Do You Chat with Your Neighbor? I Don’t — but Should I?
Perhaps I’m Not as Canadian as I Should Be
Canadians are known almost universally as friendly folk.
I come from a community where we say hi and smile when we pass one another on the streets. We make polite chitchat in grocery stores with the cashier. We say “sorry” when you bump into us, and while I do all of these things, I do not talk to the people who live on either side of me. I never have.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t snub them if they say hi first. I will wave back when waved at. I will smile if you smile at me. But did I come over to introduce myself when my husband and I first moved in? No. Do I want to have a barbeque or share your pool? No thank you. There’s something about the idea of getting caught up and being forced to chat for ten minutes when I am holding groceries after a long day and just want to get home that makes me shiver.
I didn’t think anything of it, until I spoke with my coworker, Claudia. Claudia told me that where she is from (Medellín) in Columbia, people talk to their neighbors. They hang out with them during the holidays. They are warm and hug and it all sounded so…not Canadian. She explained that Canadians seem ‘colder’ to her in this way. She loves Canada, and she loves the people here, but the difference, she explained, is stark.
I think in past generations it was different. I’m thinking of the 1950s. I think it even varies depending on your neighborhood. And perhaps, maybe I am a little more standoffish than most. I blame it on being introverted. And though I may not be super friendly I will always be polite, eh!
So what do you think — should I be more friendly to my neighbors? Is this behavior the standard where you are from as well, or are you more like Claudia? Do you think it’s rude if your neighbors keep their heads down and keep on going? And is it too late to change now that I have been acting like this in my ‘new’ place for nearly two years? Let me know in the comments!
