People who have moved to a different country...

Well how 'bout that? I'm 50% Polish, as my mother is from that country, born and raised. All my family is over there (don't give a shit about that though), but I have NEVER visted. I think I might have to get a plane ticket over there (never even flown on an airplane!) and experience the great things I have heard. The super-catholic/conservative atmosphere might be a negative, but I guess it is give-and-take. Hot Polish girls, traditional towns, and perogies?! Sounds like win.

Can someone explain why they like Americans? Seems bizare :lol:

The Polish tend to be fond of Americans simply because they have long memories. It sounds a bit nationalistic and chest-beating on my part, but it's the truth. I don't know for sure but I'd suspect they're like that with much of the western world. They also love the fact that we drop tons of money everywhere we go...that's probably just as big of a reason why they like us.

Living in Poland as an American would be starkly different from living there as a Pole, as I've been told by my Polish friends there. I went just as they were about to enter the EU so I'm sure things have improved much since then...that was in 2004.

There was a big mafia presence when I was there with all the strip clubs, gambling parlors, etc. It's not out of the woods just yet. The cities are quite modern and nice, and the people are quite friendly. However, venturing outside the metropolitan cities you can still see serious poverty in places, but that's everywhere.

Go see for yourself. You'll enjoy it regardless. Culturally speaking, it's extremely rich and interesting. I've never lived there but was only there for a few weeks, so I'm just giving you my brief impression.

EDIT: One more thing: the people there are a very strong people both physically and mentally. Don't fuck with them. I'm sitting in a pub late at night with friends and one of the drunk locals sees I'm American and wants to speak with me and ask questions. He was a young guy, probably about my age at the time. I'm a pretty big guy and pretty strong, and after we talked for a bit or tried to communicate rather, I told him I had to leave and go back to my hotel. He didn't want me to leave and wanted to still ask questions and talk to me, and when I got up off of my stool to leave, he grabbed me by the arms and lifted me up and put me back on the stool. I let him finish his conversation.

He wasn't hostile or anything, they just have really strong characters.

The vodka is fucking amazing there, too.
 
I SOOO wanna go visit Serbia!! (and the rest of Former Yugoslavia for that matter, especially Croatia)

I think I told you that one of my best friends here, John, married a serbian girl last year right?
I met her entire family and friends who all came to the US for the wedding- GREAT PEOPLE!!

My only concern is... what's up with the out-dated fashion sense that all ladies from that part of the world seem to have in common?
Bad 80's drapes they call dresses, and just very 'old' looking....
No fashion stores in Belgrad or are they all so expensive?

Haha sounds like you ran into a some gypsies. Did you notice any belongings missing shortly thereafter? :p
 
One more thing: the people there are a very strong people both physically and mentally. Don't fuck with them. I'm sitting in a pub late at night with friends and one of the drunk locals sees I'm American and wants to speak with me and ask questions. He was a young guy, probably about my age at the time. I'm a pretty big guy and pretty strong, and after we talked for a bit or tried to communicate rather, I told him I had to leave and go back to my hotel. He didn't want me to leave and wanted to still ask questions and talk to me, and when I got up off of my stool to leave, he grabbed me by the arms and lifted me up and put me back on the stool. I let him finish his conversation.

He wasn't hostile or anything, they just have really strong characters.

The vodka is fucking amazing there, too.

Lol. I'm sure that isn't everyone but that is pretty strange that they are so upright physical.

"I have to leave and go to my hotel. Nice talking to you..."

"NIE! *grabs arm* YOU STAY HERE :mad:"

hahaha
 
Dude, seriously. That's how it was.

He was trying to get his point across that he enjoyed talking to me and didn't want to scare me but was just forceful about it. It was weird.

I guess I'm trying to say that everyone there is very direct, especially the girls. A couple of guys I worked with were there with me and one of them ended up fucking one of the girls tending bar in the hotel. His friend who was rooming with him while we were there wakes up the next morning and he sees his friend get out of bed and head for the shower. Then he sees this girl sit up completely naked in bed, light a cigarette, and sit on the edge of her bed and smoke it. He didn't know what to say so she goes,

"Hey what's up?"

