(Story Side-Note: This season, we are happy to be hosting a Korean student. She is our "adopted daughter" through February, which has been remarkably fun and interesting for all of us.)
Having a Korean kid in our home has brought a wealth of new ideas to chew on lately. Her study habits are extreme. Her devotion to family inspiring. Her curiosity for language: unquenchable. She asks me many questions about the “appropriate” things to say in various circumstances, and the thing that seems to come up the most often is the nuances of social greetings. She has said, “In Korea, I learn English ‘hello,’ and ‘how are you,’ but I not learn ‘whuzzup.’ What do I say to ‘whazzup’?” It’s a great question. I stumble to explain how “whuzzup” really means “what is happening in your life,” but that we never ask “whuzzup” expecting to hear an honest answer. We expect to hear one simple response: “noth’n.” Explaining this to a foreigner seems suddenly cold if not slightly bizarre.
She brings up many a good point. I’ve long been puzzling over how to avoid the many “awkward pleasantries” one encounters day by day. For example, what do you say when passing an acquaintance in the hall? “Hi” works for short hallways, but for long corridors “Hi, how are you” is appropriate, to which they reply only “fine.” You have to say all this quickly, or you get stuck trying to answer each other over your shoulder or walking backwards. Awkward.
Another awkward scenario I stumbled upon this morning: what about when someone comes suddenly around a corner and begins walking in the same direction you are going? Do you walk alongside each other? Do you walk behind as a courtesy? “Hi,” I say, “How are you?” She replies with an appropriate “Fine, you?” I nod politely as I turn to escape through a doorway. Drat. She turns inside also right behind me. I walk down a hall to the office, she does also. I wait for the copier. She does also. Long. Awkward. Pause. Paper jam. Shall we start the “Hi, how are you”’s again?
