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When I moved to US I was at first startled when neighbors and others asked me "How do you do?" while walking past me on the side-walk. Of course it just meant t
by galaxyLogic 4y ago
When I moved to US I was at first startled when neighbors and others asked me "How do you do?" while walking past me on the side-walk. Of course it just meant the same as "hello". But I wasn't expecting it. So I started thinking how do I do? And what should I tell them about that?
By the time I had come up with some kind of answer they had already passed me by. I didn't realize I was supposed to answer by asking the same question from them, or some slight variation thereof.
- euvitudo 4y agoLike in Brazil. “Tudo bem?” “Tudo bem!” I have a Peruvian friend who had a similar experience. He would relate that when you would ask someone in his country how they’re doing, it was expected that that would be the beginning of a (possibly brief, but probably not so brief) discussion.
- jamiek88 4y agoOften American visitors to the north of England are very confused when they are constantly asked 'Alright?' or 'you alright, mate?' - one got very paranoid asking me (because I've been in US for 20 year and I am bilingual American/British!!) wtf was obviously wrong with him causing the concern. I explained it means, essentially, what's up. If you bumped into a pal and said 'sup and he then went on to explain his day at length that would be weird, right? American and English, it's almost the same language.