Post: #201

It's possibly, you have a hard time with small talk from living in parts of Europe for so long.

Germany's are horrible at small talk. Only the never generations have caught on. But after living there for years and going through all societal classes. (Blue collar construction types, up the businessmen and politicians) I understand that you have jump through hoops in conversation and code switch.
There are even specific words for talking to people of different status. Formal and casual conversation.

You still have to learn to move between language to get what you want.

Another example , is a friend of mine that makes jokes that are hilarious in our cIrcle. Unfortunately his humor is made for people that have known him for a while.
He thinks there is a problem with women, because they don't understand him. And if they don't,..Fuck them.

It took a long time for him to realize..he can keep his identity, but use a different humor for certain people.

Post: #202

If we were talking about war, this guy is employing the style of the British, thinking he can hang in the new America:

Quote:The British and the Continentals had very different fighting styles. The British marched in lines and waited for a command to "Ready, Aim, Fire!" This was the standard way to fight at the time. There were rules to war that the British thought everyone should abide by. Many lives were lost that way because reloading their guns took so long. While one side would reload, the other side was taking their shot at the opposition.
The Continentals took a different approach to fighting. They knew they had little chance of defeating the mighty British Army by standing in lines and taking turns shooting each other. Instead, the Continentals hid behind trees and used the lay of the land to help them surprise the British. The Redcoats didn't know where the bullets were coming from and didn't know how to defend themselves against the hidden soldiers.

https://sites.google.com/a/esu10.org/ame...ing-styles

Adaptation is a strength, but OP seems to think it's a weakness. Despite claims to the contrary, he simply isn't willing to change. No surprise. If he's smart enough to move that's the only thing he's willing to change that will make any kind of significant difference.

Best of luck to OP.