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Why Russians do not smile (2002)

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Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#271

Post by namenotrequired »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #236
3pt14159 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russians are so extreme. Even though my favourite professors at Waterloo in Canada were Russian, it wasn't until I learned some basic Russian that I finally got over the typical view of them drilled into people by Hollywood. Your run of the mill Russian is honest about their feelings. Not honest about the facts, no, they can cheat on an insurance filing just fine. But that coldness that so many of them seem to have i…

I once met a russian person online who had learned portuguese, my native language. I was extremely impressed. To this day I've never seen anyone else learn portuguese as a second language.

I'm Dutch and learned it as a second language, when I moved to Brazil (at age 24). I met some Europeans who did the same.

Well, it's usually the third or fourth rather than the second (second tends to be English or Spanish).

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#272

Post by amazingman »

solipsism wrote: post #262
andreskytt wrote: post #256

Estonian here. At Skype (10+ years ago) I observed, that members of large cultures (American, British, Hindu etc.) had real trouble adjusting to the predominantly Estonian-based engineering culture. Probably because they had never had to adjust, commonly people adjust to _their_ culture as it tends to dominate large organizations. But once they did make an honest attempt, that was always most welcomed and gained them…

A Hindu pm had the habit of sitting next to developers while they worked, sometimes putting a hand on their knee Eh... That doesn't sound like just an Indian being Indian. a Japanese guy came to the hr person complaining the original lady from us had hugged them. Again, it was explained that this is just what Americans do Nope... We don't hug people who don't want to be hugged. The Japanese guy was right to complain,…

> Expecting everyone to just accept anything because "that's what they do where they're from" is setting things up for people to be actually victimized and to feel like your company is fine with it.

Your point is valid in the abstract, sure. That’s not what was said, though.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#274

Post by cosmodisk »

graton wrote: post #249
andyxor wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"normalyok" and more informally "zayebis"

So for others "zayebis" = "fucking awesome". A bit vulgar to use.

Nice!I haven't used that word since the childhood,when using Russian words without property understanding them was a norm. You are right, definitely a proper situation is needed to use it.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#275

Post by glogla »

mgerullis wrote: post #132

It’s funny, I never noticed this. I grew up in Germany and had lived in the US for a year a while back. A few years after I met an American friend here who had been on a euro trip. She went to Prague (not exactly Russia, but culturally close enough I guess) and she said something like: "why are all people there so damn depressed?" I myself had great times in that same city, I never got that feeling. But I realized th…

> She went to Prague (not exactly Russia, but culturally close enough I guess

FYI those are fighting words in Prague. My people generally hate everything having to do with Russia, after being controlled by the Soviets since 1948 and outright occupied between 1968 to 1989.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#276

Post by FpUser »

flemhans wrote: post #198
cosmodisk wrote: post #116

Plenty of contribution already,so I'll just add a personal anecdote. Some years ago I happened to have some beers with a Latvian Russian,who lived here, in London. He tells us that he doesn't get the Brits. He just doesn't understand the reasoning in some situations. I ask to elaborate. He says: last year, I had a pretty serious trauma and ended up in a hospital. It's so bad, pain, lots of tests,etc. And I'm pretty f…

The typical reply in Russian to "How are you" is "normalno" (normal), which I always thought should appeal to computer geeks

I always answer "still alive" in either language when I am asked by the people I know. When asked by random person like bank teller I would answer something weird. This would usually throw them out of their sleepy mood and suddenly they become more alive and attentive.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#277

Post by vilts »

wrs wrote: post #221
danbmil99 wrote: post #177

There's actually a regional difference. Growing up on the east coast in New York people rarely smiled at each other on the street. Someone you didn't know smiling at you could mean a crazy person, or some sort of con artist trying to suck you into interacting with them. Living on the west coast for the last twenty years, the situation is totally different. On a bike trail, on the sidewalk, people often smile and nod…

In some parts of the US (particularly small towns and the Midwest) people will not only smile and nod at strangers on the sidewalk, but say hello or ask “how are you?” (not expecting anything other than “fine, thanks”). In New York, that would definitely be cause for concern!

Yes, indeed! I'm from the "cold non-smiling" country as well and going first time to Atlanta was very weird experience with random people on the street "how are you?"ing you.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#278

Post by tren »

andreskytt wrote: post #256

Estonian here. At Skype (10+ years ago) I observed, that members of large cultures (American, British, Hindu etc.) had real trouble adjusting to the predominantly Estonian-based engineering culture. Probably because they had never had to adjust, commonly people adjust to _their_ culture as it tends to dominate large organizations. But once they did make an honest attempt, that was always most welcomed and gained them…

If you want to improve your understanding about these sort of differences between cultures, I highly recommend reading "The Culture Map" by Erin Meyer.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#279

Post by noobermin »

I have a SO in Singapore. Once we were at a (sort of chic actually) cafe and the cashier made eye contact without a smile and said, "ah what you want" and I was instinctively taken aback. It's amusing because I have since figured out that people in sg just act differently, I mean by that point me and her had been dating for years and I've learned that in general Asian cultures tend to be more reserved (in certain respects, they are less reserved in ways Americans aren't, my father in-law tells me straight up when he sees me that I've gotten fatter). That said, it felt odd to be in a situation here where in the US I usually have to shake off the constant pan-american smiles and chiming in to see how the food is etc, etc. I usually rather people back off a little or chill out at least and yet because it's so ingrained in my head that a situation where I actually got customer service that is brutally efficient, my first instinct is to think they didn't like me.
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