Life with Polish husband is…

… to learn to like football (or at least support it), to extend your family further than you are used to in Finland, to be desperate while trying to learn the language, which is twisting your tongue, and to tolerate a lot of kisses to the cheeks from family members and friends.

It is also enjoyable privilege of having someone to carry groceries, open door for you, make coffee for you every morning and have someone to say I love you every day.

Since we started dating, I have adapted to a completely new culture and even though we are talking about countries relatively close to each other, there are some major differences. I wouldn’t consider myself stereotypical Finnish person (nor I wouldn’t describe people I know as stereotypical), but there are some drastic differences between our countries, which have made me amused, hard to comprehend, and pleased during all these years.

Some may have probably heard about Finnish personal space. It basically means that there is no physical contact with unfamiliar people and you make sure you NEVER sit next to someone in a bus in case there is free space somewhere else. Well, that concept seems to be almost nonexistent in Poland. Why?

1. Kissing. You are doing these cheek kisses when you meet new people, friends or family members. You are not kissing your boss obviously, but if you are introduced to someone’s friend, be aware of kissing. Worst thing is that there are no rules how many times. There used to be three time rule, but nowadays it seems to be style “go with the flow”. The humiliation when someone leaves you hanging when you try to go with traditional three times…
2. Public transportation. There is plenty of space in a bus, but someone still decides it is nice to come and sit next to you. If it is an older person you can also be sure, he or she will engage in a chit chat with you. In Polish of course. It doesn’t matter how many time you repeat that you don’t speak Polish (I even learned to say that in Polish), they will continue talking to you. Also, if there is no seat and you have to stand, most likely someone is standing just a little bit too close for your taste. 
3. Elevators. I really appreciate the gentleman culture in Poland, but it really made me amused how far it sometimes goes. I used to work in a big international company in Warsaw and there was easy way to distinguish whether people entering same elevator is Polish or not. In normal situation (in Finland) people just rush in in random order (in the way they can avoid physical contact). In Poland, women are always entering first. That is totally okay, but the weirdest thing is when you are supposed to exit the elevator. You are packed in rear end of narrow elevator, but no one in front of you is moving because you are also expected to be the one who exits first. Logical, right…?

I have also learned the difference between Polish family and Finnish understanding of family, or at least who do you categorize in your close family circle. Especially if you are having husband from countryside of Poland, it might come as a surprise at some point when you realize that people you call uncle or aunt, they are not actually related to your husband at all. They are just very close neighbors who were called like that by your husband when he was a child and it just stayed like that. I also do not know many of their real names, since they are always called wujek (uncle) and ciocia (aunt). That makes my life easier though, because Polish names can be sometimes very difficult. Nevertheless, my family grew quite a bit after we got married since M’s family circle is a lot wider than mine.

Making this list I couldn’t have left food out. Polish cuisine is much more present in everyday life than in Finland. Nothing beats hearty home cooked meal and parents packing kanapki (sandwiches) for their children even for a short train ride. I can never leave from M mother’s house without taking something with me. Recently, we got some jars of homemade pickles and the last time I traveled back to Warsaw I got a huge jar of goulash (which was delicious btw). Also, M is always childishly happy whenever I pack him some snacks for work. I totally adore Polish cuisine, but sometimes I just want to be lazy and order food from a restaurant. 

Being married to a Polish guy is great and I am sure he will find his way to describe what it is like to be married to a Finnish woman :D

As much as I would like to tell how we do something awesome and new every weekend, the reality can sometimes look like this. Premier League started on Friday and that obviously means that it is time to set up my supporter mood on ;).