Being Americanized for so long, I obviously notice differences between Israeli and American culture, and I will report these differences here.
One such difference is the way people enter elevators. In the US it is customary to wait until everyone has gotten off an elevator before stepping into it.
Not so in the Middle East, apparently.
Here it seems customary to try and enter the elevator before anyone has gotten off.
Now, granted, this system seems to have a few flaws: First of all, if the elevator was full coming down, you will not have room to get on board. Second, you're getting in the way of people trying to get out.
All this seems to not matter. But I have to say that I don;t think only Israeli's are guilty of this. The hotel I am staying in is full of French tourists and they seem to be just as guilty of it too, if not more so (Sorry, Lionel!). Did they learn quickly from the Israelis? Or did they bring this custom from the land of the Croissant??
Either way, it may strike you as very rude, as it did me. On second thought, though, I don;t think people are doing it out of rudeness. I think they are just perpetually in a hurry.
As for me? Turns out you adapt to elevator etiquette pretty quickly. So if next time you meet me in an elevator I run you over trying to get in, it's not because I'm rude.
I'm just in a hurry.
3 years ago
2 comments:
It's the same with getting onto or off a train in Argentina. Everyone enters the doorway at precisely the same time, leading to the great tradition of the clusterf**k
Do they also do the indignant stare in Argentina as if to say how dare you be in their way?
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