I'm a Pole living in the USA. Poles are not nice but friendly, Americans are nice but not friendly. I like friendly people - being nice is cheap and easy.
it's true that many Poles are helpful and friendly, but there are also those who you can't convince that they are wrong because they are stubborn as donkeys, petty and envious, they consider their ignorance, lack of knowledge and stupidity as a virtue and they are masters of irrelevance throwing red herrings into discussion see some comments here
They greeted you with kindness, that is great. But was it genuine or part of required proper conduct? Necessary condition to get and keep work, as rulled by union? Yep, you will not experience this in Poland. Being genuine and straight is valued in Poland. Superficial, verbal nicety is characteristic for the British and related cultures.
The second point you made is something I actually call the "appreciation culture". Simply making sure that every employee feels comfortable, and that his effort does not come unnoticed. I worked both for foreign, as well as Polish companies, and in my opinion this is something that we still need to work on in Poland. It has something to do with the right communication I guess, but it's probably much more than that.
You are my favered Jew, together wirth M. Schudrich. You'r correct.. The Poles will not go out of their way to make You feel good or "inclusiv". They are regarding You as equal, no one will disrespect You by patronising behavior. Being honest and direct is expected and a value. Pretending and being overly nice is insulting. On a businest trip in Germany, in a "situation" I said that I will step in. They were supprised that I did, and I was supprised that they were suprised. YOU MEAN what You say. Cultural diferance.
@@marek7641 Living in Toronto for instance you have little chance to walk in the forest in fact you must be really lucky to have a tree in your front yard. I had two trees when I was living there, one in front, one in the back yard and a patch of grass. There is a lot of asphalt and you have to drive for a while to see a forest - I say see because it probably belongs to somebody so you cannot walk in the forest anyway. In fact to see anything different than empty flat terrain you must drive from Toronto to BC there you going to see a difference in landscape. This is one boring, flat country site ...in fact most boring country for me. In comparison to Poland - considering both beauty and variety, Canada is a wasteland.
Canadians have very good functioning marketing abroad. Whoever never went there will never know what is true what a lie. The way canada presents itself is this developed country economically and socially in reality this is a third world excluding the skyscrappers. There is hate towards people not born in Canada, there is poverty Bangladesh style, there is crime NY style, and there is ignorance uncomparable with any place on this planet. There are priviledge groups who can do anything and there are those slaves who on the outside have the same rights but in reality they are denied everything but under the table sort of nobody knows way...Nobody knows under the table way is the way in this country so the bs group welcoming never impressed me for I knew there will be back stubbing right after with a smile of course and a polite 'thank you,'
Respect for people and proper conduct are great but I am uneasy about the methods. Do people really have to be bound by detailed regulations, closely watched, continuously reeducated, belong to proper organization, etc.? Are people really inherently evil and need to be forcefully restrained or bad things are going to happen? Scary.
the policy of compulsory niceness is a double edged-sword when good manners have become a thing of the past; today Shakespeare becomes offensive and problematic to many and friendly/good-natured/light-hearted banter has been banned; sad to say, but Michael's great sarcastic sense of humor is already falling victim to this policy - the strike by RU-vid; Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
I had the same feeling when I visited Warsaw after being away for about a decade in the 90s. I couldn't recognize the city I used to live in! Now the changes are still going on, but they are more incremental, and I do visit more often.
Is it real niceness or fake virtue signalling? Like would people actually help you if you needed them? People in Poland are harsh, but because of their seriousness they will actually help you and follow through not just smile and say 'Yes yes im gonna help you'.
I remember my culture shock when I first came to Canada from Poland after I married a Canadian. I was 8 months pregnant and driving in a car with my husband when our car broke down in the middle of the street and we began pushing it for it to restart. Several men were sitting on a bench watching us. None came to help. If it were Poland, they would ask me to step aside and helped my husband. That is what I was used to. My Dad often stopped to help total strangers. In Canada, there is a lot of surface politeness, but very few people willing to step up when someone really needs help.
