5 Things That Drive Me Crazy in Poland! 

Wkoncu po tylu latach, dowiedzialem sie jak wyjmowac serwetke hehe, pozdro

Complaining is national sport! Polish people love to complain about everything !! You become: One of us! One of us! One of us! One of us!

Honestly, I find your channel so refreshing. I'm not Polish, I'm Hungarian but we have basicly the exact same things going for and against us. Maybe that's why we get along so well.

47-year-old polish woman. I had no idea how to take a napkin!!! thanks!!!!

Only five? You're not Polish yet...

Lack of coins is like a meme here.

I am Polish, living in Finland and if you want to see winters that are long and hard you better come to Finland. ;) Poland is like an island in the Carribean when compared to Finland. And about the questions you get asked - that’s probably asked by people who never lived abroad, maybe even never went abroad. I would absolutely prefer to live in Poland but for now I have job here. Looking forward to coming back to Poland. I have my family, friends and my flat there, and hey I miss Poland everyday. Everything seems to be less complicated at home. For example healthcare - cheap and easily available - don’t get fooled by anybody saying that Nordic countries are the best places to live, all the perks are only available to people born in there or those who obtain citizenship (and that’s a lot of time and work). As an EU citizen working here I am just a taxpayer for them. I actually know more foreigners satisfied with living in Poland than those who are happy living in Finland. As for the napkins - they are actually very good in absorbing fat but I understand where you’re coming from :) Thanks for speaking kindly of my country, I am glad you like it in here :)

I've lived in Poland my entire life (i.e. almost 25 years) and those napkins still piss me off 😂

You hit the jackpot with that last one. We can't help this mentality especially when Poland struggled so much to gain independence. You know what the Iron Curtain was right? Every western country had a chance to develop economically but us. If we had a chance to get something western it was like touching God's feet. So even long after the Curtain fell, we still think that everything that's western is better. The word "zachodni" still equals "better" in Poland.

I know your pain, I'm polish cab driver live in UK for 12 years and people still ask me the same 3 questions . 1) where are you from? , 2) how long you're here? , 3) do you like it? there was a time when i want to stick a note in back seat of my car with 3 answers written on it

The napkin thing was the best. I never realized our napkins are so hilarious :)

I wouldn't say that polish people hate their country but they follow that famous sentence that grass appears greener wherever you are not.

You didn't mention the everpresent "Can I owe you 1 grosz?" said by a shop assistant - instead of giving you change ;)

You hit the nail on the head with the last thing you said in the video. I'm Polish-American and I moved to Poland to teach/tutor English, my living standards are objectively higher here than they were in America, yet people keep asking me WHY I moved. Like seriously? America isn't a utopia. I love America, but here my pay is decent, my cost-of-living is very low, I can get in the tram at night (which we don't even have in 99% of America) and I don't have to worry about being attacked by robbers or have weird homeless-looking guys offer to sell me hard drugs.

Lived in Poland for 12 years. When you mentioned the word napkin for the first time I started to laugh. I knew what was coming.

I lived in Poland for many years and whats frustrates me the most is how incompetent drivers are, how rude and unrespectful some are for other people. parking on sidewalks,drive past whole lines of queues just to be first, trying to be "sheriffs", meaning stopping people from using merging lines.etcetcetc just crazy.

About that annoying things in Poland, You are absolutely right. They are annoying to everyone living in Poland to. But some of those examples need an explanation. 1. Body distance - it depends who you meet. As you said younger people keep their distance. 2. People are always late - that's just not true. Problem with your students its because they paying for your lectures. Reason for that is they think i paid for that so i have a right to be late. People did not feel that obligation like in a school or university. 3. Money is a problem not a sizes. There is not enough of that smaller coins because they are just too expensive to make and National Bank did not make them enough. 4. And last one thing that need explanation. Average Pole is a very insecure. It's because of we tend to think about ourselves as a poor nation that everyone laughs and that we are always losing and noone is respect us. That's why you get this stupid question why you live in Poland. Its because horrors of world war and 50 years of communism killed spirit of this nation.

