The other day I was thinking about greeting people with kisses. I am very much a non-kissy person. However, the world seems to be full of kissy people and I am learning how to break out of my comfort zone a bit.
I have a tainted history of kissiness. I remember my first awkward moment was when I was in France when I was 19. I met a guy named Ole Fagerli from Norway. After a few months of working with him in France, it was time to say good-bye. So I thought I would do the french greeting and kiss on both cheeks. I didn't know what the Norwegian way was so this was my default. Well Ole was going for the American way of not kissing, but just hugging. So we ended up just touching cheeks together and I made an awkward kissing noise. This was quite humiliating. It seemed like such a weird sounds. I still cringe at the memory.
Then there is my husband's family. They are a very kissy bunch. In fact, they kiss on the lips. Now for someone who had never kissed anyone on the lips before my husband, this was extremely uncomfortable. So it was a few years after we were married that we were leaving after a visit and it came time for the good-bye kisses. I did the unthinkable and told my father in-law (who is the king of kissiness) that, "I don't do that kissing thing." I think he was crushed. I alienated myself from that moment on.
And now here I am many years later dealing with kisses again. I go to a Bible study that is very multi-ethnic. There are British, South Africans, Afganis, and me. So I was the first one to arrive the other day and shook hands with the host. But as everyone else arrived they went around and gave a kiss on both cheeks to each person in the room, including me. So after I watched this happen to the next person that arrived I got into the spirit of it all and prepared myself for kisses. It is quite a nice way to greet someone.
The only problem is I don't know what the proper amount of kisses is. I have Indian friends that do three kisses and some that do one kiss. It seems the Bible study people do two. So now I have this horrible fear of doing the wrong amount and ending up making another strange kissy sound in someones ear. My anxiety level is rising just thinking about it.
2 comments:
oh my goodness, my blood pressure went up just reading this. my sweet husband's family "kisses," just the cheek and the noise thing, but kisses none-the-less. I can't even bring myself to do that, and I just know they talk about me behind my back ... what a snob I am that I won't kiss them. But the truth is I just can't. It's not a choice... it's a fact. I think the last person I kissed other than my hubby or my kids was my grandma... and she's been dead 2 1/2 years. Here's hoping you kissed your sweet hubby upon your arrival home. :)
I'm with you. Just give me some rules on the proper execution and timing! Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How information would be good, too.
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