DaveTheCat

Just wondering... QC idiosyncrasy or trans-Canadian behavioural pattern?

I've been living in the same block o' condos for three years now. The population there is pretty constant - I see the same faces over and over. Still, I can't help being amazed (and, let's face it, frustrated) when nobody greets nobody, no matter what the place of bumping into each other might be - lift, lounge, main door etc. My atttempts to say "Hello" (well, OK, "bonjour") are met (most of the time) with indifferent silent stares (how could one do this? look the other person right in the eye and say nothing?), heads turning quickly the other way or, quite rarely, nonsensical mumblings (well... at least there's SOME response!).

Furthermore, my personal statistics tell me that elderly persons are less likely(!) to greet/answer back than younger ones. I would've thought the opposite were true, but then the very few "bonjour"s I've had so far were voiced out by under-25 people.

And, surprise, surprise - this is NOT a slummy block of flats I'm talking about, but maybe the best condo complex in Quebec City, situated in a very sought-after area.

Oh, well...

bazza2154

Ah thats the French Canadians then?

MarkG

Geez, around here in the UK if you said 'hello' to someone on the street they'd probably knife you. Think yourself lucky .

DaveTheCat

Maybe - or maybe not. That's exactly what I'd want to find out. I'm trying to find explanations other than "what would you expect, they're French, aren't they?" (er... no, in fact they're FAR from being fanboys of "those cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys" They're just... well... "a distinct society".

DaveTheCat

Well... yes and no. I'm not talking about greeting, hugging and kissing random people on the street - but the same familiar faces I see each and every day. Oh, and huggin&kissing are out of the question too. Just a cold, stiff upper lip "How d'you do"

Judy in Calgary

This must vary from place to place.

I find Calgarians to be friendly.

I don't live in an apartment building, but both of my sons live in apartments. When I go to visit them, the people whom I pass in the hallways and with whom I share elevators always greet me.

I find that it's not uncommon for strangers in Calgary to chat when they're waiting in line somewhere (in the supermarket or wherever).

When someone is pushing a baby in a stroller or walking a dog, it's quite common for people to stop and ask the baby's age or to comment on the dog. But even people without babies and dogs sometimes comment to each other about the weather when they pass each other on a path in a park.

TrishP

Ohh, don't think I could live anywhere like that. Here everyone says hello to eveyone else, just passing on the street, even if you know them or not!

ellsie

Same here. People smile and say hello wherever you go here.

rain426

I would be permanently wondering where I knew these people who say hello from

But that's nice to hear. In the UK it seems that if someone says hello to you in the street, you wonder what they want, or whether they are about to steal your wallet.

Judy in Calgary

You know, the odd thing is that I have a Calgary friend who is a native of Montreal (but she has lived in Calgary for over twenty years). The last time we got together, she was telling me how much she missed Montreal, and how cold (in the social sense) and sterile she found Calgary.

Souvenir

Here is my take. I may be wrong but it's how I see it.

I suspect that proximity to the home is a key element to this. French Canadians are family oriented and the home has a little exclusion zone around it. Only family is allowed into that zone. They don't, in my experience inter-react with their neighbours in the same way I remember doing in the UK and Ontario. I've been in this house 2 1/2 years now. I slightly know the neighbours either side. We'll chat if we bump into each other but have no idea what the insides of each others' houses look like. Parents who come here to pick up their kids usually don't even get out of the car.

I saw the same mentality when I lived in France years ago. You worked "at" a company, not "for" it. In other words you didn't socialise with people from work. Here it seems to be: "I live next door to you, or our children are friends; and your point is......?".

I've been to lots of Xmas, New Year etc do's here, some quite large. I don't recall meeting anyone that wasn't family or a GF/BF of family.

Get them out of that bubble and I find them to be as friendly as anyone.

DaveTheCat

I have never actually lived in Montreal (been there a couple of times, for a day or two at the time), but I somehow got the feeling that Montreal and Quebec City are quite different in terms of general attitude and typical behaviour.
But well, in the end, everything is in the eye of the - beer holder, or something.

printer

Oh no they would speak first, something along the lines "What you looking at"?

steve666

But there IS no other explanation, just shrug shoulders and say "They're French".

DaveTheCat

Never thought otherwise. It's just that I, while fully aware of those "culture shock" peculiarities, was thinking that some basic-yet-superficial automatisms (like a ping-ponging "Hello/Hello" and nothing more) were common to all Western cultures.
You should see the expression of disbelief on their faces when I'm being courteous and let someone in or out in traffic; nobody is expecting such gestures and virtually nobody waves back or makes any other sign of saying "Thank you".