How do u usually say hi or hello in your country?
In Italy when two friends (both males and females) meet they give a fast kiss on each cheek (so 2 kisses), but pay attention not to touch the cheek with your mouth.
it's mostly a cheek to cheek very fast. :-)
Of course we say Ciao!
And what about your country?
In France people kiss on both cheeks also, with friends and family both male and female.
But for males, if they don't know another male very well, they can shake his hand instead of kissing his cheeks. But when the become friends, they can start to kiss on the cheeks to say hello.
At work everyone shakes hands to say hello (or if you are close with your colleagues you can also kiss them on the cheeks).
It's very important to say hello to everyone individually. If you are at a dinner party for example, you should go around the room and say hello to each person either kissing their cheeks or shaking their hand.
They also do the same thing to say goodbye. So at the end of the evening, you have to make your rounds again, kissing cheeks or shaking hands to say goodbye.
It's very different in the USA. When you arrive you can just give a big collective "Hey" to everyone in the room. (you can also wave your hand or nod your head to acknowledge people). We don't kiss or shake hands when we meet with friends. And now shaking hands is reserved more and more to business settings or more formal interactions.
With very close friends or family, we may hug to say hello, especially after not seeing them for a long time!
Note: not all males do the kiss. :)
