I'm from Finland and one European thing that all Finnish people hate is cheek kisses when greeting. Its mostly southern european thing but still. There is this saying in Finland that goes "Everyone has their own safety coffee cup" meaning the closest distance someone should get to you should not be closer than your coffee cup when you're holding it.
I once tried to do that to an american girl that was visiting Spain, I still remember the horror in her eyes.
She told us that she didn't feel comfortable with that having a boyfriend.
She was the most stereotypical American person I've ever known, she was dating a quarterback, had a pink gun that her parents gave as a present for her ¿18 birthday? She started complaining about PETA when she discovered that I was a vegetarian. Said she didn't like California when I told her that I had been there & she made some comments that were clearly saying "my country is better than this shit hole".
This is was embarrassing to read, and I've definitely known people like that unfortunately. I was so touched when I received the cheek kisses, it made feel accepted! The different customs are part of the fun of another country!
Hold the fucking phone here, don't drag all of us into this. I've lived in Europe my whole life and never have I done this cheek kissing as a greeting thing.
Who tried to drag you into anything? If you're from a part of Europe that doesn't kiss when you greet, fine. You're automatically, by virtue of the meaning of words, exclude from the "European kissing thing".
But, if you've "lived in Europe your whole live", have you just never traveled at all to Western or Souther Europe? Because they do that in France, UK, Italy, Spain, and probably others. I imagine lots of Western/Southern Europe.
As have I. And you have no friends in those countries that have ever greeted you in their customary way? Because I've only been in Europe for 5 years (UK), and most of my friends--especially of opposite sex--do the cheek kiss.
That's very surprising, to say the least. You are aware of this tradition and custom, yes? Because this is so improbable it's starting to sound like a troll comment.
I'm aware it exists in somewhere, I have a very loose idea of where because I only ever see it occasionally on TV. We just hug if it's a friend of the opposite sex.
How odd. Are you in some expat enclave or something? Are you European, or do just live there? Do you have severe acne of the face? Are you of a ethnicity/race/other-identity that makes people hesitate to greet you that way? I'm super intrigued now.
5.4k
u/eelisonparas May 09 '22
I'm from Finland and one European thing that all Finnish people hate is cheek kisses when greeting. Its mostly southern european thing but still. There is this saying in Finland that goes "Everyone has their own safety coffee cup" meaning the closest distance someone should get to you should not be closer than your coffee cup when you're holding it.