AEE 2504: How to Blend Your Social Bubbles in English

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Ears English Podcast – Episode 2504

Title: How to Blend Your Social Bubbles in English

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter
Date: October 29, 2025

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode explores the cultural dynamics and practical language strategies for blending different “social bubbles” or friend groups in American culture. Drawing comparisons with Norwegian society, Lindsay and Aubrey discuss why and how Americans tend to integrate their social circles, share concrete phrases for introducing mutual friends, and examine the benefits of creating new connections. The episode offers valuable insights for ESL learners aiming to master both the language and the culturally appropriate ways of socializing in English-speaking environments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comparing Social Bubbles: Norway vs. U.S.

• Cultural Observation from Norway (03:10 – 07:11):

  • Lindsay recounts her recent trip to Norway and conversations with an expat tour guide.
  • In Norway, social “frames” or “bubbles” (such as daycare parents, university friends, sports teams) are seen as distinct and are rarely blended.
  • “There are certain moments when you can insert yourself into the society, …and these are all separate social bubbles from what I understood. Super interesting.” — Lindsay (06:00)

• Contrast with U.S. Socializing (07:11 – 10:18):

  • Americans more commonly blend social bubbles, especially at gatherings like parties.
  • Aubrey describes her own experience: “I invite everybody and they’re just going to have to meet each other and get along.” (08:04)
  • Both hosts acknowledge occasional awkwardness for hosts and guests when circles are mixed but agree it is generally the norm in the U.S.

2. The Concept of "Weak Ties" (10:24 – 11:40)

• Sociological Insight:
  • Lindsay introduces research by Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter (1973) on the value of weak ties — acquaintances or friends-of-friends — in expanding opportunities, such as for networking or job hunting.
  • “He found that weak ties, which are casual connections, meaning not your friend directly, but your friend’s friend, those tend to be more powerful in terms of professional networking.” — Lindsay (10:24)
  • Both hosts share anecdotes about unexpected networking and opportunities emerging at mixed group gatherings.

3. Cultural Reflection — Listeners' Perspectives (11:40 – 12:18)

• Hosts encourage listeners to reflect on their own cultures and share whether they blend or separate their social bubbles.

4. Practical English: How to Introduce and Blend Social Groups (12:18 – 17:16)

• Essential Phrases for Introductions:
  • "Have you guys met?" / "Have you both met?" / "Have y’all met?"
    • “This one’s the laziest, easiest way sometimes.” — Lindsay (12:53)
  • Provide context after introductions ("She and I know each other from ____").
  • Give guests reasons to connect ("You guys both rock climb"; "You should talk to Mark—he’s the one I was telling you about who writes for the New Yorker").
  • Bring your friend to the new person instead of summoning someone across the room.
• Host’s Role:
  • Give conversation starters and points of connection to help guests feel comfortable.
  • Ensure introductions are smooth so the host can step away without leaving guests in awkward silence.
• Quote:
  • “If there’s a third party and the third party says, ‘Have you two met?’…what happens next, always, Aubrey, is someone introduces themselves.” — Lindsay (13:20)

5. Role Play Demonstration (19:12 – 22:47)

• Aubrey, her husband Cole, and Lindsay act out a scenario at a birthday party, demonstrating real-life applications of blending bubbles and facilitating introductions.
• Attentively, Lindsay gives context for each guest and highlights common interests to jumpstart conversations.

Memorable Role Play Quotes:

• Lindsay: “Aubry, this is Mark. He and I know each other from running club.”
• Aubrey: “No, I don’t think we’ve met. Hi.”
• Lindsay: “Aubry and I are college friends, so actually you guys have a lot in common since you both rock climb.”
• Aubrey: “That’s awesome. Where do you climb?”
• Lindsay: “And Aubry, you should know—Mark’s the one I was telling you about who writes for the New Yorker.”
• Aubrey: “Oh, I’ve been wanting to meet you. Lindsay mentioned you’ve written some really interesting articles. How long have you been doing that?”

