When I finish caring for American guests, I accept
their thanks and money and then leave. With guests from another country, I
often find myself discouraging them from accompanying me to the elevator or
down to the lobby or (if it’s a private house) to my car.
I mentioned this excessive politeness to a colleague
from South America.
“They probably thought you were in a hurry to get
away,” he said.
When I protested, he explained.
“When I first came to the US and visited an
acquaintance, I was disturbed when he shut the door behind me after I left. Did
I offend him, I wondered. Is he happy to get rid of me….? In my country, you
always accompany an honored guest when he leaves and make sure he is safely on
his way. To stay behind is not courteous. But this is what Americans do.”
Posts
