@snowy: can you describe what this kissing greeting consists of?
It's a shame if Americans are uptight as you're saying, because I find the fact that people do a kissing greeting here makes it easier to relate to people, there is a definite warmth. I didn't feel that people were uptight there about my trying to kiss them (lol), they were just surprised. I think once they realized what it was they actually didn't mind.
@Lucifer: cheeky! (literally haha) You'd think it would make men be more forward since there is that immediate familiarity but I don't think they are, in fact men in Portugal are remarkably at a loss when it comes to snagging the ladies. But that is material for a different thread
@LoganSnake: Interesting that it's the men kissing on the lips! Why is that? Or do women do it too? When you say kisses and hugs, you mean all in one greeting or in separate moments?
In Portugal we do hugs too, with good friends. Kissing on the lips is usually seen between parents and their little kids, usually under 5. I'm pretty sure my mom and dad used to do that with me but I have to say I don't think I'll do it if I have children. I guess only people who have had children can explain the reasoning behind that.
@dlish: why 3 kisses? There's only two cheeks heh. Touching noses is cute. Not sure how I'd feel about doing that one! So in Australia there's no physical contact, just "g'day mate"? Hehe
To all posters: apart from telling us about different greetings you know, how do you feel about them? How do you feel about the greetings others are posting? Do you like them? Do they sound odd or interesting to you?
as an aside, I recently had an acting class where we had an improvisation exercise based around greetings. The teacher started by saying we had gone to Mars and the aliens living there (ha) had a greeting for every day of the week. Some of the fun greetings we came up with were touching elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, wrists...all with a kissing noise. It was interesting to do because we realized how many different things you can come up with if you put your mind to it. It was not just an exercise in creativity, but also an exercise in remembering sequences as a group and reproducing them fast on command.