Really? In Bonn, Germany I get asked all the time what I do as an
occupation. I have NEVER been asked what I do for physical activity! I
wonder if it a life phase specific question?

On Thu, 8 May 2025 at 10:30, Aditi via Silklist <[email protected]>
wrote:

> 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 /
>>
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