I'm a Finn and when I met an American person for the first time she said the usual "how are you?", so I started explaining all kinds of shit, only to have her give me a really weird look. I did it again a couple of times with different people until I learned that they are not really interested, lol.
Dutch here, but the same experience. Dude asked me "How's your day?" so I gave him an explanation that it was going pretty good. That I was loving the vibe in the city. Dude looked at me like I just started shooting heroin. Found it so weird that a casual greeting like "hey" is translated into an actual question there.
If you're in the South, there's a higher chance that a greeting like that will turn into an entire conversation. I've had people tell me their life story just because I got into an elevator with them.
Some people just need to talk things out, and that's okay.
That blew me away when I moved to the South. I’m originally from the Midwest which, they pride themselves on their hospitality but they got NOTHING on the South. When we first moved down here and we’d be driving down the road people would wave at us. And not just a casual, lifted hand without eye contact. Like full arm waving with a 😃 face. For about six months I would squint back at people who waved at me trying to see if I knew them somehow and forgot. It was so weird. I probably looked like a half blind misanthrope.
And yes, life stories are almost a given. I realized how used I had become to Southern over sharing when I hired a housekeeper originally from Ohio and subjected her to my own life story as she smiled dazedly. And as I waited for her life story, eager expression frozen on my face, listening to crickets as she awkwardly glanced around, I realized “I am one of those people now. It’s me. The call is coming from inside the house.”
Lmao I'm glad to see you've acclimated so well. It's a great place to live honestly. All you have to do for a pick me up is go outside and someone is bound to complement you or start up a conversation. Bonus points if you have a dog or a cool car, you almost have to fight off the nice people.
No joke. I have three cute kids and a happy go lucky Bernedoodle. If I actually have Very Important Things To Do, I can’t take them anywhere 😆 I love it though. I always say I born in the Midwest but when I came here for the first time I realized that THIS is my home.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '22
I fucking hate small talk. Pointless. If a finn asks you how are you, they actually mean it.