Hi,

It seems as if for both students in America and France,
there would be some who would ignore the neighbor.
However, from the words used, a higher number of
responses from the French students showed that they
would be insulted.

If I'm not wrong, the question went something like "You
meet one of your neighbors who doesn't see you or
ignores you." I'm wondering why people would be offended
since there is a good chance that the neighbor is
preoccupied with doing something, or has something on
his/mind.

Mag

Once again, my question is which neigbors we had in mind
when we were responding to this question? I know that
for myself, at least, I answered thinking about my
neighbors at home and therefore didn't care, whereas if
I had applied the term to hallmates at school, I would
be much more insulted. Maybe this is the root of the
different types of responses? Jess

I think that the best way to look at this scenario is to
step back and look behind the responses to perhaps the
invisible underlying motivations. Many of the
Americans attribute the reason to distraction, showing
that the normal response is that a hello or at least
some acknowledgement is due. This point is reaffirmed
by the fact that many others take the initiative to
initialize the exchange by saying "hello". While some
of the French students seem a bit put-off with the lack
of a hello, most of the responses do not carry the same
element of surprise or audacity or insult. Two
responded with "et alors?", many ignore it, and only
one says the first hello. Thus, we can deduce that
perhaps such an exchange as not normal to the French
students as it is to the American ones. While the
Americans seek a positive reaction that seems to be
expected, the French seem to accept the indifference
(even if sometimes with a grain of salt). Those who
responded only with "je ne le dis non plus" or other
similar responses, would you feel that this is insulting
or is it normal?

One more thing. I looked back at the phrases section
to "good neighbor/bon voisin" and the most common
responses shared a common belief that good neighbors do
not bother you. Do you think that saying "hello"
should fall under the category of minding your own
business?

It seems that Americans are more likely to analyze their
neighbor's lack of response. One person wanted to find
out why the neighbor was upset, while several others
imagined that the neighbor might be having problems.
Based on these responses, the Americans seemed to
envision a somewhat more involved relationship with
their neighbors than did the French. One of the French
responses, for instance, stated that it didn't matter
because the neighbor wasn't a friend. Is it just not
common for neighbors to be close in France? Are there
social barriers to neighborly interactions? If so, do
people ever try to bypass these barriers and become
friends with their neighbors?

In reference to Sayumi's and Jonathan's postings, I also
think that the French think a good neighbor is one who
does not interfere, while the Americans look for more of
an interaction with their neighbors, and therefore they
try to read into their neighbor's behavior more than the
French. I think that this is also part of the community
issue -- Americans are more involved, and consciously
so, in their community, while to the French it seems
like involvement in the community is somewhat unusual
and often has something to do with religion. Because
neighbors are part of the community, this seems like an
extension of that.

être très proche avec son voisin est, je pense,
relativement rare en France, excepté dans des résidences
universitaires où tout le monde finit par bien se
connaitre. en général, les rapports entre voisins
s'arrête aux sourirs et "bonjour" dans les couloirs...
Cela est surtout valable dans les villes, et moins dans
les villages.

jeanou..

Message 288

On constate que les americains disent plus volontiers
bonjour a leurs voisin tandis que les francais ont
plutot tendance a ne pas engager la conversation et a
l'ignorer. De plus, certains americains semblent
s'inquieter lorsque leurs voisins ne leur adressent pas
la parole, alors que personne en france n'en serait
choqué. Cela montre une difference dans les relations de
voisinage entre la france et les etats-unis, ou les gens
semblent beaucoup plus proches de leurs voisins. En
effet, en france, les relations avec les voisins sont
impersonnelles: un voisin est celui qui habite
l'appartement a coté et c'est
tout.

Could you elaborate more on the interaction between
students in the dorms or "residences universitaire"?
Are there structured programs to help students mix? E.g.
dinners, study breaks
For first-years, are they housed in the same building or
with other students? Are there orientation programs or
first-years and international students?

Magdalen

En première année, les étudiants de l'INT peuvent loger
à la résidence universitaire. En deuxième et troisième
années, il existe un système de priorités.
il y a des étudiants étrangers à l'INT, par exemple des
mexicains et des américains.
Salut
Jonathan