I've been silent on here for a while but had to answer this one. In Germany the equivalent of what do you do, is what sport do you play or "do you make sport". I, the most unathletic person I know, have been caught off guard because my Indian brain thinks - Cricket? Tennis? Football? Badminton? And I would sheepishly answer, I don't play a sport, only to receive shocked looks. I finally understood that they were asking about any physical activity, to find something common to talk about - so I now simply say I hike/walk, do yoga etc.
I have never yet been asked "what do you do for a living" in an introductory conversation with anyone in Germany. I have, however, been asked what the population of the city I come from is 😁 On Thu, 8 May 2025, 13:00 Bruce Metcalf via Silklist, < [email protected]> wrote: > I think that great fun, and some non-small benefit, can result from > overturning the usual banal greeting questions. > > A late friend responded to, "What do you do?" with "I don't *do*, I > *be*!" Assuming that didn't frighten them away she would then go on to > talk about the things she was doing, why they were important to her, and > finally, "What do you *be*?" (complete with that peculiar wording). > > Her favorite answer was, "I... I'm not sure. Let me think about that." > > An interesting approach to both connections and self-understanding, but > a bit off-putting for those living the unexamined life. > > Cheers, > / Bruce / > > -- > Silklist mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman.panix.com/listinfo.cgi/silklist >
-- Silklist mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.panix.com/listinfo.cgi/silklist
