I took a weeks break back home in London and have now returned to Poland, hence my absence.
The first few days back in Poland I am always struck by the marked contrast between England and Poland. The differences? Where do I start! Hold a shop door open for someone in Poland and you will not get a thank you, they will not even look at you. It is bizarre and something I will never get used to. No-one will ever open or hold a door open for you. They is no friendly eye contact on the street, no smiles or gestures except to stare, and people walk right in front of you without the slightest regard that you have to stop short. Western Europeans (and Americans) are very aware of their physical personal boundaries and do not get too close to people in public, but in ex-eastern bloc countries they barge into and on top of each other, push, shove and generally lurge around without grace or regard for others. In Western Europe it is the norm to gently say "excuse me", and then to move forward once the person has kindly cleared the way. In Eastern Europe, it is normal to walk right up to that person and push them before only then giving a very demanding excuse me. Horrible.
On the road in Poland the behaviour is even worse. No-one will let you out or allow you any space, drivers are dangerous and aggressive. If a pedestrian gets in the way, drivers will swerve into them (within inches) and at high speed, horn blaring, just to let the pedestrian know that the driver has in some way been inconvenienced. For some reason, when Poles are in their cars every single second becomes vital. More often than not, they're just driving back to their block to watch mind numbing Polish television. Today I could only look on as a tiny old lady had to leap for her life onto the pavement as one idiot accelerated towards her on the high street as she tottered across the road. She nearly had a stroke on the pavement. How would he feel if that was his grandmother I thought. In British town centres, cars and people weave in between in other with courtesy and consideration. Here, where there are far less people and far less cars, there is no courtesy and no civility.
In my first two hours back here in Lodz I witnessed more swearing, impatience, rudeness and hostility than I had during a whole week in London.
