TravelJanuary 7, 2007 12:53 pm

Kisses, Part Two

 

Home in Kabul’s "Politics of Kissing" got me thinking about cross-cultural kisses. 

 

Kisses were not part of everyday life in Japan. Even hugs went AWOL.  Japan is a country of public restraint. No PDAs*, as Iggy might put it.

 

I remember when my mother hugged the Japanese fisherwoman whose family had adopted me as a mascot. It was shocking. But Yasuko accepted it in the spirit of warmth in which it was given. 

 

During three years in Japan, I was never hugged or kissed by anyone other than my boyfriend. Did I miss those expressions of affection? I’m not a demonstrative person. The formality of Japan reinforced my restraint. 

 

To read more about kisses, see "Kisses, Part One" and Sunday Scribblings. 

* PDA=public display of affection. 

 

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Food 12:39 pm

Kisses, Part One

Tens of kisses. Hundreds of kisses. Thousands of kisses. Lining the drugstore aisles. Calling to me.

 

Yes, I cried. I will not deny you.

 

I  bought a bag of Hershey’s kisses in holiday colors. Fifty percent off, after-Christmas sale!Perfect for the New Year’s Day party that Iggy and I planned. I wouldn’t open them until then.

 

I put them on the dining room table, so they wouldn’t taunt me by catching my eye in the kitchen.

 

I fell quickly, pulling open a corner to taste "just one." I stripped it slowly, tugging on the Hershey’s paper to break the foil seal. Flattening the wrapper before I licked the almost-conical chocolate blob. Then excising the skinny tip with my foreteeth.

 

Taking tiny bites, I told myself, would make one kiss so satisfying it would last for hours. Ten minutes later, I’d stacked a dozen foil wrappers and wanted more.

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