The hand shake

Greeting a person here is the most fun thing to do.

Forget the ciao, the kisses on the cheeks,  all those European rituals which we have to go through every time we meet someone… here it’s all about the hand shake. Yes I am very well aware of the fact the shaking hands is common all over the world but here the handshake is just..different.

The first time is quite strange but then it takes only one minute to do it and never forget it.

The start is the same, you shake hands..then suddenly the other person (usually the one who decides the rhythm) grabs your thumb (and part of your hand, too) with all their fingers using the thumb itself as a pivot. And then back to the handshake, using again the thumb as a pivot.

God I know it sounds complicated but it quite easy and natural. And you just repeat this strange ritual as many times as you want; after a while it gets awkward and a lot of creepy questions start popping up in your head:  when should we stop? Should I stop? How many times do we have to do it? Am I

holding it too much? It’s stressful, yes it is.

 I found myself a lot of times in one of those situations where the handshake was lasting something like.. one minute. And I had to pull away (was it rude? Should I shake hands again?)!

 

Of course greeting people is vital but you should not be thinking too much of all these questions.. just go with the flow, this is Africa!

Best part? When they cannot shake hands with you because their hand is wet or dirty.. they just give you the arm/elbow and you have to shake it…I ALWAYS find it amusing!