Posted by sigismund on July 7, 2013, at 0:19:02
In reply to Re: Used to be quite social » jennifer248805, posted by sigismund on July 6, 2013, at 23:18:01
The last time I was in Cusco I needed Spanish language partners. The initial deal was 'We speak in Spanish, you correct my mistakes, we eat and drink and I pay'. This is important so they can do the reciprocation that is good manners in their culture
These are young men with nothing but crappy paintings to sell.
One time when we met I said in Spanish 'How are you?' and he looked at me fixedly and said 'No good.' Immediately my ears pricked up. We had dinner, talked in Spanish about how he wanted to throw himself under a bus. We talked for ages about the human condition and his condition which is more of an achievement in a new language than in English.
But then that was essentially a material problem and a problem of prospects.
We don't have so many of those problems in our country so we can fight to the death about opinions, which is what I implied by a cold culture.
No one here cares what you think really, just how you treat them.
I have made friends, real friends, for life.
It is something I have looked for for a long time.
poster:sigismund
thread:1046346
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20130612/msgs/1046662.html