
@@Exorcistt94 Ja jestem po prostu dumny że nie mieszkam w Varsafce ani żadnym innym większym mieście w kraju. Nie, nie chodzi się tam po to by zadowolić somsiada. Wiem bo jestem ze wsi. Ty nie. Obraziło cię takie coś jak "klosz"? Eh... pokolenie płatków śniegu jak się za coś weźmie...
9:55 a view from Opole. Small city but it's a "capital" of polish song. In June there is Polish Song Fest (Krajowy Festiwal Polskiej Piosenki). Also there is very nice Old Town, very big park with one of the biggest zoo in Europe.
I like you because I see how you are transforming into a polish person - you are close to be nailing how to complain - and here is the thing that you feel about polish people saying if you dont like you can choose whatever else country... because you complain on wrong stuff :) - this is connected to our attitude and things that we feel. Alll "negative" responses are from people who see your complains to be not "polish" enough :D - remember that you have totally different experience that people who live here - this makes who you are - we are here because we didn't give a f**k about forces that tried to change us... if you are true to yourself we will not try to change you - but if you will try to change us... it's better to change the place :)
Thanks for kind words about Poland and you are right - we are welcoming foreigners as long as they respect our values and rules, but when not, we are getting angry. As for girls, kind of disagree, that’s pretty normal here that girls do like talking with english speaking foreigners and a lot of them even prefer them more than polish men. Why? Can’t be sure but I’m guessing.
As far as Polish language it is extremely difficult and it takes about 14 years to learn it fluently, grammar and all. I read somewhere that Polish is second hardest language to learn for an English speaking person. Don’t ask me which language is the hardest. So don’t worry about having a hard time.
Having moved to Poland from Finland, the most common reaction from Poles is "...but why?". If I say I really have enjoyed my time in Poland, people start looking for exits, and checking if I'm perhaps dangerous.
Do you have to renew your residency visa each year or does it last for ten years? Maybe you have a student visa for a course? In the U.K. we are now only allowed 90 days in any 180!
I spent about 10 years in Poland and went to high school there. I left in 2004 when I just graduated and they had 24% unemployment. Andrzej Lepper was the most based politician and they whacked him for telling the truth. Basically after communism fell the entire country was sold to unscrupulous foreign corporations who asset-extracted communal farms and sovereignty was lost to a bunch of bureaucrats in another country. It's good to see that despite 'eurokomuna' they are doing well. I would return if there would be decent jobs there.
That is correct, we are traumatized because our neighbour countries attacked us for no reason many times, and tried to perish our existence & culture. We lost so much heritage that we are paranoid when someone critiques what's left. Yet, I greatly appreciate the good and the bad that you speak off. :)
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dont stop saying your opinion even if the dislike ratio suffers people here respect it more the complainers are bunch of bitches and it comes from insecurity
Ok I watched this video twice and still cant figure out where the actual shit talk starts :)
everybody thinks we are racist, but studies show poland is the least racist country in the eu. Quote: The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found Poland second least racist country in European Union, with only 19% of respondents experiencing discrimination based on their race or ethnicity. Poland is believed to be racist because it is conservative and European and world establishment is mostly left-leaning, so they don't like that. Even in the US big part of the population believes that if you are conservative, then you are a racist. I have a black wife living with me in Poland and she never experienced any racism. It's the opposite. We live in a village near to small town and people are usually too friendly because it's a novelty and while there are many foreigners in big cities in cities smaller than 100k it's rather rare to see them. In cities below 10k they are
"Pierogi is ok" I'm sending this quote to the immigration office along with your name
lmao
oh LOL!!!
The man dared to follow it up with "now let's get into controversial stuff"
LoL🤣
My parent always told me, that education is important because it's the only thing no one can take from you. They can take you land, your home but never your skills and knowledge.
My mom used to say exactly the same
And main. 😊
Czasy się zmieniły. Dzisiaj wyższe ma prawie każdy. Nie jest to element wyróżniający.
A jeśli chodzi o języki to są juz tłumacze tak wiec imbecyl.poradzi sobie znakomicie.
Umiejętności i da w cenie ale taż już coraz.rzsdzien.
@@piotrekmajkowski5422 jak widać, nie każdy
Your parent never heard of a lobotomy? 😆
I appreciate you speaking honestly about the flaws of Poland. This was the most level headed foreigners opinion on my country. The national postal service you should never use, and no one does. Inpost is a Polish privat company that does an amazing job.
Yeah the reason why communism failed 😂
We had particularly right saying that the polish women are easy and spread legs for foreigners. True. The polish women are shame to Poland.