I laughed so hard, because all of it is true. I am Polish ,love Poland and to answer you question ,why do polish people ask "why you are here",is because,we like to hear, " I love our country."

The last thing you talked about is so important, thank you for saying this. We need to hear it many times before we change our mentality. Some people say the communism in Poland is not completely over, because it lives in our hearts and the inferiority thinking is passed on to new generations. I didn't realise the napkins are a typical Polish thing, they drive me crazy too, I just never thought about it, just assumed it's supposed to be this way for some reason. So odd to learn a new thing about an every day item.

I'm native polish and you saved my life with that napkins thank you so much

I think that British pounds are harder to get used to than polish zlotys.

I am laughing my socks off with nearly every episode! It is fascinating to see my country through foreigner's eyes :D

thanks for video !

Good job! Thank you.

lol Language school is not same thing as job interview, work place or collage classes. I lived in UK and Denmark and has an impression that compared to English and Danish we in Poles are punctual.

If you are still having problem witch polish coins look at the rims... 2 grosze have a flat one, and 1 grosz have some kind of a pattern. It helps me to distinguish them, especially when they're in my pocket and I don't see them.

Great video! Cheers

Man! That is an excellent job! Thanks for your observations.

I live in Poland 44 years and i still have a problem with napkins. :D

Dzięki za ostatnie pytanie, to jest chyba najważniejsze pytanie, które powinni sobie przemyśleć. Wszystkiego dobrego w PL @LoveMyPoland!

Oh my god, that was sooo funny! 😂I agree with most of it.. Love that video! 👍

Could not agree more about all the crazy things you mentioned. Great video like always.

He's complaining he's polish nearly 😂😂

We are so used to our coins I don't we ever struggle with it but I totally understand you. I travelled over 50 different countries and each time I use the new currency I'm totally lost. Also I moved to Poland after 10 years of living in Asia and that body distance thing drives me crazy sometimes! :)) I have a feeling they line up close to you cause they think the line will move faster? ;)

Super blog. Congratulations!

Great observations, I agree with everything

I think you've made some pretty valid points. And I don't like the lack of personal space as well. When I'm in line in a supermarket I just have my cart behind me, so I can maintain some distance and I keep a little further from the person behind me. But I agree, the older generation tends to creep really close.

you have a master's degree in business... but what you really need is a master's degree in napkins

Great job! Thank you bro!

You good man. You say about the problems,that not everybody wanna talk. Good to hear your channel. Best luck with it. Thanks for it.

Hahaa ale gosciu nas rozpracowuje:) fajnie sie zasymilował, good luck man!

exact change is polish speciality. I havent seen such phenomenon anywhere in the world. just Poland. And polish shops abroad hahahaha regarding "why are you here" question - I believe we, Poles, are hungry for praise. This is why all you have to do on youtube is to make a video about Poland - thousands of views guaranteed.

Thanks, nice thinking.

Top man! Subscribed

i think polish ppl are nervous about being on time(more than spanish or italian) it's just university rule of 15min ;)

hey me and my friend were in the background, by the way great video, iwas the one in yellow shirt on the red bike :D

Good video as always cheers)

Thank you for all notes about us Poles and about living here . I took to heart everything what u were saying :)

"winters are long and hard" HAH! Whilst I look out the window at mounds of snow in Quebec.

Yes Polish don't appreciate own country ---- !!! It is so beautiful .

I loved the video bruh!! ❤️😇🤝🍺🍺 I second you in all of the above ✌️

oh the napkins! Too funny and so true! Thanks for showing me how to actually take them out!

