Hello, everyone. So today, in Lulu’s Happy Hour, we're going to launch a new segment called Across the Pond, 英美大不同. Usually across the pond is an expression to describe the connection between British and American. When we were talking about the English language, we also said that's two countries separated by one language. So let's say hello to co-hosts. Hello James. Hello Anlan.

Hello everyone.

Hi everyone.

It's the first time we get both of you together on the show.

Yeah, it's a fairly new experience for all of us.

So do you know what we're going to do today?

Well, from the sounds of it, um we're gonna be discussing some very very British problems.

Ah. Yes. Well so I've told you this before. Today, what we're going to do is I found a British TV show which is based on a British board game called Very British Problems. Now I found those questions to be very very culturally specific. So I thought it might be fun to get some of those questions from that game and ask both Anlan and James and see how their answers can be different. So are you guys ready?

Ready when you are.

I'm ready.

So today's category is going to be out and about. So it's all about interacting in social situations. So here is the first question: someone meets your eyes while travelling on the subway. Okay, you look away but they hold the stare. So being British or being American, what would you do? Let's first get Anlan.

Well, first of all, being British, I would ask what am I doing on the subway?

Underground, underground, let's not focus on the word. What would you do?

So someone meets my eyes when I'm travelling on the underground. I would feel very uncomfortable. So I would just desperately try to avoid meeting their eye, I might start looking at the tube map, or I might start reading a newspaper, just trying to avoid them looking at me and I might move to another carriage.

So would you say that on the London underground, people never look each other in the eyes?

Oh I will try to avoid it, it is being embarrassing, I would say.

OK, so that's being British. What about being American? Let's get James. Same question.

A lot of Americans would probably say Hi, to be honest.

To complete strangers on the subway?

Yes, Americans are very open to talking to strangers and in fact a lot of the Americans are very uncomfortable in situations of silence. So yeah, if you make eye contact with somebody and a lot of people would say, hi, how you doing?

Okay, Alright.

That sounds absolutely terrifying.

Sounds so bad. What if she's really really good looking?

Uh in my experience, generally they are not very good looking, it happened to me a few times on London underground.

I think a while ago there was actually a thing an American guy who was living in London was trying to get people to talk to strangers more often on London underground and so they made this buttons of talking to strangers on the tube, but British people are really fighting back at that proposal.

Oh I was gonna say that sounds like a very American thing to do. It's like we're too quiet on the subway we must talk.

Yeah I remember, I remember that story and actually there was a British person that started making buttons and badges for people saying please don't talk to me.

Alright, so that was the first question. We can see the difference is very clearly here. I don't know what I will do as Chinese. Uh I haven’t been on a subway for quite some time but I guess I would feel quite embarrassed, but if it's an unfriendly stare I might actually confront them, why are they staring at me? But that's could just be me, not really representing all Chinese.

Alright the second question, you ask someone for directions. So supposedly you are on the road, you're driving or walking, you ask a stranger for directions. They give you the directions, but you know for a fact that the directions they gave you are completely wrong. You don't really know the correct directions, but you know what they told you are wrong. So being British, what would you do? Being American, what would you do? Let's get Jame's first.

OK. So in this situation, most people would first double check. So they might say are you sure? And if the person says yeah, we will thank them things like thank you and we might wait until they're not looking or until we've walked away from them and then ask somebody else.

But you will not really directly tell them that this could be wrong.

No, we wouldn't.

OK. Alright, thank you James. What about Anlan?

Well, being British, I would say, I would thank them for giving me the directions and then I'll drive or I'll walk a little bit in the direction which they said that I should go in and then I would probably find someone else to talk to. But I wouldn't check with them; I wouldn't ask, are they sure? I would actually just thank them and walk for a little bit or walk around the corner and then try again.

Are you gonna make sure that they're not looking at you or they're already out of sight?

Well, yeah, because if they start looking at me then it means that I don't trust them. So I would feel really embarrassed.

Very considerate.

Yeah, we just tend to have the habit, you know, asking are you sure just in case you know, maybe they miss said something or they made a mistake and allows them a chance to, you know, said correct directions.

