“Witamy w Polsce” said the hotel receptionist, my first encounter with the Polish language in June 2002. I had arrived in Poland from London having lived in Hong Kong and Australia for the previous six years. Little did I know then that Poland would become my adopted country and my home.

You never forget your first impressions of a new country. I left the United Kingdom with the same stereotypical images in my head of Poland as do many first-time travellers, expecting to enter a bland, grey, cold and sad country where I would have to exist on a diet of cabbage and potatoes. Just how wrong was I? It was June and the temperature was in the 30's, Warsaw’s architecture was vibrant, everyone I met was very welcoming and the food was of course excellent. There was a natural energy pulsing through the heart of the city – exactly as it is today. Warsaw is a great city to explore, with fascinating architecture, both new and old, and a comfortable “Central Europe meets the West” culture. Before I flew to Poland for the first time, an older and wiser family friend commented on my planned trip; “Ahhhhh Poland – the country of the most beautiful women in Europe.” How right he was - seven years after I first arrived in Poland, I find myself married to a beautiful Polish girl and have a wonderful young family.

I am the Managing Director of the Polish office of a well established London based exhibition organiser, Montgomery Exhibitions. We launched our first exhibition on the Polish market in 2003 and during 2007 established our own business entity in Poland. The new company, Montgomery Polska Sp. z o.o. currently organises IFE Poland, which is a food and drink trade fair, Polskie Zboza, a technical farming event, and the Central Europe Wine & Spirits Challenge. The company’s core business is trade and consumer exhibitions, and we are currently launching a series of Confex events in core market sectors. There are many opportunities in the exhibition sector in Poland which are generated by the rate of development of this new EU member state. It should be remembered that a little over 15 years ago, Poland was a communist state. Its development has been swift in the major cities, and regionally the country is still catching up. The regions provide the opportunities in the coming years. My advice if you are looking at business opportunities in Poland, is to position your business in one of the major cities, but take the opportunity to travel and understand ‘real’ Poland. Poland is a great place as your first venture into Central & Eastern Europe, as there is an increasingly Western culture and Western mentality.

Working in Poland has its challenges. The level of administration can be suffocating. The language can be a challenge but with a high percentage of business professionals speaking English, the language issues are softened. Taking Polish lessons is a good idea to get started with the language and general communication. One difficulty if you have no Polish language skills are business meetings with an interpreter, which adds a whole new dimension to concentrating during a meeting. Most people will appreciate that when you attend a meeting you start to ‘flow’ in conversation. However, with an interpreter, it is a stop–start process. You speak, the interpreter communicates, your colleague answers, the interpreter communicates, and you have to remember what you said in the first place. It can be a comedy experience rather like the children’s game, Chinese whispers. More often than not, your colleague has not understood your point via the interpreter, and you find yourself on the receiving end of an obscure and nonsensical response.

In my opinion, the Polish business mentality within SMEs is developing, and for the better. Previously it was very one-tracked and now since there are more progressive thinking professionals taking senior roles in business the thought process and outlook is becoming more positive. The Polish government actively promotes entrepreneurs and is encouraging new SME businesses. The development of the business mentality is particularly relevant in my industry, as exhibitions in Poland have traditionally been produced on one level with the sales and marketing value of an exhibition not properly evaluated and executed. Now companies are beginning to understand that exhibitions are not just about new business leads, but also about the opportunity to network, meet existing clients, conduct public relations initiatives or launch new projects. This greater understanding of the marketing potential of exhibitions is creating some very positive opportunities in many sectors.

Poland is a great place to live and work. I live 20 kilometres from the centre of Warsaw, in a small country village. Travel into the city centre takes 30 minutes, and travel is cheap. I have travelled all over Poland and am convinced it is a country with huge tourism potential. If you are travelling as a tourist, there are so many places that I could recommend: Warsaw’s Old Town in summer; the Polish lakes; a trip to Hel the peninsula village in the Bay of Gdańsk, Wrocław, Kraków, Toruń; Kalisz; Auschwitz; the Wieliczka salt mines and Zakopane in the mountains. In the North you have wonderful sandy beaches that are equal to any in Europe, and as somebody who is addicted to snowboarding; you can guess where I spend a lot of time in the winter.

Leaving the capital and experiencing the ‘real’ Poland is where you experience a definite cultural differences and what makes living outside of the United Kingdom such a pleasure. When I say that I am not keen on life in the United Kingdom, I do not mean that negatively, I just feel that the country has lost its way a little and needs to return to some of the social practices of our parents and grandparents. In Poland, by comparison, there is a strong emphasis on family and community relationships, and there is a strong sense of togetherness. In Poland, the Catholic faith is an important part of peoples’ lives – this was no more visible than during the three days of mourning after the death of Pope John Paul II. There are many streets in Poland named ‘Jana Pawla II’, and after his death people took candles and lined the road. It was a magnificent spectacle and truly touching. He was a hero and leader to the whole of Poland, and someone who is rightfully now credited with the changes in Poland that we witness today. 
 

In June 2008 my wife and I were married in a typical Polish ceremony. We were fortunate to be married in the church at the gardens of the King’s Palace in Wilanów, Warsaw. Organising a Polish Catholic wedding as a non-national and non-Catholic was a challenge and perhaps the personal interview by the priest to check that I was a ‘good’ person was the highlight, with questions ranging from my faith, family history, had I ever confessed my sins and details of my sex life – all of which were answered with a big smile on my face! The ceremony was in Polish, so I studied hard to avoid making any mistakes, although I was told afterwards that instead of saying “till death do us part” I had in fact said “till your stink do us part”, much to the amusement of my new Polish family. Our English guests enjoyed a typical Polish wedding party - lots of food, drink and dancing. We started at eight in the evening and many of the guests didn’t leave until five o’clock the next morning.

To conclude, as a British expat happily living and working in Poland, I would recommend that everyone discovers the many delights of Poland and Polish hospitality. My wife and I have welcomed lots of guests to Poland, many of whom arrived with the same stereotypical impressions, but very quickly became converted to fans of Poland.

Comments

No comments added