Today is my first time I found your channel and watched some of the videos. I generally like it, but I dont really agree with the last statement here. You need to understand Poland and polish people more to understand these questions they ask you. Imagine living in Poland in 1980. There was nothing here. Absolutely nothing. If you wanted to eat meat you had to stay in a queue for 8hours and it still wasnt certain that you get some. Many children never seen a banana back then. Comunism is really the worst thing that can happen to a country. Yet same time we could know how life looked like in western countries including Usa. We had access ( but only to see, not to experience) to us music for example, papers, news, icons like Mcdonalds, coca-cola or jeans. And man, mcdonalds was a wet dream of many people back then. When first mcdonalds was opened in Warsaw people were driving there from the opposite side of the country just to experience this. If someone had jeans in 1970 it meant he was extremely wealhy and probably paid for them like a monthly wage of an average person. World changed for us in 1989, and even more in 2004,everything was accessable but only for the few and many people are poor even now and still everything what western is better. Wealth is usually build by generations and today is still a moment for Poland when we had no time to build it because of our past. So as a country we are still working on our economic situation to catch up with countries like Germany or Finland. Dont forget that most of the people here will never see America themselves because od the prices and that their knowledge is based on what they saw in movies. And in movies America is beautiful, wealthy, its a country where everyone owes big house in the suburbs, drives a jeep, goes on holidays and has a swimming pool in their garden. Mamy poles live an american dream even now after all this years because the generation which survived communism is still alive and gave away this mentality to its children. And look, you are successful here, you had some backup to start a business and for you life is great, but let me remind you that average salary in Poland is something around 3000zl and over 30% works for less than 2000zl. People like this just dream to be born somewhere else because lets be honest America gives more opporrunities than Poland. So yes, please try to understand those questions more :)

There are also 200 and 500zł bills

5th point absolutely brilliant !!! Thx

4:42 This is a good point about shops not keeping enough change. This was a constant problem in my parent's time in the 70s/80s, and when I visited Poland in 2009, several times the shop didn't have the required change and gave me extra. I have never had this problem in Australia. Why is it so hard in Poland? I guess this issue may disappear now that Paywave/Paypass is faster and much easier than using notes and coins, but the problem with change has been an issue in Poland for many decades.

Its not touching the nerve, its funny, the napkin case is hilarious and you are right. Dont be afraid of thumbs down when complaining about Poland, in here it is just everyone everyday activity.

I explain the problem with coins. In 1995 there was new denomination of polish currency. The problem is that that time they went to far and they "cut too many "zeros". I mean they changed 10.000 polish zloty that time to 1 zloty. They should have done that 1.000 złoty to 1 złoty. This was because they had prediction that inflation in Poland in next years will be high and small amounts on money (paid in coins) will be soon pushed out from market because many goods will be more expensive so small amounts of money (below 10 złoty) will not be in use. But the inflation wasn't so high as they predicted (Leszek Balcerowicz - master of economy). So we stayed with so many coins in turnover. Coins are generally more expensive in production than paper money. So this is why this problem is so common.

I feel you with those napkins, haaaate how they put it in the holder...

You nailed it there....especially the serviettes/napkins!!

WHEN YOU CAN SMELL THE KIELBASA ON THEIR BREATH THEY ARE TOO CLOSE

7:26 that guy on a bike xd

I am Polish from Canada .thank you for being so honest and remind me about my background .it is not easy but you are doing great!!!

As a very regular visitor to Poland, you are 100% correct about the coins! The amount of times I have been to a supermarket or Zabka and get asked for maybe 28 Groze, and checking each and every coin with people huffing and puffing in the queue behind you. I find it easier to say "no, sorry" and take the scowl from the cashier. I have been known to hide in the corner, and pre count out the exact money before lining up to pay.

proponował bym również dodać zwyczaj gapienia sie na innych

In Poland, they have what is called the Academic Quarter which equals 15 minutes, or a quarter hour. Students AND teachers are allowed up to 15 minutes of tardiness before any one can leave a class. In other words, if teacher is more than 15 minutes late, then ... students can just BAIL! Some thing with students -- If they are over 15 minutes late, then teacher can, and will, leave the classroom, and no one will think much of it.

