Gestures Around the World

Since I have never been to another country that has significant differences in the way we use gestures; I have decided to research what other countries to do greet one another. Sociologists tend to look at different gestures because they need to understand how the bigger world around us behaves. Just in North America itself, greetings differ. For instance, in Canada, women greet with a slight nod while men greet with a firm handshake. The men in Mexico tend to be a little bit more firm by patting a man on the back along with a slight hug. But, here in the United States women are known to hug other women while men quickly kiss the cheek of a woman. In other parts of the world, I found it weird that in Egypt- a handshake is followed by a touch on the elbow. In the Philippines you greet with a quick flash of the eyebrows. It is always interesting to see what we interpret as a handshake for a greeting, can be turned into something so different around us.