Post #31: Greetings the Brazilian Way

When you go to a new country, it is important to know how to meet new people. Can you shake hands? Can you touch a person of another gender? Is it taboo to use the left hand (or the right)? Do people display affection when meeting friends by hugging? Are air kisses appropriate? And how many? And does it matter if the interaction is female-female or female-male or male-male? If you know the rules, you can at least get that far with an interaction and start a conversation, no matter what your language skills are like.

You can go wrong. Try hugging an Estonian friend or acquaintance, for example, and you will immediately detect discomfort from the recipient. Try kissing a Slovak a third time and you might find yourself in an inappropriate lip lock. Aggressively try to shake hands with an Indonesian of the opposite sex and your interlocutor will try to shirk the gesture (with a smile, of course). I still remember an American Peace Corps Volunteer when I was in Slovakia who would see the air kiss coming and feign tying her shoes to avoid what she thought was overly familiar contact with a stranger. You get it.

So, how does it work in Brazil? Apparently regional rules apply, I find myself constantly questioning if I am doing it right. The initial meeting might be a handshake... or a single air kiss on the cheek. The farewell from that first meeting could be a hug or a kiss or a double kiss or a triple kiss. Or, if you are cold, confused American, it could be an awkward combination of all three. Different parts of the country seem to work slightly differently, and, although Brazilians can laugh at an awkward exchange, they also move around and aren't sure of the rules.

When I've asked, most Brazilians say that they too are caught wondering. The awesome thing about Brazilians is that they are friendly and laugh it directly off without making you feel too weird. I like that... a place where you can commit a social faux pas, laugh it off, and move on!