HAVE FUN!

There are a lot of American expressions people here say in various different situations, all of which loosely carry that sense of unbridalled optimism and positivity that seems to be common currency here. Expressions like:

You betcha! (all with an expression mark for added emphasis)
Way to go!
Neat!
Swell!
Alrighty!

But my favourite has to be the old chestnut; 'have fun!'. This can be used in various different situations and contexts, normally as a farewell salutation wishing you luck on your next endeavour. The last time I had it said to me was whilst at Home Depot when a shop assitant had asked me if I needed help and I told them I was just looking.

'Well have fun,' they urged.

I must have looked a bit puzzled. I tried to think back to the last time I had 'had fun' and whether it was it the nuts and bolts section at Home Depot (like B&Q). I tried doing a silly walk down the aisle to show them I was really having fun. Did they laugh? You betcha.

That's it here, people are really friendly out and about, sometimes to the point of being annoying. I guess it's my Northern European hostility coupled with having lived in Barcelona for two years surrounded by unfriendly Catalans. People here always say hi or try to enter in conversations about the weather or whatever. I always get suspicious. What do they want from me? I need to engrain in myself the open, obligation-free friendliness that is the norm out here and stop being a stinking old curmudgeon.