Do you think it is good manners to touch another person in greeting?

Mexico
March 11, 2009 11:20pm CST
In Austria where I come from it is not very common to touch strangers when you greet them and in the better cases you shake hands but never kiss or give out hugs. Now that I have been living in Mexico for more than 12 years it was hard at first for me to get used to people I have never met in my life before hugging and kissing me. What do you think of that? Especially in my profession, I work as a flight attendant, people are very friendly to each others and I have been thinking that maybe they do that because we are some sort of a family while the flight lasts, which can be up to 6 days, but this is just my theory. I think it is something cultural. What about your countries? Do people tend to be more distant or do they make you feel like as if you were best friends and are you comfortable with that? I can say that I am pretty much used to it by now and I think it is a good thing at least most of the times. It can be weird if you do not like the person and you still have to hug him or her but in general it feels good to be hugged. Another funny thing I observed in my airline is that when I first started to work here, I used to address all of my supervisors and pilots with sir and madam due to respect but most of them did not seem to like that and they thought I wanted to make them older as they were.
5 people like this
18 responses
• Philippines
12 Mar 09
Hi kalamity. I think that the very common way of greeting somebody that you've met for the first time would be a hand shake.I'm from the Philippines and as I've observed, shaking hands is the one being practiced here by most people although I've met some who prefer a kiss on the cheek when they greet people. When it comes to friends though, it is quite common for people here to hug with a little kiss on the cheek, we call it "beso beso". As the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks". Thanks. Happy mylottin!
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Maybe this is something that only latin people do, if it's something everyone does you get used to it but it's weird when only few people tend to be so friendly because it's very easy to misinterpret their intentions especially coming from the opposite gender. So you say beso beso, lol, funny, beso is kiss in Spanish. Thanks elmo, have fun mylotting too!
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Btw I am new here, I just joined a few days ago and I can't seem to find in my references where I can change my way of writing so I can see mature context, cause I can't read or write anything mature here. Could anybody help me out please?
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
ops never mind I found it!
• Indonesia
13 Mar 09
i'll answer it one by one dani lol..btw its a great topic n uve got lots of responses hahah u are always good at it sucky, i knew it ! LOL about the habit inside ur flight environment, i think its alright coz they felt close with u, felt that u all have been through a rough flights together sometimes. those hugs n kises can make u all feel much better in creating a good connection in between. it's some of a cultural too in my country dani, specially inside a communities/groups/workplace. also, we wont do it between man to woman, or woman to man, so its just between the same gender. lol but mostly men rare to do it..there are some people that have no problem to do it, they wont keep the distance between and will treat us like we're their bestfriends. but some are not and tend to just shake hands, no hugs or kissing. if me lol, i ehm..it depends to whom im hugging or kissing lol..mostly i just shake hands with someone i just met. if with my close friends i will hug them coz i feel close with them like we're a family, and that makes me feel good too dani.
• Indonesia
13 Mar 09
uhhuh danisan. we only shake hands if we're just met. actually, its not really about culture only but also religion. Indonesian ppl are mostly a moslems, and in Islam we cant just hug or kiss the opposite gender like that. those we can hug n kiss are just our husband/wife, families, childrens, or the same gender. even a handshake between man n woman is not allowed too actually if their skins met, but since im not yet a very good moslem i still cant follow it. it sounds complicated maybe, but thats the way it is. i never hug or kiss my guy friends, im just joking around with them, sit close to them or near them, shake hands are ok but not hugging or kissing lol. but if with my female friends, i did hug n kiss on the cheeks sometimes lol
• Indonesia
13 Mar 09
oh-oh ! of courseeeeeeeeeeee i will hug u right away danisannnnnn ! so watch out if u reject me loool i'll spank u hahah
• Mexico
13 Mar 09
Thanks Shalli I am amazed myself I didn't expect so many replies here! It's a very nice start in mylot and I gotta thank you mostly for that! You know my crew sometimes turns into my family when I am on a long flight especially, because I am so far away from home and I don't have anyone else to count on when I need something. Some of them I see again some I don't but it doesn't matter it feels always great when they take the role of my brothers and sister etc and we protect one another for as long as the flight lasts and sometimes it feels as if we were on vacations instead of work because we're having so much fun together. So S you're saying it's not in your culture that same genders are affectionate to one another, I was wondering do you shake hands then only and really some men in your culture kiss men? lol OK anyways this is very interesting to learn about different customs and culture, and I know you would hug me right Shallisan lol?
• Philippines
12 Mar 09
A hand shake is fine with me but not a hug or kiss. There should be some space. I will only allow someone to touch me if I am comfortable with him/her.
• Philippines
13 Mar 09
Sorry but I will not accept a kiss from my boss
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
So I guess you wouldn't accept a kiss from your boss, right?
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
12 Mar 09
I tis not common to do that in my home country either. I feel strange when people do that to me but just kinda need to accpet it to be polite here.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
12 Mar 09
I'm from Hong Kong. We don't do hug and kiss. We usually shake hands with some business people, otherwise, we just nod the head and say hello instead.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Where do you come from mermaidivy?
