Friendliness Versus Friendship

            Many people around the world characterize Americans as friendly. Americans, especially in comparison to certain other cultural groups, tend to smile and talk easily with others even if they are strangers (in big cities, this is less common). For example, people waiting in lines (i.e., in the post office or in the grocery store) often strike up conversations with each other. They may even disclose personal information in encounters with strangers whom they will never see again. This seems unusual to many foreigners in the United State. From their point of view, how can a person trust a stranger enough to chat freely and reveal personal information? After all, in most of the world, strangers are not to be trusted.

            The following is an account of what an American woman learned about the American woman learned about the American man she was standing behind in a line in a post office. In about eight minutes, he revealed that: (1) he was married and his wife was about to have a baby , (2) he was unhappy with his job as a salesman and was considering a “mid-life” career change (not uncommon in the United State) , (3) he and his wife were trying to figure out if it would be better to work harder or take more time off from work that they could relax more.

            This is perhaps an extreme example (even for many Americans) of how strangers reveal aspects of their lives to each other. To many people around the world, this openness would be considered abnormal and even suspicious. Some would stereotype this man and might say, “well, he’s a salesman, What do you expect ?” while many Americans would find his openness excessive, this type of person is not a rarity.