6. Takeaways & Reflection (23:19 – 24:24)

• Hosts encourage listeners to experiment with blending social groups, highlighting career and personal benefits.
• Cultural norms are flexible and can evolve; questioning why certain habits exist can lead to positive change.
• “Things can change. So super interesting, guys.” — Lindsay (24:24)

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Social Risk:
  • “It sounds like it’s too socially risky necessarily to do those intros.” — Lindsay (08:46)
• On “Weak Ties”:
  • “…weak ties will help you more, which kind of makes sense because then you have access to this whole other network that you might not be aware of.” — Lindsay (11:40)
• On Starting Conversations:
  • “The best thing to do as the host is give them a reason to talk to each other… it makes them feel more confident.” — Lindsay (14:04)
• On Changing Norms:
  • “We don’t have to keep doing something the way we’ve always done it, right? We can change that.” — Lindsay (24:24)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:10 – 07:11]: Norwegian vs. American social bubbles
• [10:24 – 11:40]: Understanding "Weak Ties"
• [12:18 – 17:16]: Key phrases and strategies for blending groups
• [19:12 – 22:47]: Live role play demonstrating introduction skills
• [23:19 – 24:24]: Final cultural takeaways and reflection

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Summary of Language & Tone

• Conversational, enthusiastic, approachable
• Supportive and nuanced about cultural differences — never condescending, always open to correction and further listener input
• Focus on connection not perfection: making it culturally and linguistically comfortable for ESL learners to take social initiative

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Practical Takeaway for Listeners

Blending your social bubbles can be challenging but is culturally encouraged and beneficial in American society. It can lead to more fulfilling personal lives and stronger professional networks. Practicing the simple and natural introduction phrases showcased in this episode can empower ESL speakers to confidently facilitate new connections in English-speaking settings.

Listeners are invited to reflect on their own cultural norms, share their experiences, and consider adopting this proactive approach in blending social groups — one connection at a time.

Transcript

[A]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2504 how to Blend your social bubbles in English.

[B]

Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe do you blend your social groups or do you keep them separate? This can vary around the world, but in the US we usually blend them. Today, get six key ways to do this in English. The countdown is on. Holiday shopping season is officially here. Uncommon Goods takes the stress out of gifting, but thousands of unique, high quality finds you won't see anywhere else don't wait. The most meaningful gifts get scooped up fast and now's the perfect time to cross names off your list. Uncommon Goods looks for products that are high quality, unique, and often handmade or made in the U.S. many are crafted by independent artists and small businesses, making every gift feel meaningful and truly one of a kind. Just like learning the basics of grammar is key to getting started with English. I've heard that knife skills are the foundation for good cooking. Since I want to learn to cook this year I went to Uncommon Goods and found an authentic Thai chef's knife called the Moon Knife. Created in a small village in Thailand by talented artists, it's perfect for cutting pork or poultry. With a hand forged tool like this, I feel even more excited to improve my cooking. So don't wait. Cross those names off your list before the rush. To get 15% off your next gift, go to uncommongoods.com AEE that's U N C O M M O n G o o d s.com a e e for 15 off Uncommon Goods we're all out of the ordinary. Hey there Aubry. How's it going today?

[A]

I'm great Lindsay. Welcome back. How was your trip?

[B]

Oh my gosh, it was great. Anytime I go on vacation I love it. But I've never seen so much rain Aubry in a one week period. It was crazy.

[A]

Yes. You were in Norway, right?

[B]

Yes, yes. And it rains like crazy at that time of year. We didn't know that.

[A]

Oh, and I know you were planning on kayaking which got rained out. I'm sorry to hear that. You'll have to go again sometime when you can do the kayaking.

[B]

It's so true. But because there was so much rain, it was a more chill trip. And I had a lot of time to think about culture, because that's where my mind always goes. Right. You know, like, how is this place different from the U.S. how do people act like, what's going on here? Right. And so we did a free city tour. Have you ever done those tours, Aubrey, where, like, there's always free city tours that meet in the center?

[A]

I haven't. I don't think I ever have done that.

[B]

Oh, my gosh, you should. Every city we've been to offers a free city tour. And you just tip at the end. You tip well. So. So it works out. The. The business continues all over the world. It's amazing. And our guide was an expat living in Bergen, Norway, for the last three to four years. He was Indian, Portuguese, I believe, but he had a lot of insights on the culture. And so I took his insights and then supplemented that with a little reading, a little observing, and we have some interesting stuff to share with our audience today.

[A]

Yes, I'm very excited to hear these cultural insights. And also for what we're going to share about introducing mutual friends, because I have been in that situation where I want to introduce people, and it's tricky. We're going to give you the phrases and the strategies to do this, so you are going to learn a lot in this episode.

