Kamusta Ka?

Kamusta. A simple and well-meant term of acknowledgement for another person; yet for the receiving end, most of the time, kamusta is difficult to answer. How do you answer a "kamusta"? An "ok lang"? A "fine...how about you?" How about "eto, ganito pa rin..", or in more sosy terms, "same same"?

For the person doing the asking, what do you expect the object of kamusta to say? The usual answers do injustice to the experience. Yet, as our so-called social etiquette dictates, one doesn't recount all the events that transpired from the person's life as of the last "kamusta" session - no matter how majorly devastating or overly exciting those events were. You don't give out all your cake for the other to chomp it all down. You musn't break down on such a simple question as kamusta.

Maybe for close friends doing the kamustahan...it is possible. But for rest of the well-meaning human beings? How do you respond?

If I say I'm not alright, what will you do? If I say I don't feel fine, would you ask why and sincerely listen? Or would you listen to the story as if it's any other tale you've heard from the grapevine? If it's that juicy enough would you callously pass it on to another aka a CNN News Flash?!? Would you pretend to listen intently while silently grumbling "I wish I hadn't asked in the first place."

So how about you? Kamusta ka?