BS. Co ty p....sz? Nie chce mu sie uczyc jezyka bo jest za genialny zeby poswiecic na to czas. Bedzie go zmienial. To jest wywazona opinia?? Zarozumialy gosciu z hameryki co po 100 latach odkryl kraj gdzie moze zarobic pare zl. uzwnetrzajac swoje ograniczone i powierzchowne opinie. To jest obraza dla tych wszystkich ambitnych i chcacych nauczyc sie jezyka i jego piekna. Jego sprawa jak mu sie nie chce ale przekonywanie swiata, ze tak bedzie lepiej to jakis absurd.
@@albu318 etam może tak myśleć. Inna kultura. Inna mentalność. U nas tez się zmienia język - co pare lat błędy oficjalnie są dopuszczalna wersja. On jest dość miły i rozsądny. Da się lubić.
@@betelgezaabardzo moja perspektywa uległa zmianie po rozmowie z @maciejMakselon
polish sensitivity to critique comes from last ~200 year being treated as subhumans and falsely accused of many horrible things by people from other countries, especially from west, it made us to develop very strong complex
Yeah that's an oversimplification. If I take many people from all over the world I could say similar stuff. Meanwhile, though this list is limited there are many famous people with Polish blood such as Lisa Loeb, Keith Urban, Martha Stewart, Izabella Miko, Maria Sklodowska Curie, Chopin,Copernicus, Wozniak, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Ashkenazi Jews I think have some European blood so many of them may end of being Polish. A country is a country at the end of the day. I care about who you are rather than where you are from. Also, Jews had high ranking positions and maybe some were feared as they may have been seen as a threat. We have to thank a Hungarian Jew for the invention of computers. Also many other eastern/central Europeans for inventions.
Polish people and many countries in Europe have been mixing for a while. Scotland and Poland have relations as both Polish people lived in Scotland and Scottish have been in Poland for a while. Trade happens and traditions get mixed.
We aren’t sensitive to criticism. Foreigners don’t understand our behaviour and misinterpret it which is conspicuous when it comes to our so called rudeness.
Poland has fought many wars and enemies. Look up the GK Chesterton quote about Poland and Polish people. We fought against slavery, helped Scottish people be free and also against the evils of nazism and communism and for the land of Poland.
@@underated17 but we have never won.
I was in Warsaw for two weeks last month, partly because of your vlogs. I completely agree with your balanced perspective. I am a Korean-Canadian and I was always treated with respect and polite help when I asked for it. I experienced absolutely no racism. The city was spotless, except for the rampant graffiti, which seemed strange. I went out to a local pub at 3 AM (time change) and felt welcomed and safe. I wish we had Żabka 🐸 in Canada! Bar mleczka was good but confusing at first; they seem to have unspoken rules and I had to learn them through trial and error. Everyone I met spoke at least some English and I met lots of people who spoke French. I would definitely consider moving there, now that Canada has become a sh*thole country because of uncontrolled immigration from third world countries. Poland got controlled immigration policies just right. Immigrants have a responsibility to assimilate into their host country, and I am speaking as a first generation immigrant to Canada.
It also comes from Polish experience. Poles have ancestors that were in other countries and never received anything for free and had to work hard (my two great grandpas too). They came back and shared this experience - we just reciprocate.
Greetings from a Pole in Korea, I think quite well integrated now. Food, access to healthcare, no complaints so far!
What unspoken roles did you experience in bar mleczny?
@@betelgezaa I agree with @JoesephL0403. I was raised (1978 born) in this culture, but milk bars are essense of Poland and the ones outside of tourist routes are concetrated Polish culture: be quiet, pick your choices quick (super detailed wall menu), soup is given out separately etc.
Poland in the 90's was extremely grey and depressing, so graffiti was making it actually better (unless ugly and vulgar). Most of us either like it or at least grew accustomed to it. For me, graffiti makes the streets feel alive. When they're "too clean," it feels photoshopped lol.
Moved to Poland 4 years ago, simply love it!
great to hear that, cheers
almost 7 years here!
Man, you figured us out in one year. Great analysis. Sometimes I get the impression that Poles are like a pack of wolves, in which there are constant fights, but they attack the enemy together. Personally, it pisses me off that some countries look at Poland as "that country from Eastern Europe". I think our worldview is no worse than that of Western Europe. Putting family, friends and your own country first should be an advantage, that's my opinion. As for racism - I think that in every country there are groups with such views. I think that the negative reactions have intensified after the escalation of problems on our eastern border. If we don't know who is friendly to us and wants to hurt us, we treat everyone with distrust. For our own safety.