[B]

This is going to be fantastic. Everyone is going to be able to apply today's episode. So, guys, first go ahead and hit the follow button. If you are not currently following Allers English, then you're missing what we're sending out, which is five episodes a week. Aubrey. Amazing. Yeah.

[A]

Yes, exactly. Right. Hit follow. Wherever. You listen to podcasts.

[B]

Yeah. And I want to. Before we go any further, I just want to mention a caveat. A caveat is that culture is really complex. It's really nuanced. So anytime we talk about culture, I get nervous because I don't want to have stereotypes. I don't want to generalize. You know, imagine if someone were trying to break down American culture, Aubry and socializing in American culture into three rules. We would reject it right away, Right?

[A]

Absolutely. It's so true. And I remember sometimes when I talk to people about my experience in Brussels, Belgium, I will share the stereotypes I witnessed. But that was based on a very small group. Right. I noticed some things from a few people, but I certainly didn't meet every person that lives in Brussels.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So when you have a small sample size, you might end up Stereotyping accidentally and assuming things about a culture that, yes, aren't true for everyone. So it is tricky.

[B]

Yeah. And you are also just in the city, right? In the city of Brussels. Lifestyle can be so different in a city versus countryside versus mountains versus beach. Oh my God, there's so much here. But we do like to observe things and we want to help our listeners to have these skills to speak in these social contexts. So for our listeners from Norway, guys, go ahead and email me@lindsay allersenglish.com and tell me what I'm getting wrong here, because I'm sure we're having some kind of misunderstanding. Right. So we'll do a follow up episode if we've gotten something wrong. We'd be happy to do that. All right.

[A]

Yes, that would be really interesting to hear. Right, Let us know. You could leave a comment on the YouTube video to give us details. Is this the case as far as you know, or do you experience something different?

[B]

Yes. And so here is kind of the main point of what we want to talk about today. I had one kind of huge light bulb moment, one big observation of something that seemed pretty different from American culture that I saw in the way that people seem to socialize in Norway. And that is, and this came partly from the tour guide, partly from a book that I was reading and talking to other people. Social frames, they call them frames, but really bubbles would be the word we use. Aubry are a big deal, apparently in Norwegian society. So there are certain moments when you can insert yourself into the society, like if you're an expat. And there's not as many as I think there are in the US there's if your kids are going to daycare, right. You're meeting other parents. If you're in college or university, you're making friends. If you're on a sports team, you're making friends, work volunteer clubs, but that's pretty much it. So there's not a lot of opportunities to really get in there. And these are all separate social bubbles from what I understood. Super interesting.

[A]

Yeah, this is really interesting. And of course we do this in the United States too. But the question is, how much does a culture, culture integrate these different bubbles? Right. Are we trying to introduce friends from these different groups?

[B]

Exactly. And that's what we're talking about today. So again, I could be wrong and I can't wait to hear from our listeners in Norway. But from what I understood is these groups don't seem to integrate all that much. So let's say I have Three frames or three bubbles. I have my university friends, I have my run club after work and I have my kids daycare. From what I understand is if I were hosting a party for myself, maybe I wouldn't necessarily bring them together. And that was the key difference that I saw versus American culture. Because would you do that, Aubry, if you were hosting a birthday party, would you, would you seek to bring all your bubbles together or would you just say, I'm only inviting this bubble. I'm not going to.

[A]

I invite everybody and they're just going to have to meet each other and get along. This actually just happened. We had a Labor Day barbecue and I invited volleyball friends cuz we wanted to play pool volleyball and I invited neighbor friends and some. So it is interesting. Sometimes I will think about maybe I won't invite any family if it would sort of be. Maybe if we did family it would just be family. So sometimes I will think about like, yeah, you know, which bubbles aren't going to necessarily get along. Maybe if there's going to be alcohol consumption and I know people who are uncomfortable with that, I might not invite them. So there will be certain things that would keep me from inviting one bubble. But for the most part, okay, I just invite everyone.

[B]

And that's kind of what I thought you would say when I thought about recording this episode with you. I think that's typical of most people, right? There may be some caveats where you're not going to make certain bubbles because of certain hot topics or certain things, but for the most part, yeah, I'm the same way. If I have like a 50th birthday party, I want to invite all my bubbles. I want everyone to kind of know each other. But what I, what I understood from the tour and from a few things talking with people, it sounds like it's too socially risky necessarily to do those intros. And I wish I had followed up on that question more. Like what's.

