Curaçao's Culture of Greetings

Adopting a greeting culture could help us feel a sense of community—something we could all use more of nowadays.

There are some cultures in the world where greeting strangers is not just common—it's expected. Sometimes it's a subculture in a village or town, and it may not be as noticeable in the big city. Sometimes, however, it's the entire country's culture as is the case on the island nation of Curaçao.

When my husband and I first moved to Curaçao, we were told make sure to greet people before beginning any conversation. Saying "hi" or "hello" isn't quite enough. It's expected that you begin every initial interaction with either "Bon dia" (good morning), "Bon tardi" (good afternoon/evening) or "Bon nochi" (good night) depending on the time of day, of course. On a Sunday or a Monday, it's also expected that you add "bon siman" (have a good week) to your greeting. "Bon dia bon siman" may seem like a bit of a mouthful to say to a stranger, but the more you do it, the more normal it becomes and the more you come to appreciate it.

I remember the first time I encountered a culture like this. It was in my grandparent's community in the north of Germany. I lived there for almost two years as a young adult. Whenever I would walk into a bakery or even the bank, everyone in the room would greet me. It wasn't something I was used to, and it caught me off guard the first time. However, I found it so endearing, and that memory stuck with me.

In Curaçao, beginning any interaction with "bon dia" (or whatever the time-of-day greeting might be) is one way the island expresses community. Everywhere you go, whether it's the grocery store, the beach snack bar or the tax office, you're greeted by anyone who sees you approaching, and you respond in kind. For foreigners on the island, it's a simple way to show respect and be respected.

The expectation part of it is real. If you launch into a conversation or into your question at a government office, for instance, you might receive a slightly scolding look followed by the greeting in a less friendly tone. That's when you realize how much respect you're actually showing by prefacing your query with the greeting. It's a lesson in cultural norms. Once you've got that under your belt, you grow to love it.

Now that we're constantly masked up and six feet apart, we may want to consider greeting one another more.

Since I've been back in North America, I've found myself saying, "Good morning" to strangers a lot more than I did before I lived on Curaçao. I have also noticed that many people don't expect it. Yes, this is an individualistic culture, but doing something as simple as wishing a good day to passers by or people in the shop we're in might be worth considering. We're all walking around with face masks on and trying to keep a distance from one another. Perhaps we should think about greeting the people in the elevator rather than just walking in and standing in silence until we reach our desired floor. Wishing someone a good day is one of the simplest ways to offer kindness to a stranger. I think we can all agree that we could do with a little more kindness in our day-to-day interactions.

Try it out. Make a point of greeting everyone you come across throughout your day rather than avoiding eye contact. It could be an interesting cultural experiment to see how many people respond and what their responses are. It might not catch on to the point of being recognized as a part of our culture; however, if enough of us do it, we're communicating a level of kindness and human interaction that is both risk free and rewarding.