To the hardware shop… aaaaaarrrggghhhhh

A while ago we had a Podcast about Cultuurshock. But what does that look like in our daily lives in Poland? Here’s an example:

Do you have 2 sheets of birch plywood 4 x 8, 3/8 thick for me? And can you saw them into strips of 3 and 4 inches wide please? (4 x 8 feet , 3/8 is a standard size, everywhere…even in Europe, although they convert it to millimeters, but still)

No. We only have these 3,5×7 feet plates of ²⁵/₆₄ thick. And birch? No idea, we don’t have any other. (Huh?? Just how??? What size is that anyway?) 🤔

OK… can you then saw these sheets into strips of 3 and 4 inches wide? No, we don’t saw these sheets. We do cut sheets of Perspex, MDF, Chipboard, Underlayment and so on, but we do not do this. (Huh? Why, just why.) 😳

Ok… do you have this table saw for me that is right in front of me, so I can cut them myself? No, sold out. This one then? No. Sold out. This one then? No. This one? No… (waaaaahhhhhhh) 😯

Ok.. 1 box of hooks then? No, no box for you. We only sell them by the piece. Fine, just do 8. Thank you. How do I tell the lady at the cash register what it is and how many there are? Answer: “teściowa miotła opuszcza rynnę z ogrodzeniem i odrobiną soli. OK?” (Thank you sir! That did help!) 😁

Okay, then 1 more piece of pine batten. As long as it is straight. Nope. All of them are as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks. 🤣

So much for the hardware store. Something that takes half an hour in your “home” country now takes 2.5 hours… So, after all of this, you are completely done for, and you sit on the couch staring into space in a daze… In effect, your day is over. Done.

And then the doorbell rang…

More of all this and how we deal with it? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCM1XplnVUA It’s part of our lives, we’re not crazy. It’s part of the new “normal”. 🤣🤣🤣