You see, just as I was startled by the "kissing of the cheeks" greeting in Spain, so too I am struggling with the kissing of the cheek greeting here in Mexico. I am just not natural about this at all. I hope you are laughing, because that is how I deal with this. Let me try to paint the picture of my reality for you.
Every time that you see people and greet them or say "hola" you also put your right cheeks next to each other and "kiss the air". (this also occurs every time you say goodbye...so it's a double whammy) This seems like a simple concept, maybe a little overwhelming as there are so many people to greet sometimes, but it's doable, right? I don't know how I have managed it, but I have bonked heads with the other person, I have entirely missed their cheek and one time I may have kissed the wrong part of the face, all because I get nervous! And I get awkward.
This reminds me of a phase in my life when I was unable to shake someone's hand. Now you are probably thinking I am crazy, but I honestly went through a phase where I froze up every time I tried to shake someone's hand and a handshake suddenly would turn into a "hey buddy let's do our cool basketball handshake" instead of the sweet and simple shake. Somehow I got over that issue and now revel in the handshake and shake from head to two with the "kissing the air" greeting.
So this morning, as I was rethinking the awkwardness, I wondered "Am I the only one?" Either way, this too shall pass, right? By the time I see most of you, I hope to have the latest awkwardness I have attained remedied and I hope to say it is a thing of the past.
Until next time, adios! (without the goodbye kiss)
1 comment:
You're not the only one, believe me! If you like reading, you might like the book I have coming out in the spring. I write crime thrillers, (and am also a secondary school teacher) and this book has a school teacher as a main character. She is inadvertantly stalked by a serial killer.... It's described as "seriously creepy" by my publisher !!!
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