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Maltese etiquette: Cheek-to-cheek, handshake...?

Last activity 31 January 2013 by matm911

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Lusco

I wonder what is the right gesture in the Maltese etiquette; Cheek-to-cheek, handshake...?

I guess it depends on Men-Men, Men-Women, Women-Women; business, friendship, etc.

Do you keep your home country style? Do you use a different gesture with expats or Maltese people?

I found this article http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … ese.269641 but it seems to be not very clear how to proceed.

B-Biche

Hi Lusco,

I have a couple of Malthese friends on the island and I usually do cheek to cheek 2 kisses :) Can't help you about the business related manners!

Good day!

matm911

???
Of course ! it depends on the people you met, and the difference is not only between Maltese and expats.
Maltese who has been living long time abroad are different than their compatriots lived all their life in Malta.
Expats are differnt depending from where they came, even my Austrian fellows show very differnt behaviours.

In generally you always have to adjust to the more "conservative" person - even if the person is you !

I, for example, do not like intimacies with "strangers" and therefore, when I was living in Moscow, I didn't hug and cheek-kissing the other people - esp. other men - which is said to be quite normal there. When they started to do so I made a stap back and the other knew what's going on.
A handshake is mostly OK, but I also liked the japanese greeting culture very much :)

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