Bonjour,

For French speakers, at least in France and south of Belgium, greetings are a very usual practice. A first contact during the day starts like that:

– Bonjour, ça va ?
– Bonjour, ça va bien. Et vous?
– ça va. Merci!

Not a big deal, but this definitively isn’t a “hi!” … “hi!”. When you already know the person, have a good relationship or see that person very often, then the greeting is simplified to a simple “salut!” … “salut!”, a French version of “hi”. Not a big deal too, right?

Here, to say “bonjour” to a friend could sound too formal. A friend accepts better a simple “salut”. Hey, but I want to wish you a good day. May I? Salut is not enough for me. I want to say “bonjour!” to everybody and I want to listen to the same in return, but some people here don’t even look at you when you wish a good day for them. I simply cannot understand that. It may be something personal. Hum, I don’t know.

I spent 28 years saying “bom dia!!” in Brazil. There, it really sounds like a wish. It comes out with an additional smile, full of energy, followed by a strong shake of hands, sometimes choreographic shake of hands. 😉

Well, never mind! I will wish you a good day anyway. If you forget to wish the same, no problem for me. So, bonjour, have a wonderful Day!

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