When large groups of Spaniards get together, the train of kisses and handshakes takes a long time. Men shake hands for every hello or goodbye. A kiss on each cheek is standard between two women or between a man and a woman.
Even though I’ve been here for over a month, my brain still goes into overdrive whenever a woman initiates the double kiss. For just that reason, some Spanish women hesitate when greeting foreign men.
I was told to read the signals of my female coworkers when I arrived at my internship for the first time. Some of them went for the double kiss right away : fine. When there was a pause with the others, I offered my hand, which I could tell was surprising for them: still okay. The worst, though, was an American-Spanish hybrid of a double kiss while shaking hands.
