I’m constantly confused when I get this question from Italians. It always comes from waitresses and I should have figured out by now that it doesn’t mean anything like “How are you?”. It means more like “Do you need anything else?”. They just seem to sincerely interested in if I’m OK or something.
Sometimes I forget and just start complaining about the weather or something equally insignificant and then I ask them how they are…then I think do’h and just feel stupid 😉
It’s like the British mate…took me ages to get used to them greeting you with “You alright?” or “Alright mate?”
I was always answering, yeah i’m fine, why? What have you heard?
But then again i’ve never had a good reply ready for Americans who say “What’s up?” I just kind of smile awkwardly and launch into a story hoping that i can woo them before they realise i don’t know what to say.
I need sleep.
“The sky” or “your mum” always are the best reply to What’s up…course noone’s actually used what’s up since like 1999 or so…but I’m guessing it’s like Cardigans or Frente. It’ll come back at some point, whether you want it to or not 🙂
Speaking of cardigans I was in a shop today and they had some double buttony cardigans. Like 4 sets of 2 buttons each. I thought of you. Shall I pick one up for you?
what about the aussie…”how ya goin?”.
That one confused me as well.
and I was never sure that “allright mate” was a question. I thought it might be a pre-emptive reply to “how are you?” or possibly “how ya goin?”.