The image some people have of Poland is very disconnected from reality, based on stereotypes and a general lack of knowledge. It's not really surprising, since we only regained our own voice 30 years ago. The opinion that the country has in the world is largely shaped by media marketing and contacts with other nations. We need some more time to actually show ourselves, but seeing how quickly these opinions change, just in the few years since we started having more newcomers and tourists, I'm optimistic that the false images will fade pretty fast.
As for racism, honestly, there are obviously some nutjobs, but it feels like they are exceptions completely unrepresentative of the general population. It's just that they get shown a lot in the media because of how 'controversial' they are. It's also blatant on the internet, because honestly, I can see more racist comments in one day than I've ever met actual racist people in my life. The internet is a hive for some pathetic individuals that nobody wants to listen to in real life. Also, there are plenty of Russian trolls now, and they often pretend to be citizens of some countries and post racist comments. That's their tactic to portray countries opposed to Russia in a bad light.
We are the nation of fighters, if we don't fight with the invaders, we need to fighter with one another to stay sharp - just like our ancestors Slavic warriors of Vikings did.
We are and always were part of the West. The West is Catholicism - we were the eastern flank of the Vatican. It's only when those fuckers sold us in Yalta to ruskies, we got branded as worse
NOT REALLY, he just tries to be nice, or maybe other countries are really that shit, but majority of the things he said are simply not true. (or maybe he has so low standards)
I did make a bit fun out of your ideas of how to reform Polish language... but I also have no doubt Polish is difficult! And I do appreciate those who study it and don't give up. Yes, it's difficult, but there's not much you can do about it. It's a bit like telling musicians they should get rid of some of their notes and sounds so that they're not so overwhelming, especially for students in musical schools. You have to admit, it's cute, but also funny! I can't help giggle :).
Your criticism is correct, it's rare to hear fair criticism (as opposed to emotionally or politically motivated). I can't keep up with how big the road infrastructure is getting, but railroads are falling back and there's a lot of debate about it. There's even a CPK project which is opening an enormous airport close to Warsaw and precisely a large high-speed train network to go with it. It's not even controversial by now, the political parties are fighting over it only to get political credit for it (and not the other party).
The postal service is yes, a disaster, probably worse than the worst stereotypes about the US Postal Service. That's why we use it as a literal last resort only, companies like Inpost or the half dozen courier services do provide much better service in every aspect, except price.
Complaining - yes, it's annoying, but believe me, it was much much worse 10 and 20 years ago, so it's on the decline. It was customary small talk to complain about something, we would bond through our perceived (although often real) misery. The buses are late, the weather is terrible, the husband earns too little, the boss at work is unfair etc etc etc. and on and on.
Poczta Polska seems to be on its last legs. One exception to its bad conditions, however, is the electronic transfers through the post office (I just had to use this because my ID expired, and I couldn't make the transfer from my account). It went very smoothly and without any problems.
I like this guy - I like the way he goes deeper into the polish culture and truly appreciate Poland. A+ for this video 🙂
9:36 well, Wes, I think that most of the people commenting didn't mind you thinking that polish is hard, as that's nothing new for us. The main "problem" was your take about simplifying the language :) I also was like - "Wait, what?". Still, you're doing a great job. Keep it up!
One more thing, at that point you're almost one of us, so complain all you want! 😉
The reason why i still regularly watch your channel is because you're more level headed and give some criticism, which is great because saying only positive stuff is rather toxic in general. Keep it up
Love your channel because you are being authentic.
He is being hehehehe 😂
Nice! Poland will be a better country with the people like you.
Wes, I've been following your videos for a while and have really enjoyed seeing your journey in Poland.
Please don’t stop sharing your critiques. Constructive criticism is so valuable. Hearing feedback from foreigners about one’s own country is a blessing; it gives us a chance to reflect and, hopefully, improve.
Also, take it easy with learning Polish - don’t burn yourself out. Progress takes time, and taking breaks is important. Trust me, perfect Polish isn’t a must! As a Polish-American, my Polish isn’t great, but it hasn’t held me back. Occasionally, people ask where I’m from, but it’s more out of curiosity than anything else.
Wishing you the best in Poland, and I’m looking forward to those Warsaw videos next year!
You are smart and intelligent . I like listen to your pov. Positive and negative. Greetings from Tricity in Poland
I’m a simple Polish woman, I see some good things being said about my country, I press like
that's the spirit xD love that
A very fair assessment, many accurate observations.
