Where most Americans would say “You’re looking well,” residents of Los Angeles say “My God, you look so young.”
One Response to “Yes, This Is All I Have To Report After Two Weeks In The US”
Steve Reed
When we first moved to the City of the Angels in 1999, I found the constant comments about my youthful appearance to be flattering. Indeed, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this was the accepted “How do you do?” of Los Angeles. I brought “You look so young” (and its even more devious L.A.-born younger brother, “you look so thin”) to Chicago as part of our recent relocation, and I find that Midwesterners are as susceptible to this sort of manipulation as any green Angeleno. As a direct result, I am popular with everyone I meet in Chicago. Strange, because on top of being obviously hollow, my compliments are delivered without any point of reference as to how young/thin the recipient of the compliment ought to look.
When we first moved to the City of the Angels in 1999, I found the constant comments about my youthful appearance to be flattering. Indeed, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this was the accepted “How do you do?” of Los Angeles. I brought “You look so young” (and its even more devious L.A.-born younger brother, “you look so thin”) to Chicago as part of our recent relocation, and I find that Midwesterners are as susceptible to this sort of manipulation as any green Angeleno. As a direct result, I am popular with everyone I meet in Chicago. Strange, because on top of being obviously hollow, my compliments are delivered without any point of reference as to how young/thin the recipient of the compliment ought to look.