Cultural Cues

So far the cultural cues and behaviors have seemed to vary among each individual with whom I’ve come in contact. Of course, these cultural aspects don’t always differ greatly and generally, they get along coherently and fluidly.

One small observation I’ve made about a cultural nuance is the habit of saying “Ms.” and “Mr.”. There is a woman with whom I work and she addresses, and refers to all the women of the office with “Ms.”; however -to my knowledge, she never addresses, or refers to the men with “Mr.”. This is not exactly a critical interpretation; its simply something I notice and something I understand. Although I address everyone by their first name, for the reason that that is how they were introduced to to me- I know that the title of “Ms.” and “Mr.” is a moniker of respect. However, it is the office’s culture that everyone is known and addressed by their first, and for me it is odd to call someone by their first name using “Ms.” or “Mr.” -like the woman in my office does. The act is odd to me not because I’ve never done it before nor because I don’t respect my coworkers, but because I think that I already have a sense of familiarity with these people -or at least, I’ve imagined that I’m familiar with them.

Otherwise the people I’ve encounter are regular people: they are people that I understand. I understand the woman who calls all the women “Ms.”, and I call her “Ms.” when I address her because I understand that is the way she likes to be addressed. Besides that the kids and the people who come by the office are just a little curious about me, about the stranger in the village; and they are surprised to know that I am not a stranger at all.

Additionally, this weekend I visited Cass Street,

there are some nice places around there like this bookstore called: Source Bookseller as well as the Avalon Bakery -and other shops, which reflect Detroit’s culture of classic style, fly intelligence, and funky indignation. Check it out.