One thing which immediately impressed me aboutWarsaw was the rapidity with which younger Varsovians lept from their seats when an elderly person stepped onto a tram or metro car. Given the large population of elderly people in Poland, this isn't a rare occurrence.Looks like NYC is having a problem with people hogging their seats (though I have to say that in my personal experience, people have been quite courteous). They've even started legislating this courtesy. It can't hurt - it certainly was nice when NYC passed laws saying people couldn't use seats to hold their bags or put up their feet when the train is full. One would hope people would use common sense, but I suppose we can't all be Polish!
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Some cultures are more courteous than others, plain and simple. Here in Barbados, traffic actually slows and then - get this - it stops!! - so that I can turn into the stream of cars. Amazing but true. They signal me that it's okay to turn into the traffic with a double-flash of their headlights. In the States, I usually squeeze my way into traffic on desperation and hope ... "Polite" goes a long way for me in how much I like a place.
Although. I'm of that in-between age in which I might be insulted if a young person on a subway in Warsaw offered me his or her seat!
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