You kiss someone to say hello (whether or not you have a conversation with them...you could just be passing by each other). You kiss them to say goodbye. You kiss anyone in the group around you (stranger and friend alike). You kiss them cause they're pretty, you kiss them cause their name ends in a vowel, you kiss them because the sun is out, you kiss them because you're hungry...
One of the most amusing things to watch is someone approach a group of people, because when they walk up they go around to each individual and give them a kiss, say a few words, and then before they leave make the rounds again. (It's even funnier when the group is around a table because then the person has to fenagle chairs and awkward sitting/standing kisses.) Or like when I went to the pastor's house for Bible study, before we left, you had to go around and kiss everyone goodbye. All 20 or so people kissed the other 20 or so. Math whizzes out there, how many kisses went down in that room?
And there's different types of kisses which I've decided tell you a lot about the person's personality. There are the people who go cheek to cheek and kind of kiss the air--very European, very friendly, very casual. There are those who won't make any contact at all with you and just kiss the air--super shy, afraid of what you think of them because you're a gringa and they know the whole kissing thing is new to you. Others will plant one on you, you can't even really kiss them back because their face is like perpendicular to yours--bold, possibly trying to get with a gringa, usually the full-of-themselves types.
Another kissing rule: girls always get kissed...it's simple. Boys and girls give girls kisses. Boys give boys handshakes. Though I think that's kind of dumb. Be a man. Pucker up.
Heads up: when I get back stateside, I will be greeting you with un besito. Get ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment