2. One More Indonesian Habit:
Back in Indo, whenever I go out and some neighbours happen to be on their terraces, they'd ask me, "Hey, where're you going?" And then sometimes when they see you coming back home from someplace and they see you with a shopping bag (supermarket shopping bag), they'd say, "Ah, been shopping, eh?"
You may think that they're nosy, but actually they're just common chit-chat questions (though I admit that there ARE nosy people back there who ask such questions since they are REALLY curious about your activities). Finnish people LOVE talking about the weather, but in Indo, that's the kind of questions considered as common chit-chat questions.
I once read that a foreign woman living in Bali got SO fed up with that kind of question. She was confused on what to say and she thought that all those people weren't being friendly, but being SUPER nosy. Poor woman.
Actually, you don't have to answer truthfully to such questions.
Examples:
- Where are you going? Oh, just taking a walk.
- Where are you going? Out.
- Where are you going? To the stores. (You don't have to elaborate your answer)
- Where are you going? To a friend's.
- Ah, you've been shopping, eh? ----> You can just smile. You don't have to say a thing.
3. While watching Spiderman 3 last night, I felt sorry for Mary Jane. I was thinking to myself that I wouldn't want to have a relationship with a superhero. He'll be TOO busy saving other people to have time for me!!! And my primary love language is quality time, so my love bank'll be depleted quickly enough if I have a relationship with a superhero.