What do we want? Do you want me to put my words into your mouth, Michael? I really value your individual perspective and honesty. It can be somewhat and probably is naturally biased since how can be otherwise for all us human beings? I appreciate politeness and consider it a virtue but that genuine one and much less that one legislated and forced upon the people. Smiley and sweet on the face and seething with resentment inside.
ive seen videos from ukrainians who immigrated to canada thinking it would be an improvement on their quality of life, only to quickly become unhappy there - late-stage capitalism, cost of living vs the living conditions (either car-dependant suburbs or crowded cities), visible homelessness, drug use, etc. canada is somewhat similar to the midwest usa... and in the usa, i do not miss being yelled at almost every single time (!!!!!) i go outside with my partner, by teens or men of his ethnicity saying profane or inappropriate things to us. gross behavior. to avoid this, i would have to move to an upscale area without any tweakers or hooligans, which is hard to do in the chicagoland area unless you move to an upper-class suburb lol, way too expensive. i do not miss regularly being catcalled, and approached by weird men or tweakers, who will not leave you alone because clearly something is wrong with their heads. i do not miss the CTA riders who regularly make the journey uncomfortable or unsafe for everyone: the men who publicly masturbate, the people who rant and rave and yell to themselves and others for no reason, the men who urinate or defecate in public areas or even in the train cars, the random acts of violence, like shooting threats or stabbings or fights. i do not miss the constant subconscious worry of losing the life of someone i love, or my own life, at any school or large public gathering because mass shootings happen way too often here. i do not miss the real-life obsession with people's demographics, "informed" by racial stereotypes and social media memes. i do not miss the work culture, where shareholder's profits take precedent over human rights, and we are made to feel guilty for being sick, or god forbid wanting to take a vacation. i do not miss the constant threat of losing my entire life savings and home due to a medical emergency. i do not miss dealing with upper class "boomers" who think they are the center of the universe and take out all their problems on the people serving them. i do not miss the attitude that america is #1, and americans are right about everything in the world, despite being pretty ignorant about.. most things. i do not miss most city neighborhoods becoming gentrified and turning into a monoculture of upper-class young adults from suburbia, with prices to match. the main thing america and canada have going for them is money. also cigarettes smell, but in poland i smell them rarely - id say i smell weed here a bit more often, but weed is also bad for the lungs and smells worse. vapes, which are more popular in canada and the usa, are also bad for the health, but have not had enough studies on them yet. but at least they dont smell... and i rarely saw people with bike helmets in america lol
actually the more i think..... i dont miss the food culture in america, where eating fast food is a regular occurance. i do not miss much of the food in stores being heavily processed and poor quality. i do not miss the culture where we are encouraged to become unhealthy so we later have to seek out expensive healthcare and medication to "fix" our problems. i do not miss brands and corporations dominating every aspect of life. i also do not miss the american political culture, which is much more degenerate than even the polish version, at times even becoming violent.
Change of perspective is very important! That was really interesting. I wonder what further reflection s could be. Fir example - this greeting felt kind but was it necessary really or not? Or maybe if these were just words or real care and delivering this promise? You know, one step deeper than just observation! Even though these observations sre incredibly interesting themselves. Are those rules excessive and problematic or common sense and like people should behave normally?
@@lukerygielski628 Dokładnie. Ale też nie mam odwagi wyjechać choć zawsze chciałam pozwiedzać świat. Ale lubię nasz kraj więc nie płacze za przygodami. Choć ciekawość zawsze zostaje.
Jezeli planujesz zabrac ze soba dobrych kilka milionow dolarow do Kanady, to mozesz byc zadowolony/ zadowolona. Nie licz natomiast na distatnie zycie z pracy, ktora jest na ogol ciezko dostac nie majac tzw Canadian experience i bedzie ciezko opodatkowana. Ciezko pracujacych z tej pracy dochodem ciezko bowiem sie tutaj doswiadcza podatkami. Z tych milionow kupisz jakas skromna chalupe i mozesz zyc jakis czas z tego kapitalu nie placac od niego poza odsetkami zadnych podatkow. Nie licz na szybka medycyne a moze i nie bedziesz miala dostepu do zwyklego lekarza rodzinnego calymi latami, tak wiec warto tez miec pare groszy na prywatnego lekarza czy zabieg w USA. W miedzyczasie mozesz sie raczyc widokami, ktore sa rzeczywiscie piekne. Jak sie forsa skonczy, to wrocisz do Polski, czy EU. W sumie proste.
Certainly Canada is part of the English culture that is well known for its verbal and behavioral respect for other people. Although this is largely unnoticed by those born and raised in the UK, Canada, USA, Australia. Most European countries (except maybe France and Benelux) are not as sensitive to feelings. The hard European culture is in fact: you are sensitive = you are not mentally mature, so shut up... or something like that. Yeah... on the flip side you will never get the true answer in anglosphere unless you are good in reading peoples' minds.