Is it very common for people especially I think this is not so much British American thing, but more like a women and men thing. I often find it's difficult for men to ask for directions. Is that true in Britain and in the United States?

We just go by the stars and the position of the sun, we don't need directions.

You're probably talking about camping. Okay, thank you, thank you guys. Let's move on to the next question. Question number three, when the lift or the elevator both British and American English so you don't have a chance to complain. So when the lift or elevator stops, you get out on the wrong floor and there are still people in the lift or in the elevator, but you already got out. Being British or being American, you...? Let's start with Anlan.

Well if that was me and it very often is because I constantly keep doing that at work, I would get out to the lift and I will probably pretend it's my floor. So I might get out the lift and I might walk just around the corner or stop to tie up my shoe lace or something like that and then wait for another lift to come along.

So you won't go back in.

No, no, I don't think I would, I find it a bit too embarrassing.

Okay. Uh what about James?

‘Whoops!’ and get back on the elevator.

And you wouldn't feel embarrassed.

No, Americans, we were like ‘whoops wrong floor’ and they just get back on, and in America the other people on the elevator just they wouldn't care. They honestly probably won't even notice you.

OK. Alright, very very different. By the way, are there any specific mannerisms in the elevator or in a lift in America or in Britain?

Well, honestly, in America a lot of people feel that they should have small talk in the elevator.

Oh they should?

Yeah, you would be there to, you know, talk to the other people say good morning to the others who are with you or especially if they're your colleagues, so it's very customary to say like ‘morning’ or if it's on the way home when you get out, to say ‘good evening’ or ‘goodnight everyone’ things like that. Yeah.

What about in the UK?

I would say in the UK, unless you actually know these colleagues and you wouldn't talk to them. If it's just in a lift with people you don't really know you probably just try and keep silent. In a lift it's a little bit rude if you start talking because you might disturb other people. So generally lifts in UK are quite quiet places.

It's so interesting to see that, it's James is saying it's a bit rude if you don't talk and Anlan is saying it's a bit rude if you do talk, really is very different.

This is where our cultures disconnect.

It's got very tiny little, tiny little things but it's mostly about how comfortable people feel with other people. In the UK, we don't really feel that comfortable with other people.

Which is kind of strange because it's a small place, you live much closer together than Americans do.

I think that's probably actually why we don't feel comfortable because in the UK you're never that far away from people, so and it's quite crowded island so you kind of want to keep a little bit of distance.

Um. OK let's move on. So the next question is, in a restaurant a young couple at the next table, they're arguing, they’re fighting, causing quite a scene. You are there; you're supposedly enjoying your meal. Being British or being American, what would you do? Let's get James first.

OK. A few things, in this situation, usually there's a good possibility that the restaurant will take the initiative and talk to the couple before anybody complaints. But otherwise most Americans would ask the staff at the restaurant to do something and Americans will start by asking politely and if nothing happens, then they're gonna start threatening to leave or not pay.

But you will not directly talk to the couple who are fighting.

No. In general, we wouldn't do that because that can make the situation worse and you don't know whether they might start to turn their attention towards you.

Ah OK. Alright. Uh, what about Anlan?

I would say in the UK that you just try to avoid looking at them and you might do things like cough or sigh loudly to show that you are unhappy. But you wouldn't actually really say anything.

Would you not even say it to the staff like James was saying?

Probably not. Um, I would say that what we would do is we would just wait for them to leave. We would just kind of roll our eyes and maybe tut a few times and as soon as they have left, then we would probably start talking to other people on the other table saying how bad, how awful that was.

The British friendship relationship is largely built on common complaints, so that I've observed.

Well that doesn't seem like an effective way to stop that behavior.

Well, I think that's, that's the thing. We wanted it to stop. But we always rely on kind of little cues, little social cues. So we probably wouldn't actually really get the waiters or waitresses involved.

I think in America the big part of this, though the restaurant wants them to leave because it makes them lose business and they care about money.

Very dramatic. Thank you. Right, moving on to the next one.

Uh, by the way guys, don't worry about it being a bit long because we can cut this into two episodes. Okay, we'll see you next time.