I met an Albanian today for tea. When we greeted each other for the first time, he went for a handshake and I went for a kiss on the cheek. I didn't even think about it, I did it out of habit, knowing instinctively that when I meet a European or South American, you kiss on the cheek. He probably thought that when meeting an American, you shake hands. We were both accomodating to each other's cultural norms but it was just as awkward as if we hadn't!
For the last 8 years, I've been doing everything to learn about different cultures and languages. Sometimes I think I am well prepared as a multi-cultural communicator, but then again sometimes when both people are well versed in many cultures, and accomodate for each other, there is no way to know "who has the ball in their court" culturally.
A Blog about Travel, Culture and Communication