Good morning, good day and good evening

There’s always been a stark contrast between our experiences of arriving in Australia and returning to Sweden. Of course the sunshine in Perth makes everything joyful, but what really brings happiness is that anyone and everyone greet each other in Australia – from people you pass on the street to shopkeepers you will always get an “Hi, how you’re doing?”. Every single time this openness has been a great shock to our systems used to keeping to oneself. Why would that person talk to me? Do they want something that’s mine? Are they crazy?

While the weather probably adds to it, it’s generally a cultural thing. One would mistake Swedes from being rude, which is not their intent, but there seems to be a lack of decency which is ingrained in the Australian culture. Everyone says hi. It’s nice. It creates connections between people if only for a short bit which adds to making everyone’s day good if not great. On surface level it’s just a greeting, on deeper levels it’s an acknowledgement of each other whether or not you come from different backgrounds or have differing opinions. In some ways I think it’s the base for a respectful society.