Culture Corner | Personal Space
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about personal space in the United States.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are talking about, well, we're doing a culture corner episode. So we are in the culture corner.
00:01:09
Jack
And we're talking about.
00:01:13
Jack
It's like interesting or unique American habits or traits.
00:01:21
Xochitl
Their norms.
00:01:21
Jack
Yeah. Cultural habits, yes.
00:01:24
Jack
And one of the things that Americans really value is their own personal space. So since you.
00:01:30
Xochitl
Finally, true.
00:01:31
Jack
Why don't you?
00:01:32
Jack
Tell me what you think about that. Like what? How describe that for our listeners.
00:01:37
Xochitl
I think if you're from most other countries, well at least.
00:01:42
Xochitl
Countries outside of like the West, like I guess, Europe, Canada, the US, that kind of area.
00:01:50
발표자
Mm-hmm.
00:01:52
Xochitl
You.
00:01:54
Xochitl
Don't really appreciate or consider personal space as much like you might be in Korea, and it's like a line and there's someone like right behind you like this and you're like, stuck together. Basically. There's like less than an inch of space between you or on the subway or when people talk to you, they get like, really close to your face. And they're like 2 inches away from, like, talking.
00:02:06
Jack
Or on the subway.
00:02:12
Jack
Yeah.
00:02:14
Xochitl
You know.
00:02:15
Jack
We're like, I hope I.
00:02:15
Jack
Put a breath mint in, you know, like, Oh my God.
00:02:18
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:02:20
Xochitl
And in the US, like, that's not a thing like we want like about an arm's length or about an arm's length of space between us, like when we talk, when we're on the subway, when we're in line, when we're at the store and someone passes by us. And that's why you hear people say things like.
00:02:28
Jack
Yep.
00:02:40
Xochitl
Excuse me. I'm sorry. When they, like, invade your personal space because we have quite a large.
00:02:47
Jack
Like circle. So like if you yeah like if you pick your if you stick your arm out in front of you and just turn around spin in the 360° circle, that's your. That's your cylinder like that's your yeah, that's your that whole circle.
00:02:51
Xochitl
Feel the face.
00:03:06
Jack
Is yours in America like we that's your space.
00:03:08
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:03:11
Jack
You own, you own it, quote UN quote, you know.
00:03:11
Xochitl
Right.
00:03:15
Xochitl
Right. So like when people say a lot of people in other countries are like, why do Americans only say sorry and excuse me? Like, it seems really weird to them. It's because you're technically invading that person's personal space when you like, swipe by them. Let like, less than half a foot away to get past them, squeeze by them in the store.
00:03:23
Jack
Yeah.
00:03:35
Xochitl
Or you stand right behind them in the aisle to grab something. It's not, like, super socially appropriate unless you say, excuse me. You're sorry, then it's OK. But if you're just, like, standing right behind someone, it's like creepy.
00:03:39
Jack
MHM.
00:03:48
Xochitl
So.
00:03:49
Jack
Yeah, this you're invading someone's personal space, right? That's that's called an we call that an invasion.
00:03:58
발표자
Right.
00:03:59
Jack
I never, you know, this is like interesting. I've never heard it described this way before. The way you're describing it, which is perfect.
00:04:08
Jack
It's like I I never understood why we say sorry or uh, you know, excuse me so much. Like, so often we do, we say it all the time. Like we say it so much that no, we don't even mean it really. You know, it's just like basically you're you're saying like I'm going to.
00:04:27
Jack
Invade your personal space because you're in my way and I and I want to grab that box of cereal. But I don't want you to move your whole cart and everything out of the way. I'm just going to reach by you. But to give me to, to, to make it acceptable. If I say excuse me, then I can.
00:04:34
Xochitl
Right.
00:04:49
Jack
Go into your personal space for a moment and then just leave again quickly.
00:04:53
Xochitl
Yeah. And when you say, excuse me, the other person will usually back away a little bit to give you more room.
00:05:00
Jack
Yeah.
00:05:00
Xochitl
But yeah, especially if you're a man, you have to be really careful about invading other people's personal space. And this is also a factor for couples. I find like couples from Korea or Mexico like they're really attached at the hip. And like your snacks.
00:05:06
Jack
Right.
00:05:19
Xochitl
Or your food is my snacks and my food. Your clothes is my clothes. You're like your space on the couch. On the whatever is my space. Your drink is my drink. Like everything is really shared in in a lot of other cultures and in the US like.
00:05:38
Xochitl
If you're dating someone famous, I'll probably be annoyed if you eat their snack, they'll be annoyed. If you, like, borrow their jacket without asking and stuff, they'll be annoyed. If you're like constantly sitting right next to them on the couch, or like constantly clinging to them in public like those are things that are not.
