A Little Lesson on Personal Space
After having lived here for one year now, I can safely say that Europeans have a very different definition of personal space than we do. This has become evident through two seemingly unrelated avenues: standing in line (known here as "queuing") and walking down the sidewalk (known here as "the pavement"). The sidewalk issue is really something you have to experience to appreciate, so I'll skip that one for now and focus on waiting in line. To help educate the masses, I've come up with the following guidelines:
When waiting in line, you're most likely violating my personal space if...
- ...you sigh and I feel it on my neck.
- ...the handful of bills you're holding keep brushing against my arm.
- ...your potbelly hits me in the back.
- ...I shift my weight from one foot to the other and nearly knock you over.
- ...you and your buddy are carrying on a conversation over the top of my head.
- If you are going to choose to stand unbearably close to me, perhaps you should think twice before bashing another culture (say, for example, Americans), because you have to know that when you're standing that close, I can hear you; let's be honest, I can smell what you ate for breakfast! Maybe, just maybe, you'd like to consider all of that before having an insulting conversation in this particular situation.
- Take a cue from me. If I've left a "safe following distance" between myself and the person in front of me, perhaps it's because that's the kind of personal space with which I prefer to surround myself. In addition, if I don't move forward when the person in front of me moves forward, maybe I'm further trying to clue you in on the fact that just because the person in front of you inches forward doesn't mean that you are required to close the gap. I promise, no one will cut in front of you if you leave more than an inch between us!
- And, to really drive home that last point, did you know that no matter how close you are to me as we move through the line, it will still take you the exact same amount of time to get to the front of the line. Think about it, it's true!
3 comments:
Yup. Especially given that certain Europeans have a distinct aversion to deodorant.
Ew! Good point; I guess I should be thankful for the fact that the use of deodorant (or, rather, the lack thereof) isn't so much of an issue in the UK. Things could be much worse. I'll remind myself of this the next time I'm standing in line, beginning to fume!
Mica, It might make a different attitude if it is the opposite sex standing next to you. Grandpa
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