Mentionsy

What's the biggest surprise you've experienced while traveling abroad?

Once in a while I'll go for a walk outside during lunch to pick up a salad and we'll walk among the groups of tourists listening for anyone speaking Polish.

but when I do, I like to wonder how those people's vacation is going and whether New York City is what they expected it to be.

Culture shocks are called that because we don't expect them.

For anyone that is planning to visit this city, I thought I'd compile a list of about 10 of the most common culture shocks people from Poland experience.

To minimize that shock for you.

Starting the list with something related to the last episode, friendliness and small talk.

If it's a complete stranger in a store, then that person is just being polite.

But the more you know the person asking, the longer your answer could be.

Acknowledging a person in the same room as you is just a nice thing to do.

The more you do it, the more natural it becomes.

I've never seen this woman before, but I thought, oh, she seems nice.

The second culture shock that is related to friendliness is customer service.

And when a business doesn't focus on great customer service, whether in Poland or the States, it confuses me a little bit.

have a direct impact on the profit of that business.

Part of the reason servers in a restaurant will provide excellent customer service is the expectation of a good tip.

The service industry is big on tips.

We tip our restaurant staff, we tip our hairstylists, estheticians, masseuses, bartenders.

Lots of people who go into these roles feel like they could make good quick money because of the tips on busy days.

If it's a place you go to often, then you may feel like you want to give something extra.

One other thing Poles forget is that there isn't one definition of who or what an American person is.

People who live in New York have roots in countries all over the globe.

And the meals that they eat at home or the eating habits they have are different for every one of those groups.

Going back to everything being bigger, as a visitor you'll notice the wider roads, bigger cars, bigger buildings.

When I took my husband to Poland for the first time, he noticed that when cars are parked on the street, they're often parked half on the street and half on the sidewalk.

So usually right side of the car is up on the sidewalk.

Because he had never seen this before, he pointed that out to me.

I had to remind him that the streets were built long before there were cars driving on them.

Therefore, they are a little narrow.

I hear this all the time.

Why is the price of something in the store not the price I pay when I go to the register?

Some things, like clothing, can be taxed in one state and not taxed in another state.

Inheritance taxes and many, many other taxes are handled differently in each state.

This is why some states are more expensive to live in than others and why salaries for the same type of jobs differ by state.

So when you visit an expensive city like New York City, be prepared for what we call sticker shock.

The surprise or disappointment when you realize that something you wanted to buy is more expensive than you were expecting it to be.

This is a funny one, but I also hear this all the time.

The doors of the stalls in public restrooms are different in the States than they are in Poland or generally in Europe.

Well, in the US, the door in a public bathroom stall has a larger gap at the bottom where you can see people's feet.

And the small gaps on the sides are also bigger than Europeans are used to.

There are minimum safety and standard requirements set by local building codes.

What this means for public bathrooms is that people with disabilities have to access those bathrooms with ease.

Also, if there is a medical emergency happening in the bathroom, it would be easier to see it and get to that person this way, even if the door was locked.

Because the island of Manhattan isn't very big, the touristy areas are not too separated from the areas where locals live and commute to work.

What this means for your NYC visit is that visiting restaurants can seem rushed.

May and September are in my opinion the best months to visit.

Be ready and bring comfortable shoes.

So next time you think that things in your hometown are done better, maybe they are.

Or maybe the two animals are too different to compare.

So that you make the most with the time you have.

That's it for today's episode.

please reach out to me at viola.naturalneangielski.com and if you're enjoying the podcast, leave a rating or a review wherever you stream your episodes.