Being back in Oberlin, I'm running into lots of old improv/comedy/theater friends and over brunch some of them got to talking about their friend Jim Williams. He's another Oberlin grad, and now apparently a successful mime in Poland.
Yes, you read that right.
I only know of Jim through friends, not directly, so I was curious to look up his work. (He does stand-up as well as mime comedy). Searching for his name got me this fun little reflection on one of those cultural things that all Americans have to adjust to in Europe:
Hee. I'd also like to add that the Spanish and Italians kiss you on the cheek not only once they know you, but even the first time you meet – leaning in for the kiss even as you're introducing yourselves. (An American friend now married to a Spanish guy tells me that in the beginning, when American friends of hers met him for the first time, she would warn them, "He's going to kiss you now.")
Cheek-kissing is also one of those matters where Germany as a whole feels kind of culturally confused. Though traditionally a reserved sort of place where even close friends never moved beyond shaking hands, the younger German generations have definitely loosened up – but sometimes that means hugs and sometimes cheek kisses and I still haven't worked out any logic for what is when with whom!
In the beginning, I spent a while perpetually wrong-footed and confused about it, until I relaxed into the rather comforting conclusion that I am American and so cannot possibly be blamed for getting this sort of thing wrong.
Also true is that the number of kisses (one, two, even three) varies
around Europe, as does which side you start on (I swear, my Greek friend goes a different direction from everybody else I know.)
Just smile and play the well-meaning yet slightly gauche American!
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