Cultural Differences in Greetings: Spain and the United States, by Madeline Bird

The personal bubble of space that is designated to each person either shrinks or entirely disappears when you step foot on Spanish soil. The Spanish culture is saturated with physical contact and close quarters which is the complete opposite in the United States. The American greeting is a handshake- the handshake allows each individual to keep their distance while still being friendly and saying hello. The Spanish greeting is “dos besos”, which means two kisses. Dos besos brings the two people very close and allows each person to give an endearing kiss on either cheek. The two friends or newly introduced acquaintances are, by default, closer because of the lack of personal space in this greeting. The United States and Spain are overall very similar countries, however, the United States has an extremely individualistic society whereas Spain has more collectivist practices; we can see the contrast in the two societies reflected in their different types of greetings.

My Experience: I am American and am quite used to my personal space as well as the handshake as the common greeting. Often when I am introduced to new Spanish people, I reach out my hand to greet them and introduce myself and then remember- while they stare at my hand like I am very strange and I have a mini panic attack- that dos besos is the way to go! I am working on perfecting my execution of dos besos, as I have had a few very awkward encounters, including but not limited to, going to the wrong direction. Soon, I will be a master of two greetings as I am slowly being enculturated into the Spanish way of life.