The winter holiday stands for travel in large parts of the country. It provides good opportunities to get out into nature and the hiking trail. But what do you do if you meet another person? – If you say hello in the “wrong” place, people can get a little dazed and nervous, and find it difficult to say hello back. That’s what tour enthusiast Øivind Sørbø Johannessen says to news. Over a long period of time, he has observed the greeting habits of Norwegians on the hiking trail. TOUR ENTHUSIAST: Øivind Sørbø Johannesen has divided three different “greeting zones” on a tour based on his own observations. Photo: PRIVAT Based on his own observations, he has thus created three “greeting zones”. He has shared these in a reader post in BT. – If you follow an asphalted road, this is a red zone, while on a gravel road we are in a yellow zone. Here, people can experience it as rude and tired to say hello, says the tour enthusiast. If you are on a trail, however, this is a green zone. Here Johannesen says that it is almost perceived as rude not to say hello. Do you say hello on tour? Greets regardless of asphalt, gravel or path Greets only on paths Avoids greeting Show result Is it okay not to greet? But what is the story behind saying hello on tour? Secretary General of the Norwegian Tour Association (DNT), Dag Terje Klarp Solvang, tells news that greeting on a tour goes back to the time when we didn’t have maps and compasses. – At that time, we were completely dependent on talking to other people we met to ask where we were going. It was quite common to say hello to ask about things like snow, driving conditions and how the trail was. Solvang believes it is important to care for each other on tour. He will be happy to greet you regardless of asphalt, gravel and path. BRY SEG: Secretary General of the Norwegian Tourist Association (DNT), Dag Terje Klarp Solvang, believes it is important to say hello to nature. Photo: Marius Dalseg Sætre But what about those who find social interactions uncomfortable? It’s completely inside, thinks psychologist Lisa Nordsveen. – I don’t always want to greet others either, and then I might consciously look down or the other way, she says, while also pointing out that it is a free choice. Social maps for where and when to greet If Nordsveen goes for a walk in Nordmarka, she does not greet people because the social code dictates that you should not greet. – But if I go skiing in the mountains, it feels a little more obvious that it is within me to say hello, says the psychologist who is fond of outdoor life. She explains knowing where and when to greet as part of a person’s “social map”. These are rules of the game for how to behave socially. SOCIAL MAPS: Psychologist Lisa Nordsveen says we have “social maps” for where and when we say hello. Photo: Privat She thought Johannesen’s gray areas took it to heart. – I think he puts his finger on something we all intuitively know, but which we don’t explicitly talk about so much. There are different social rules for how we should behave in different social situations, says the psychologist. – Are Norwegians social and contact-seeking people? – I think it is part of our cultural code that we should leave each other alone. Norwegians are perhaps more concerned with shielding themselves and keeping a private zone than many other cultures.
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Tour enthusiasts have created three different “greeting zones” to know when greetings are expected – news Vestland
