In discussing the linguistic aspects (i.e., body language, time, etc.) of Farsi, I tried to also incorporate aspects of Afghan culture. Body language is important in Afghan culture, and knowledge of body language can help with greetings. Additionally, time in the Afghan culture can be used to better understand the process of being a guest at another's home.
Personally, growing up and being in an Afghan household, I believe an individual's actions during greetings are one of the most important instances body language. An individual should appear warm and happy to be meeting or seeing the other person. Usually, the first guests that I make sure to greet are the elders--men and women--and the other men in the room followed by the women. The greetings are often a firm handshake with the men, although, some--usually older relatives or close family friends--will be greeted with a handshake and three kisses on the cheek. When greeting older female relatives (i.e., aunts, grandmother, etc.) I often extend a handshake and often three kisses on the cheek. However, with younger females (i.e., those in my generation) a simple salaam (hello) or, sometimes, soft handshake is given. It is particularly important for an individual to try to greet everyone in the room; this might be more difficult in larger settings, but it is still imperative to greet all family members and close family friends.
Afghans tend to be relaxed when it comes to time. When at somebody's home for dinner the invited guest may possibly stay for a few hours longer then he or she may have intended. Hosts often want their guests to stay long and feel comfortable. Afghans will also ask you to stay before you attempt leave; this is often done through offering tea--Afghans drink a lot of tea--they might say beshi bada chai (note: this is rough translation I wrote using how I pronounce the phrase) or in English stay for tea. When an Afghan host asks you to stay for tea, it is often similar to an American host asking you to stay for desert. Such offerings are made as a polite gesture; however, if the host is persistently asking, you may find yourself staying for tea or desert.
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