[A]

I don't disagree that I don't know about socially risky, but sometimes awkward. I have definitely been in the situation where I invite people from different bubbles and some of them sort of only will talk to me or the people they already know. I see them not putting themselves out there, not trying to meet others. So then the onus is on me to introduce them, try to give them a reason to talk to each other, let them know what they have in common because they won't always do it on their own.

[B]

Right? No, that's a good point. And this, this does have remnants of American culture. Right. I mean, there are parallels here, for sure. I kind of also felt like, especially living in, like, the Northeast, there were some remnants of. I don't know, just. Yeah, I agree. It's. It's. There's some risk there, because do. Do we internalize that? If this person can't mix with that person, is that our fault? Like, we feel like it's our fault on some level.

[A]

Right. And if you're the party host, you want everyone having fun, everyone comfortable, and so that you do feel either guilt or just awkwardness if people aren't mixing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so it can be a little tricky. It's definitely easier to invite only people who know each other.

[B]

Yeah, totally. But that's not really reality as an adult, because we do have these bubbles, because we have different aspects of our lives, and hopefully we have multiple bubbles. But there are reasons why we would want to intro people. Have you heard about this study, this idea of weak ties? Did you ever hear that term? Aubry? No, I don't think ties. So there was this research study done by the Stanford sociologist mark Greniver in 73. So it was a while back already. But he found that weak ties, which are casual connections, meaning not your friend directly, but your friend's friend, those tend to be more powerful in terms of professional networking. And as adults, we're always kind of doing both a little bit. Right. Not we're not handing out business cards at picnics, but we're always, you know, I think business and social kind of mix together sometimes. Right.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Right. So he surveyed 282 people and found that weak ties are more powerful in terms of getting new jobs. So this would be a reason to actually do it.

[A]

Right. I definitely don't disagree. At that same Labor Day barbecue, there was someone who's thinking about transitioning from one career to something else.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I overheard a conversation that he had with a neighbor who had connections potentially and was offering to help, you know, get him an insight. So this. He was able to build his network there. And that potentially could be really helpful.

[B]

Yes. I think that makes total sense. And those weak ties will help you more, which kind of makes sense because then you have access to this whole other network that you might not be aware of. Right. So what we want to do is encourage our listeners here to think about your own culture. Do you blend your bubbles? Is it socially encouraged to blend your bubbles? Maybe. That'll be our poll question for today. Aubry.

[A]

Yeah, I'm really curious. I'd like to know this for every culture you know, is it for some of us, it's like some of both, Right. It depends. There's a lot of it depends. But just let us know. Would you be more likely to blend bubbles or do you really avoid that?

[B]

Yeah. Super interesting. And then as we talked about at the top of the episode, Aubry, for today, we want our listeners to come away with the skills to do it if they want to do it, because maybe in your home culture you don't, but maybe now you're in the US or somewhere else where you definitely want to do that to expand your network even further and expand others networks, Right?

[A]

Yes, exactly. So let's share some phrases that you can use when you're in this situation where you need to introduce mutual friends that don't know each other. So for example, you can bring them together and just say, have you guys met?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Or have you both met? Or have y' all met? Yeah, right.

[B]

Yeah. This one's the laziest, easiest way sometimes. I mean, not. Not forgetting friends names, but if there's someone I vaguely know and I want to introduce the person to someone else, but I don't know their name, I'll just bring them together and say, have you all met?

[A]

And it's actually really smart because especially if they've both been at the party for a little while.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But you haven't had a chance to meet them. They maybe did introduce themselves to each other. So they maybe will say, yes, but we met. We were just chatting. Which will inform what you say next.

[B]

Exactly. And if they haven't met, the frame here, like the social frame, is that they go ahead and introduce themselves. That is the automatic thing we're expected to do in English, if someone. If there's a third party and the third party says, have you two met and you haven't, what happens next, always, Aubrey, is someone introduce. Introduces themselves.

[A]

Right, exactly right. Hi, I'm Aubrey. Nice to meet you.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And exactly. Do you give each other names? Definitely, yes. And then from there, the best thing to do as the host is give them a reason to talk to each other.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

For example, you could say, you know, Aubry, you should really talk to Lindsay because you both are super outdoorsy. Maybe you both live on the Upper west side, whatever you might have in common.

[B]

Yes. And I love that. That's so smart because it means that you know both people. You're articulating that you know them. It's a connection skill already, and it makes them feel more confident. So giving them the confidence boost to go over and say hi or to be part of that introduction. Right.

