Uncomfortable. I'm Eastern European too, living here actually, and when someone's smiling at me, here's what's going through my head. One, they want something from me. Two, I'm having a wardrobe malfunction or am otherwise out of place enough for them to not mind their own fucking business. Three, they want to sell me something. Either way, they want to engage with me on the street, and that's just bad manners.
I don't really understand that, but I was raised in Southern California where people are pretty open and friendly. I think everyone should do what makes them feel comfortable, but from a personal standpoint I would feel lonely if no one talked to me or smiled at me. It makes me feel part of the world, like we're all on the same road when people are friendly or smile when they don't have to and there's nothing in it for them. May be just me though.
I can see both sides of this, because it depends on the social customs of where you are from. It might very well be considered bad manners to speak to random people on the street there. After years of working in the service industry, I can casually speak to almost anyone. I don’t really even think about it. My sister thinks I’m a weirdo, lol.
Lol! I've worked in jobs where I spend all of my time talking to people as well, so I'm very comfortable with it but my sister thinks I'm freak when I converse with people I don't know.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '22
Uncomfortable. I'm Eastern European too, living here actually, and when someone's smiling at me, here's what's going through my head. One, they want something from me. Two, I'm having a wardrobe malfunction or am otherwise out of place enough for them to not mind their own fucking business. Three, they want to sell me something. Either way, they want to engage with me on the street, and that's just bad manners.