I don’t like people cheek-kissing me when their faces are sticky. Or those with 50 black dots on their cheeks because they’ve just been to the dermatologist for their annual wart removal episode. Or those who are coughing and sneezing. Call me suplada, but excuse me. I think there are thoughtless people who acquired this habit of beso-beso who just smack their faces even with strangers. With strangers, I mean those they have just met that moment. I would be happy with a simple “hi” , no need for us to dramatize that now that we’ve been introduced eh close na tayo.
I wonder where we Filipinos acquired this fancy ritual. Walang beso-beso sa Binangonan nuong araw. Mano po meron.
I think we copied this social gesture from the Europeans and Middle Easterns.
I am always in shock when parents require their children at a gathering to kiss everyone at the table. People that their kids have just met and would most likely never see again. I find this gesture of respect unnecessary. My kids are not trained to kiss everyone. Non-cheek-kissers maybe construed as aloof or distant, that’s me.
One time we went out with Edmund’s golf friends and their spouses. His friend Bobby and I miscalculated if it’s right or left, we ended up smacking our lips together. One time I was attending a cocktails reception at the Westin in celebration of some country’s national day, when all of a sudden some old guy smacked his full lips on my left cheeks. I was getting food at the buffet table with my left hand holding the plate and my right getting food. I was completely helpless and defenseless. Before I could even look who that anak ng tipaklong was, he vanished among the crowds. Hindi kaya yung waiter yun? Naka Americana rin.
One time in one of our travels with President Ramos, someone from the group also beso-beso me while I was looking at another person. 70% of his lips landed on my right cheek while the 30% on my lips. I was very sure it was deliberate. “Anak ka ng tipaklong!” There are also those who likes to sniff, not kiss.
I agree with Donald Trump that a simple bow or a nod similar to the Thais and Japanese is enough to show respect or acknowledgment. Cheek kissing and shaking hands are completely unnecessary between and among non-family, non-lovers, non-close individuals.
