Like a Pole
How to converse like a Pole.
Step 1: Greet
A Triangle person is shown warmly greeting a Square-person with a “Kopę lat”. The Square-person has a suitcase, and is standing under a sign “Arrivals - welcome to Warsaw.
Step 2: Discuss meaning of life
The suitcase still there, still in the same spot under the “Arrivals - welcome to Warsaw sign”, they are now sitting down, and the Square-person is gesticulating wildly, saying “Alas, the Stoics held that…”. The Triangle-person is deep in thought.
For a person from anglosphere, conversation is a pleasant past-time. It’s supposed to flow like a game of tennis, with each side having a say, and only picking subjects that are palatable and pleasant to all parties. It’s supposed to make the society more cohesive, and it should be fun.
For a Polish person, conversation is for sorting out the horrors of life (and beyond). Although the comic is exaggerated, it’s not far from the truth: a Polish person will seek to deepen the conversation. Although it might not happen in the arrival hall of the airport, you would be wise to expect it in the car on the way home, and expect it during the tea.
After all, how can you proceed without knowing what is the meaning of life, and what comes afterwards?!
“Kopę lat” just means “Long time no see”.