On Being Blunt in A British World
sorry Debbie, that dress is awful, really really sorry,
British culture is weird.
British culture is both fantastic and fantastically weird. I mean, there’s a lot of things I love about it. The vibes. The nature. The little cafes. The sorry about being sorry about apologising. The way museums are usually ridiculously cheaper than the rest of Europe (or even free!).The politeness.
The politeness.
Don’t get me wrong. I love (LOVE!) the way Brits smile on the street and say good-morning and how do you do and whatnot. But conversely, it means being blunt isn’t one of our fortés.
I didn’t realise this until 5th grade.
“Nyse, you have to stop telling the truth.”
Between picking up another forkful of food, at the school canteen, I said
“I don’t understand,”
*Rosanne* in dramatic 5th graders way sighed and leaned closer.
“If someone asks you if they look good in a dress and they don’t, what do you say?”
“You don’t look good in that dress,”
“Nooo Nyse, you tell them it looks good.”
“If they don’t want to hear my opinion they don’t have to ask for it,”
