I\u2019ve just spent a few weeks in eastern Europe, and it sure was a learning experience! I\u2019ve discovered over the years that people are people most everywhere you go, with the same needs and desires as anyone else. It\u2019s the traditions and history that make the difference. If there is one thing that will turn off people to an American, it is showing up with the idea that \u2018This is the way we do it in America\u2019, as though that answers all questions. A better way is to consider yourself a guest in their house and act accordingly. Works most every time. A few words of the local language helps too. I\u2019m sorta handicapped there, as Polish is judged one of the hardest languages in the world. I can attest to that. They seem to have a shortage of vowels in Poland. They have words with 15 letters and only two or three vowels. How in the heck do you pronounce that. I\u2019m thinking of drilling a well to produce vowels, they obviously have a drought!
\n I was sitting in the dining room of the hotel one morning eating breakfast. Since I was the only one in the dining room, I figured nobody would mind if I found the buttons and tried to watch something on the big screen TV. I dialed around a while, and came up with a John Wayne movie. That\u2019s better, I can deal with that. You haven\u2019t watched John Wayne properly until you\u2019ve watched him dubbed into Polish! Somehow that just takes the \u2019macho\u2019 image to another level. I laughed so hard, the chef came out of the kitchen to see if I was choking!
\n Fortunately, a large number of the Poles speak English, having had it in school. They generally read and write English very well but do not have a lot of practice with spoken English. If you think about it, written and spoken English are 2 different languages. We commonly use slang, and abbreviations that don\u2019t translate well to written languages, and are not taught in school. One example of this: I went down to the bar one night to have a nightcap before bed. As usually happens, several of the staff would come in and ask me questions or get me telling a story so they could hear \u2018spoken\u2019 English. As you probably have guessed by now, it doesn\u2019t take much to get me into story mode\u2026 After a while, one of the staff asked my about something they didn\u2019t learn in English class. He said, \u201cCan you teach us to swear in English?\u201d I tried to explain that I didn\u2019t do much of that myself, but I had heard my brother, Willard, do it\u2026 and the lesson began. THEY TOOK NOTES!, and practiced pronunciation. I\u2019m glad there were no ladies around. I may be the only English tutor in Poland that will get your mouth washed out with soap if you pass the class. Oh, well, just trying to further international relations.<\/p>\n
There is one big difference between most of the eastern European cultures and the United States. When the Allies won WWII, the soldiers came home with the attitude that they could do most anything if they put their minds and backs into it. During the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s we built the largest, strongest, and most successful economy in the world. Then something happened. The parents of the baby boom generation worked their tails off, trying to make a better life for their children. And it work, too. Too well. Now, in America, many people just sit in front of the TV, all fat and happy, playing games and waiting for the government to \u2019give\u2019 them something, with no thought as to where that \u2019something\u2019 comes from, or who had to work to produce it.
\n The attitude in Eastern Europe is totally different. It has been just a few years since the area escaped the socialist boot heel of the Russians. They know what life under socialism is like. That is something we should learn here. If we don\u2019t learn it from history, we\u2019re going to learn it the hard way, and I can tell you it\u2019s no fun. Several people told me that in \u2019the old days\u2019, before freedom, there was usually at least one member of the family who\u2019s full time job it was to stand in line. There were lines for food, clothes, consumer goods, anything. There was a two year waiting list to buy a ratty Russian car. They were worn out junk before they were delivered, but everybody had a \u2019right\u2019 to one. GM or Chrysler anyone? People that truly understand and value economic freedom aren\u2019t afraid to work 12 or 14 hours a day to make a better life, and don\u2019t expect anyone to \u2019bail them out\u2019 if they make a mistake. Very refreshing attitude.<\/p>\n
It was plenty cold for a southern boy. We went 10 days and the temperature never got above 0. My idiot brother, Willard had never seen cold like that so it was new experience for him. \u201cHey, watch this, I can make icicles!\u201d Willard found out about ice fishing and thought that looked like a pretty good idea, except for the trolling\u2026 He bought all the gear and went out on the ice. He started chopping a hole in the ice to fish. A huge voice came from the sky, \u201cThere\u2019s no fish under the ice!\u201d, it said. Willard looked around and moved down the ice and started chopping a new hole. Once again a voice came from the sky and said, \u201cThere\u2019s no fish under the ice!\u201d That spooked Willard pretty badly and he looked up and said, \u201cIs that you , Lord?\u201d The voice came back and said, \u201cNO, I\u2019m the manager of the skating rink.\u201d So much for Willard\u2019s ice fishing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve just spent a few weeks in eastern Europe, and it sure was a learning experience! I\u2019ve discovered over the years that people are people most everywhere you go, with the same needs and desires as anyone else. It\u2019s the … Continue reading