Tuesday 6 January 2009

The hand experiment

According to the book of Swedish:

"Swedes have a reputation for being rather formal people. They are very fond of shaking hands and seldom meet without doing so."
Hmm. Normally I try to avoid shaking hands as much as I can, and usually deliver excuses such as:
"I wouldn't, my hands are clammy"
"I've just eaten a sandwhich"
Or I would noticibly cough into my hand to prevent the other hand being presented in the first place. I mean who would want to shake a hand that has just been coughed into?

The reason I hate shaking hands is you quite literally don't know where the other hand has been! For all you know the hand you're shaking could have been touching some sweaty testicles moments earlier! Ick!

BUT okay, if this is the Swedish way I thought I would give it a try. But not without first purchasing this:

YES - Quash antibacterial hand foam!
Now I could safely go about my day looking for hands to shake!
(It's a good thing people at my work know I'm weird anyway!)
I started in reception, shaking a rather confused ladies hand as I walked into the office.
Then on my way up the stairs I ran into a fellow producer and offered my hand to shake as I said morning... the look on his face was if I had just spat on his sandwhich.
Then into the Newsroom shaking the hand of the person sat next to me. Okay, I felt at this point it was best to explain my sudden interest in other people's hands. He found it rather interesting.
But then I felt the need to sneak off to the bathroom and use my Quash antibacterial hand foam, he looked like a nose picker.
I shook a few more hands as the day went on, but decided I was all shaked out by 3pm.
What I have learnt from this is the English are not very big on handshaking. Something that might be seen as common practice in one country can be seen as odd in another.

2 comments:

  1. That is SO true!
    When me and Molly first came to carlisle we were shocked that everybody was so rude when introducing themeselves!!
    very good.

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  2. haha and I remember this girl staring at me when I offered to shake her hand. Then she said "Well HELLO" in a Queen's voice. She was working at Basement and was rather rocky.

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