A Vietnamese friend said 'wassup!' to me which is a very slangy version of 'what's up?' and it was very funny because it wasn't natural, even though she is a dear friend. Either that or 'what's up' is a peer to peer kind of slang, said to either friends or social groups that feel familiar. There are a bunch of English greetings in the USA like it, such as 'how are you doing?' or 'how are you?' Many are shortened like 'wassup' and 'how ya doon' confuse my friends who are learning English when they encounter them at work. These aren't really questions, so don't be suprised if someone doesn't seem to want an answer. You can say 'fine, thanks, how are you?' but you can also say just about any greeting in response: 'what's up?' 'not much' 'how ya doin'?' 'hi!' 'what's up?' 'hi, mike!' and so forth. Germans do something similar, 'was ist los?' is a common one I learned, literally it means 'what is loose?' Very confusing! A joke response a German taught me is to say 'everything that's not tied down.' To confirm what others said, though - these are not professional expressions or formal ones, although they might be used in some areas like Los Angeles where a friendly connection is being 'faked', assumed when it is not yet true, and it might also be used when there is a connection such as a mutual friend or fellow traveler and so forth.

Hi, we are already friends I think but I haven't had a chance to chat, sorry! I love jazz and blues very much, especially in clubs. I watch a TV show from St. Louis in the USA which has great blues!

In America, we've recently been in a pattern of feeling guilty about everything it seems, even if it is distant history. We celebrate the adventurous spirit of Columbus who set forth into the unknown and "discovered" America. Obviously, from earlier Nordic explorers to Native Americans who apparently may have arrived earlier via land bridges from Asia, there are many ways to criticize this perspective, often in favor of a preferred perspective rather than an objective one. One open question is what really matters about who was here "first". But in order to have an argument, you have to create an issue. So, simply, a day in honor of the adventurous spirit in people is now used to continue childish arguments. Not being risk takers anymore, we focus on the negatives of the outcome of Columbus' arrival, which had very little to do with Columbus of course. That is a result of cultural behavior and many people's choices. The same distortion happens now with holidays referring to God, giving thanks, newer holidays celebrating ethnic heritages, military events, and so forth. If you have had a friend who can find the problem in every opportunity, you know the feeling that we have in America these days. The one benefit of this overdone cynicism is that we are aware that history can be written many ways. Unfortunately, what has happened is history gets rewritten from the new guilt-based perspective, and is no better than before. But it gives people something to fight about, which is very popular here now also, as you can see on television shows here from "Survivor" to "Maury" and "Dr. Phil", even at times "Oprah." So, if you wish someone well on the wrong holiday, or in the wrong way, they now have the excuse to behave rudely towards you for no other reason than your greeting! How strange.

Many people seem to think if it is in print, it is true! Even newspapers may not tell the proper truth, but the Internet is open to anyone to say anything, so you have to be careful about what you believe. Even nice pictures and good formatting doesn't make it true. :-) On the other hand, the good thing is people will learn to think carefully about what they read!