I lived two years in Spain
In Spain when you enter a shop you say “¡Hola!”
The cashier replies “¡Hola!”
And all the other customers in the shop turn around and reply “¡Hola!”
It looks a little bit like this
I was in Spain this summer
I flew back to Norway
It was a sunny day and I was in a good mood
I entered our usual grocery store and "Hei Hei!"
Suddenly people were wondering "Why is he saying "hei""?
In Norway greetings mean something different
You greet when you have a reason to
When you have something to talk about
When you have something purposeful to say
Greetings are more pragmatic
Norwegians are not rude
They simply have codes that differs from other cultures
Politennes is often about not disturbing others
And respecting each other’s privacy
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