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Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

bbc.com

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Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#41

Post by xyzelement »

tjomk wrote: post #17
Markoff wrote: post #7

TLDR to earn (tax free?) money, it has nothing to do with hospitality

Let's go the US way and arrest children for doing lemonade stands. How dare they not get a license and pay their taxes to Uncle Sam! /s

Low IQ take.

There are probably millions of child lemonade stands in the US. I think you must be referring to a story where one family was asked to take down theirs for some reason.

The reason that story was written and is memorable is because it's so whacky and unusual. I expect my kids to run lemonade stands with no complications:)

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#42

Post by john_strinlai »

xyzelement wrote: post #41
tjomk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's go the US way and arrest children for doing lemonade stands. How dare they not get a license and pay their taxes to Uncle Sam! /s

Low IQ take. There are probably millions of child lemonade stands in the US. I think you must be referring to a story where one family was asked to take down theirs for some reason. The reason that story was written and is memorable is because it's so whacky and unusual. I expect my kids to run lemonade stands with no complications:)

this comment would be so much better if you didn't start with "Low IQ take.".

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#43

Post by zabzonk »

I remember back in the mid 1980s there was a scheme in Lincolnshire UK where you could just turn up at a house and go into their back garden to admire their plants - only gardens owned by people taking part in the scheme, obviously. Doesn't seem to exist anymore, and I guess I'm not surprised,

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#44

Post by notahacker »

jaen wrote: post #36
someoneeestis wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can tell that to all the Nõmme, Tondi, Pirita, Kesklinn, Tartu, Viljandi, Karksi-Nuia amongst other places I've lived where I've smiled and said "Tere hommikust!" to as they turned their face away and pretended I didn't exist. I've also lived in Amsterdam and even people on the street who were not my neighbors smiled and said good morning and often that triggered a little conversation and laughters. Like I…

I didn't imply that you were being insincere... re: the greeting, I think introverts around the world do not necessarily appreciate being randomly greeted by strangers, they just get used to it if the culture is like that. From that perspective, I don't think just a random greeting from a stranger always makes people feel more warm and the days more bearable either. It's more of a correlation rather than causation. P…

> re: the greeting, I think introverts around the world do not necessarily appreciate being randomly greeted by strangers, they just get used to it if the culture is like that

the flip side is that extroverts around the world don't necessarily like everyone giving the impression that their existence is an inconvenience, they just get used to it if the culture implies that seeking interaction with people they don't have a close interaction with is rude or suspicious behaviour...

(as for Estonia it may have assimilated Russian smile-aversion as well as being nearly as culturally introverted as Finland)

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#45

Post by dpedu »

That's pretty interesting, I've never heard of this! I've done something somewhat similar when visiting the Isle of Man.

For the unfamiliar, the Isle of Man hosts a world-renown motorsport race, mainly motorcycles, widely considered the most dangerous and deadly race in the world. Average of 2 to 3 fatalities per year.

It's a rather small and relatively sparsely populated island, but for the weeks of the race, the population absolutely explodes as visitors come from all over the world.

The local government runs a program called Homestay, which encourages residents to rent out their properties or spare rooms, etc, to tourists. And I stayed in one such Homestay. I think I paid 25 pounds a night to stay for about 2 weeks, in the 4th largest town on the island.

It's a great deal, my hosts were amazing, and it's a much better experience than a hotel if you care about learning about the island. I met their entire family and they shared "local knowledge" of interesting spots to check out.

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#46

Post by nkg »

"It's quite traditional to help foreign visitors on Hiiumaa because back then it meant they were here because of [a] shipwreck or something like that, and they needed help."

It's crazy that your 1st thought seeing a stranger in your village is that he might be lost or distressed.

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#47

Post by java-man »

jaen wrote: post #36
someoneeestis wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can tell that to all the Nõmme, Tondi, Pirita, Kesklinn, Tartu, Viljandi, Karksi-Nuia amongst other places I've lived where I've smiled and said "Tere hommikust!" to as they turned their face away and pretended I didn't exist. I've also lived in Amsterdam and even people on the street who were not my neighbors smiled and said good morning and often that triggered a little conversation and laughters. Like I…

I didn't imply that you were being insincere... re: the greeting, I think introverts around the world do not necessarily appreciate being randomly greeted by strangers, they just get used to it if the culture is like that. From that perspective, I don't think just a random greeting from a stranger always makes people feel more warm and the days more bearable either. It's more of a correlation rather than causation. P…

how can you tell a Finnish extrovert? he looks at YOUR boots!

as an introvert, I like this discussion.

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#48

Post by busterarm »

someoneeestis wrote: post #33
jaen wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Smiling at strangers is considered poor social form here and it doesn't matter if you're a foreigner or native. It's not. Insincerity and mindless, automatic smiles might be a little bit frowned upon. Genuine, but subtle smiles (as appropriate for strangers) are appreciated, at least for the younger generation. The older generation might still be somewhat "traumatized" by the Soviet occupation and its cultural effe…

Well, you can tell that to all the Nõmme, Tondi, Pirita, Kesklinn, Tartu, Viljandi, Karksi-Nuia amongst other places I've lived where I've smiled and said "Tere hommikust!" to as they turned their face away and pretended I didn't exist. I've also lived in Amsterdam and even people on the street who were not my neighbors smiled and said good morning and often that triggered a little conversation and laughters. Like I…

I would also say Brazil and Ireland are unusually friendly & warm compared to most of the world.

Irish people making small talk is practically a competitive sport.

Re: Why Estonians invite strangers into their back gardens each summer

#49

Post by youaremidwit »

john_strinlai wrote: post #42
xyzelement wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low IQ take. There are probably millions of child lemonade stands in the US. I think you must be referring to a story where one family was asked to take down theirs for some reason. The reason that story was written and is memorable is because it's so whacky and unusual. I expect my kids to run lemonade stands with no complications:)

this comment would be so much better if you didn't start with "Low IQ take.".

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