Wydaje mi się (i może to tylko moja perspektywa), że bardziej akceptujemy krytykę kiedy wiemy, że ktoś żyje w naszym kraju wiele lat zaadaptował się do kultury i mówi w naszym języku. Patrząc na międzynarodową arenę i jak jest przedstawiana Polska przez inne kraje i przez nasz własny rząd (niestety) musimy walczyć o opinię Polski sami jako obywatele. I też trzeba pamiętać, że każdy przyjeżdża z jakąś swoją kulturą i wartościami i nie zawsze co my chcemy do danego kraju jak nam się wydaje dodać jest dobrym pomysłem. We wszystkim potrzeba balansu.
w punkt!
Never use regular postal service, always go for courier services and shipments
Agreed, Poczta Polska is a national company and so performs much worse than the private companies which need to fight for the customers keep up on the market. I do recommend using private couriers like inPost, DPD or DHL. For small parcels, I think inPost would be the cheapest and best. Also, I noticed that in comparisons to other European countries, parcel lockers are very popular and especially inPost has a lot of them and they seem to be very convenient as you don't need to be at home to have parcel delivered. You can simply deliver it to the most convienient parcel locker for you and collect it whenever you can.
Yeah or InPost
Nie mogę się z tym zgodzić, poczta polska to bardzo fajne miejsce, wspaniali ludzie tam pracują, a że jest zarządzana jak jest to tylko wina nas samych, naszych rządów, sami ich wybieramy, trzeba zrobić porządek u góry, w tym problem
The difference is that the post brings your package to your home but you are expected to be at home whereas the couriers leave packages at destined machines for self collection.
@@betelgezaa no, you can get the courier to deliver to your home, but then you must be at home. They don't leave packages at your door like I seen in some videos about Ameruca.
7:34 You'd be equally protective of your culture if it were the only means of preserving your national identity during times when your homeland was erased from the map.
i dlatego lubię Cie oglądać, bo mam dość słodzenia na temat polski. Fajnie posłuchać twojej konstruktywnej, według mnie, krytyki.
Hey Wes, loved this one! Your experience in Poland really highlights the country's incredible resilience and warmth! 🇵🇱 I completely agree that once you get to know Polish people, their loyalty and hospitality shine through. Let's connect soon so we discuss having you on our show!
I can’t believe that some people told you that it’s your fault for not learning Polish quick enough. Polish is my first language, so yes, I thought it was easy, till I learned another language. It is commonly known as one of the hardest languages to learn. Thanks for your point of view. All in all, no country or people are perfect
I appreciate unfiltered feedback about Poles. I must say, being Pole, I agree with all you said here :)
What I remember from growing up in Poland in the 90's and my college years in the early/mid 00s was the excitement when a celebrity visited or said something nice about the country or claimed Polish heritage in some way, so I get what you're saying. We've always had a need for external validation while curiously perceiving ourselves as an European empire betrayed by its neighbors and wronged by history.
Your last sentence has no paradox in it, it's a cause-result situation :)
There is proverb in Polish that states: "Nie ma złego co by na dobre nie wyszło." which can be translates into English as:" There is no evil that does not come to good" or "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger”. And this is the upside of our Polish history, because of our hard, painful history, the nation as a whole is resilient , hardened, and wiser. That actually gives me hope that Poland will become a regional power in the Central-Eastern Europe because it is destined to. We just need to wait for geopolitics to line up in the Eastern Europe.
Completely agree! I’m glad what you said about Colombia too, I grew up around Colombians and Polish people in nyc and you are completely correct
There is a great book about Polish trauma and why are we so grumpy and overprotective about out culture and history. Traumaland by Michał Bilewicz. Idk if its available in English tho😅
This postal situation is definitely not the norm, you should intervene because it sounds like whatever you sent got mispalced or something. It's usually up to three days for the delivery with the national postal services. Plus, we have a bunch of alternative postal services, with InPost being a big player. So whereas Poczta Polska is not the quickest or most efficient, it's not as bad as you seen to believe 😂 It should not take a couple of weeks to deliver anything from Kraków to Warszawa.
Hey
What are you complaining about Poland, you're right that we react like that, you shouldn't worry about it because a large part of us just want to listen to someone objective and hear what we are really like from the point of view of a person from abroad. Personally, I really like watching these videos where you present your opinion about us from your own experience and it doesn't matter to me whether you talk about advantages or disadvantages because only the truth counts for me.
And also you should visit a Olsztyn, very beautiful and green City.
I use in post and dhl. Packages arrived next day. Always. Maybe your package got lost?
Wysłałeś przesyłkę pocztą i dziwisz się, że jeszcze nie doszła? 😁 Następnym razem wysyłaj paczkomatem albo kurierem.
There's probably no country in the world where locals would appreciate your criticism or "reform" ideas when you've barely lived in the country for a year as foreigner.
