The Philippines: “But you smile at Elena and I –”
Russia: “You are not strangers, are you?”
The Philippines: “OuO !!! Ohhhh”
RUSSIA IS NOT GLOOMY, THEY JUST DON’T SMILE AT STRANGERS
“Russia is a collective culture, consisting of ’in-groups’. Russians do smile at people they know. Shop assistants smile at the clients they already know, not necessarily at others.
If you smile at a stranger in Russia, he/she can smile back, but it can already mean an invitation to come and talk. Russians take smiling as a sign that the person cares about them. To smile at a stranger can raise the question:” Do we know each other?”
You see two behaviours in one person in Russia: formal – unsmiling is for ’them’ (strangers); friendly – smiling for ’us’ (friends, people he/she knows). Some Russians skip to friendlier behaviour after a shorter time. You can consider yourself accepted when people you have met begin smiling at you.”
FILIPINOS SMILE ALMOST ALL OF THE TIME, EVEN IF THEY HAVE “DOOMSDAY” AS THEIR BACKGROUND
“If you find Filipinos always smiling, that doesn’t mean they’re mocking you or making fun of you. They just happen to be a happy, smiling, cheerful lot. They smile when they’re happy, they smile when they’re sad, they smile when they’re angry and well, they just smile by default.
Filipinos are typically sanguine by temperament and sunny in disposition. In times of need, you can count on them to be fellows of good cheer. And whatever they may be going through in life, count on Filipinos to manage everything with a smile.
It might be because Filipinos are naturally positive people. They have this natural ability to look past problems and troubles and see the good in everything. Parents bring up their children with the natural thinking that “things would go better”.
To paraphrase the great Joey Ayala, we are not a marching people; we’re a swaying people.
What one can call undisciplined, another can call light-hearted. By the nature of our DNAs, we Filipinos are fun-loving people. And yes, discipline may sometimes get in the way of fun. Hey, come on, at least we’re not as stiff as those Singaporeans, right?
We are Filipinos. Fun is our middle name.”
1. https://www.wired.com/20…/…/why-russians-dont-get-depressed/
2. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/…/ask-expert-smile-russia/
3. https://www.tripsavvy.com/false-myths-about-russia-1622430
4. https://www.rbth.com/…/…/why-do-russians-look-so-grim_755704
5. https://properrussian.com/…/why-russians-are-not-smiling.ht…
6. https://www.businessinsider.com/world-cup-russian-workers-a…
7. http://www.eastvantage.com/…/why-filipinos-are-a-delight-to…
8. https://everything-filipino.com/filipino-people-looking-fo…/
9. http://8list.ph/reasons-why-philippines-smiliest-country-j…/
10. https://steemit.com/…/why-filipinos-still-manage-to-smile-d…