My mom was initially confused by the Italian version of "come here". It's done with a DOWNWARD scooping motion; that is, palm downward, outstreched arm, then move it toward your own belly with palm still downward. (Like pulling poker chips toward yourself, palm down.) When repeated more than once, it always looked like "go away" to her. I think the outward motion required to "reset" the movement was the part she responded to, rather than the bringing-in part. Being mostly brought up in Canada myself, I would be inclined to agree.