greeting randoms

this idea of “hey, how’s it goin?” is very odd for me.

today in my social and mobile computing class, conversation with regards to computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) was the topic in discussion. for our lecturer, who is from England, this phrase felt like an invitation for a conversation. he elaborated how he would think about the question and answer in order to spark off a chat. it was a while before he realised that this cultural greeting was just a courteous ‘hey!’

what caught my attention was how he said there was n equivalent to that in England. “Hey, you a’ight?” hmm… what was my equivalent? what do we do when we cross path with a random back in Singapore?

we look at the floor and ignore any kind of contact.

i think being an asian (in true sense of that word), i have been taught to be asocial, withdrawn and even unpleasant. random greetings, let alone full length conversations are an undiscovered territory for us. we hardly smile at each other. even worse, we step on people’s shoes and pretend to be annoyed at them to avoid saying “sorry”. now with the information age, it has substituted the faces around us and the floor. it gets so uncomfortable spawning conversations. i feel afraid and my mind starts to overwhelm with millions of questions. like, “what do i say? how am i going to keep this going? omg… what’s next?!!!”

don’t get me wrong, we’re fully capable of talking. just with familiar company. like me talking to my ex for 5hrs+ on the phone in high school days; sorry mum for the phone bill.

coming to australia was an eye opener for me. even after couple of years, i’m picking up how to socialise like a westerner. i am out of my comfort zone and making random friends and small talk. it might be tough to break away fully from what i’ve practised for 20 odd years,

but it’s a start.

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Details – Frou Frou is a fantastic album you should own.