Especially when presented with such manner of "this should be improved, that should be better and more convenient for me and my allmighty dollars" as if he was speaking about adapting a dish in a restaurant and not complex socioeconomics and billion PLN investments. In a country that is doing ok for maybe last 30 years, which shows he knows nothing about recent history here. Stay here, pay some taxes apart from store purchase vat and then have expectations for things to change.
@@elizakowalska9811 Exactly. The person behind this channel seems to be simply seeking a way to promote himself like many others. It's less out of love for our culture and history and more of using Poland as means to achieve some sort of traction for his target career until he moves on to the next best thing. See how he speaks of looking to collaborate with polish musicians or being a judge on The Voice. In his mind, being a foreigner in Poland makes him THAT special. And while we tend to love feel-good content about our country, to his disappointment we're no longer as desperate to be noticed and appreciated as some years back, so there's push-back. I don't hate on the hustle, but it takes some self-awarness what kind of content you're selling and who your audience is. Again, nothing this guy says is even some sort of novelty or hot take. Those are all very generic, common issues related to living abroad. Ask any Pole living abroad how many times they heard they should go back to their own country.
@@morderczyarbuz7244 yes, very well put. I commented separately about The Voice thing. I would not blame him if he said that on the fly, but he said it, recorded it, cut it and put it on the internet for people to comment on. I am wondering if he is fishing for "hate comments from mean Poles" to later address or if it's straight up rage baiting for clout. Even now we are just pushing his numbers with those comments.
@@elizakowalska9811 All the power to him, I'm not even hating on the guy. He's doing what he can to put his foot in the door. In couple of weeks there'll be another foreigner of the month pushed by the alogrithm, reacting to the same clips and saying very same things.
Nice video! I'm glad you're enjoying it in my homeland. Regarding the language, take it easy-Polish is notoriously difficult to learn. I live in the UK, and even though it’s my mother tongue, I’ve only come to fully appreciate its truly mind-boggling complexity by watching my bilingual kids struggle with it, especially the grammar. Apparently, there are well over twenty ways to say “two” in Polish, so don’t pay attention to those fools who expect you to master it quickly. Most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself if you ever feel you haven’t made as much progress as you’d like.
I think your perception of religiousness of Polish people is very much tied to meeting mostly people living in big cities.
You're very right about the down sides of Poles,your comments are actually spot on and it can clearly be seen you've lived here for a while. Thanks for talking about it, I'm so tired of this holding back of foreign youtubers on our flaws just to get attention and positive reactions.
Being honest is the best way! Compliments have deeper meaning this way!
As a Pole, I find your psychoanalysis spot on. Be patient with this patient, we've been through a lot, and those things just leave their mark on the collective soul. But keep speaking your mind, we can't be expecting special treatment forever if we are to keep growing.
Real cool analysis, Bro! Good luck with your music gigs!!!
Fair Poland description.
11:50 as far as asylum seekers this is abit different story. What Poles were against is bringing in migrants from Western Europe who mostly came from Africa. We were against "sharing" them around the UE, and we do see what is now happening in the "old EU". We dont want that here. But on the other side when war broke up in Ukraine Poland took in over 1 mil of refugees. And that part is often not seen. And yes, Poles usually dont have anything against migrants, as long as they come here legally, and that they do not try to force theyr world view on us. After 123 years off the map we know how hard is to regain and keep your country/nation as a whole (yes after that the WW1 and a sequel WW2 happened).
Sorry buddy, but "should be' improved" instead of 'could be' is the reason we are so protective. Too many a time had a pole heard these words from an occupier to let them slide even from a supportive foreigner. We alone decide what Poland 'should be' .
Cool video! Thanks for your honest opinion, constructive criticism always in price.
I'm glad you visited Warsaw! It's awesome
in Poland there is often popular saying among siblings: "only I can beat my brother", and i belive that casts broader into all areas.
In general, if you're "inside the circe", you may be nagative about the circle, but if you're outside, better stay put
I live in Poland (born here) and I really enjoy your videos. You put not only positive things but cons as well. I guess this is the Slavic nature (soul) - we cannot be fully happy ;)
But what I want to emphasize is you get (pick up) these small things while living in Poland for only a year. Your a good observer - at least this is what I think of you.
Yeah, we don't like when someone criticizes, but your videos were not criticism (at least in my perception) - these were observations on where to improve. And that is something we need - a fresh point of view from someone outside of our bubble.
Post office - never use it. Use InPost app - you can send and receive with it.
