fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2341 ]

[ SECRET POST #2341 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2341 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

[David Mitchell]

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02.

[Carry On]

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03.

[Jay and Silent Bob]

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04.

[Simcity Societies]

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05.

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06.

[Game of Thrones]

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07.

[Game of Thrones]

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08.

[Noel Fielding]

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09.

[Once Upon a Time]

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10.

[Doraemon]

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11.

[Uninhabited Planet SURVIVE]

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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

12. [SPOILERS for Star Trek: Into Darkness]

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13. [SPOILERS for Arrow]

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14. [SPOILERS for Naruto]

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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]

15. [WARNING for pedohpilia]

[Neon Genesis Evangelion]

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16. [WARNING for ]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #334.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Do other countries have block parties? What do you guys do? Do you guys also rent bouncy houses and fire hoses? Just curious. :)

I had to google "block party". We don't have something like that (France). We do have a "Neighbours' day" in which everyone is supposed to hang out together, and I guess the annual music festival could count? The basis is: everyone goes outside, if you sing, play an instrument, can do both at the same time, you can do your thing and people will watch, for a day (June 21th).

I was in Paris for that one year and it was a lot of fun. I wish we had it in the U.S.

It depends on the type of neighborhood too in America. Well-to-do places and neighborhoods with an active homeowners' association probably have block parties, but not where I live.
Actually I can't think of any neighborhood communities around the city I live, I feel like that kind of social circle has died out in favor of churches & etc. and social clubs.

I've never seen a block party here, though I'm in a small town in a small state. the only time I've ever seen one was visiting chinatown in NYC, so maybe in China they do?

You socialise with your neighbours? On purpose? Why?

Serious answer, no we do not, we are Norwegian we barely say hi to our neighbours... If you are not a child and play with the other kids (though usually you are in the same class as those children) that are around, or you work (or know them from you where a kid) with your neighbours, to actually hang out with them on purpose.

We are big on organised cleaning though, so once in a while (mostly spring) there will be posters (or notes in mailboxes) that the closest park/playground has to be cleaned/painted and whatnot and we do that together. Or if you don't have an good excuse you do it with the rest of the neighbours who where stupid enough to not go out of town that weekend and the one overexcited neighbour whom want us all to be friendly...

we barely say hi to our neighbours

Why?

I'm not saying it to be rude! Just genuinely curious why people in general wouldn't socialize with people who they have such easy access to and whose lives overlap in little ways already by practicality and proximity.

(I don't mean individuals who are shy/introverted/don't like their neighbors, of course, just people in general).

I'm Texan and I have never once in my life had any relationship with my neighbors, probably because my parents are really private people. It rubbed off on me and I tend to be really standoffish toward people I don't know and I don't particularly want people who live near me to feel like they are welcome to bother me in my space.

Okay. I confess I really can't wrap my head around the logical jump from "socializing with neighbors" to "feeling welcome to bother you in your private space" but I definitely get the privacy thing, as I mentioned at the end of my first comment.

I was responding to m_e's "you talk to your neighbors on purpose? Why?" comment, like the idea was disgusting or off-putting for some reason, because I was curious about why they saw it that way. And their comment that in their experience, most people in their country are the same, because I was curious about that. I wasn't questioning the idea that some specific people personally like privacy. I know people who are the same :)

Re: Is this an American thing?

deadtree - 2013-06-01 05:30 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Is this an American thing?

intrigueing - 2013-06-01 05:55 (UTC) - Expand

Because you don't know whom they are, they can turn out to be dangerous or even worse they can come around too often and you would be forced to serve them coffee.

It is this saying in Norway, that us Norwegians are cold, just like our weather.

The only exceptions I know of neighbours socialising is in really small neighbourhoods (about 10 - 20 people in the middle of nowhere) and that is usually because the families have known each other for generations.

It is actually a thing immigrants talk about when they tell us about the difficulties adjusting to the Norwegian society, also they tend to joke about the fact that if you visit someone in Norway you will be served coffee and maybe crackers... (which is true)

It's none of your business, Yankee.

I'm with making_excuses. I have never been friendly with any of our neighbors (and the few who i *did* talk to i ended up regretting). Usually that's because we rented for years and years and our neighbors were transient, and usually shifty. Thieves, drug dealers/makers, people with the kind of drama-llama in their life that leads them to have frequent, extremely loud, arguments on their back deck at 3 in the morning.

