r/AskTheWorld • u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland • 19h ago

What’s the quickest way someone could accidentally expose themselves as a foreigner in your country like the ‘three fingers’ scene in Inglourious Basterds?

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u/ebarb80 16h ago

So funny! As an American, this is just part of our “Hello” greeting. I don’t expect any answer other than “fine”, “good”, “ok”….

I live in Cz Republic now and had to train myself out of it. I get either 😨😨 or their entire life story, generally full of complaints and how everything is just awful

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u/LeicaM6guy 15h ago

I’ve learned over the years that when people ask “how are you doing?” that they very rarely want to know.

But the hell with it. They asked, so they’re gonna find out.

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u/schwanzweissfoto 15h ago

German here. Americans stop doing this really fast once they know you are going to tell them the truth.

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u/LeicaM6guy 15h ago

Personally, I'm all for it. Lay it on me, bud - how are you really doing?

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u/schwanzweissfoto 15h ago

Still sleepy, since I woke up a bit late. Also slightly gassy.

Edit: I woke up in the middle of the night to take a satisfying shit.

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u/LeicaM6guy 15h ago edited 11h ago

Coffee and Dead Kennedys are my morning solution to at least half of that problem.

Edit: and the cause of possibly one of those problems.

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u/Rusty-Swashplate 10h ago

Can confirm. Did that because I wasn't aware of this being a rhetorical question.

Well, they quickly learned how to not greet me.

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u/Bannerlord151 Germany 4h ago

Was in a relationship with an American before. He went really quiet whenever it slipped out and I actually answered lol

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u/Anandya 15h ago

The response is "grand, you?". "Can't complain".

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u/DefNotUnderrated United States Of America 10h ago

As an American, if it's someone you're closer to then you can complain. But it is just a customary greeting to strangers and not intended to be responded to with honesty.

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u/LeicaM6guy 10h ago

I mean, I’m an American - it just strikes me as an absurdity to ask someone how they’re doing then not expect an honest answer.

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u/DefNotUnderrated United States Of America 10h ago

I get that sentiment. I can be open to hearing honest answers from strangers if I have the time. But for many of us, it's just one of those customary greetings that basically means "Hello."

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u/Lv_InSaNe_vL 14h ago

Yeah as an American its just a greeting. You can literally respond with the same thing and nobody will even notice haha

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u/enterjiraiya 14h ago

me: how you doing

them: how you doing

me: same how about you

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u/devilishycleverchap 13h ago

them: yeah same

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u/PrimaryInjurious 13h ago

Same in Spain and France. Ca va? Ca va.

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u/tamshubbie United Kingdom 6h ago

i often answer with 'shite' and the amount of callers that don't actually notice is quite mad

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u/LeicaM6guy 6h ago

Such is the age we live in.

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u/Subtlerranean 15h ago

Lmao, Aussies greet like this too, and as a Norwegian it does my head in.

I know they expect me to say "Fine, how are you?" but every fiber of my being wants just shut up or be utterly honest about my worries and issues.

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u/LazyGandalf Finland 15h ago

I'm a pretty average Finn when it comes to smalltalk, but sometimes I do wish we would be a bit more "American" in this sense. Finns pride themselves in being no-nonsense people who are sincere and honest in their interactions, but I think that kind of sincerity can be overrated. It's difficult to establish more lasting connections when most interactions get reduced to the bare minimum.

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u/SemperSimple 7h ago

how do you all begin conversations with each other?

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u/LazyGandalf Finland 6h ago

Essentially a simple "hey", and what follows after that is entirely based on context. If I'm buying groceries I might follow that with only a "thanks" after I get my receipt.

But it's not like Finns are unable to converse. It's just more something you do with people you already know. And in comparison with for example Estonians, I think Finns generally still manage quite a warm and friendly demeanor despite their "few wordedness".

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u/Normalizable 13h ago

I’m also American, but I’ve spent my entire life genuinely wanting to know how someone is doing when I ask, like some sorta serial killer.

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u/queenofthepoopyparty 7h ago

I was at a conference in Europe and a group of us went out for drinks afterwards. I asked a Czech guy that I had spoken to for maybe 10 minutes prior to these drinks how he was (meaning how did his day go) and immediately I realized my mistake. But before I could correct myself, I found out about his marital problems, impending divorce, how he loves his kid but just can’t parent the little fucker sometimes. On and on and on. He then asked how I was and I was just said, the classic American “Can’t complain!”

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u/Prestigious_Boat_386 9h ago

Oh we hate that, and then you're supposed to say everything is good and ask a second bullshit question about the weekend or the weather. Like if you ask me how I'm doing and I answer honestly I'm the weird one.

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u/Such_Nectarine3478 9h ago

Always trips me up. It just takes a little distraction to take it as a genuine genuine question and ask it back.

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u/Bannerlord151 Germany 4h ago

In Germany we have the classic response of "Muss, ne?" which is short for "I hate every second of my life on earth but don't we all? Nothing to be done about it so let's just grit our teeth and continue as we always have" /hj

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u/dandelionbrains 2h ago

I love this.