Hi, my name's Amanda and I'm awkward...

...just in case you didn't already know.

Five and a half weeks in and I still find myself in awkward situations every time I say hello or goodbye to someone. Kiss on the cheek is standard - but what about in business situations? Do you stand up? Which side do you go to? Do you kiss everyone in the room?

Many times I have gone in for an interview and been greeted and seen off with a kiss - which just seems inappropriate to me. My English students kiss me hello and goodbye. And how do I greet my Spanish teacher?

Today I encountered my first handshake since I've been here. A director of a multinational oil company (who had a very snazzy oceanfront corner office) shook my hand and wished me luck when I left. Of course, I had no idea whether he was going to shake my hand, or lean in for the cheek-kiss, or just open the door and send me on my merry way. Every time I come or go I get awkward and don't know how to act. I usually end up saying something weird and running out the door before we have to have an awkward goodbye. Hopefully they attribute my odd comments to a "bad translation", which is an excuse I plan on using quite a bit.

Speaking of, my favorite Spanish-English translation is "besos" to "kisses". This is the correct translation, but in Argentina, people say goodbye by saying "un beso". I have received emails from people I didn't yet know that said "Kisses!" as their goodbye. I guess their just friendly..

On that note, a kiss! Chau