European Petrol Stations and Polish Jokes

Petrol/Gas Stations here in Poland are something else.

First, attendants still pump your gas for you here. They also add washer fluid to your car if needed. Second, stations are not equipped for paying at the pump with a debit card. Third, and probably most interesting, the people who work in the shop/sklep are all clean cut and dressed in long sleeve dress shirts and ties. The station was closed the other day for inventory. I have never heard of something like that before. And my most amusing petrol station observation: in addition to your usual soft drinks and beer, they sell Polish vodka behind the counter. The drinking age here is 18.

This brings me to another conclusion...all those Polish jokes you hear about Poles being stupid are not really true. For the most part, most Poles are fairly intelligent and competent individuals - at least the ones I have met. They may not have alot of high education, but they are socially intelligent and for the most part fairly descent people. So, I can only conclude that the subjects of these derogatory Polish jokes have to be drunk Poles. There are lots of them here. Even though the police are very strict about drunk driving, people do it anyway and there is always some story about it in the paper. I try not to go out too late because with their hazardous driving skills and proclivity for drinking, it can be disastrous.