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We either humble brag or we do a weird thing where we boast about how poo poo we are and how poo poo our country is. People do this in Japan and India too, I've got in full-blown arguments with Japanese people over who comes from the shittiest country or who's the worst at speaking the other one's language. You see it all over the place, and it's very much a thing in the UK, in some areas more than others. In some ways it's a kind of pride in overcoming adversity, like if someone says "What's your hometown like?" you might answer "It's poo poo, and that's why we look out for each other and we're such a great community". We like to bond over complaining about things, like a good conversation starter is "Crap weather, we're having, isn't it?" or "Ugh, bus is late again". Or we compliment each other but not ourselves. That translates to a national scale too, although we like taking the piss out of other countries in a friendly sort of way too (though sometimes that goes too far, e.g. international football rivalries where most people are just having a laugh but a few get violent over it). I'm from the east coast of Scotland where there's still a real Calvinist, austere tradition that you absolutely do not boast or put on airs, which makes it pretty difficult in job interviews when the HR managers ask "so give us an honest appraisal of your skills" and you say "eh, I'm nothing special, about average I guess", which in Brit-speak means "I'm the god drat best there is". It's only really in some parts of London or among aspirational yuppie types (like on The Apprentice) where you see people boasting, and everyone else mocks them for it. Now, people familiar with the culture will understand that and translate it as "I'm brilliant but I'd feel bad saying so", but people from countries like the USA where you can actually say "I'm pretty great at this skill" without being ribbed mercilessly will often take that at face value and not hire you. There are business coaches and career advisors who teach Europeans how to really sell their CV. A conversation that often takes place at parties in Britain is: "I love your outfit!" "Oh, this old thing? Ah, I've had it ages. I like your dress." "Nah, it was my mum's in the '70s, it's rubbish" "Mine's from a charity shop and cost me 50p" "Well my mum got this one free out of a dustbin" "Well MINE is full of holes and the seams are all raggy" "Well MINE is polyester and it's fraying" "MINE'S THE WORST!" "NO, MINE!"
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Jan 17, 2015 17:19
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 22:24 |
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