In Spain the first question they tend to ask is who your family is, and where you are from. (In Spain). I think there you are who your family is, and work is considered more of a necessary evil than something that defines oneself. I’ve never heard anyone there ask how much one makes—that would be considered extraordinarily rude.
But it doesn’t surprise me that nobody tends to ask about hobbies. (I’ve never heard anyone ask in Spain, either). I think most people consider hobbies to be essentially trivial and hence not relevant to one’s identity. (E.g., “Get a hobby!”) I’d tend to disagree with that assessment, but then I’m a bit unusual.
Strange. It’s exactly the same here in our area. We know one another by families. for instance, I can pretty much tell where a person came from by their last name linking them to a particular local family. Our area was settled relatively late in the 19th Century with a few core families. Even later arrivals added their non Anglo-Saxon names to the mix, ex. Rahall which I think is Syrian. Most however are scots-Irish, German and French. BTW hobbies are an important way to relax from the stress we all experience, even if you like your job! I have several and plan to enjoy them more when I finally do hang up my spurs.
Cap’t Jack
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