Manners

Here in Munich, things are crowded, so people bump  into each other out in the street and don't always say "bitte" (excuse me).  In this respect, it's like New York City, where I grew up.

But people are friendly here.  They make casual conversation with those they don't know, and don't avoid eye contact like New Yorkers and people in Prague.

Public conduct varies by culture.  Last week, I was on a tram with my friend Michelle, who hails from Marion Virginia. A man who was making for the door shoved me out of the way without so much as an "excuse me."  Michelle was horrified by what she perceived as a total absence of manners.  I was not.  I'd grown up riding the subway, where people use their elbows a lot.  Michelle couldn't get over it.

Later that evening, we went to the grocery store.  Michelle bought a great big jar of Nescafe Instant coffee, which is very pricey in the Czech. Somehow, she dropped it as she was leaving the store.  Glass and coffee were everywhere.  Michelle began to pick the glass up with her hands, but a store clerk ran after her, swept up the glass with a broom, and brought out a brand new jar of coffee, refusing to charge her for it.

We thought this was above and beyond, but we gathered the store clerk viewed this as ordinary decency. As I said, the sense of propriety varies by culture.