14 March was my brother’s birthday. With no idea of what to get him, I went out on a hunt with my boyfriend from mall to mall looking for what could make him happy.

While checking out from the supermarket at Citymall, a bottle of water in my hand and confused in my head, I noticed a client, an American guy, who was in front of me. He said “Thank you young man” out loud to the cashier and took his grocery bags. The cashier smiled back at him.

I looked at my boyfriend with a smile. He said: “Europeans and Americans may not be extremely welcoming, but they are polite. In our area it’s a bit the opposite; we tend to be more welcoming than polite. Already obvious in the way we drive on the roads.”

I don’t know why, but I started to think whether I said “Thank you” enough during the day.

In the evening, empty handed, I went to my brother, gave him a hug and said: “Thank you!”