The social accommodation theory states that you will pick up the habits and mannerisms of the people around you if you wish to get closer to them. It’s a theory that I studied in Linguistics classes and find applicable in my travels.
When I lived in Japan, I found myself bowing to people countless times every day. Indeed, the act of bowing is so entrenched in Japanese society that people, subconsciously or otherwise, bow to the other party on the phone! Prior to living in Japan, I would say that you are being absurd if you would say that I would start bowing to my friend or client on the phone. But that was exactly what I did.
However, when it comes to communication, because I’m as straight as an arrow, I never bothered to circumvent around a problem and refer to it indirectly - which is something the Japanese does very well. They even call it “reading the air”. I played my gaijin (foreigner) card to great effect and just prefaced my request with a “I know this sounds rude, but…” I got away with it most of the time!
Another example would be the time I spent in Thailand and absorbed the Thais’ easy-going and happy-go-lucky spirit. Their culture can be encapsulated within one phrase: mai pen rai (never mind). I loved the way they took most things in their stride and lived life with a sense of playfulness and light-heartedness. Needless to say, I peppered my speech with a lot of ‘mai pen rai’s.
Have this happened to you before in your travels? That immersing yourself in a foreign land made you adopt the ways of its people? That a norm resonated with you so much that you assimilated it into your being?