In the U.S., where I was born, people ask these questions generally:
Where are you from?
What do you do? (For a living or what do you study [University kids])
How old are you?
Hobbies and interests are typically a big part of first-time conversations. I like rock climbing, so often people will ask me a ton of questions about it (how long, where have you climbed, isn �t it dangerous?, do you ever do it in a gym?). Then I might ask them about why they are studying biology in University.
Questions about a persons love life (marrige, dating) are typically asked later, as you know them better.
In Japan, where I live, "Are you married?" and "Do you have a girlfriend?" are often some of the first questions I hear from people. People will also try to establish heirarchy quickly. If you are both students, the first question will likely be "what year are you?". This is important, because how a 1st year talks to a 3rd year is different than how a 1st year talks to a 1st year. If both people are business men, they �ll trade business cards so that they can see the others job title. Then, if one realizes the other is higher in the company, they �ll probably go "Oh! I didn �t know you were our PR Manager!" and they would give a big bow. Another, similar question they ask often is age. Again, younger people are to respect older people, so if two people are similar ages they want to know who is older.
People also like to know other peoples blood types here.
Asking about hobbies is popular here too, but the definition of "hobby" is a bit different. In the U.S. a hobby is something you like to do. In Japan, a hobby is something you are absolutely devoted to and spend all your time and money on. I consider trekking a hobby of mine, but I only do it a couple weeks out of the year. A Japanese person who considers trekking their hobby probably belongs to a trekking club, and treks several times a year, and has a magazine subscription to Trekking Magazine, and all the top name-brand trekking gear. (Of course, this is all a generalization, and there are exceptions to this in both of our countries).
I think when Americans first meet, they are trying to establish themselves as individuals, and show-off their personality. Looking relaxed and not nervous is really important.
example: [a students meeting at a part-time job]
s1 - "Hey, nice to meet you... My name is Charley."
s2 - "Oh, hi. I �m Racheal."
s1 - "Where you from?"
s2 - "Oh, I �m from California, but I �m going to MSU now."
s1 - "Cool, I �m from Montana. California? Do you surf much?"
s2 - "Eh, just a bit when I was younger. You?"
s1 - "Oh, not much either, but I snowboard a lot."
s2 - "That �s cool. I �d like to try sometime."
s1 - "What do you do for fun?"
s2 - "Oh, I like playing the guitar."
s1 - "Cool!"
I think when Japanese people first meet, they are trying to establish what group they belong to, and how they fit into that group. Formality is really important. They also have a tendency to give speeches, instead of conversing back and forth.
example: [a students meeting at a part-time job]
s1 - "Hello. I am a first-year student of Gunma University. I am in the soccer club. I will be trying hard to do a good job!"
s2 - "Ah really? I am a fourth-year student at Gunma Univeristy! I am in the art club. I have never seen you before."
s1- "Oh! You �re a fourth-year? Excuse me, I didn �t know."
s2- "Anyways, I look forward to working hard with you."
