Common courtesy
Do you greet strangers in the street?
I am not talking about busy city streets, where you cross your path with dozens of people per minute, that would be impossible. But in a village, a small park or even a quiet city neighbourhood, do you?
I do. Especially after a decade living in small villages where not saying good-morning to everybody you meet is considered rude :)
But even now that I am in a town, there are places that I greet people that I don't know. Usually during the morning walk of the dog, on not too busy pathways, or the parts of the town that are usually quiet.
I mean when you cross your path with someone it seams only natural to me to look and say "good-morning".
Most people though, are not like that. There are those that welcome the greeting with a smile and respond back but there also many, probably more, that avoid eye contact and any interaction. Which is fine too, I just don't get it. Greeting someone cannot harm you. The worst case scenario is to be indifferent while usually it gives a sparkle of good vibes in your day!
So why not?
Anyway in this particular walk there was no-one around. It was earlier than my usual early walk and I went at an even quieter place than my usual quiet route. The dog loved it, since it was a chance to be off the leash and the photographer in me loved it too since the light was brilliant. And as much as I prefer to take pictures with my camera it was either my phone or nothing.
I chose the phone!
On my way back I was pleasantly surprised as I saw a lady with her daughter approaching, obviously foreigners, that greeted me before I do and on top of that they did it in Greek. Something that I really appreciated.
When I go to a foreign country the first think to do, even if I don't speak their language is to learn a couple of greetings. Common courtesy towards the people of the place that I am visiting. And I am saying this because most tourists in Greece take for granted that they will address to us in English and we'll respond. Which we do but it is much nicer when you show the effort to learn at least one word of the other's language, isn't it?
The last pictures are from the beach, the activity that follows the dog walk and precedes the day's duties :)
All the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
Lovely photos, I enjoyed looking at these!!!... Thanks for sharing @fotostef friend!!!
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Thank you for your support!
I am glad you liked them :)
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Beautiful photos as always, no matter if they were taken with the phone..the photographer is the same 😁.
I usually say hello, maybe because I grew up in a small town where saying hello was a habit. Now I live in a city, but in my neighborhood even though I know few people (because it's big) I greet everyone I come across, even if many times they don't return the greeting.
I have never left my country, but I think it would be really nice to be able to visit other places and talk to their inhabitants in their own language.
It is always a pleasure to read your posts. Greetings to you and Traisto, I hope the workshop goes well!!!
Thank you very much @mdrguez!
I hope you'll have the chance to travel to as many places as you wish and if you ever come to Greece I'll teach you all the greetings you'll need in Greek :)
Buenos días!
Thank you very much, I hope one day I can visit Greece and meet you both.
Καλημέρα και σε εσάς.
I think your phone did a fantastic job! Also, as a Texan, I always greet folks in public when it's appropriate. Oftentimes, I even greet folks when it's not so appropriate. Saying Howdy is a first nature instinct of mine. It took a long time here in Sweden to realize they don't operate in the same manner as we do in the South of the US. Most folks here are a bit more reticent to offer greetings. They are very profuse in their willingness to offer up a look though. hahaha At first, I got many bad looks from being 'too nice' and eventually I wore them down. Now, when I am give the greetings... many of those dirty looks have turned into a smile and a bit of small talk. Perseverance has it's benefits.
Cheers Stef!
It sounds like Texans have, kind of, a Mediterranean temper!
Scandinavians on the other hand, are not known for their cheerful disposition :)
Cheers!
The cherry on the top of our discussion was a lady from Dallas who came in our shop yesterday and I got first handed an idea of the Texan temper!
It is amazing how she was saying things that could be taken as nosiness or inappropriate in the most charming way :)
HAhaha Yes, sounds like a true representative of the Texan culture! haha
That's super cool. The southern charm does go a long way. Glad you got to see firsthand what I was talking about!
Growing up in the northern parts of Germany you usually avoid eye contact and no greetings. But after living in Switzerland a casual greeting is now the norm when I walk around the neighborhood here in NJ. A lot of times I'll be greeted in return but there are instances of the cold, indifferent look - LOL.
Phone or professional camera - they are tools and you are the photographer who not only takes but makes the photo. I'm sure you know who said this and I believe it too 😁
I guess in all countries there are both cheerful and grumpy characters but it is the percentages that varies.
Thank you very much :)