Friends in Austria like to ask about friendliness in the USA. They say: "When your neighbor wishes you a good day - she doesn't mean it, right? It's all superficial." I am not sure about the answer, but does friendliness, whatever the motives, not make for a more pleasant life? I'd rather have my neighbor wish me a good day and not mean it than have her bark at me and mean it.
Paper or plastic? Bag from South Africa. My friend recently came back from a trip to South Africa and brought me a reusable grocery bag. It is from Woolworths, one of the largest retail chains in South Africa; it is made by a community project and serves as a symbol of the company's commitment to sustainability and social development. I will think of this whenever I use my new bag. Thank you, dear friend! The Woolworths bag is not my first reusable bag. I carry two baggies which fold up into packs smaller than a deck of cards in my purse and a bunch of bigger ones in the trunk of my car. To me this feels like an easy way of making a difference environmentally. Others seem to have a harder time. When the county of Los Angeles recently introduced a ban on plastic bags for its unincorporated areas the new ordinance was met with resistance. Shops bemoan that paper is more expensive than plastic. They charge customers ten cents for every paper bag. Shoppers complain about ...
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I was raised in the US and have lived in California for more than 15 years and the friendliness of which you speak is so prevalent here. In fact, I was suspicious of the California friendliness when I first moved here from New England. It must be fake! Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. But I have grown to appreciate and, dare I say, almost even expect a quick friendly greeting when passing a neighbor.
The environment in Vienna had a strong affect on me on my recent visit - it was palpable. I do understand the difference between the US and European "friendliness" and I am choosing to remove myself from my US-centric thinking and behavior, but I'm not sure it's going to be all that easy to get used to!