Other things I agree - more trains to smaller cities, etc. After all, these are individual opinions, you are not protesting on the streets and burning cars to have it ;)
Racism - also agree. Once you don't expect anyone to handle your stuff and pay for you, we are fine. Or even happy to have you in Poland. But if you come to rest and wait - that is no-no in Poland. You take care of your own shit. Of course, there are some Poles who do the same, but it is margin... And those people are also being pointed as a "lazy ones".
German here, the music in Europe (especially Central Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Czech) etc. is much better than the now relatively limited US music scene (e.g. .in NY where you get now mostly just mostly primitive Hiphop/Reggaeton/Latino like stuff - and just very reduced other options. It sounds partly like being in a cheap monothematic third world country. Very reduced diversity and thats a MINUS - especially if it is not the most evolved music. Poland (like every higher culture) still appreciate a lot more classical music, jazz, traditional,. rock/pop/metal and electronic Music which is by far a better music mixture. Its like with fashion or food etc. - Europe has still a better style (the US has other advantages but the music (and actually also party) scene is partly really horrible. and the US was most of the time one of the best!). And yep, 4 season climate is the best! (by fact btw... its the most prosperous climate zone, its the most interesting due to the change of the reality/cultural behavior (people who never experience a golden autumn are simply missing something in life, same is true for a snow atmosphere in combination with for instance Christkindl Markets or other things - its a different atmosphere. And lets face it, the summer in Central Europe are more comfy than the 'too hot weather) is not really comfy - more ideological better. Life between AC room and beach/palms is also one of the most boring/static settings (which are great for temporary fun but living there for long? => low culture!)
Yeah, I also love the fact that we have 4 seasons here. I adore the momentum of change within my internal mood. I'm a little bit shocked that somebody has been telling you that you are not pushing yourself more regarding polish language. Overall I can tell you did nice balanced analysis. Thanks!
Wes. You should visit Toruń. You will like it. I was there recently and it's really nice for 1-2 days trip.
Good luck. Hope you stay longer than in Colombia.
1. Ok, weird take. The part about they just poles just scolding you to just study harder? I think it is just the way many of us try to motivate others, the idea is, for you to get angry and actually prove that you are able to do better. Since we are pretty contrarian, we just love to prove others wrong. I think it is coming from that, but who knows.
2. Complaining for us is like talking to a therapist in USA (I think?). We just unload stress this way. Sure, not much get done this way, but its a way to selfregulate.
3. Our weather is moody AF. That being said, would it be boring if you just had the same weather every day? Or if you could trust forecast? Our weather is a pole too, moody and chaotic, and spiteful.
I love this video! I feel like all your observations are truly on point!
As a polish immigrant living in Scandinavia and before in the UK I can tell that poles have to face a lot of nasty bias and stereotypes from westerners. I had a period when I stopped responding to question ' where are you from', because I was tired of what comes with my answer :\ So in my case that's what makes me furious when a foreigner dares to say something bad about Poland 😅 However you're right with everything! Hope you'll still enjoy polish adventure, thanks for sharing!
9:52 you were riding through Opole, my hometown, stop by sometime! Can see all interesting things in like 3 hours, but still it's quite nice here!
Have you ever been in Zakopane or Bieszczady or Mazury?
As a Pole, I think you are doing a great job speaking honestly about the pros and cons of this country...I really respect that! Most channels only speak positively about their experiences in this country... but I think they do it because it is easier to get subscribers.... you noticed perfectly that a Pole has the right to complain about his country but when a visitor does it, they get angry 🎯 so true and quite funny... This is a results from our history which made us feel like an inferior nation but when a foreigner attacks this nationality in some way, Poles automatically can change and stand thogheder in defense of their blood... it is beautiful because not many countries have this feature these days... Being honest, you can gain here true friends for years! All the best 👊
Thank you for your honest opinion. Don't worry about the backlash. As you said, we love to complain, so the backlashers just complain about you complaining. A normal thing :D
As far as music, our Rock was always awesome. From the sixties through to today, with the early eighties being the best time for Rock in Poland.
100% I was quite disappointed he did not mention that. We had fantastic rock scene back in the day!
Thank You for this balanced yet very positive view on Poland and polish people - it’s actually Interesting to hear all these opinions and see our country from the outside 😊🫶
nothing will escape your attention. I'm glad you see that today's attitude of Poles has its roots in the national trauma that still persists. We still do not feel safe and are afraid that we will lose our country, as has happened several times in history.
I was curious about your negative impressions but it wasn't as bad as I feared. I'm glad that you live here quite well. I hope it only gets better 💪
Good video Wes.
Your observations are spot on :)
Deep and fair observations.
If you’d like to perform in Kraków check out places like Harris Piano Jazz Bar, they do a lot of jam sessions themed in variety of musical styles, arranging a gig shouldn’t be a problem either.
