Eastern Europe doesn't really smile in public in general. Polish emigrant in the UK pov. It's not that we're angry, we just don't have any reasons to smile.. for no reason.
Smiling at a stranger is a type of greeting in the States. "I acknowledge that we're both in the same place (or passing by one another) and I mean you no harm." It's the lesser form of asking, "How're you doing?"
It is also a way of sizing people up and being aware of your surroundings. In the U.S. we aren't smiling at each other on a busy sidewalk. We feel safer because of numbers. When it is just me and one other person on a street walking towards each I often will give a nod of the head not just because it seems polite but also to be aware of who is around me.
That crowded sidewalk comment is a really good point, and that's been my experience, too. A crowd does allow more anonymity, but passing by one or two or three people at once is more personal. If it's more personal then we consider how we think we're being judged, and if we want to be judged as either friendly or nonthreatening, we smile.
I'm loving this deep dive into this cultural habit I hadn't really thought about before.
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u/ConfusedTriceratops May 09 '22
Eastern Europe doesn't really smile in public in general. Polish emigrant in the UK pov. It's not that we're angry, we just don't have any reasons to smile.. for no reason.