I was in a subway train about three days ago. Two Chinese girls came in, sat right across me. I was dozing off a little bit, so I didn't care much at first. But then one of them started to clip her nails! I was VERY frustrated and startled, the train was rather empty though. Her nails were popping around, from here to there, I was wondering if I should stop her. But they looked so calm and normal. This girl finished clipping, then started trimming her nails. I felt like I had to say something, but at the same time I didn't want to be rude. I mean.. it could be a cultural difference, right? Anyhow, soon I had to get off, so I got off.
So I'm very curious. Is clipping in a public place a big deal to you? Or am I being a little paranoid about this? Is it a cultural difference?
Thanks!
:D
"The innuit people of Canada consider farting after a meal to be an indication of thanks." - Dorothy
OMG;) this is soooo funny, I can't stop laughing hehehehehe
First time I felt kind of embarrassed because of the cultural differences; when my Malaysian room mates burped after eating! I didn't know what to do, at first I thought it happened accidentally but because they did it more than once, I guessed this is normal where they come from, so after that I made sure to finish eating fast & be the first to leave the table before they do, so I won't go through it again(,") thanks God it was't farting!! They were 20 Malaysian girls & I'm the only Arabian living with them, despite the burps I loved those girls very much & I had so many beautiful memories with them.. Sometimes it's hard to tell people that what they'r doing is Not acceptable Specially if it's what they got used to it since childhood!
What country did this happen in?
All cultures have different "rules" for what is ok to do in public. In some cultures it's considered perfectly ok to spit or blow snot out your nose onto the ground in front of others. In modern America doing these things would be considered absolutely disgusting. In Texas it is literally ILLEGAL to spit on the sidewalk. On the hand, historically taverns had spitoons where men would try to spit into them from a distance!
Today, in America, clipping one's nails in public where a piece could fly into another person's eye is a dangerous, disgusting and rude thing to do, but in another country it could be common place.
What is socially acceptable depends on the society in which you find yourself.
In my country it is acceptable to smoke in public, breastfeeding in public, talking loudly in public, and yes, clipping nails in public. Spitting in public is widely shunned by society, but even so, a few days ago I saw a shopkeeper of a shopping mall spat on the path I was about to take. And she even had the audacity to try attracting me to visit her shop!
In some places like expensive shopping malls, expensive restaurants, expensive hotels etc smoking and clipping nails are forbidden. But in those places we can find 50-something guys holding hands with 20-something or even younger girls, and it is acceptable, because those guys are rich as h*ll.
Ask any Indonesians. Having money makes everything you do acceptable here.
What a wonderful story Mumtaz! :D