00:05:56
Xochitl
Uh, it's just a weird thing to do.
00:05:59
Jack
We value our personal space and our it kind of it could go effects who are our independents, our individuality we don't like. Here's an example like I think this is a difference between like Europe and America is.
00:06:04
Xochitl
Independent.
00:06:16
발표자
It's.
00:06:19
Jack
At least from where? Where I'm from in the Midwest, uh, we would never kiss.
00:06:25
Jack
A person on the cheek twice to say hello.
00:06:29
Xochitl
Noble.
00:06:29
Jack
Like, that's a total that's so uncomfortable it's it's happened to me several times with my international friends right now, not not in Asia. In Asia, you would never, you know, do that, but with Europeans and Australians and and you know ohh really.
00:06:42
발표자
Even.
00:06:47
Xochitl
Experience.
00:06:49
Jack
OK.
00:06:51
Jack
Yeah. So when you you.
00:06:52
Xochitl
The culture is really vary, but in central Mexico you do that in Oaxaca.
00:06:56
Xochitl
It's a little bit less, especially if you go to rural communities. Usually there's a lot more distance saying hello.
00:07:03
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. Because you when you say hello to someone, you know you you lean in and you, you know, kiss on the left cheek, kiss on the right cheek. Sometimes there's kiss on the left, right and left again. And to me it's the it's just the most awkward, uncomfortable thing. I'm like, you know, the most I want to do is like a hand.
00:07:23
Jack
Take but since coronavirus a lot of people are doing a fist bump, you know which I I love. And if we could get to Korea and level where you just bow or Thailand level where you do a why you know that I love that like no touching is is the best.
00:07:35
Xochitl
All right.
00:07:43
Jack
You know, in my opinion, I just I I don't like.
00:07:48
Xochitl
Physical contact.
00:07:48
Jack
Embracing. I don't like physical contact. Yeah, even with, like, friends and strangers. Anyone. I don't want to. I just want my personal space. I I really value it so much. So that, like, my best friend and I, if we went to see a movie, even back when we were in, like, high school and stuff, we would just go watch movies.
00:08:09
Jack
You would, we would never sit next to each.
00:08:11
Jack
Other.
00:08:12
Jack
We would always stagger.
00:08:12
Xochitl
No, that's a weird thing with men. Women do sit next to each other, but it's there's a meme because men only have, like, a seat in between each other so that people don't think they're gay buffer. And it's like it's really weird. But women will all sit next to each other. I find out.
00:08:20
발표자
Yeah.
00:08:23
Jack
A buffer guess maybe.
00:08:31
Jack
Ohh OK.
00:08:32
Xochitl
More comfortable being a little closer than guys.
00:08:34
Jack
I just did. I just did it cause I just I like I want. I don't want to share an album.
00:08:38
Jack
So you know, room with anyone.
00:08:40
Xochitl
You're a big guy, so that's fair, but some other.
00:08:42
Jack
Yeah, I wanna. Yeah, yeah. I'm. I'm. I'm gonna, you know, my let my knees kind of go off, you know like spread out.
00:08:51
Xochitl
Yeah, that's fair. You're a big guy. I mean it it. Otherwise, if your sexuality is threatened by sitting next to a man movie theater that's come on, that's not the no. But no, that's not Jack's case. But that is the case for some men. And it's just weird. But Jack Griffin got.
00:09:01
Jack
No, no, no, I'm.
00:09:02
Jack
I'm not, yeah.
00:09:06
Jack
OK, maybe it is, maybe it is a form of what we call homophobia, but.
00:09:11
Xochitl
Yeah, it's like weird. I've seen guys talk about that like the buffer seats, so people don't think they're a couple and it's just weird.
00:09:18
Xochitl
But with Jack I get it. Because you're a big guy, so you need that.
00:09:21
Xochitl
Extra elbow space so.
00:09:22
Jack
All my friends are over 6 feet tall, so you know we're all a bunch of trees walking around, you know? So we need, we need our. We need our buffers and our our space personal space.
00:09:30
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:09:33
Xochitl
You do? Yeah. You need that personal space. Alright. Well, listeners, we would love to hear what personal space is like in your country. Is it similar to America or more similar to Mexico or more similar to Korea?
00:09:34
발표자
So.
00:09:45
Xochitl
Let us know in the comments down below. Shoot us a e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com. Leave us a comment@azenglishpodcast.com or join the channels of groups to talk to Jack and I directly and we'll see you.
00:09:59
Xochitl
Guys, next time. Bye
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