• Chile
12 Mar 09
I live in south america, and even If you dont know someone, if its a man you shake hands, and if its a woman you kiss her in the cheek. Its a cultural thing, but its very interesting for me knowing that shis behavior is not common in other countries
• Chile
13 Mar 09
I live in Chile, a country to the west of Argentina, and yes, every woman has to salute even if tshe knows or not the person with a kiss in the cheek. And Its starting to change to the man, first it was a hand shake, then a handshake followed with a little hug, and now in Argentina an some young people here in Chile kisses in the cheek too, even if theyre 2 men!!! Im only 22 years old, but that thing even for me its weird, young people of 16 or 18 years old had starting to do that, very weird isn it? In some countries in Europe men do that too. The other thing that must be very uncomfortable for you is the average distance between people to talk, because thats different too in central and south america than in other countries.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Yeah Julio where exactly do you live my friend? I think it's mostly the same in all south american countries, men unless they are gay or related to each others would never kiss another man but they do kiss women and women kiss everyone lol.
@zjuwhu (10)
• China
12 Mar 09
In chinese tradition,it's incredible if you kiss others in public. though the society is changing,it's also not common to kiss others when greeting...
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Maybe if tourists do that it's not taken so bad but what if locals kiss on the streets, how would be the reaction of the audience there? I can even imagine there are some laws against public kissing and where you get punished if you do so. I am saying this because in some part of Mexico they recently did that. Incredible!
@zjuwhu (10)
• China
13 Mar 09
It's not that fresh,folks have accepted the phenomenon for several years. If you kiss your lover in a street,passerbys will not be surprise,conversely, they may give a glance with a smile.
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
12 Mar 09
I'm Canadian, and quite used to hugging, and the occasional kiss by friends and acquaintances. My youngest son married a girl from Laos, East Asia. Some time ago, my wife and I, with our son and daughter-in-law went to Laos to meet the relatives she had never met. We were very impressed with these Laotians. They were almost overly generous, very loving and courteous, they did not shake hands, but bowed in greeting. Because of the language barrier we could not converse with them, but our Daughter-in-Law interpreted for us. When we were about to leave, everyone was bowing and smiling. I told my daughter-in-law. I'd like to hug everybody. She said," Why don't you?" I replied, " No its not customary, I just can't do it!" And I felt very sad at that moment.
• Mexico
13 Mar 09
Awwwwwwwwwwwww I know how you must have felt, sometimes I wanna hug people just for no big reason at all only because they are being so nice to me but then I am thinking, relax Dani they might not even like it. However it's like the same when I wanna tell my friends and family that I love them I just do it because I feel it very strong at the moment but with the difference that I know they won't get mad at me or feel too awkward for telling them, well some might but lol I don't care, but it's very different with strangers. Maybe you should have given it a try barehugs and hug the nicest one of them hahaha maybe they would have hugged you back.
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
12 Mar 09
Hi, kalamity1! Welcome to myLot!! Well, in our country in the United States, from what I see, it all just depends on what relationship that you may have with a person for this type of greeting to take place. In church this takes place a lot, with me of course. I get many hugs and kisses from many women, mostly older. It is a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. With family it is the same way too, if they miss me or had not seen me in a very long time. I shake hands with men and women when it comes to a job, business opportunity or where I just meet someone for the first time. But other than that, when I just see a total stranger on a day to day basis, we don't just kiss and hug, if anything we will speak and smile and say hello with our mouths. We may also nod our heads at one another when passing by each other somewhere in public.. I know many countries say they hug and kiss... It is the men that do this to another man.. I guess that it normal to them.. But, I don't really see that much here, not unless someone is a homosexual . But as for a mother or father kissing their child, then they may do so on their lips, no further. That is normal. And with a baby, it is okay to kiss them quickly on the lips. (Like a simple peck). I do this with my kids every now and then.. This is what I have seen being normal greetings for a person in The United States, and this is from my own personal experience as well. If something else happens differently than mentioned above, then I am excluded from it..
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Thanks for welcoming me and thanks for your very detailed reply! I know it's especially when you give peace that you get kissed and hugged in church and it's OK I guess because we are all supposed to be brothers and sister in God's eyes especially while you're in church. Exactly you shake hands when it comes to a job this is why I was so confused in my job, because instead of taking my hand they started to hug me and I was like.....OK Sometimes I get even hugged and kissed by passengers of course not in a daily basis but it has happened to me before, mostly passengers that are very happy about the way I treated them during the flight and also because I made them feel welcomed on board and maybe I helped them lose their fear about flying, who knows but even though it's kinda weird when they do that I feel good about myself because I made them feel better! When I was little my parents used to kiss me on the lips too, not anymore though and there was a time when me and all my friends and class mates in Austria, I must have been 15 or 16 years old then, kissed each others on the lips too, but that was some kind of trend I guess and after a while I got used to that as well. Nice to meet you cream97!