And if you say hi one day, the next day they're on your porch asking to borrow your phone, your can opener, cat food for the cat they're currently neglecting, hey, can we share that bbq with you?

No, no, no, and no. I like my little hermit world of me, my SO and my daughter. I like my online friends that i don't have to actually interact with if i'm not in the mood. Or worry will break in and steal my tv. (The people who lived downstairs from us years ago were breaking into and stealing from the neighbors to pay their rent. Awesome. I shall stay home when you are home, thank you. They also had flea infestation, thanks for that.)

Yeah, but, uh, I was talking about making_excuses' comment about Norway in general/socializing in general, which they answered nicely. Not about specific personal preferences or circumstances, which is a totally different thing altogether.

It's a Scandinavian thing. We value our privacy and our private spheres very much, thank you.

I usually think Ireland has an interestingly large number of things in common with Scandanavia, but I think we've just found our cultural antipode.

It's absolutely unremarkable in Ireland to be at the point with one's neighbours where, if you both happen to be at home doing nothing much, one will walk into the other's house, and put their kettle on for tea and a chat.

Not socialising with your neighbours at all would be very weird here, I think.

The scenario you mentioned right now, is the one us Norwegians are scared off. What if you don't feel up to socialising, or have some other plan, but because your neighbour visited you have to be nice.

You have to be on good terms with your neighbours, so it isn't like you can tell them to leave.

(also look at the comment above for an explanation)

Re: Is this an American thing?

tabaqui - 2013-06-01 17:46 (UTC) - Expand

I would kill to have the kind of environment! To be so easy with each other and be up for sharing space like that. It takes so much damn energy for me to have to go through those tedious songs and dances to contrive an excuse or situation or environment specifically for socializing, and I often wind up being too lazy to bother even when I do want to be more social -- greatly prefer people to assume socializing is a go unless otherwise stated, rather than the other way around.

*looks at comments above me* Um...wow. Really takes all kinds, huh?

I was just the other day asking my mother if this was a real thing or another creation of TV shows. She didn't know because she had never been to one or known about any so couldn't say. I am fascinated if they are a real thing.

They're a very real thing! I've been to more than I can count. They have bouncy houses, fire trucks come and open the hydrants for kids to play in, water balloon fights, sidewalk chalk, games with prizes, a buffet of food, a DJ, and lots of other stuff. It's even more fun if you invite friends.

Where do you live that this is a regular occurrence?

Re: Is this an American thing?

30_rock_office - 2013-06-01 01:40 (UTC) - Expand

ayrt
This is amazing and I want to go to there. When I think Block Party I always think of that scene in the Sandlot and it seems like such a fun thing to participate in. Jealous of where you live!

I have never been to a block party (Los Angeles here). I think the only way I know what my current neighbors' names are is because every so often we wind up with a stray piece of mail for them. When I was a kid, we occasionally talked with our neighbors because there was a low wall between our backyards. We got a pretty tall fence on one side after the Northridge quake wrecked the wall- right side neighbors had aggressive dogs. Left side neighbors were nicer, but we still didn't talk often or visit each others' homes.

Sometimes elementary school friends of mine rented bouncy houses for birthday parties. Those things are expensive as fuck and you need a huge yard, which we definitely didn't have.

I'm going to be honest, I live in the US and I've never had/been to/know anyone whose been to a block party. So I think it's not specific a regional thing so much as 'Specific area you live' thing.

It's not that my area is unfriendly [most people not from here actually say we're too friendly] we just...don't really do that too often? Or if we do it's just 'Hey, we're throwing a party, want to come?'

I live in NYC, and I've seen tons of block parties (in both the poorer and posher neighborhoods). And yeah, I've actually been to quite a few of them that had bouncy houses and hoses (or sometimes they just open up a pump, which isn't very safe but eh).

They had one in my sister's neighborhood last summer and it was neat (she lives in Queens). There were no bouncy houses but the people bought huge blow-up pools and filled them with water for the kids (yes, there was a hose) and there were barbecues and food stands and ear splitting music and entertainment tables... it was fun. :D

I've lived in towns and cities all around America and I've never been to a block party. My mother's childhood neighborhood had one to celebrate VE Day and she and her family are the only people I've ever met who have been to one. We used to have a lot of parades for obscure reasons when I lived in Miami but they weren't in the residential areas.

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