[A]

And to give them something to ask each other about. Whatever you say, you know, then we come, oh, you're outdoorsy. Do you like to hike? You're going to have this that you can jump start a conversation about.

[B]

Huge. That's a really good one. So write that down, listeners. But we have more. That's not only the only ones. What else, Aubrey? What else? Exactly?

[A]

You could also say, oh, hey, Janet, have you met my friend Lindsay? She and I know each other from. And then you share, right? We, we're volleyball friends. We each other from a running club, whatever it is, college, grad school, however you know each other, let this mutual friend know, you know how you are connected to this friend.

[B]

And again, even, this even just gives a little bit of information. If you say we met in grad school, maybe this person goes and talks to their new friend and says, oh, where did you go to grad school? You went to school in Boston. Which school? And then you're off to the races. Right?

[A]

Exactly Right. This gives you again the starting point for an interesting conversation. If nothing else, they can ask you about your connection to this person, right? Yes. The goal is always to give them the opportunity that if you then are pulled away, you have to answer the door, someone grabs you, they could continue chatting instead of awkwardly walking away from each other.

[B]

Right. Give people that heads up, that boost there. The next one is just again, more simple but very natural. Right. Very common saying. Something like, oh, I've been wanting to introduce you to Lindsay. Let's say we see or we see Jen over in the corner. And I see Jen, and you and I, Aubrey, are at a party and they all been wanting to introduce you to Jen. So maybe now you and I walk over to her, for example. Right?

[A]

Yes. Right. And then these others would start. Exactly. Because often you'll be chatting with just one person away from anyone else.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So rather than be like, jen, come over here. The more polite thing in American culture would be to bring your friend to them.

[B]

Yes. Oh, yeah, you're right. That's a good point, Aubrey. That would be a little bit rude if you're like, jen, come here, come here. Right. I guess it'd be fine, but you know, you're being summoned.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

All right, what's the last one?

[A]

The last one is you should talk to and then name them and that maybe, you know, he's the one I was telling you about who works for Intel. You're both in tech, whatever it is. Right. You are going to same either. If they're right by you, then it's easy. You just start the conversation or lead them over to the other person. And this is great to be like, oh, if you have already shared information about this friend, which is usually the case, right. This is the person I was telling you about.

[B]

It's. If you think about it, it's kind of awkward to not give any context, right? It's like, hey, I want you to meet this person. Okay, bye. Have fun.

[A]

You know, see ya. Right?

[B]

It's kind of weird, but this should give our listeners permission. You know, as long as you're in a culture where it's accepted, do this, introduce people, let people create those weak ties that may eventually become strong ties but could help their career and just build a more robust life full of connections. Right, Aubrey?

[A]

Absolutely. Not only will you make your party a lot more fun and you'll have a lot more diversity of friends from different backgrounds, but also like you said, Lindsay, you are really setting up your friends to be able to network and make other good friends.

[B]

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[A]

So welcome back for our role play here and we have a very special guest for those who are watching on YouTube. You noticed because we need three voices for this role play. So my husband Cole here is going to help us out. Lindsay, actually, I'll give you a little background. This role play is A birthday party. Lindsay is chatting with me, your friend Aubry, and another friend of yours, Mark, arrives.

[B]

All right, let's get into it. Here we go. Oh, hey, Mark. Glad you made it. Have you guys met? Aubry, this is Mark. He and I know each other from running club.

[A]

No, I don't think we've met. Hi.

[B]

Hi. It's nice to meet you. Aubry and I are college friends, so actually you guys have a lot in common since you both rock climb.

[A]

Oh, that's awesome. Where do you climb?

[B]

Mostly at Phoenix on the rocks. But I boulder outside some sometimes. What about you?

[A]

I love Phoenix on the rocks. That's a great gym. You'll have to tell me about your bouldering spots. I don't know very many.

[B]

And Aubry, you should know. Mark's the one I was telling you about who rides for the New Yorker.

[A]

Oh, I've been wanting to meet you. Lindsay mentioned you've written some really interesting articles. How long have you been doing that? Awesome. Thank you for joining us, Cole. We appreciate your help on this roleplay.

[B]

Yeah, excellent. Thank you, Cole. Thanks.

[A]

All right, so let's go through this role play here.

[B]

Yeah, let's do it.

