30. Friends, Acquaintances, Collagues

Topic 30: September 15 2017: Friends, Acquaintances, Colleagues

1. What 'grades' of friendship do you have? (e.g. boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, close friend, casual friend etc). How do you decide who belongs to which grade of friendship?

2. Ways of making friends, and the time it takes, are often quite different in different cultures. What are some differences you have noticed in this process between Australia and your home country?

3. What do you think the rights and duties of friends are in Australia, and in your home country?

4. Some people try to avoid mixing personal friendships with work colleague relationships. Others think this mixing is normal. What is your approach? Why?

5. There may be people you see rather often, but they are not friends, they are acquaintances. What kind of acquaintances might become real friends, and what kind will never be friends?

6. if friends are very close, a breakup between them can be especially bitter. Have you had this experience? What is the best way to manage a breakup experience?

7. Women are famous for having more friends and closer friends than most men. Many men never have close friends. Why do you think these differences exist? Do you think the pattern is changing?

8. When you come to a new place, especially a different country, it might be quite hard to make real new friends. Is this a big problem, or just a normal part of living? What can you do about it?

9. Expats (expatriates working in another country) and immigrants usually seek out people from their home country to relax with, meet with, talk to, trust etc. The groups they make can be quite closed. This is normal behaviour, but it can also create problems. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mostly mixing with fellow countrymen when you are in another country?

10. 'Loners', people who don't have many friends and who act alone, are often distrusted and seen as 'freaks'. Is this fair? Are some people natural outsiders who are actually comfortable being alone? Are they always 'dangerous', or can some of them actually be creators of ideas pioneering what might be 'normal' in the next generation?