CURBSIDE ETIQUETTE

Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess



Below you will find links to dates when new entries are added. The stories will not necessarily be in chronological order, but rather as I remember them. I am dating them so that you can skip to new ones you haven't read since the last time you visited, and so that you are more easily able to find something you found humorous to share with others.
Universal Language


Have you ever been at an airport, a bus station, or anywhere else that would have a variety of people whom originate from other countries? I've always been intrigued while listenning to people communicate in a language other than my own, which is of course, AMERICAN ENGLISH. I find the Oriental and Latino languages sound particularly high speed in comparison to my own language. Some of the European languages sound slurred, as if they're on their second fifth of whiskey, for instance, French to me can sound like it's one long word, unless people take a breath and pause,looking for a word or thought. That in itself, brings a lingual difference to mind. We here in the United States tend to use, (and in some cases OVER--use) the word "UMMMM". In Russia, and many other European countries, they fill their hesitations with the sound, "MMMMM" while they think. Music can be fairly universal; a smile is pretty universal between cultures. When I was teaching at Triangle Tech, we dubbed a class I had one semester as the "Mini UN" class. Out of twenty five or twenty six students, only four were actually more than a two-generation American. In other words, the other twenty students, ages 19 - 53, were either born outside of the United States, or their parents were, and they were fisrt-born generation Americans. I learned a lot, I suppose, but the one thing that stands out in my mind the most, is the hand gesture that Americans use to suggest "everything's OK." You make a circle with your index finger and thumb, and stick the other three fingers vertically into the air. Apparently, I believe it was England that uses that symbol to suggest something to the effect of "Kiss My Grits."

Last week I was with a friend at a doctor's office. The syllables flowing quickly from a mother and daughter sounded Oriental in origin, and when I peered out of the tops of my eyes, trying not to look directly at the women, it was indeed two women that appeared to be a mother and daughter originally from an Oriental country. Those of you who know me, know that more of my knowledge lies in the math and science areas, rather than the humanities, so if I described them inaccuratly, I appologize. They had an infant, which I'd assume belonged to the younger gal. The baby was excellent. He made very, very little noise for the thirty minutes or so we were all in the waiting room before they got summoned to the exam rooms in the back. However, first, the mother had the infant laying on a table in the waiting room and was making the "sshhh" sound almost nonn-stop. It was distracting to say the least. When the mother got called back into the exam rooms, the daughter took over, but at a much louder level than the mother. In an effort to refrain from being annoyed, I was tried to focus on the fact that there are things in all cultures and countries that are universal.

Do you suppose being annoyed or annoying is a trait shared across cultural lines?