To Kiss or Not To Kiss. Is it even a question?
Six years ago I moved from Tucson to New York City. Not only did I find a new apartment and a new career, I also (of course) found a new group of friends. And this network of girl friends was quite different from my old network of girl friends. We saw each other less often and rarely called each other... When we wanted to plan to go out, it was always done over IM or email. And when we saw each other every week, we would greet each other with a kiss on each cheek.
At first, this was surprising to me. In Arizona, we didn't do this. May be a hug when we saw each other, but a kiss? This was new. And it took some time for me to adjust to doing it. But soon after, I realized that the kiss hello wasn't just for greeting your friends. It became customary to kiss hello when I met up with co-workers outside the office and with clients. "This would never be done back home," I thought.
Turns out, you don't really do it in Boston either. Or anywhere outside of (probably) LA, NYC and Europe.
Kissing anyone who's not family or a significant other can be socially awkward. No one really understands the rules. In an article today in the New York Times Style Section, they talk about the social kiss hello, and the hazards that come with it.
Perhaps this article is the first step towards establishing etiquette for this type of thing.
At first, this was surprising to me. In Arizona, we didn't do this. May be a hug when we saw each other, but a kiss? This was new. And it took some time for me to adjust to doing it. But soon after, I realized that the kiss hello wasn't just for greeting your friends. It became customary to kiss hello when I met up with co-workers outside the office and with clients. "This would never be done back home," I thought.
Turns out, you don't really do it in Boston either. Or anywhere outside of (probably) LA, NYC and Europe.
Kissing anyone who's not family or a significant other can be socially awkward. No one really understands the rules. In an article today in the New York Times Style Section, they talk about the social kiss hello, and the hazards that come with it.
Perhaps this article is the first step towards establishing etiquette for this type of thing.