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Sorry I haven't read this whole thread so maybe this is off topic but this happened to me this week:
We are moving to America imminently and we have all these relocation people ringing us up all the time to help us adjust to the culture.
We had a 'lifestyle' coach speak to us this week. In the middle of a conversation she said " are you aware of this thing we have called GPS?"
Wondering if I had been asked a trick question I tentatively replied "you mean the global positioning system?". She said " oh no no no, its this little gadget we have to help us get from A to B....."
Sorry I haven't read this whole thread so maybe this is off topic but this happened to me this week:
We are moving to America imminently and we have all these relocation people ringing us up all the time to help us adjust to the culture.
We had a 'lifestyle' coach speak to us this week. In the middle of a conversation she said " are you aware of this thing we have called GPS?"
Wondering if I had been asked a trick question I tentatively replied "you mean the global positioning system?". She said " oh no no no, its this little gadget we have to help us get from A to B....."
hmmm...
Lol..
This is all you need to know---chips are french fries and nobody knows what a crisp is. Bonnets and boots are unheard of too unless you're speaking of clothing items. Drivers here are quite aggressive and everyone drives in the passing lane w/o moving over.
I had no idea that they had "lifestyle" coaches---it actually sounds like a fascinating career for me! if you don't mind my asking, where did you find someone that does this? Is there a company that specializes in this?
Last edited by clongirl; 09-28-2011 at 11:58 AM..
Reason: typo
I tell you, when I get there I'm applying for the job. From what I can tell, they ask you what your interests are (eg say soccer clubs), go on the internet and find out the nearest one to you, find out the price then send you the link by email. Like as if you could not do that yourself.
No we did not find these people, they are employed by my husbands firm and we did not ask for them but we have used them out of politeness.
Actually on reflection I think maybe I'm being a bit bitchy as I know I probably do need to learn a lot about American culture, but still I do think for someone selling cultural awareness you really should know what GPS stands for.
I'll find out the name of the company and PM you. You can offer your services!
I swear in America you can hire people to do anything. I guess that's why its known as the land of opportunity.
Last edited by Cruithne; 09-28-2011 at 01:18 PM..
Reason: addition
America is a fake country inhabited by fake people, who use fake words with no meaning like a robot. It is sad that these people think they live in the greatest country on the Earth. In essence materialistically very rich, spirituality very very poor.
A real life example:
I am standing outside a library and a student 20 years younger to me walks to me in a very confident manner.
"Hey, can I bum a cigarette from you ?".
Me: Oh sure...I take cigarette pack out of my bag and hand it to him.
Stranger while leaving: "Thanks Buddy"....
Me: "Okay". (Thinking: "Buddy !!" ...You are 20 years younger to me and you are a frigging complete stranger...How can you say "Buddy")...
Now picture the same scenario in India:
The guy walks to you diffidently lowering his posture and says:
"Excuse me can I borrow a cigarette from you ?".
Me: Sure...
Stranger: Showing genuine expression of thankfulness ..."thank you very much".
Me: No Problem...
"Thanks Buddy" bothers you as someone being fake and materialistic ?
I could give a pretty good rant about the selfish, crude, cold, unfriendly, smelly Indians that move to the states but I won't. BTW don't Indians discipline their kids or do they just let their kids scream and run wild in public ?
I moved to the easy bay 9 months ago from Europe and find it very difficult to make the kind of friends I did back home, maybe its me but Americans seem very insular - its easy to make a lot of acquaintances, but not friends.
Everyone appears to have a dog which I'm starting to think they use as a replacement for human contact.
Even in the rugby club I've joined, everyone turns up, is friendly, shoots the breeze about superficial topics but quick departs once training is over - no going for a beer.
As I said, maybe its just me :-)
What do you think?
I couldn't agree with you more. The American concept of friendship, generally speaking, seems to be more superficial than in some other cultures, and as someone else noted, the tradition of going visiting, having tea and good conversation at a friend's house or at a teahouse, died a few generations ago. The art of conversation died along with it.
America is a fake country inhabited by fake people, who use fake words with no meaning like a robot. It is sad that these people think they live in the greatest country on the Earth. In essence materialistically very rich, spirituality very very poor.
A real life example:
I am standing outside a library and a student 20 years younger to me walks to me in a very confident manner.
"Hey, can I bum a cigarette from you ?".
Me: Oh sure...I take cigarette pack out of my bag and hand it to him.
Stranger while leaving: "Thanks Buddy"....
Me: "Okay". (Thinking: "Buddy !!" ...You are 20 years younger to me and you are a frigging complete stranger...How can you say "Buddy")...
Now picture the same scenario in India:
The guy walks to you diffidently lowering his posture and says:
"Excuse me can I borrow a cigarette from you ?".
Me: Sure...
Stranger: Showing genuine expression of thankfulness ..."thank you very much".
Me: No Problem...
Who bums cigarettes off strangers?? Who in younger generations even smokes anymore?
People think they live in the greatest country on Earth because they're bombarded with propaganda to that effect, and they believe it. Which reflects on their powers of discernment and analysis, doesn't it? Many people don't travel or bother to learn or at least read about other cultures and other countries, thereby closing themselves off from the possibility (or risk, you might call it) of discovering that the propaganda isn't true.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
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Mixing in is the best course of action, no matter where you are. I was once on my own in the Pigalle area of Paris, which many know is a rather seedy neighborhood and not very popular with tourists -- at least not during the middle of the day, which it was on this time there.
I wandered into a small bar where a soccer match was the main attraction and the crowd of all French-speaking people in there were glued to the game. Now, I am no soccer fan and I know very little French, but was able to cobble together the sentence, "who do we like, the whites or the reds?" in French, with a strong Texas accent. The guy I asked replied, "Les Rouges...Monaco!" I thanked him and joined in, striking up small conversations as best as possible.
I noticed that most around the bar were drinking beer and grenadine (at least they told me that's what it was after I asked) and when I told them we would never drink such a thing in America, one of the guys even bought me one in his round.
I think attitudes of people are often similar in SF and Paris. "Insular" is a nice way to put it. I have seen and taken part in similar scenarios during Giants games at neighborhood bars and pubs, where space is limited and strangers pull up chairs at my table or the whole place starts high-fiving and hanging out together. Groups of people tend to mix up pretty well in small bars away from tourist areas here.
So, if the OP can stomach American baseball, SF might offer a lot of options this spring and summer for the pub life he's looking for. There are also plenty of places that cater to all the other sports, of course, but in SF, Giants baseball is really the thing.
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