I’m sharing

KOREAN news anchors bow their heads in greeting before they start reading the news. They bow again in farewell at the end of the bulletin. Belgians kiss each other on the cheek when they meet, regardless of the gender or how well they know each other. In Arab nations, contact between people of the opposite sex in public is considered obscene, including the shaking of hands. Arabian males, on the other hand hug and kiss each other on both cheeks in greeting. The British usually just greet each other with a “hello” and usually only shake hands upon meeting someone for the first time. In the United States of America, you are highly unlikely to see men kiss. We are able to tell where certain people come from, just by how they greet each other.

In Zimbabwe, we used to kneel down to greet elders in a home setting, and curtsey and shake their hands when greeting them in public. These days, we hug, kiss, shake hands, wave or shout “hi” in greeting; regardless of the age of those we are greeting and with no qualms about where we are. Basically, anything goes.

I have often watched in amusement as people hug uncomfortable parents and grandparents at bus stations and airports. I have been shocked by incidents of young females diving into the arms of their bosses in greeting, who have no choice but to awkwardly return the hugs.

When I am at my parents’ house, kneeling is “no big deal” and they are okay with me curtseying as I greet them or serve them food. When there are people around though, depending on who they are, I do kneel down to greet my parents and serve them food for I would not want to embarrass them in front of their friends and relatives who might find it disrespectful of me not to. Ubuntu demands