cultural bloopers?

The Lordoftheembarrassingcandor wrote:



I was sitting on a bench in Eyre Sqare in Galway town once, and two gentlemen approached me, one of them asking the time. By their accent, they were very definitely Cockney. I told them that, regretfully, i could not tell them the time because my pocket watch had stopped, and i believed the stem was broken. They sat down next to me (univited) and the other man demanded to see my watch. It was a Soviet made watch that i bought for about three pounds (Irish), at a time when a reliable and cheap pocket watch in the States sold for five or six dollars, so i hadn't been alarmed by the failure. I fully intended to go to the store where i had purchased it, and get a refund.

These two jokers took it upon themselves to right what they considered a horrible wrong. Little notion had i how they would behave. I indicated the store in which i had purchased it, and said that i intended to take it back, but just not now. They insisted that they would help me, and then, if i could show them a decent restaurant, they'd stand me for my lunch. Being young and foolish, i agreed. They proceeded to the store, and one of them, my watch in hand, proceeded to loudly demand the manager, and then, abusing him roundly all the while, demaned a replacement. Everyone in the place was positively staring daggers at them, which they either did not percieve, or about which they did not care--i suspect the former, as my brief acquaintance with them had already convinced me that they were largely clueless. I was mortified, as my friend had already called the store and had been assured i could get my money back.

I got my "new" watch (which i did not want), and we went off to the Galway Bakery Company, which had a good restaurant upstairs. We ordered, and then i told them i had to go to the tiles. I went right downstairs, and out into Eyre Square, where, fortunately, my friends soon arrived. We left, and a few days later, i got a refund on the watch from another store in the chain in Limerick. I have met few people as pleasant, well-mannered and friendly as the English, when you meet someone decent. I have met few more obnoxious and bullying people as the English, when the ones you've met aren't.

Not really a cultural question...but why do men spit so much anyway?

Women don't spit. Or, I should say, I've probably seen a woman in public spit maybe 2 or 3 times in my life.

Do men have overactive spit thingies?

I notice watching the winter olympics female skiers manage to get down the mountain without half their sinuses running down their face. It was really apparant during that competition where they had to ski, then shoot a rifle, then ski some more, etc.

The evil looking kitty wrote:



'Cause it really p*sses of the wimmins . . .

Well, I'm in Vancouver, or Hongcouver, as it is known... and believe me, we do not do that, but the Asians certainly do. The women also sometimes engage in this practice. It has nothing to do with the availability of kleenex, as someone else suggested...it is cultural.

And, for me, it's a rather difficult one to swallow (excuse the pun).

she's not evil....she's just waking up from a widdle nappy and is still all confoozled.