It is midnight. You are at home. You are not expecting
anyone. Someone rings the bell.
Il est minuit. Vous êtes chez vous.
Vous n'attendez personne. Quelqu'un sonne à la porte.
am i alone, maybe it's a friend, maybe i'll hook up tonight, hide something
ask who it is before without opening the door.
check the peep hole first. if i know the person, let him in. if not too bad
don't open, ignore
Go answer the door and let them in.
go open the door, holding a shotgun
I ask who it is first, and if I know them I let them in
I check to see who it is before I answer it.
i get a little nervous, but just go ask who it is
I get up, look to see who it is, and if I know them I answer the door.
I open the door.
I throw something at him for the second floor
I would ask who it is and what they want (without opening the door).
I would ask who was there before opening the door, or look out the window.
I would be frightened and would not answer the door.
i would get a little worried, and wouldn't answer the door.
I'd be a bit scared, but look out the window to see who it is.
I'd look through the peephole and only open it if I know the visitor.
if I was home alone, I'd ignore it; otherwise I'd tell my brother to get it
look out the window, then open the door with the chain still locked
look through the peephole. if i don't recognize them, i won't open the door
Look through to see if it's anyone I know and pretend I'm not there.
look through to see who it is before answering
peak through the window. Perhaps do not answer it.
see who is there
see who it is
see who it is
try to find out who it is
well. think about it
wonder who it is, answer it
chouette, une visite! (sauf si je suis au lit)
Comme je ne suis pas couché j'ouvre la porte...
don't open, ignore
ENTREZ !!!!!!!!!!!!!
j'ai très peur, je regarde par le juda (en espirant en avoir un!)
J'aime les surprises mais je me méfie tout de même.
j'essaye de savoir de qui il s'agit avant d'éventuellement ouvrir
j'ouvre et je me dit que c'est un signe
j'ouvre pour savoir qui est la
j'ouvre!!!!!!!!!
je demande d'abord qui c'est. Ce doit etre un ami
Je demande qui c'est.
Je demande qui est là
Je demande qui est là et je vérifie dans l'oeil de boeuf
Je demande sans ouvrir qui est-ce, le téléphone à la main au cas où.
Je n'ouvre que si je connais cette personne.
je ne réponds pas
je regarde avec précaution qui c'est
je regarde par l'oeillet et je n'ouvre que si je connais la personne.
je regarde par la fenêtre pour savoir qui c'est
je regarde par le juda qui est là
je suis très content
Je vais ouvrir et j'offre un coup à la personne, surtout si c'est une fille
je vais ouvrir prudemment voir qui c'est
Je vais ouvrir, mais je reste prudent.
Je vais voir de qui il s'agit.
Je vais voir qui c'est
je vais voir sans ouvrir la porte
Je vais voir.
Discussion
Hi there. A lot of the responses to this situation were the same -- they could basically be categorized into "answer the door", "ignore it" and "see who it is and then maybe answer it". However, it seems like more of the French students said that they would answer the door, and more of the American students said that they would ignore it. In my dorm, I don't think I'd be too worried, but at home, I would be afraid to answer the door in the middle of the night without knowing who was on the other side. Maybe this is because the crime is worse here than in France? Would someone in France feel unsafe to open their door in the middle of the night?
a
gree with allison about not being afraid in our dorms. i think that the security in the dorms are pretty good, but at when you're at home in a big house and no one else is home, then i would tend to feel unsafe. i think that americans on the whole are distrustful of others which might explain why less americans would open the door.
Salut à tous!
Je pense que la situation est à peu de choses près la même des deux côté de l'Atlantique. Je n'ai pas peur d'ouvrir ma porte en pleine nuit sur le campus, mais ce n'est pas la même chose dans ma propre maison. Il est même quasiment sûr qu je n'ouvrirai pas. Par ailleurs, je ne suis pas convaincu que les français ouvrent leur porte plus facilement que les américains en pleine nuit.
Je voudrais savoir si vous ne vous sentez pas en sécurité, c'est à dire s'il y a beaucoup d'agressions. En France le soir il y a certains quartiers à éviter lorqu'on est seul, en effet dans ces quartiers il y a pas mal d'agressions il arrive que la personne ressort quasiment nu, on lui a tout volé. Ici dans le quartier de l'école il faut éviter de sortir seul dans la nuit, par contre le jour il n'y a pas de problème. Et vous ? Xav'
during the day i feel perfectly safe, but at night i'm a little more alert and i don't feel as safe when walking around. our campus is located right next to the charles river so there are always a lot of people wandering around parts of campus that probably shouldn't. i know that i don't get a lot of visitors past midnight so if someone was at my door i would be a little scared.
I agree that our campus is perfectly safe during the day, and like Nisha said, you have to be on guard a little more at night. But I still think our campus is pretty safe at night. Maybe really late at night (like after 2 am), I wouldn't want to be out by myself, but usually, there are so many people out that it seems pretty safe.
Hi
I would usually open my door at midnight if I knew who was coming. In many places in the US, people leave their doors unlocked 24 hours a day because they live in the country or in vewry small towns. The only night you shouldn't open your door at midnight is Halloween. You might have an egg thrown in your face if you do!!
Allen
Xavier,
It depends where you live. While I was studying in the Bronx, I was very careful about opening the door and travelling thru the streets at night. But Boston is a much safer city, so l'm comfortable any time of day or night.
Allen
Question for the French side, what do you guys think of self-defense? WHat about opening the door and being ready for anything that's there? What are the gun control laws in France like and is it as big of a fuss as its here with NRA and alike? thnx kris
Yes I think the MIT campus is safe during the day and comfortably safe at night. Still, I often find myself cruising across the Harvard Bridge (back to Cambridge) at powerwalking speeds. I suppose this tension isn't a good to for defending oneself. Here's an anecdote I found amusing to hear but not to experience: My friend who goes to University of Chicago (located in an infamously unsafe part of town) got mugged on the subway twice by the same person! --Cheers, Michelle
pour repondre a krzystof, la legislation sur la legitime defense est beaucoup plus draconnienne qu'aux etats unis. Il est plus difficile de parler de self defense en France dans le sens où la constitution pense que seule la justice est habilitée à faire la loi, et ceux meme dans les cas dangereux. Ainsi, un policier ne peut vraiment tirer sur quequ'un que si celui ci à dejà tiré. En outre il est strictement interdit en France de porter une arme, la legislation est tres precise et le port d'arme s'accorde tres precisement