Please come to Poznań on 6-8th December. We will have an ice sculpture competition on the main square! 🙂
As Pole thank you for this movie aaand have a nice stay ;)
hey!
theres a very cool polish song that i think you should listen to:
its called "letter to tsar" (english name
and the polish name is "list do cara"
I was born and raised in Kraków but i had to move after 25 years to Belgium for better live
Now i will be there for Christmas and, will stay for 3 weeks
Since i subscribed to you, I will now always look around on the streets for you to say Hi.
You are most welcome bro, never use post, we all use cheap private 2-day parcel deliveries. All the best
As someone born and raised in Katowice but also lived for a while in Krakow and Warsaw you will see that Silesian area is completely different - you can see industrial past everywhere
btw. nice to see you making a freudian slip at 14:52 and saying "WE" 😁
I like how you talk about good and bad stuff and also about things we dont realize we do and that foreigners would appreciate. Maybe videos like this make our inferiority complex smaller
Agree with everything you said. Especially bit about chip on our shoulder, i see that on myself often...
I'm having a great time watching your channel.
Poznań is a beautiful city with a rich history, so we invite you 🇵🇱
So, about the Polish post. You just don't use it. No one uses it. Just go with private ones like inpost. And use parcel boxes. Those are almost instant.
Poland is our family, we can say bad things about them, others can't
Don't worry about polish being hard, even some polish people still struggle with it. The best way to learn language is comprehensible input. That's how I've learned English quite well, at least I think so. The way they teach you in school about anything here is they try to teach you how to drive by forcing you to learn how to assemble a car including how to manufacture its parts. That's why many Polish people speak like they are assembling a sentence word by word.
You cannot know Poland without knowing eastern Poland: Rzeszow, Lublin, Bialystok, Olsztyn and their surrounding regions. It seems like you visited places where most foreigners go. But you should leave your comfort zone and ever dig deeper. Many small towns are very atmospheric.
To ciekawe co piszesz. Dlaczego uważasz, że akurat ten region jest tak istotny by poznać Polskę?
@@kumarro11 Ponieważ życie tam znacznie różni się od tego w Warszawie czy Krakowie - zwłaszcza jeżeli ktoś zna tylko środowisko korporacyjno-biurowe w dużym mieście, to jest niejako zamknięty w bańce i nie wie jak reszta kraju wygląda.
@@postanimus8989 Masz rację, ale to samo mogę napisać np. o Pomorzu. Co z np. Śląskiem, różnymi pasmami górskimi w Polsce i jej pozostałymi regionami? Każdy region jest na swój sposób orginalny i wyjątkowy. Za to kocham nasz kraj ❤️ Rozumiem, że dla kogoś wschód Polski może być najpiękniejszy, ale nie rozumiem czemu to on akurat miałby być wyznacznikiem poznania naszego kraju. To tylko, albo i aż kolejne z jego oblicz. Swoją drogą muszę kiedyś również osobiście odwiedzić rejony o których mowa. Słyszałem od znajomych wiele pozytywnych opinii 😊
@@kumarro11 Chodziło mi raczej o to, żeby odwiedzić również mniejsze miasta, niekoniecznie od razu na wschodzie Polski.
@@postanimus8989 Na pewno ludzie w mniejszych miejscowościach są znacznie inni, a to w dużej mierze oni tworza klimat tych miejsc
My comment is going to ruffle some feathers here but as a Pole, I have no problem admitting that I don't find the Polish language particularly beautiful. And I think it's stupidly and unnecessarily difficult. Even for Polish people. There, I said it. 😉
With that being said, I take great pride in my country, culture and traditions. And I find it amazing when a foreigner learns Polish. Many Poles (especially from the country side) struggle with the correct pronouncation of Polish and get mocked for it. 😒So any attempt of learning Polish by a foreigner should be respected and encouraged.
Nooooo! This is so untrue! It IS extremly difficult language! Anyone telling you otherwise is a liar, are you sure they weren't trying to mock you? Love your content, Wes! Thank you! ❤
0:56 KRAKÓW SPOTTED ‼️‼️‼️
i know that EXACT spot you showed
hey, complain is our love language. 😜 And yeah we have a big problem if someone criticise us because it hits our hearts so badly (we all need therapy 😆).
Narzekanie to polski sport narodowy.
