in american culture, waving is a known gesture that means "hello" or "goodbye". that gesture can also be used to call the attention of someone, for example waving down a taxi, or waving at a friend from a great distance. that gesture can may be interpreted differently and have a different meaning or even be highly offensive in south korea, europe, nigeria, greece, bulgaria, latin american countries, india, japan, and other places.<ref name="book/web ref"></ref>