[A]

You first started by saying, you know, oh, hey, Mark, glad you made it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I'm standing there closely, so you say, have you guys met? Aubry, this is Mark. And then right away you say, he and I know each other from running club. So you're giving me so many reasons to be there for the conversation pulling me in.

[B]

I love it. Such a strong way to start it off. And we see what. What you have in common. Really, really good. And then what else do we say? Aubry, what are the key phrases here?

[A]

So then like, we're saying that's where we would introduce each other. We haven't met yet. Right. You had said my name. Aubry, this is Mark. So I don't need to say my name's Aubry, but I just say, no, I don't think we've met. Hi. And then because you've given both our names, you know, he said, hi, nice to meet you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then you use this strategy of sharing how you know me. Right. Aubry and I are college friends.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then right away, jumping into, actually, you guys have a lot in common. You both rock clim.

[B]

I love that. I love that. And that's really going to get the conversation going. And then what else do we say here? So.

[A]

And then it's interesting because it's not all on the host. Right. Yes. I. Then Said, that's awesome. Where do you climb? I immediately am building on that. At that point, you could walk away. We're going to be talking about rock climbing. Right. What a cool feeling, pulling him into this conversation, asking for details about this thing that we have in common.

[B]

Yeah. And it really is a cool feeling. If you've made that introduction and you feel that you can now walk away. That is significant success right there.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Right. Yeah.

[A]

And you could. Right. Then he starts saying, oh, I climb at Phoenix on the rocks and I Boulder outdoors. And we could chat about that for an hour, probably. So if you need to go answer the door or refill the chips, you could.

[B]

Yes, I love it. And then, let's see. I said in Aubry, you should know. So I haven't actually left the conversation quite yet. Right. I said, you should know. Mark's the one I was telling you about who writes for the New Yorker. So just a tiny little bit of extra information to refer back to a conversation we've already had.

[A]

Yes. And this is where you're giving the chance to network. Maybe I'm a writer, maybe I'm a freelancer. Right. Or maybe you just know that I would be interested. I read the New Yorker. I would be interested in these articles. So it's just that opportunity you're giving people to know a little bit more about each other so they realize they actually have a lot to talk about.

[B]

Love it. And then you said, oh, I've been wanting to meet you. Right. So that's exciting because now the person you're being introduced to is probably going to want to talk with you because you're showing that enthusiasm. Right.

[A]

And what a compliment for someone to know that you have spoken highly of them in the past. Right. Oh, Mark's the one I was telling you about who writes for the New Yorker. It's very clear that you are proud of this friend and their accomplishments. That's such a great way to connect.

[B]

Yes. So good. What a good role play here. Aubry, what is our takeaway for today's episode?

[A]

Yeah, the question is, do you blend your bubbles? And if not, maybe you should. Right. Even if in culture it's not quite as common. There are so many reasons to do this, so I think it's interesting to think about. Certainly there are reasons not to. So it could go either way, but a lot of reasons to blend those bubbles.

[B]

Yeah. And then if we want to think even deeper on the cultural level, which I love going deep, think about the more interesting question, which is always, to me, it's always, why is something the way it is culturally? You know, what is it about a country? You know, if you, if you think your country is maybe a country that doesn't blend bubbles, why is that? Is it something about the history, the geography, the weather, the economic structures? Like, what is it that's created that social norm? Right.

[A]

Yes. Right. Because those weak ties you were talking about could really be the key to success, either for you or one of your friends in business just making new friends, making new connections.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So if you find out why or discover sort of why, you might realize this isn't something that I have to follow. I can try to mix these bubbles and see what could grow from it.

[B]

It. Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, even in very old countries, right, that have a long history, we don't have to keep doing something the way we've always done it. Right. We can change that. Things can change. So super interesting, guys. If you love our style of connection, not perfection, hit the follow button on the show right now. Good stuff, Aubry.

[A]

Awesome. Thanks for bringing this insight from your trip, Lindsay. Always super interesting.

[B]

Yeah, travel is always the best way to get great episode ideas, don't you think?

[A]

Absolutely. I agree.

[B]

All right, talk to you soon. Have a good day.

[A]

You too. Bye.

[B]

Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time. Hear that? The next chapter of Audi performance is here. That's the sound of every interior detail refined. And that. That's the sound of Quattro all wheel drive. The all new Audi Q5, the all new A5 and Q7. Each one a statement. Performance never goes out of style.