It is rather difficult to start an everyday conversation with anyone from Poland and it does not matter if you know them personally as a classmate, a colleague, or some other acquaintance. While talking, it is a good thing to avoid topics connected with someone's privacy.
The weather is always a safe subject and in Polish small talk politics and economy is also considered neutral.
Polish people know about the dangers of talking to strangers and they try to be politically correct in small talk especially on the train or other means of transportation, especially if the interlocutor is older. Generally, a conversation with someone older is very formal. The forms of addressing the strangers and older people in my country are usually 'Sir' or 'Madam' and the rule is rather strict. On the contrary, everyone uses substandard forms of address in a small circle of people, e.g. among fellow workers, where the speakers' different age does not matter. .
In my country, friendly greetings are: "hallo" or "how are you?" It's accepted when the friends, first of all girls, hug or kiss each otherin public, while it is strongly offensive to touch strangers in any way.
Generally, people in my country do their best to be polite; if there is confusion they try to make efforts to clarify everything. I regret to say that such behaviour is frequently insincere, and such a mask is often used by those who would like to be accepted at any price and under any circumstances.
We are not extremely punctual, and being a quarter of an hour late it is accepted, especially with the students. Although this is an old practice, fortunately the pace of work has started changes towards better time management and being punctual is getting trendy.
I think tat the behaviour of people in in shops or offices is very friendly and well-mannered. Polite expressions are frequently heard, so the atmosphere is pleasant.
When introducing people to each other, we respect their familiarity and status but a confident handshake is essential. People shake hands quite firmly; as such a pronounced grip looks sincere and is supposed to reflect someone's personality, so it makes a very good first impression. Of course, it is the woman who is the first to give her hand, and a gentleman used to be supposed to kiss the lady's hand in the old days. Unfortunately, this nice old custom is considered funny and obsolete nowadays so it is practised only on very formal occasions.
Hospitality has always been a traditional feature of our national character, so we are very polite when we offer something or make an invitation. In the same way, we hardly ever resist when we see that someone else's invitation is sincere and spontaneous.
