Poland first week

I have just arrived in Chynow, Poland and I wasn’t sure what to expect but our team walked around the city earlier I notice the dirty streets lined by boxy gray houses.  It just looks so bland, and no one looks happy, everyone has a dejected hopeless look about them.  I am not sure why everyone looks so unhappy.  I stopped an older woman on the street to ask her about this depression I see all around me.  She goes on to tell about the many transitions Poland has been undergoing such as the growing poverty, joining the European Union and struggling to make the change over to capital system this has led to an increase of unemployment, growing gap between the social classes where before Poland was a classless society, the health system deteriorating, and higher housing prices(2). 

photo: London digital arts

After hearing this I understood so much more the despair that the Polish people are currently feeling.  We volunteered at a soup kitchen yesterday, and it was there I learned that 35% of the population is severely materially deprived(1) and 1 out of every 3 people lives in absolute poverty(1). This was shocking to me, I never thought of Poland as being a country that struggled with poverty.

I am interested to see how the rest of the trip goes and what else I will learn while being in Poland.

photo:  Stuart P. Donachie

(1) The News. (2010). Thirty two percent live in poverty in Poland. Retrieved from http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul124022_thirty-two-percent-live-in-poverty-in-poland.html
(2)Polish Forums. (2007). Poverty in Poland. Retrived from http://www.polishforums.com/archives/2005_2007/everyday-life-7/poverty-poland-7329/