Hello Carol,

>MS>decide they want to communicate with a total stranger. That basically
>MS>never happens in Germany and in the USA it was kind of an ever day
>MS>experience. I liked that. Though there are much more very unfriendly
>MS>people as well. You cannot have the one without the other I guess.

>MS>Funny is that no matter how "aristocratic" the
restaurant/hoten/... they
>MS>alway talk to you as if you were their buddy. "Hello guys, how are you
>MS>doing today?" was among the greetings I heard most often.

>LL>In Louisiana you would be greeted with phrases such as
"Where you at?"
>LL>or "How you be?", given the state's French cultural heritage.

CS>or other things in other areas, but we are generally a fairly chatty bunch e

CS>with complete strangers .  In my home area, 'How Do?' would
be a common o
CS>and every parting would be with a 'See ya later' (even if obviously you wont

CS>Malte with that glorious german accent would have created crowds on most
CS>streets as folks wanted to chat with someone from so far away.  He probably
CS>has a few funny stories of folks trying their minimal broken german on him t
CS>(grin).

Language and accents vary greatly in different parts of the country.
And people are naturally curious to meet others from faraway places.
In high school, one of my teachers was German.  And he did not always
use perfect English.  Yet he taught English.  Talk about some strange
interpretations of Shakespeare.  To understand it, you had to learn
to appreciate German humor.  Not always an easy task for Cajuns, most
of whom come from a heavily-influenced French culture.  :)

--Lee


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