I am pretty good on global etiquette. I’m strong on the whole”two-handed business card”, the “Mein Herr and the Herr Doktor” thing and all that that entails – but there is one thing that stills confounds me: saying goodbye to Latin American men. We’re way past handshakes, but that doesn’t mean that one goes straight for the “friendly manipulation of the scrotal sack” – which is (I am sure) what you’re thinking as you read this. NO! There are many stages in between, viz:
- The Marcus Aurelius meets 50 Cent wristgrip and twirl. I can describe it no better than that…
- The grab and one-handed back slap (the same manoeuvre that one uses in the UK to be fair: but the waters are so much less muddied there).
- The kiss.
I am not at ease with 1 or 3. It has got to be said that I am not particularly ease with 2 – so what I have just treated Ludicrously Chic Creative Director to is a strange version of number 1, lurching into a number 2: the over all impression was probably of a man gripping a double duvet cover by one of its corners, and then hastily patting it down to put out a small, but potentially threatening fire.
I have made what Old Friend at Work would call “A Titifalaka” of myself.
