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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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 Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 3:24 am Post subject: Ain't it Strange |
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I got to thinking that despite being here 10 years, there are somethings that I'll never really get used to. Among these are:
- The formal/informal paradox. In a country where informality is the norm, I still feel a little uncomfortable with the extreme politeness sometimes shown, e.g. Always asking permission to leave elevators, cross a room, etc ("Con permiso"). Having to say goodbye to everyone on leaving a party.
- Having to be careful when using my very British humour (anything goes), and generally unintentionally offending people who take the humour literally
- Being called "Joven"
I'm sure there are others, but to kick off this thread and the forum, does anyone have any other thing that takes a lot of getting used to? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 3:34 am Post subject: |
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I've enjoyed the formality that comes with such exchanges. Rather pleasant to say buenos dias/tardes/noches to just about anyone. It's crossed into my English I notice when I'm at home in Canada.
Using joven I still can't do. Does anyone ever call you patron, Phil?
I can't get used to not lining up at a store or counter. Or rather, why some places have lines and others don't. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Does anyone ever call you patron, Phil? |
Only when they want me to be their patr�n, i.e. when they want money!
I got the reverse shock when I went to England, in that nobody shook hands. We just don't do it in England, except in a business situation, but it seemed strange! |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Using joven I still can't do. Does anyone ever call you patron, Phil?
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I bet you`ll like it less when they start calling you Don......I actually like being called Jefa, hehe, not so crazy about Do�a.
I hate when people but in front of you in line or while waiting to buy something and even though the person behind the counter, or stand, knows it, they still go ahead and take care of them first. I usually walk away and don`t go back for a while. Sometimes that actually helps, sometimes doesn`t.
I don`t care for tu-usted, it seems too much to fall along social class lines. On the other hand, I don`t like being called tu in a store by a smart ass 16 year old. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I bet you`ll like it less when they start calling you Don......I actually like being called Jefa, hehe, not so crazy about Do�a. |
Actually, at 48 years old, I don't mind!
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| I don`t care for tu-usted, it seems too much to fall along social class lines. On the other hand, I don`t like being called tu in a store by a smart ass 16 year old. |
Yeah, strange one that. Can be used (ud.) both for respect, or for putting distance between you and a supposed inferior. As I don't use it too much, I have to remember to use the right conjugations - oiga & mire, not oye & mira, and referring to someone you are talking to as "lo" seems like talking about another person! |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Using joven I still can't do. Does anyone ever call you patron, Phil?
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I bet you`ll like it less when they start calling you Don......I actually like being called Jefa, hehe, not so crazy about Do�a.
I hate when people but in front of you in line or while waiting to buy something and even though the person behind the counter, or stand, knows it, they still go ahead and take care of them first. I usually walk away and don`t go back for a while. Sometimes that actually helps, sometimes doesn`t.
I don`t care for tu-usted, it seems too much to fall along social class lines. On the other hand, I don`t like being called tu in a store by a smart ass 16 year old. |
Where I live, I get called se�ora (which I�m not fond of) and sometimes se�orita (which I like better), but never do�a or jefa.
I hate the butting up in line thing too. This happened to me once at the pharmacy counter in Sanborn's. The young clerk was looking for something for me behind the counter, when a sort of bossy lady came up and started asking her for something. The idiot clerk stopped what she was doing (for me) and started helping her. I very politely, but firmly, said that I was next to be helped to the new customer, who backed off immediately, and the clerk then went back to me. I have no idea why these things happen. I would have thought that clerks in a "nice" store like Sanborn's would be better trained in customer service  !
I kind of like the t� - usted difference. It is an essential part of the language and culture, and it's much more than a social class differentiator. It's also a way to show respect to an older person and is a way of being polite to anyone your age or older who is a stranger or not a friend or relative. If a smart-ass 16-year-old-in-a-store addressed me as t�, I would come back with usted! |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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| I for one am looking forward to Don...I plan to dress the part with panache too. |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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I'm frequently called Do�a--does that mean I should start dying my hair?
(Most likely it's regional and/or relationship based. I don't recall ever being called Do�a by a total stranger, and it's almost always followed by my first name, Do�a Melee.) |
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Enchilada Potosina
Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Posts: 344
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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