Comments on Swisstory: Guest Post: Look Me in the Eye and Say That!

I lived in Vienna for a while back in college and ...

2009-11-27T13:49:14.471+01:00

I lived in Vienna for a while back in college and they do the same thing there. We called it the "Vienese stare" and it definitely freaked me out at first...

Okay, I do the little bars on the 7's thing to...

2009-11-24T13:38:04.216+01:00

Okay, I do the little bars on the 7's thing too. I also making the swooping angled start to my 1's. 'Cause then I get to feel all acculturated and stuff.

I guess I'll get used to the eye contact over time too. Maybe when (if?) if I ever get a job here and become a productive member of society instead of a shiftless, unemployed, layabout trailing spouse... (kidding, really)

E, I guess that the upside is that we get to stare back.

I knew about this too before I moved here, but it ...

2009-11-24T09:13:47.809+01:00

I knew about this too before I moved here, but it is still very unnerving. People *look* at you when you are passing on the sidewalks. It feels so odd! I understand and accept it, but it still makes me feel nervous.

LOL - that is great, M'dame Jo. I have no prob...

2009-11-24T09:12:51.223+01:00

LOL - that is great, M'dame Jo. I have no problem with staring myself but I think I have learned to be ok with it over time. Different cultures definitely have different levels of comfort when it comes to eye contact.

As for the 7's - I do that too. Perhaps that is a European thing? I picked that up in Germany, I think. ;)

Interesting. I've probably made several Americ...

2009-11-24T09:07:53.314+01:00

Interesting. I've probably made several Americans uncomfortable! Luckily, my banker was Polish, so we could stare at each other and add little horizontal bars to our 7s, and no one was hurt ;-)