Abuse of power and bullying are rife in Poland, and the arts are not excluded. There's also an unhealthy reverence credited to so called "great artists", who seem to be allowed to get away with a lot more. Luckily more people are now speaking out. I know which stories you're referring to. Way to go Canada. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, have a good time and a great show. ❤🎉
the policy of compulsory niceness as an antidote to abuse of power and bullying is a double edged-sword when good manners have become a thing of the past
Compulsory niceness may be the way to restore civility and kindness, when bullying and abuse become normalised or even promoted and good manners become a thing of the past (in commerce, politics, or in the arts, all the same)
@@mayaniebieska8425 there is no dispute bullying and abuse should be called out, cracked down on and ridiculed but ''compulsory niceness'' is a slippery slope; sad to say, but Michael's great sarcastic sense of humor, regarded as ''problematic'' by the algorithm, is already falling victim to this policy - the strike by RU-vid - so that he will have no alternative but to self-censor his jokes and mince his words to keep the big brother happy; Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is well worth a read.
All I can say for myself, when I go to a public institution, a shop, a clinic, I prefer to see a smiling, empathetic, respectful official, even with a compulsory smile, rather than a resentful, unhappy and aggressive one. A prevailing attitude in Poland (kultura gnojenia). The same goes for doctors in a clinic or hospital, the same goes for a teacher in a school or academia, the same goes for an employer in your office or theatre. Empathy is the key here, and simple human civility. Yes, it may involve a bit of checking with yourself and taking responsibility for how we relate to others.
@@mayaniebieska8425 A true empathy yes. But not that passive aggression masked under artificial politeness. And all those never ending ‘we are so sorry’ in lieu of solid service.
the policy of compulsory niceness is a double edged-sword when good manners have become a thing of the past; today Shakespeare becomes offensive and problematic to many and friendly/good-natured/light-hearted banter has been banned; sad to say, but Michael's great sarcastic sense of humor is already falling victim to this policy - the strike by RU-vid; Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
@@lerubenfeld Yes it is joke. "Canada is so much better than Poland, that Rubenfeld will stay there, so we can only hope that he will visit us for few days." Some poles think we shouldn't make jokes "Everywhere (almost) is better than in Poland", but I don't belong to this grup. And anti-jewish people commenting your video is good reason, why I want make even more jokes about that. Tasteless idiots.
@@wojstube9359 myślę, że to po prostu kwestia przyzwyczajenia. Ja też jak mieszkałem w Polsce to mnie to jakoś nadmiernie nie raziło. Choc czasami tak, np. gdy paniusia w urzędzie traktowała cię jak książe traktował parobka. Ale jak pomieszkałem trochę poza tym "pępkiem świata" to zrozumiałem, że może być inaczej i że nieznajomi ludzie potrafią być uprzejmi, nawet jeśli ta uprzejmość jest tylko powierzchowna a uśmiech nieszczery. Po prostu tutaj dawało się wszystko załatwić bez potrzeby przekupstwa, łapówek i znajomości. I często ludzie pomagali mi bez oczekiwania zapłaty. W Polsce wiele się zmieniło od czasu kiedy stamtąd wyjechałem. W większości na lepsze. Kapitalizm wymusza lepsze traktowanie klienta. Jeśli pani sprzedawczyni będzie dla mnie niemiła to po prostu jutro pójdę do innej piekarni 200 m dalej...
you'd better buck your ideas up and get a grip on yourself; Michael will soon return to Krakow where he belongs and you'd better get to grips with that.
@@Hanna-ig2mu Wyczuwam tutaj sarkazm! Po mojej ostatniej wizycie (przejazdem) w Krakowie, czyli głównie dworce czy lotnisko można by odnieść takie wrażenie.
@@jozefciszewski2074 Są Ukraińcy, którzy twierdzą, że to oni założyli Kraków. Zelensky ostatnio "pokazał" Radosławowi swoją klasę. Dlatego trzeba być ostrożnym.
From your description, Canada to me looks like place from nightmares. Trained overpoliteness, unions dictating grownup people what to do, what say, how to behave, and I suppose there is only one acceptable way of all this. They will spread love around you and they will babysit you to the point it is sickening, they will even walk you home so that you would be safe. The irony is that there is even need for this. Shouldn’t Canada be safe country with all those restrain rules?
It is not very safe to walk at night in Canada, especially for the Jews. There are bunch of random knife attacks, shootings, etc. There are homeless encampments everywhere where people do hard drugs. It is disaster. Be thankful for the safety you have in Poland 🇵🇱.
