I always find exploring different culture interesting. However, exitence of culture different isn't always entertaining. It causes misunderstanding and awkwardness, depending on how well you know this culture, and how well you have got use to it. For me, it's easy to understand a culture, but not so easy to get use to it. "Hug" is one of the culture thing that always embarrass me.

 

I seldom hug people, and tend to avoid other body contact. When say hi or bye, or thank you, I smile, smile and smile. That's it. So whenever some western friends try to hug me, I felt awkward and reluctant, not because I don't like them, just because I don't know how tight and how long should I hug back. Such awkwardness and reluctance make me a bad huger. People think that I don't like them because I hug perfunctorily. It was no big deal in China, since all the foreigners try to learn the Chinese culture and behave accordingly. But now, in the US, I'm the foreigner, so it's my turn to struggle with these culture difference.

 

India guys shake hands whenever they meet, even though they meet everyday. For Chinese, shaking hands is usually just for business situation or when people first meet. So as I always do, I smile, smile, and smile, and say hi, when I see this indian classmate in the aisle after class, we chitchat, everthing goes well, I feel comfortable, then he stretch out his hand, saying: Ying, we haven't shaked hands yet! Then we shaked hands, and he left.

 

Americans hug. Europeans Hug more. South Americans hug and kiss. I told my roomate Lauren who is an American and a Germany girl Judith, who has become a very good friend of mine, that I don't hug, in order to avoid misunderstanding. However, this made things even more awkward. They tend to ask me: is it ok if I hug you now? of course I say yes, but that question just ruined the mood, and of course the following hugs weren't very nice.

 

The first few times I went to clubs with my American classmates, I saw guys shaked hands, so when they came to me, I stretched out my hand, but turned out that they didn't want to shake hands with me, cause that was just for guys, instead, they hug me. So I "reluctantly" switched my shaking hands gesture, and gave them my very unfriendly hug.

 

There were twice that American girls turn their cheeks to me. I looked at their pretty cheeks, wondering, should it be lips to cheek or cheek to cheek? The first time, I kissed her cheek with my lips. That was weird. Last night, I just respond with my cheek, but I am still not sure whether she wanted my kiss or my cheek....

 

South American guys will kiss girls on their cheeks to say hi, remember, only when guys meet girls. I am not sure whether South American girls kiss each other to say hi, but guys themselves don't kiss. When I met them, I used to smile, smile, smile, and step back, and back..... now, I have made some progress that I am able to not step back when they come over.