polenta

this sentence is not so similar to what I think is German......

polenta

Ich liebe auch Think Draw. LOL

polenta

Since nobody seems to start a new topic. I have one about cross-cultural differences or similarities.
When do people in different cultures kiss, shake hands, hug, etc?
Are men greeted the same as women (handshake,kiss, hug etc)?

NADIA

Hey Polenta,in the Afrikaner tradition men will always greet other men with handshakes and the woman (If they are related or friends),with a kiss,and a hug but if they are not also a handshake.We love close contact with family and friends.

polenta

interesting!

Dragon

In Canada it's customary to greet both male and female with a handshake. Kisses (even just on the cheek) are reserved for people you're very close to and generally just between man and woman or 2 women. You'd almost never find 2 men do a cheek kiss.

polenta

See how things vary with different cultures and even as time passes by?This happened according to my experience in Uruguay too. Variations with time.

Dragon

Is it common to kiss hello in Uruguay?

polenta

Yes, it's common among women to kiss and some 15 years ago, it's become common with men who are friends too. It was surprising at first but now I'm used to it especially young men kiss one another.

I sometimes see in American movies that a husband comes home and says hello but doesn't even kiss his wife. This surprises me.

Dragon

I usually get a kiss and a hug when I get home and I sure appreciate it. But I'm sure there are lots of folks out there who don't.

NADIA

Dragon,that is very sweet.If I where married then that is just the way I would want it to be between me and my husband.
Personally I give out a hug and a kiss to my relatives each day,because life is so short and you might not have the chance to do it at a later stage.

marius

Nadia - thanks for answering all my questions! Yes, I'd like to hear more Afrikaans language. I read that it originates from Dutch. Tried to find a radio or TV station that talks in Afrikanns and no luck. I used to live in a place that got very windy during one time each year. The wind would rush down the mountains at 70 miles per hour. Everyone got really crabby when that happened, but at least there wasn't a lot of dust. Except for that, Namimbia sounds exceptionally wonderful and beautiful.

About fruits and vegetables: here are common ones people eat where I live: apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, pears, peaches, melons, broccoli, beans, tomatoes, asparagas, cauliflower, potatoes, squash, cabbage, green peppers, onions, and sometimes artichoke, beets, parsnip. Maybe that's what I'd like to know - what do you normally eat?

I'd also like to know if you see African animals much, like what we see on TV. So, do elephants, giraffe's or other animals ever wonder into town or close to town or do you have to drive far to see them? If any wild animals live in the town, what are they?

Our town animals are things like raccoons, possums, squirrels, birds ... to see other wild animals you have to drive somewhere. But, about ten minutes from here I can visit a preserve where there are turkeys, bobcats, coyote, deer, mink, muskrat, beaver ... you just don't always see them though because they hide.

marius

Really enjoyed people's stories about greeting family members and friends. When I was growing up, I don't think anyone in my family hugged anyone. Not even my mom and her siblings, or my dad and his siblings. People were very formal.

My grandmother had the same neighbor for thirty years. They spent a lot of time together but they NEVER called each other by the first name. The called each other Mrs. Gallagher and Mrs. Gregory! And children NEVER called an adult by any name but Mr or Mrs and then the last name. Now children call adults by the first name all the time. The exception is teachers. They still have to call their teachers, Mr. or Ms. or Mrs.

marius

Polenta, I've seen TV shows where the husband and wife don't greet each other when one of them comes home. It IS odd now that you mention it. But then, I think a great deal of TV is odd. I've read that many of our TV shows are shown over-seas and I feel rather embarrassed about that. : )

marius

Oh - and Nadia, I'm surprised Kentucky Fried Chicken is in your country. It's popular here but I've never cared much for it. But ... what does your KFC serve besides chicken? Is it like here - mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and biscuits? Have never heard of Steers or Nando's.

polenta

I don't think it's to get embarassed, I'm just speaking about facts. Each society has its own solutions to human problems or necessities.
I've heard or seen lots of things.... espcially in series and movies. For example, I see that when a passenger gets out of a taxi, he/ she first gets out and then pays the taxi driver standing in the street beside the taxi driver's window. Here people usually pay when they are still inside the cab and while they are sitting at the back seat. See what I mean; stupid details..... none of the two ways is better than the other.... only different.

Here it's also possible to see a male passenger sitting in the front seat next to the driver even if the empty seats are completely empty. I don't think a woman would do it. How strange, isn't it?

marius

Oh my - that is what I don't like about some of our movies and televsion - it ISN'T the real world!!!! I've taken lots of taxi's and you ALWAYS pay while you're still inside the taxi! ALWAYS! I think it is only in movies that you get out and then pay. : )

Also, in many taxi's here there are often big metal or plastic screens between the front of the taxi and the back seat. They are to protect the taxi driver. Really! So, everyone sits in the back seat. Although thinking about this now ... I suppose if you had a gun and wanted to rob the taxi driver that the screen would not stop you. Hmmm.

marius

Another thing about our movies and television that I don't like is that it makes it look like people in America meet and five minutes later head to the bedroom. Well, I am sure there are people who make those kinds of choices, but no one I know does that. I would say that most people here never do that kind of thing but if you watch our shows, you'd think everyone does that all the time. Ummm ... noooooo!

polenta

good remark marius.
We have to accept then that movies DESCRIBE society in a way but they also CREATE customs and wishes. I always wonder if the devices and appliances they show there when they are very new on the market are not a way of making the viewer or spectator want to buy it.
Maybe kissing romantically has not always been kissing on the lips. Who knows? Maybe it was Hollywood's invention. LOL

Dragon

I've never actually been in a taxi that had a screen between the driver and backseat. I've always sat in the back, it would just seem weird to sit up front. I've never met anyone who didn't pay first before getting out.
One thing I notice in movies and tv is that whenever someone gets chinese take out they always get them in a little white box with a red picture of a pagoda or something on it. You know the little boxes that open up top. I don't know if they are actually common down in the states but we always get take out in styrafoam boxes here.