Fun with Japanese Formality

Yesterday, I had my first real class, where we learned the proper way to greet someone for the first time. They don't teach us formal meanings, because we are learning like we were 2 again--we basically learn by association. There isn't really any logic or technical structuring behind it, because they don't want us to overanalyze. This is a great thing, as far as I am concerned. It saves me a big headache.

Anyways, we learned phrases yesterday which I assumed amounted to "how do you do?' and "pleased to meet you." Today I was studying phrases and Hiragana (basic characters) in my textbook, when I came across those phrases again. It turns out I was right about what they mean, except they don't actually mean how they are used. It turns out that literally, hajimemashite means "I am meeting you for the first time," and that douzo yoroshiku means "please be nice to me," even though they are used to express "how do you do" and "pleased to meet you" when you first meet someone. Oh, you crazy Japanese!

Also, from now on I will likely refer to Japan as Nihon, since that's what it actually is called.