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  1. Harvard Business Review5/30/144 min
    24 reads11 comments
    8.9
    Harvard Business Review
    24 reads
    8.9
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    • jeff4 years ago

      Interesting quick read. I hadn't heard of the concept of coconut and peach countries before. Even within the US there are definitely big differences in small talk expectations. I was totally thrown off when I visited Portland, OR (coming from NJ) and the cashier at the first store I went to asked me what I had planned for the day. I thought it was a fluke at first but after a few more interactions like that I realized it was just a broader difference in culture.

      • Kiki4 years ago

        Good short read. I am definitely a peach who is going to Paris soon, a coconut place. I will be more aware of my behavior when there but I hope to remain true to my peachiness.

      • bill
        Top reader of all time
        4 years ago

        Great find! I’m crazy peachy. I think that’s why I’m digging the Midwest.

        So you’re a coconut that belongs in Eastern Europe, yeah?

        • jeff4 years ago

          Coconut to the core 🥥

          • EZ19694 years ago

            Ack I’m such a peach. Great to get the coconut perspective.

    • loundytampa4 years ago

      Peaches and coconuts ... intriguing... but even after reading I have no clue where I stand on the fruit thermometer

    • Lvadams024 years ago

      What an interesting concept! I haven’t experienced these sorts of trip ups with intercultural differences, but I can definitely apply this concept to socializing as a very closed off, introverted person. I might just be a coconut in a peach culture.

    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      4 years ago

      Wow, this was an eye opener! I never really considered how a peach or coconut could be totally misinterpreted. I am absolutely guilty of being way too peachy. It is born out of a genuine love of interactions with everyone I encounter throughout my day. I love people but will be more mindful of overstepping boundaries that could, in the end, be confusing and hurtful. And also not to be so quick to judge a coconut! After all, they are so sweet and delicious once opened!

    • TripleG
      Top reader this weekTop reader of all timeReading streakScoutScribe
      4 years ago

      I never heard of these peachy and coconut cultures either. I’m definitely of the peach persuasion, although my wife sometimes thinks I’m too nosey!

      • bill
        Top reader of all time
        4 years ago

        Keep at it! I'm in full support of good/deep personal questions, including with strangers - and getting there quickly. Cultural norms be damned. Life's short and we all gotta get to know each other. :P

    • bill
      Top reader of all time
      4 years ago

      Authenticity matters; if you try to be someone you’re not, it never works.