You meet one of your neighbors

Vous rencontrez votre voisin

He/she must not have seen me, or is preoccupied.
I am bothered by the fact and try to find a reason
for his/her behaviour
I assume she didn't see me. I often walk unaware of
those around me.
I don't say hello but offer a smile if they look up.

I don't say hello either.
I don't say hello to them either.
i don't say hi either.
I just walk on, and possibly, I may be wondering for
a long time why he or she did not say hello.
I say hello. He probably has prolems so I shouldn't
feel offended.
I would feel snubbed.
I would not think anything of it; my neighbor is obviously
busy or has something on his/her mind.
I would probably say hi; they probably just didn't
see me.
I would say hello and by his/her reaction determine
if he/she meant to snub or just didn't see me.
I would say hello and if he/she does not respond I
would be concerned.
I would say hello anyway.
I would say hello anyways, and think to myself that
his/her action was a rude gesture.
I would say hello, then if he or she did not respond,
i would feel hurt and confused.
I would say hi anyways.
I would thing that perhaps they did not see me.
I would think that he/she is rude or is very busy.

If they don't say hello, I initiate the conversation
and start the hello myself.
Maybe she/he has something in her/his mind
Say hello
say hello
surprise: "What's wrong with him/her?"

il doit être pressé. On verra plus tard
quand il aura le temps
J'essaie de me faire remarquer, mais s'il ne veut
pas me voir, je laisse tomber.
je cris "BONJOUR" et j'attends sa réaction
(il ne m'a sans doute pas vu).
Je crois qu'il ne m'a pas vue.
Je fais de même
je fais semblant de ne pas le voir
je fais un sourire, mais je me dis qu'il doit avoir
un soucis
je l'ignore
je l'ignore
Je l'ignore également
je l'insulte !
je le lui dis au dernier moment
Je lui dis bonjour
je lui dis bonjour quand même
Je lui dis bonjour tout en pensant que quelque chose
ne doit pas aller chez lui.
Je lui dis bonjour très fort.
Je lui dit bonjour avec un grand sourire, il ne m'a
peut être pas vue.
Je lui fais un très large sourire et la salut

je m'en moque
Je ne lui dis pas bonjour non plus.
je passe mon chemin
je souris
Ni l'effort ni la récompense ne valaient que
l'on s'y attarde.
pas de problèmes, il me le dira la prochaine
fois... Je ne me formalise pas pour ce genre de choses
peut être qu'il ne m'a pas vu sinon je ne lui
dit plus bonjour après
si c'est un ami je le tance, sinon je l'ignore.

Discussion

This comment has been made before in other forums, but it's every bit as evident in the responses here. Again, it seems that the French response is typically outgoing, while Americans respond in a more subdued manner. In addition, the Americans are more likely to do nothing while harboring an inner resentment towards the person.

In my experiences of living (5 1/2 years in Germany) and travelling abroad, I would say that my opinions on the various cultures is the same as reflected in the responses. Americans are more private and less outgoing than French (who are in turn topped by Italians).

I found the same things as Tyler, in that Americans seem to harbor more negative feelings without expressing them. Do the French do this at all, or do you express your feelings as soon as they occur? Also, are there any times when you would keep your feelings to yourself, or is it a general rule to be more straightforward and direct?

Bonjour à tous les étudiants du MIT, et en particulier Ann-Marie et Tyler,

Je pense que oui, les Français comptent aussi de grands hypocrites parmi eux ! La France n'est pas un pays de sincérité parfaite où tout le monde se hâterait de dire immédiatement tout ce qui lui passe par la tête. Il n'y a pas de règle écrite obligeant à s'exprimer, et je pense qu'il existe plein de situations où il vaut mieux ne pas dire à l'autre ce que l'on a en tête. Je vous laisse deviner lesquelles...

-- A bientôt, Pierre R

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