On a cycle ride in Burgundy we passed by a string of happy school children along the canal path, each and every one of them singing out " bonjour!" as is their learned cultural etiquette*. (Yes, it is an oft misunderstood thing.) After 20 or so I opted for the occasional "bonne journee!"
* This French etiquette is foreign (sorry) to my NA (North American) life. There, it is considered considerate to be socially engaged in all social situations. Shops, stores, markets, restaurants, even on trams. That means saying hello, please, thank you, and good bye. Otherwise you the tourist are the snob. And if so they treat you with the same aloofness. WTF. Lesson easily learned, and with infinite rewards of real language.
But cultures don't translate. Sad, but true. An over friendly hand on the shoulder in some places is rewarded with abject horror and distrust. A friendly verbal greeting in other places is often regarded with distrust and cold shouldered. Our "shared" inhumanity is itself a puerile habit we can bridge.
No wonder some of us want to get away from it all.
* This French etiquette is foreign (sorry) to my NA (North American) life. There, it is considered considerate to be socially engaged in all social situations. Shops, stores, markets, restaurants, even on trams. That means saying hello, please, thank you, and good bye. Otherwise you the tourist are the snob. And if so they treat you with the same aloofness. WTF. Lesson easily learned, and with infinite rewards of real language.
But cultures don't translate. Sad, but true. An over friendly hand on the shoulder in some places is rewarded with abject horror and distrust. A friendly verbal greeting in other places is often regarded with distrust and cold shouldered. Our "shared" inhumanity is itself a puerile habit we can bridge.
No wonder some of us want to get away from it all.
Last edited:
