What should I say ?

Hi everyone,

When I was learning English in highschool, I was always told if people say how r u, I should say fine,thank u, and u? But I realized that this is a very old fashion answer. And sometimes my classmates say how r u when they pass by, I think they r not expecting my answer, what they say is just a "Hi", I should say something short,but I'm not sure what to say? I'm new in Canada. Maybe this is a very stupid question to others, but I really don't know how to respon when my classmates say how r u to me. I just want to say sth appropriate. What should I say if I want to be polite. Thanks in advance. 

You should say "fine" or "good" unless you wish to initiate conversation. Saying something like "really bad" obligates them to ask why you are feeling bad and stuff. It is defiantly not something that you want to say in passing when you both have to keep walking in different directions for example.

Normally it is just meant as a greeting and they don't care about how you are actually doing, they are just acknowledging your presence. 

I totally aggree with all above_{And maybe you can give them a smile}

Ohhh, I see. Thank you guys.

How are you is old fashioned, you're right. Most young guys now just say "hey" and answer with "hey". Sometimes you say "Hey John'' if you know the person's name. Sometimes you can just acknowledge a person with a look in the eye and a raise of the eyebrows or a slight nod of the head. Or just 'Hi!", and then "What's up?" which means where are you going or what are you doing but not 'how are you'. Many people also say "Hola" or something like that. Why not initiate us in Chinese and say "Ni hao" which is how are you anyway but it sounds cooler! 

I did a video for youtube on this, so you can check it out on the link from my profile page. It certainly doesn't have to be boring. Have fun and make it different and you can make lots of friends simply by appearing to be different and friendly. Good luck!

you can also say marhaba :) or salam its a different way to greeting… In turkish also both of them mean same with "hello,hi"