07:45 Very important words. Thank you! :)

as a Pole, I have to admit that the body distance rule in shoping center is the greatest "tradition" in the UK - it's really nice when people in the queue wait until you are done and then step forward :)

30 seconds into, there is the first problem. You're in Czestochowa...

I live in Ireland. I always try to convince Irish people to come and visit Poland 🤗 They usually go to Spain because there is more sunny days annually and you can buy all inclusive very cheap but Poland is a little bit underrated gem in Europe. Thanks to open borders it has changed a lot in last 10 years.

That was gooooooooood!!!

Love Your videos! I live in Canada for the last 35 years and some things about Poland you mentioned make me laugh because they are so accurate 😂😂😂

I'm polish but I agree to this 💯

It's so true about problem with body distans in Poland! (I'm from Poland)

Twoje filmy są super!

I am new to your channel but its great thank you

When people ask me why the hell I live in Poland (especially in what they regard as the butt end of Poland...I'll get back to that) is that I love off Roading, I have two Jeeps (real one's Wranglers) and a couple of Ex Military trucks and this part of Poland is covered in lanes and tracks, whereas in Uk being so crowded it is very hard to find good offroading......back to Podkarpacie.......I have a small inkling why the people here hate their own part of Poland....many are farmers and remember as children how hard it was, under communism and probably very overbearing parents, probably why they waste no time trashing the place by 'fly tipping' everywhere.......nobody believes me when I tell them that people in UK would pay money to come and see the beauty contained in a 'wawus' ?? I am lucky to have one on my land........deer use them as little safe havens and bridges between one forest and another.

To Russell dlaczego jesteś w Polsce? A w szczególności w Częstochowie? 😀

very true! Ad.5 it is changing! but we still remember being on the wrong side of iron curtain I hate napkins passionately for my whole life!

Super thumb up! For the last point mostly, but for honest also.

I really wish to have only problems like that in my life lol

For some reason no Polish person gets their coins mixed up. It's completely natural.

Good job man !!! Keep going .

Very honest and straight to the point! It is all undeniable truth!

you know I never would of thought of it being a insult to be asked why you're living in another country for either person but I can kinda see how it can be a insult

Nigdy chyba nie zrozumiem tego "a 7 groszy będzie?" W UK ZAWSZE mają drobne więc chyba się da...

Appreciate the honesty. That counts :)

Awsome video :D

Oh Man let me tell you about British coins 😂

the napkin thing made me giggle :D you also forgot to mention they're absolutely useless xD

OMG, I laughed soooo hard when you talked about napkins. 😂

Well done! I just arrived last December and I am learning...slowly! Hahaha

What is better in living in America...? ... You can wear Your signet ring .... white socks .. and tip hairdresser... !

As a Pole in US I can say exactly same thing about US money, so confusing I don't want to use them.

Well I love my country and I ain't planning on living anywhere else for good, but the last one I may have been guilty of, so this actually has been eye-opening. Thank you.

The last one was absolutely true. I told my Babcia that if I’m rich I’ll buy a house in Poland. And she ask me what I’m going to do in Poland, like there’s nothing to do.

Don't worry about the little coins Russel. Hyperinflation is coming and it's going to fix that for ya. Also the social distancing situation has improved recently.

"whats better in living in america?" Well, in america there is lower poverty levels, lower taxes, tou can own a gun without going trough that much of a hassle as in poland (except for old timey black powder guns, you can get them like candies in poland lol), more options and opportunities to grow and at least there I personaly would not have to starve just so my little brother could eat something...

I am listening to this video again, and cannot think of WHY or HOW anyone could NOT like what you post, and/or not learn something from your lovely videos. I almost cried when you pleaded with people not to give this a thumbs-down. You are so sweet, or you seem to be, so ....

You did a perfect job of describing your dislikes of Poland. That was really great! Ja jestem Polska, but I live in the US. I truly enjoy watching your videos, they really inspire me to move to Poland!