It's just a stereotype jeez
Honestly, that would be a little weird for someone to just start chatting with me randomly on the street. My friend's neighbor does it to me everytime I go over to her apartment complex, and it just weirds me out. I know they're being nice and talkative, but I want to go to my friends - not talk to this person I don't know! (Man, I sound like a bitch XD) It's just strange to me.
Its not like a whole conversation, its something like this:
Hey, how's it going?
Good, you?
Good.
That's it. Usually. Here its like kindness is some foreign.. thing. I'm not trying to have a whole conversation, just be polite. Haha.