Inevitable Cultural Integration and the Informal You

You know you're being culturally integrated when you find yourself doing things or thinking in ways that you once snickered at.

Germans frequently refer to one another as "Mr/Mrs/Ms So-and-so," especially when first meeting someone or when there's not much contact with someone. Moving from the Formal You to the Informal You can even be seen as a major step in a relationship.

The fact that this little rule has found a home in my thinking over the past year was proven today when I received an e-mail from an American I don't know (a co-worker of a friend of Kenny's). Instead of the typical Sehr geehrte Frau Barber*, I had a simple Dear Mary. Excuse me? We don't know eachother... distance, I need distance! I felt like my psychological personal space bubble had been burst.

But at least she knows my first name, unlike Stalker Boy.

Tsk, tsk.


*Highly Honoured Ms. Barber