Greeting manners 

Greeting manners  is not only  to transform  information  but also to establish  social contact. when  meeting  someone  for the first time,  British people  usually  shake hands, give each other a huge, sometimes kiss each other but kisses are only exchange between close friends whom you haven’t seen for a long time . While in China it is customary to shake hands both for man and woman. we do not kiss each other. I think this is different from China.

British people usually introduce themselves by their first name , such as “hello, I am John”,  and the common response when some one is introduced to you is ” pleased to meet you”.  And British people usually address each other by their first  name no matter how old you are, such as” hello, John”. While Chinese usually introduce themselves  by their full name, such as “hello,  my name is Li Wen”. If you are younger than the person you meet, you can’t address his or her full name directly.  you should add the title before his or her last name, if not, you are thought to be impolite.

When  British people meet someone  waiting the bus at the bus stop in the morning, they will talk about the weather, such as a nice day or anything else while in China people  usually say” Have you eaten your breakfast”.  Actually the people who asked this question don’t care about whether you have eaten or not.This is just a common Chinese greeting around meal time while in Britain it will indicate an invitation to a meal. So be careful when you greet with British.

Different countries have different culture, we should keep these differences in mind. Respect each other and be open.

(From the Internet and my host  family)