Walking Down the Street

Conventions vary around the world for all sorts of things, including which side of the road you drive on, how to greet people (shake hands, nod, bow, kiss on the cheeks, or hug), whether or not to look people in the eye (or when to do so), how to dress appropriately, and a million other things. Here, one of the little things I've noticed about daily life is that I often seem to trip up on which side of the sidewalk to walk on when passing other people. At home we pretty much always stick to the right side, (right?), probably because that's how we drive too (I've always assumed). I think in Japan you always stick to the left side (which is also the side of the road they drive on). And I've been in countries where people just kind of ignore on-comers in certain situations. So for instance a woman might always get out of the way for a man, squeezing herself to a wall or something on a narrow sidewalk, so the man can get by. In Vietnam you have to just hurl yourself into the otherwise non-stop moped or scooter traffic just to get across the street. You see some tourists sort of paralyzed at crossing the street because they keep waiting for an opening. If you make the right moves, you can usually just go (in Vietnam) and people will slow down enough not to run into you, though you have to be sort of aggressive about it, maybe look them in the eye as you cross and make it clear you're not backing down. I've had friends from New Orleans tell me getting people to throw you beads at Mardi Gras is all about eye contact.

Here, people are quite polite when passing each other on a narrow walkway. I particularly notice this because the walk I take into town each day includes one long narrow sidewalk that is frequently traveled by walkers, often carrying heavy sacks of groceries or other goods. And they are quite polite about turning aside and making room for those coming from the opposite direction. It's narrow because on one side are buildings and on the other are cars, kept from parking on the sidewalk only by a series of iron poles cemented into the walk. The whole sidewalk is probably about 2 feet wide. So both parties will adjust to make room for the other as they pass. But which side do you go for?

At first I was assuming that since they drive on the right side of the road here, they would walk that way too. But it doesn't seem to always be true. The thing is, there seems to be no clear convention. Sometimes if you walk on the right side the other party coming toward does so too, and there's no problem. But other times, the other party sticks to his or her left, making me think I should be on the left. But if I've left it too long, the other person may have already switched to the right, so then we're both confused and maybe do one of those little dances trying to pass each other.

An office mate tells me that there is no real convention for this that she's noticed after 12 years of living here. It's more a squaring of the shoulders and a look in the eye (but not aggressively) she says, and sticking to your side. She thinks people are often more preoccupied by avoiding obstacles on the sidewalk than worrying about which side of the street they're on or should be on. What obstacles? Well, like in Paris and other big cities in Europe, where people love dogs but live in apartments without yards or parks nearby, there is often dog poop on the sidewalk. You'll see many a tourist in the city of lights ogling the architecture and stepping in a big pile of you know what, much to their dismay. There are also dripping air conditioners, cars, and so on to avoid. So maybe it is about just picking your side and sticking to it.

Anyway, it's one of many joys and stimulations of living abroad, I think, to have these constant (even if very minor) opportunities to reflect upon the nature of customs, habits, and culture generally while living abroad. Why do we do the things we do, and what are those things? Do most of us ever even think about walking down the street, or how we do it? Out I go now, to brave the dirtied and crowded avenues on my way home. There are, by way, plenty of architecture and other sights to ogle here, but I have yet to step in doggy doo.