Bow or Shake?

"Oops! Wrong greeting..."

I've been in Canada for 2 months now and I've noticed the big difference in how people interact with each other. Here, the people greet you even if you don't know them. I was fairly surprised by an Indian lady living in our apartment when she greeted me and asked me if I was going to my job today. I cautiously pointed myself (parang tanga lang haha) and said in a whisper, "Me?". She smiled then I smiled as well and told her that I was not going to work and that I was going back to my home country, the Philippines. I asked my father if she knew a woman like that or if he talked about me in particular but apparently he doesn't. My father doesn't even know anyone here in the building except for the new Filipino family in Suite 112 and the other Filipino family above us. Anyway, people here are definitely more "casual" than the Filipino or rather, the Asian casualty we practice back home. We practice a lot of mannerisms or etiquette as some would prefer to call it.

In the Philippines, for example, it is common knowledge to address people with older stature using some of the following words:

OLDER MAN

1.) Tito - equivalent to uncle

2.) Kuya - older brother or can be used to a stranger older than you by a couple of years

3.) Manong - now considered equivalent to "old man" but back in the days it was considered to be equivalent to "sir or mister"

OLDER WOMAN

1.) Tita or aunty - equivalent to aunt

2.) Ate - older sister or can be used to a stranger older than you by a couple of years

3.) Manang - now considered equivalent to "old Lady" but back in the days it was considered to be equivalent to "miss"

It is also important to remember to use "polite language" such as po and opo. But that's just one level of politeness for you. Imagine having different levels of polite language like the Japanese or Koreans. They have like three levels of politeness - the informal level, polite, formal and an additional super formal as I'd like to call it. People who have experienced and lived with this kind of culture will probably perceive the Canadian way of greeting rather rude. This also accounts even if one knows it - like me.

Anyway, it's very different here compared to the experiences I've had back home but I find experiencing other cultures a wonderful thing. I'll probably experience more awkward situations but hey, that's life - live it while you can, the way you want it.