Kissing the Neighbor Lady

When our family was here recently, our brother-in-law Jonathan remarked on how friendly all the French people he met were.  He said that in the US, the French have a reputation for being rude.  I think it comes from American travelers who only go to Paris and only in the summer, when it is hot and the city is overrun with tourists and everyone gets a little grouchy.  It would be like a French person thinking all Americans were like New York taxi drivers on a hot summer day.  Or, god forbid, like Texans.

I thought about this when we met a neighbor lady yesterday.

We were visiting our friends Stéphane and Christel, and as we walked up their driveway we met someone else arriving at the same time, so we introduced ourselves.

In France, when you meet people you know, you usually “faire les bises”, that is, kiss them on the cheeks.  Men kiss women, women kiss men, and women kiss women, though only close male friends kiss each other.

But when you first meet someone, you usually shake hands, exchange names and each say  “enchanté.”  It is the equivalent of saying, “pleased to meet you” but much classier – it means “enchanted.”  

So when we met the lady on the driveway, I expected to shake hands.  But I could tell she was wondering who we were so first I told her that we were friends of Stéphane and Christel.  I explained that we have been helping each other with French and English language skills, respectively.  The lady turned out to be Christel’s aunt.  I guess my explanation made us members of the club, so instead of a handshake we got the bises.  Very nice and friendly.

Then we walked into the house and exchanged bises with Christel, Stéphane and their daughter Elodie.  But wait, there was someone else – a neighbor lady who was just leaving.

Normally, this would be when you would shake hands.  But no, she offered up her cheek right away as we exchanged names and enchantés.  

So I kissed her.  Then she left.  And I don't even remember her name.

I guess it was kind of the French equivalent of a one-night stand, except G-rated.

Jonathan would be so pleased.

KVS