Difference

I just came back from the International Club radio show that I co-host, and today I came to realize a major difference between U.S. and Bulgaria that I haven't really thought about. We had as a guest a guy from Sweden and he was talking about the "hi", "how's it going" phrases people here are used to say on the go. In Bulgaria, no body on the street will ask you "how are you" unless he/she knows you very well and will stop to talk to you for a little bit. If you are just acquaintances with someone, he/she will simply nod or smile politely and keep going. If you ask somebody "how are you" you usually expect a long explanation and you are usually supposed to ask with some concern or at least interest to hear the answer. Here, it is totally different. "How are you" is more like "hi", that one is neither interested nor cares about the answer.