Reflections about Poland

Do you remember that I used to complain about Finnish behavior towards pregnant women on a tram? Or about drunkards here and there? And that I was trying to assure me and my readers that in Poland (that is my home country) such situations are very rare. Well, not really after my last visit there. One day I took a tram with my two little ones. my baby in a stroller and my little girl holding my hand. So we got inside and there were no free seats, but all the seats around us were occupied by very young people - I'd say mostly students in their 20-ties. Mostly guys. Everyone took a look on us and than again back to the window or his/her smart phone. Nobody was interested in giving me his seat although Polish tram drivers are usually unfulfilled Formula 1 drivers trying to speed up to maximum between one stop and the next. So I've got a lesson: there is not a Finnish problem about self-oriented and ignorant people. This is a general problem about self-oriented, ignorant people, especially young generation raised in front of a laptop with a smart phone in one hand. They seem to care only about what's going on on FB and not around them. I wonder what's going on with people? Are they really so careless? Are they too busy? But one day those young students will also push a stroller and struggle with a kicking toddler. Will they learn their lesson this time?

And about those drunkards and bums. There is a very nice square close to where my sister lives. There is also a nice play ground there. Green. Quiet. But it seems to be a favorite place for those ugly bums for ages. I remember they were there occupying the benches years ago and they are still there (a new generation I guess). So, actually nothing has changed. 

And so walking around my parents old residential area I was again considering my Myllypuro not such a bad place to live.

It is strange, but always after visiting my home town I feel sort of depressed. There are changes, of course. There are new streets, new buildings, even new squares and play grounds, new cafes and restaurants, but somehow all in all I have an impression that the city is so chaotic, unstructured, crowded, noisy, hard to live. People are nervous. Public transport is horrible. The old residential areas are deteriorating. People complain about everything - how hard it is to live in Poland, to rise a child, to get a job, to live on a decent level. On the other hand all do have apartments, at least one car, but very often two, job, they go on vacation to Italy, Spain, Egypt. But one thing which is still so common is comparing us to other European countries. People think somewhere else is better, easier, nicer. In many cases it is true - at least comparing the life in Finland - but in some maybe not. And the question is what makes the Polish life so hard and what makes the Finnish life so easy and relaxed?