"Not much...have fun last night?"

"Yep. I gotta get dressed now and go downstairs to work."

How do I know it's true? Because I went out with her and her friend a few nights later to go drinking and got plastered and vomited all over each others' shoes. I was the only metalhead in the entire bunch and they saw my Emperor shirt and so we all went to this metal pub and got hammered.

I also sneaked out of the hotel a few days later (military was under curfew) to go see Decapitated, Vader, and another band a few blocks from the hotel. It was awesome.

And that was that. The people are nonchalant about just about everything and very straightforward. I still talk to Anya to this day.
 
The Poles have always been appreciated for their warrior capabilities.

Oh and there natural predisposition to being a worker race.
 
Well, my girlfriend is of polish decent...

But I gotta tell you, over here, they have a very bad rep. If people think about Poles, they have that border-hopping, car-stealing, jawb-taking, bad hygiene stereotype in mind.

It's like... our Mexico. :lol:

There had also been quite an anti-German political movement over there for some years. Basically one generation out of many which reflects their current shortcomings and misery onto centuries of being held down by either of their neighbours.

It's their political polemic, if share of votes are stagnant or declining, they shoot shit against either us or the Russians. Forgetting that they probably wouldn't even had it made into the EU without our support.

Major "sand in the vagina" syndrome. But I think they're in the vast minority among younger people. It's the same as with neo-Nazis over here.
 
Yeah, that comparison would be more fitting but we obviously don't share borders with the Turks. They're more like our Mexicans, you're right. ;)

There's a district in Berlin where so many Turks are living that it's the biggest gathering of Turks outside Turkey. If that district would be a Turkish city, it would be among the biggest cities of Turkey.

That's the biggest difference between Turks and Poles (stereotypically speaking): not religion or cultural background, no. But one will stay (the Turks) and the other just grabs what he can get and gets home (the Poles).

And before I get shit thrown at me: I just reflect common, existing stereotypes. They don't necessarily reflect my opinion. However, as you know, every stereotype is based on some truth... I'll leave it at that. ;)
 
There's a district in Berlin where so many Turks are living that it's the biggest gathering of Turks outside Turkey. If that district would be a Turkish city, it would be among the biggest cities of Turkey.
Wuut? I'm a native Berliner.. I know what you're talking about, but among biggest cities of Turkey?? Where did you read that?
 
Hey, the Turks were essentially imported for cheap labour, now that there is a new generation who are ethnically Turkish but culturally German, they don't want to do all the dirty work.

Oh and they brought awesome food.
 
Wuut? I'm a native Berliner.. I know what you're talking about, but among biggest cities of Turkey?? Where did you read that?

There are roughly 200.000 Turks living in Berlin (hard to estimate the actual number because many aren't registered), so they'd be safely among the top 40, maybe even top 30, of Turkish cities.

... and Turkey has nearly 500 cities with 10.000+ residents.

Where exactly from Berlin are you Steph? I LOVE the city, with all its problems. :)

Hey, the Turks were essentially imported for cheap labour, now that there is a new generation who are ethnically Turkish but culturally German, they don't want to do all the dirty work.

Oh and they brought awesome food.

Kebab has actually grown to be the most popular fast food in Germany. ;)

Yeah, it's sometimes hypocritical when people want them to leave because - as you said - they'd been welcomed with open arms in the first place.

That new generation your speaking of actually causes most problems, because they're not culturally German... sadly, they're lost between cultures.
 
Kebab has actually grown to be the most popular fast food in Germany. ;)

Yeah, it's sometimes hypocritical when people want them to leave because - as you said - they'd been welcomed with open arms in the first place.

That new generation your speaking of actually causes most problems, because they're not culturally German... sadly, they're lost between cultures.

Well, indeed. The problem stems from that. It's similar to the Muslim population in Britain, integration is perhaps impossible. Maybe we'll stop living the multiculturalist wet dream and realise that.