Random thoughts/comments

[Leigha]

... deleted post

[C C]

... deleted post

Hopefully this was the spot whose topic I'm trying to remember. (Probably not, as Feb 12 seems too early.)

I've encountered Scandinavians describing business interactions with Americans in ways that maybe sounded like the latter's used-car and insurance salesman. Expressing potentially feigned enthusiasm for ideas/projects along with personal interest in the other party that was purely cosmetic. (Or so they interpreted it.)

The USA oddities below may at least graze that territory, if not jibe perfectly. For one thing, just the refining of marketplace strategies over time and the engine of capitalism doing its adaptive thing, surely contributes. Immigration is hypothesized as one factor in so-called cheery American formality (I doubt that fully accounts for people waving at strangers in certain areas of flyover country or coming to routine assistance or rescue as if everybody is a relative).

I remember a singer from Boston who became an expatriate living in Germany because the "people here are so friendly and festive" apparently compared to the former. And speaking of Germany, Swabians have distinct characteristics ascribed to them that probably differ from the region or city she was residing in. So note that these views are crouched in sweeping, cliché generalizations, as if local populations of a country as large and diversely eccentric as the US could fit under a single umbrella stereotype (especially when Americans themselves attribute differing social/cultural properties to each other based on location).   

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-fren...ial-2017-8

In the 17 years since moving from the United States to France, Erin Meyer has heard French people use some … interesting words to describe their American colleagues. Read: "superficial," "hypocritical," and "fake."

Meanwhile, Meyer's heard many Americans complain about their French colleagues being "standoffish," "hostile," and "unfriendly."

Meyer is a professor at INSEAD and the author of the 2014 book "The Culture Map." As someone who's both studied cultural differences and experienced them firsthand, she knows how easy it is to get frustrated or confused when doing business abroad. One of the biggest differences between French and American cultures, Meyer told Business Insider, is that French people are more like coconuts while Americans are more like peaches...


https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...ch/524967/

On Reddit forums that ask “What’s a dead giveaway that someone is American?” one trait comes up over and over again: big, toothy grins.

Here’s how one Reddit user in Finland put it:

    When a stranger on the street smiles at you:

    a. you assume he is drunk

    b. he is insane

    c. he’s an American

Last year, I wrote about why some countries seem to smile less than average—and mistrust those who do seem unusually peppy. A country’s level of instability, that study found, might be why people who seem happy for no reason in, say, Russia, are considered foolish.

But there’s an interesting line of research that helps explain outliers on the other end of the spectrum, too: Americans and their stereotypically mega-watt smiles. It turns out that countries with lots of immigration have historically relied more on nonverbal communication. Thus, people there might smile more.

For a study published in 2015, an international group of researchers looked at the number of “source countries” that have fed into various nations since the year 1500. Places like Canada and the United States are very diverse, with 63 and 83 source countries, respectively, while countries like China and Zimbabwe are fairly homogenous, with just a few nationalities represented in their populations...

[Leigha]

CC, that's it, entirely! I'm American, and I hope that I don't come across fake to colleagues, but they are super blunt, and it just works better, than all of the superficial small talk nonsense. I can't help but wonder if it's because we are so used to over policing ourselves with PC etiquette and such. Now, I'm working with a few pretentious guys on the team who are British, but isn't that the definition of British? I joke. That is one thing that I'm noticing from British and Indian colleagues, they are not ''fake.''

[Magical Realist]

It's nice to know I'm not the weird one for not going around smiling all the time at everyone. I was raised in Texas, where everybody does that and even says hi to everybody. Then I moved to Oregon, land of sullen introverts and misfits who rarely even make eye contact to passerbyers. I DID learn at one point that things go much more smoothly when you smile at service people, as there we all know it is just a ritual of kindness like saying "Thank you." I have also practiced the half smile in coffee shops and stores, radiating a mood of placid contentment. But if someone smiles at me out of the blue, I just wonder what they find so amusing. I would do well in Finland.