It might be just me but your Polish sounds great, not sure what others are on tbh. When it comes to new stuff, make sure to check out Quebonafide = Futurama 3 , especially its music video :) Keep up the good work
About the criticism, you're spot on. We all love complaining about our country to the point it could be our national sport, but some people seem to be mad about foreigners doing same. However, here in Katowice we've got a lot of immigrants working in the IT industry and we all love and respect them. Hopefully old folks don't bother them too much because younger generations are thankfully not racist (nor religious)
Weather is terrible though. I loved my time in SoCal and I absolutely hate november-feb here
Duuuh, why would anyone tell you you're not trying hard enough? BS. Your pronunciation is already pretty good for a foreigner, and the fact that you're trying to do this is AWESOME. It's so nice to know there are people like you who respect Polish culture and language and try to find their own way to become a part of it without losing your own identity. Kudos, man!
01:31 "Wydaje mi się, że obecnie istniej przepaść między starszym i młodszym pokoleniem. Większość Polaków, których spotkałem nie jest w ogóle wierząca"- Polecam wyjechać na wieś, odwiedzić polską prowincje a nie tylko miejski klosz.
Dołkadnie!
Wies tez nie wierzy. Chodzi do kościoła dla plotek i z nudów.
@@betelgezaa Prawidłowo. Tam cymesy z całej wioski.
Idealizujesz wieś. Tam się chodzi, żeby somsiad złego słowa nie powiedział.
Tylko wieśniak użyje stwierdzenia "miejski klosz", jeśli już mamy sobie ubliżać po miejscu zamieszkania.
Nie polaryzujmy
@@Exorcistt94 Ja jestem po prostu dumny że nie mieszkam w Varsafce ani żadnym innym większym mieście w kraju.
Nie, nie chodzi się tam po to by zadowolić somsiada. Wiem bo jestem ze wsi. Ty nie.
Obraziło cię takie coś jak "klosz"? Eh... pokolenie płatków śniegu jak się za coś weźmie...
9:55 a view from Opole. Small city but it's a "capital" of polish song. In June there is Polish Song Fest (Krajowy Festiwal Polskiej Piosenki). Also there is very nice Old Town, very big park with one of the biggest zoo in Europe.
I like you because I see how you are transforming into a polish person - you are close to be nailing how to complain - and here is the thing that you feel about polish people saying if you dont like you can choose whatever else country... because you complain on wrong stuff :) - this is connected to our attitude and things that we feel. Alll "negative" responses are from people who see your complains to be not "polish" enough :D - remember that you have totally different experience that people who live here - this makes who you are - we are here because we didn't give a f**k about forces that tried to change us... if you are true to yourself we will not try to change you - but if you will try to change us... it's better to change the place :)
Fun fact: Record in smalest distance between two żabkas is 17m (55ft 9") they are literaly across the street
Thanks for kind words about Poland and you are right - we are welcoming foreigners as long as they respect our values and rules, but when not, we are getting angry. As for girls, kind of disagree, that’s pretty normal here that girls do like talking with english speaking foreigners and a lot of them even prefer them more than polish men. Why? Can’t be sure but I’m guessing.
As far as Polish language it is extremely difficult and it takes about 14 years to learn it fluently, grammar and all. I read somewhere that Polish is second hardest language to learn for an English speaking person. Don’t ask me which language is the hardest. So don’t worry about having a hard time.
2:00 completly agree
Poland is "okeyish" country if you earn in our currency.
But if you get paid in euro/dollars you will live very comfortable
Having moved to Poland from Finland, the most common reaction from Poles is "...but why?".
If I say I really have enjoyed my time in Poland, people start looking for exits, and checking if I'm perhaps dangerous.
9:30 thats 1000% true lmao xD
Do you have to renew your residency visa each year or does it last for ten years? Maybe you have a student visa for a course? In the U.K. we are now only allowed 90 days in any 180!
I spent about 10 years in Poland and went to high school there. I left in 2004 when I just graduated and they had 24% unemployment. Andrzej Lepper was the most based politician and they whacked him for telling the truth. Basically after communism fell the entire country was sold to unscrupulous foreign corporations who asset-extracted communal farms and sovereignty was lost to a bunch of bureaucrats in another country. It's good to see that despite 'eurokomuna' they are doing well. I would return if there would be decent jobs there.
If a package goes for two weeks you have to make postal claim or call them to find the package. Then it will immediately move.
That is correct, we are traumatized because our neighbour countries attacked us for no reason many times, and tried to perish our existence & culture. We lost so much heritage that we are paranoid when someone critiques what's left.
Yet, I greatly appreciate the good and the bad that you speak off. :)
I'm pretty sure that regarding the train situation, there are plans to expand the railways or at least improve the train fleet
Very nice video, and very true
But, now I need to know your picks for a good vietnamese restaurants in krakow
Hello bro check "Dawid Podsiadło i Artur Rojek - Długość dźwięku samotności (Chorzów, 25.06.2022)"