Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
between men and women, between adults and children and
between men who are members of the same family.
The Circular Handshake
At i rst, it can be most aggravating, this business of shaking hands with
everyone, especially in the ofi ce and or at the bank. Go to your bank
i rst thing in the morning as they are opening and you will watch an
endless round of handshake greetings amongst the bank staff. I stood
and waited helplessly one morning, hoping at some point my teller
will be able to free his hands and attention long enough to get on with
my request and his job. But this is part of his job! Each employee is
obliged to make a handshaking round to every other employee both
on arrival and on departure. In a small ofi ce with 20 employees...
that's 800 handshakes each day! Comparing such counterproductive
formalities with the rush to serve customers in places like Hong Kong,
one wonders how the French have managed to retain fourth place
among the world's strongest economies.
This is a tough one for those of us not accustomed to facial
contact with anyone save our most intimate circle. I fi nd
myself more comfortable with this exercise the longer I stay
in France and have tried to carry the habit home with me,
with some success. Among women, particularly, it is a fun
little expression of affection, once the technique is perfected.
Start with the right cheeks touching. If the other person
seems bound and determined to go for the left cheek fi rst,
for heaven's sake make that one available instead. Otherwise
you may smash into each other's mouths, a painful and
embarrassingly intimate error.
Most foreigners, myself included, have reduced the
intimacy of the double kiss by 'kissing the air', instead of
actually touching lips to cheek. Anatomy only allows one
mouth in contact with the other's cheek anyway. So most of
us let the French friend make that contact, if they choose.
Many French also use this 'kissing the air' technique.
Two kisses is the minimum. Three, alternating cheeks
each time, is shows further intimacy and is not unusual in
Paris. Parisian women will even extend it to four with their
women friends, which to me is gilding the lily.
 
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