Rudiments of Culture - Poland

Getting to know other people's cultural identities.

Concrete Expressions

1. What are typical foods served in the culture?

Pork chops, cooked cabbage, potatoes, beef-pot roast.

3. What do people do for recreation?

Sports, watching tv, traveling.

4. Do buildings have identifiable features?

Ridge roofs, gabled houses.

5. How is public space used? For example, do people tend to "hang out" on

the street, or are they in public because they are going from one place

to the next?

People don’t hang out on the street, adults party at home mostly, teenagers hang out on the street sometimes.

Recognized Behaviors

1. How do people greet one another? By shaking hands.

2. How a holiday is celebrated?

Mostly with family at dinner.

3. How would a visitor be welcomed to someone’s home? Would be asked to sit down and be given something to drink, eat.

4. What are the norms around weddings? births? deaths?

Weddings- used to be big dancing parties, dress-code : no black dresses, one was supposed to invite the whole family: cousins, aunts etc. That has changed, now not everybody throws a big party.

Deaths- no parties, though some food is served for close family members, everyone wears black clothes and where I come from obituary notices are pinned onto trees or in cities are printed in newspapers cause people’s attendance is appreciated.

Births- it’s up to parents how they celebrate the birth of their child, if the family is religious and most families are, they’re expected to baptize the child and make a small party.

Explicit Beliefs

1. How important is hierarchy?

In a work place it’s very important (you can’t call your boss by his first name like in America.)

2. How are gender roles perceived?

Older generations stick to traditional way of seeing gender roles. That is women are generally responsible for taking care of the house, cooking, raising children, men make a living, men are to be more dominant but that is changing, among young people. There is a broad spectrum of views on that subject, I know a lot of young people who’s marriages are based on partnership.

3. How do people view obligations toward one another?

Family obligations are strong, breaking one’s word is condemned .

5. What are the cultural attitudes toward aging and the elderly?

Respect and help.

Deeply Embedded Beliefs

1. How important is the individual in the culture? How important is the group?

Group is important ( individualism is not as praised as in america)

2. How is space used?

They stand about 30 cm away from one another and keep the eye contact

3. How is time understood and measured?

You can’t be late

4. Is change considered positive or negative?

People in Poland don’t like to make changes as often as Americans, are less mobile, have friends for life, don’t change jobs etc. they tent to live settled lives.

5. What are the criteria for individual success?

1.money 2.wife, children 3.career

6. What is the relationship between humans and nature?

In villages the two live in harmony, in cities people dominate nature

7. How is divine power viewed in relation to human effort?

That has everything to do with the Bible and the way it is taught in catholic church, I’m sure you know a lot about it.

8. Is the culture a high-context or low-context one?

Something in the middle

9. How do individuals "know" things?

In schools children learn not to have their own opinion.

10. Are people encouraged to be more action-oriented or to be more contemplative?

They’re encouraged to be action-oriented.

11. Taboos?

Sex and homosexuality.

 

Many thanks to Magda for the above compilation.