[Leigha]

I think there are times when we smile out of politeness at work and such, but if I'm out walking/running/hiking, I tend to be in my own world, and not trying to be rude, but just don't pay attention to those around me. I pictured you as a smiler for some reason, MR. lol

[Secular Sanity]

I think there are times when we smile out of politeness at work and such, but if I'm out walking/running/hiking, I tend to be in my own world, and not trying to be rude, but just don't pay attention to those around me. I pictured you as a smiler for some reason, MR. lol

Out in the wilderness, it’s customary to be friendly and acknowledge other hikers. You can ask or advise on the trail conditions, unsafe creatures, etc. Not only that, but if you come up missing due to an injury or whatnot, it’s more likely that someone will remember seeing you. I’ve also noticed that even when driving in really remote areas people always wave. We get a lot of German tourist here, though, and most of the time, they don’t even acknowledge your presence.

[Leigha]

It's not customary here. A nod and a smile, sure...but, more than that would mean I'm not getting much of a work out in. lol Guess we're all different. There are people at the gym who love to chat, and I wonder...can you see that I'm listening to music and can't hear you? Hmm. I actually find that to be rude, tbh.

---

On another note, I was out earlier and missed the Democratic Debates, but read that Bloomberg's campaign ''imploded'' on stage. If you watched the debates tonight, cliff notes anyone?

Elizabeth Warren: "I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse faced lesbians, and no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg." Yikes.

[Secular Sanity]

It's not customary here. A nod and a smile, sure...but, more than that would mean I'm not getting much of a work out in. lol Guess we're all different. There are people at the gym who love to chat, and I wonder...can you see that I'm listening to music and can't hear you? Hmm. I actually find that to be rude, tbh.

lol Guess all of our ideas of the wilderness are different, too. You can’t listen to your headphones in unfamiliar territory where it’s rare to even encounter another person. On my last hike, I ran into a guy that crossed paths with an aggressive bull elk. I was grateful for the warning and when I spotted him, I kept my distance.

I thought about it and at first, I thought that people might wave in remote areas to let you know that they’re not there to harm you, but maybe it’s simply letting others know that you’re aware of their presence. Maybe it's a self-preservation signal. (Yeah, I see you. Don’t bother me and I won’t bother you.)

On another note, I was out earlier and missed the Democratic Debates, but read that Bloomberg's campaign ''imploded'' on stage. If you watched the debates tonight, cliff notes anyone?

Elizabeth Warren: "I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse faced lesbians, and no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg." Yikes.

It was Biden but he didn’t call her a horse faced lesbian. He called her a lying dog faced pony soldier. Some are saying that he got that term from an old John Wayne Film, The Horse Soldiers. Others are saying, the Pony Soldier but the term dogface was popularized in the movie, To Hell and Back. There was a song in the film titled Dog Face Soldier. Either way, it was a dumb thing to say. He needs to keep his hands to himself, STFU and stick with the pageant wave.

[confused2]

I am of the opinion that people are less likely to try to kill you (me) after they've said "Good morning." or something similar. Obviously there may be many killers out there who are polite and considerate in every way when not actually killing people but I suspect (hope) they are a minority.

[Leigha]

lol ^^

I agree with you, SS - I'm friendly, but if I'm focused on getting something done, I'm not unfriendly, just a bit rushed. I think it's very wise to not wear ear buds with music blasting in the woods or remote hiking trails. Learned this the hard way recently, when I spotted a wild hog (didn't know they were down here) and probably would have heard him sooner, had I not been blasting music. That goes for anything (or anyone) lurking in the woods. Live and learn.

In other news, I'm starting a Bible study in my community next month. Putting out flyers this week, and in passing, I met a few neighbors who said they'd be interested.

I'm inviting non-believers, as well.

I hope it fosters a sense of community, and we all learn from each other. It's not meant to evangelize, but rather share what we all believe, and how we view the Bible, from our vantage points. I invited a friend of mine who is an atheist, and she's planning on coming. Most of my friends are atheists, and one said he's going to ''crash in and start fights.'' lol He's kidding, I think.

I'll discuss in the first meeting, that the intent isn't to be combative, or one up each other, etc. It's to simply read the Bible together, and discuss. Updates to follow...