Growing up around NYC, especially in the 70s and 80s, you were always told “Don’t make eye contact with anyone!”. Making eye contact invited all kinds of folks tring to sell you tickets, watches, drugs and many other services! Having this attitude all my life, combined with a cultural lifestyle of always running and never having time for anything fostered a some
When we moved into our house here, our neighbors all came over and introduced themselves…(which never happened in NY in the two neighborhoods we lived in). And one of them, aware of our cultural deficiencies went out of there way to school us in “The Wave” . He told us that folks around here wave. We wave when we walk by, we wave when were driving. Wehn you see us, you wave to use and we wave to you.
At first i was like…yea right. But its true…everyone waves. As we drive though our neighborhood people wave, even if they dont know us. I drive by the crossing gard for the school…people wave to him from thier cars. I was initialy a bit uncomfortable with it. Why should i wave…i dont know these people and even if i do, it seems kind of fake.
But after about a year of cultural deprogramming i am waving now…there is something kind of human and personal about it….and yes, i even wave to the crossing guard and bus drivers now!
In a similar way, as i walk through the halls of my office building, people dont wave but you are obligated to say hello…not just walk by. Doenst matter if you know the person or not. … it seemed so odd to me but again…after a while you realize that humans as social being and we were designed to be social….its kind of nice.