..How many of you would willingly venture out into your neighbour's home as Walt did?
or How many of you would invite someone like Walt, more or less a stranger, to your own home?
I hardly ever see my neighbours (I live in an apartment), and generally think it's just strange if not creepy to invite neighbours in or accept invitation to a neighbour's home. This makes me pose another question; how do you treat your neighbours? Do you exchange the casual hello or good morning, talk a little, or perhaps like me, avoid eye contact as much as possible until you reach your home? (sorry I sound so cold haha..) I do have a neighbour whom we occasionally visit and are visited by, but it doesn't exactly count because they share our ethnicity.
I think that generally, here in Dubai or in any busy cities for that matter really, people don't really acknowledge neighbours in many ways at all; I for one am just not used to neighbours waving hello or chatting about how nice the weather is (well, not much variety in weather to talk about here, but still); Being unused to this behavior probably accounts for me and my family exchanging weird looks and a few giggles after a 'neighbour encounter' in Vancouver on visiting relatives. It sounds incredibly sweet for neighbours to be so warm and comfortable but somehow it doesn't work that way here (anyone else from Dubai care to enlighten me on the otherwise?)
Of course, it always depends on the situation. The important factor probably lies in how much contact you've had with your neighbours; In the movie Walt exchanged quite a few talks with Sue before his visit to her home, and there's also the fact that he really hadn't much else to do or lose by visiting the Hmong household. My question however, is can you see yourself doing the same, either in Walt's shoes as willing invitee, or Sue's shoes as an inviter? How are neighbour relations in your area, that you would feel comfortable or uncomfortable in their roles?
Going off-topic, I haven't taken summer classes and have a lot of free time on my hands now (..maybe a little too much haha..); expect me to check back here often so don't hesitate to pose questions back at me on anything at all :)
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I would agree with you when you say that it depends on how well you know your neighbors. And in the movie not only did Walt have nothing to lose, he had a particular interest in Sue's brother(whose name I can't seem to recall at the moment) and I'm sure his outlook on the family begain to change after all the acts of kindness the made towards him for his heroism (well...in there eyes at least lol). On the other had you have the Hmoung family eager to repay for Walt for Sue's brother trying to steal his car and his act of heroics, it in their culture.
ReplyDeleteSo, In my opinion it definitely depends on ones upbrings and what type of vibe you get from each other. I would also that it depends on where you live. Example, I think someone who lives in a small town or villige would be much closer neighbors than those who live in a big busy city in an apartment complex who rarely see those who live around them.
So in general, my level of comfort would depend on my initial vibe of the individuals and how well I know them. I guess in the are I live in right now while going to school, I don't really know the neighbors that well becasue I'm always on the move and never really took the time to get to know them past a hi or bye. But my family's house in Detroit, I know the negihbors pretty well because we've know each other for quite a considerable amount of time, some of them are extensions of my family as well. I hope that helps with your question.