The whole American thank-you dynamic is just very odd to me. How do they teach this to foreigners?
"When you pick up my bag, I'll say 'Thank you.'"
"You will order me to thank myself?"
"No, it's my way of saying that I'm grateful."
"Oh, so you said 'Thanks, you'?"
"No, it's 'Thank you.'"
"Oh. So then what do I say in return?"
"Tell me, 'You're welcome.'"
"You're welcome to do what? To thank me again? Will we not get stuck in a loop this way?"
"Well, no, to... um..."
"To remain in my presence, now that you have properly thanked me?"
"...I suppose you could just say 'Thank you' back to me..."
"So now I am owing you thanks because you extended me the basic courtesy of acknowledging that I just picked up your bag for you? Helping you has put me in debt?"
"On second thought, just say 'Glad to help.' Better yet, maybe you should just leave my bags alone."
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