Intercultural Greeting Clash #2
Sometimes, even when you know how to greet interculturally, things can go wrong…You may have done a greeting many times before, but the nuances of a greeting, the timing of two people’s body language and movements can be so out of sync that…well…you end up with a very sore nose..
About to greet my French friend, whom I had greeted so many times before, I was relieved – excited actually – to be able to greet ‘the French way’. I knew this one, two kisses… not three, four, or five like they do some places in France, but two simple kisses. As I kissed his right cheek, I heard myself exaggerating the kissing sound too much as I always do (I cannot figure out how they manage to give such a silent air kiss), and then turning my head way too fast, and too close to his, the next sound I heard was that of our noses meeting in a painful crash. With pink cheeks and a sore nose I burst out in laughter, thinking it was the most painful and hilarious greeting to date.
So, here are my guidelines to avoid sore nose-crashes when greeting a French person:
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- Move slowly towards the person you are greeting.
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- Do an almost silent kiss in the air to the right, cheeks gently touching!
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- Move your head slowly and gently towards his/her left side, keep enough distance between your noses!
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- Do an almost silent kiss in the air – cheeks gently touching!
- Step back and smile (try to avoid breaking out in uncontrollable loud laughter).
In some regions in France they give up to 5 kisses, and whether you should start to the right or the left also varies… If you’re travelling to France, you might find this map useful www.combiendebises.com it shows the most common ways of greeting in different regions of France.
