Humour

From Various contributors

Nike story
“I am English and my wife, Lily, is US American. When she asks me to do something, particularly a behavioral change, I will usually respond: "I will try my best". To which, she will respond in frustration: "Don't try your best. Just do it!"
Thanks to Jeremy Solomons

Dutch directness meets US performance anxiety…
Being an admittedly good cook, I decided to wow my Dutch girlfriend with one of my specials. After her first reflective mouthful, I asked her, “Do you like it?” She responded, “No.” This was my first lesson in Dutch Directness, being a smiling, pleasing Yank. She merely said that she didn’t like the dish. What did I hear? NO I don’t like it. NO it is not a good recipe. NO you are not a good cook. NO I don’t love you any more! Having had much more experience living in The Netherlands I can laugh at this incident. But I also reflect on what I learned: perhaps we USians say “no” a bit more often than some other cultures, but many of us don’t hear “no” without making quite a mental and emotional to-do out of it! It took a small leap in the mind but a big leap in the gut to appreciate Dutch directness and to benefit from realizing that almost always I know where I stood with my girlfriend and my Dutch colleagues as well.
Thanks to George Simons

If you have a funny story or thought to share on this theme, please contact the editor, or join the Forum.