Difference between Polish and Spanish people

Living in Spain for such a long time made me notice some cultural differences between Spanish people and Polish people. And there are many of them – we are completely different.

When I landed in Poland two days ago, I already noticed at the airport, before taking my flight to Warsaw, that being around Polish people somehow annoys me. I know this sounds bad, but it’s true. How would you feel while standing there and hearing two middle-aged ladies talking in polish and God, they couldn’t stop complaining! All they could see were negative things. Spanish people are on the contrary – their attitude to life is so laid back that they do not stress over things without importance. They know how to enjoy life, with their food and wine, and beer, and siesta in the middle of a working day, and all the fiestas in the weekends or even during the week. This is the first thing that is so striking when comparing these two nations – Polish people are stressed people. Negative people. Never stop complaining about almost everything, because life is hard and all you should do is just work and suffer. And drink vodka. Oh yes, we do drink a lot of vodka, this is not a stereotype, this is pure truth.

And Spanish people? Well… According to them, life may not be easy but it is certainly beautiful and worth enjoying. They stay positive even in this famous crisis they are suffering in Spain, which by the way isn’t so visible on the streets, crowded with people eating in restaurants or going shopping in El Corte Inglés. But yes, you do see it sometimes, especially in the subway – there are a lot of beggars, asking for money in the wagons, a lot of black people selling illegal movie copies in the hallways or musicians playing their keyboards, violins or saxophones, making your walk through the passageways more pleasant but yet make you feel like there is a lot of poverty out there.

Here comes another difference – Polish people normally prefer to stay at home, they don’t go out as much as Spanish people do, especially at night. In Poland the nightlife practically doesn’t exist, and even though there are people at the clubs, the streets are empty. In Spain, well, in Madrid at least, the nightlife is amazing. It is a city that never sleeps. Even if you go out at 3 am the streets will be full of people.

Another thing is of course the timing. We, Polish people, we are really, really punctual. If you are late 5 minutes, it is ok, don’t worry. If you are going to be late 10 minutes, it is better to call and warn the person you are meeting. If you are going to be late for more than 15 minutes, it is better to reschedule the meeting. Well, of course it depends on the person you are meeting with, your relations with him/her and the type of the meeting. But generally – punctuality is a rule. And in Spain? There is no timing at all. Say, arrange a meeting with your friends at 9 pm. They will all come by 22:30. It is perfectly normal. Because they missed the train, or took the wrong one, slept in and the alarm clock for some reason just didn’t ring, they had to eat before coming or wanted to finish watching the favorite TV series. No one cares. Is it better? I don’t know. All you can do, if you are as punctual as I am (well, ok, after all this time in Spain, I am not punctual at all and I always make my polish friends wait for me more than it is allowed... ), just relax and be late too.

Spanish people are definitely more familiar, and even more friendly than Polish people. They share everything with everybody, and if you are a foreigner, they will treat you as if you were one of them. If you don’t speak Spanish don’t worry – although most of them do not speak English well, they will do their best at it to help you out when you need it. It is so much easier to make friends in Spain than it is in Poland. We are really closed people. I think we have some serious trust issues. We are too careful and too suspicious to actually be able to really have fun. Like we suspect that if somebody is good to us is because he wants something from us, he wants to use us. Spanish people, well, they just don’t care. Their point of view on life is so different – they enjoy it, they love it and they love people. They love to have fun.

Let’s take parties for example. I use to say that Spain is all about fiesta and siesta. And seriously – I love this way of life. Now, a small tip for girls – It is really easy to date a Spanish guy. Just go to a club and suddenly somebody will grab you, dance with you, kiss you and say “give me your phone number”. And they are really handsome, believe me. You do not need to make an effort, they will find you. It’s super fun. Honestly. In Poland, dating is much harder. Guys are much more shy and reserved and they definitely will not try to kiss you after the first 5 minutes they got to know what your name was. And they don’t dance. The majority of them at least.

There are more things that you will notice if you go to live in Spain for a while, but I assure you that you will love it, even if it is so much different than the life that you are used to, or especially because of that.

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