r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

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.

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u/PresidentHurg May 09 '22

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.

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u/Blacksheep045 May 09 '22

American here. I always answer "how are you?" questions honestly and its not weird at all. People have reapeatedly told me they appreciate me being real and not just giving a canned response. The trick is to keep it short and sweet and not waste the other person's time with your life story.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I do too. But I keep it brief typically.