@silverjam (969)
• United States
12 Mar 09
I share the same feeling you did. I came from Philippines where greeting friends would only be as far as shaking hands and rarely on hugging and kissing. We're quite distant and conservative in most ways. When I came here in the USA, I really felt awckward when people hug and kiss me when we meet but later am used to it because I can see that it's their way of saying hi and hello to each other. I appreciate it very much tho. Like you do, am also used to say "Sir/Maam" to people w/ higher ranks and those in authorities but I find it a little awckward because people are just calling everybody by their names regardless their status. That's quite different from where I came.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
I have a friend that comes from the Philippines and I am sure she will agree with you, but I am glad you could get used to being hugged and kissed, because it gotta be terrible to having to reject ppl all the time when they come to close to you lol. You know what was specially hard for me? When I had to fly with the fathers of my flight attendant friends, some of my friend's dads are supervisors and it really feels weird calling them by their name like you said.
• United States
12 Mar 09
I understand there are many cultures out there...but out of respect for the other person No I would not do it. I would shake hands if they gestured, other wise I would smile and introduce myself. Family of course is different. I would want the person to feel comfortable not antsy and confined.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
I totally agree with you on that I think I would act the way other ppl do depending on their customs, if I was in France I'd possible kiss ppl on both cheeks lol
@madhu_yl (116)
• India
12 Mar 09
Hi kalamity1, I am an Indian,in Indian people don't like this,here every one follow the culture and they don't touch other persons.they only give shake hands.mainly this is cultural differences,some countries follow this culture and some countries don't follow this culture.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Yes Chinese follow this I am sure and I guess most Asian countries do and I totally respect that!
@jd107nette (1454)
• Philippines
12 Mar 09
I think a formal handshake is enough for greeting a person you've never met before... and more than that, like a kiss or a hug, are meant for closer kinds of relationship//
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Thanks for your opinion I am pleasantly surprised so many ppl replied here!
• Australia
12 Mar 09
I do. but i hate being touch
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Even if your friends and family touch you sloppyflow? If that's so I am sure they know it by now lol.
• Canada
12 Mar 09
I definitely think it's the culture. In europe they do the cheek kisses and when that happened to me I wasn't really sure what to do! In Canada we just shake hands if you are meeting someone for the first time.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Kissing one cheek is fine but kissing 2 feels weird for me lol, but I would still do it I think. I have an online friend from Toronto and when we first met she gave me a big hug and I wasn't sure she would because I know that Canadians normally don't do that.
@alokn99 (5717)
• India
12 Mar 09
Greeting customs vary from place to place. Hand shakes, hug even sometimes just a simple hello and a smile. In our country it depends on how well we know the person and the relationship. Traditionally we greet people with folded hands. In some countries senior people are addressed with Sir, while in some they are addressed with Mr. Nothing wrong with manners really. Sometimes it takes us time to adjust to a new culture.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
I really respect that, if I'd go to your country I would do as I see and fold my hands to go with the flow but I don't know if I'd do the same when I go back to Austria, I am sure I will start to hug and kiss everyone until they will push me away lol
@beachstarz (1092)
• United States
12 Mar 09
Hi kalamity, I am from the United States , and have retired to live in Mexico. We are in the Yucatan! I know what you mean about the people here . They do touch more , and kiss and hug more . I like it . I think it's charming . The people here are very warm and friendly and they show it . They always say good morning , always smile when passing on the street. I get a kiss on the cheek everyday , and I think its sweet .
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
So nice, I am glad that you like my mother country, my mom is Mexican and my dad Austrian, so do you live in Merida? I think people in the south are even more warmer than those of the capital, I live in the D.F. and it's not very common to see people say good Morning to each others on the streets, people are too stressed here I think. It's something most foreigners get attracted to, the warmth and openness of the Mexicans!
• China
12 Mar 09
hi,nice to meet you here.I'm a newcomer in mylot*@*.I come from China, as for the matter you refered above,I found that Chinese people don't like to be too close to each other.
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
Nice to meet you too and I hope you're having fun like me mylotting! Thanks for replying, it's really important to know these things so when you get to travel there you won't mess things up and make ppl feel uncomfortable.
@JBachman (36)
• Canada
12 Mar 09
I live in canada and people usually shake hands at first meeting but friends hug a lot everyone hugs each other when someone is leaving thats pretty normal but I know a lot of party people and people that are nice and like to be outgoing so maybe i'm just lucky:) but I don't mind hugging people when I first meet them as long as it's not weird but it's only weird if one person is awkward, or something weird is going on or something
• Mexico
12 Mar 09
yeah you're absolutely right it's only weird when the person is weird or better said acts awkward and that can be even with a handshake. Don't you hate those handshakes where people shake with a very soft hand barely touching your hand at all? Or worse when their hand is all sweaty, ewwwwwwwwwwwww and when they hug they get all stiff and try to shake you off lol.