INTRODUCING OURSELVES IN DAILY LIFE

Foreigner people normally think that all Spanish people are open, and that dance ‘framenco’ and that we are very loud but here in the Basque Country we are more reserved and we do not normally interact much with other people, it doesn’t mean we don’t like meeting new people it is just the way we are. Once we know a person we interact more and become friends. 

here are some tips you could use if you come to our country and wanna meet people:

1) When we meet someone new if that person is a boy we shake hands but if that person is a girl we normally give her 2 kisses on the cheeks. 

2) When we know a person we see on the street we either say hey, or just move our head up and down just one time ( move it up move it down) 

3) Sometimes, teenagers, they do the ‘high five’ movement when they see someone they know or a friend of theirs

4) When we are at a party or clubbing and we meet someone new we tend to  buy that person a drink or a shot.

5) When we see someone we haven’t seen in a long time we normally hug that person and give a big kiss on the cheek if that person is a girl and just a hug if that person is a boy.

BODY GESTURES IN A PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT

When we have a meeting...

Firstly, we introduce ourselves and we shake hands. Usually, the boss is the one that introduce the rest of the people in a meeting if they don´t know each other. 

We can make the difference between a first meeting where people doesn´t know each other and a regular meeting with closer participants.

1.    When people meet for the first time in a professional environment they use to shake hands and sometimes they kiss each other in both cheeks (if there is a woman among the participants) or just greet if the meeting is very crowded. 

2.    On the other hand, if the meeting participants are known (for example, a regular meeting among employees of a company to discuss the agenda of the week) they just may say hello or good morning.

Besides, it´s usual to make deals while having lunch-dinner  in a restaurant or “sidrería” , a typical basque restaurant where people use to drink cider from a barrel and eat cod with green peppers and veal chop and of course, cheese with jelly and walnuts as dessert.

When the meeting is finished or the deal is made people shake hands again or kiss each other on the cheeks, and the gestures depend too on the relationship we have with the people we are interacting with.

Tania Bravo, Ana García, Sofía Pérez & Julen Lopetegi