A few years ago, I worked in Denmark with a Mexican guy. He told me that people were boring him to death with stories about their gardens, dogs and family visits of the previous weekend. He explained that when he asked "how are you?", he just wanted to know if people were OK and then move on. Danish people, however, are less used to this question and misinterpret it as an opportunity to chat.
I had never thought about it before, but when he mentioned it, I remembered that as a kid, my parents taught me to always answer the question with "fine" whenever someone asked me in English. I thought it was strange but accepted it, because it was easier than actually constructing sentences in a foreign language at the time.
