[1QuirkyKiwi]

Originally Posted by Sparkle

I think it is fascinating how much our experiences can vary.

I am a very affectionate person (see previous wanton kissing post) BUT I am a bit shy when meeting new people and it takes me a little while to warm up & feel I know someone well enough to extend an affectionate gesture.

I was taken aback when I first moved to the UK to find that people were so affectionate with out really knowing me/having met me before - warm hugs & cheek kisses (instead of handshakes) were the normal introductory exchange and bigger hugs and enthusiastic cheek/lip kisses were the standard after that -- and it surprised me. Perhaps I was just adopted by a very affectionate group of people. I acclimated quite quickly, of course, but it was completely contrary to what I expected from the stereotypical stiff upper lip British reserve.

In my experience it depends where in the UK you are..... My first time here I was living in Richmond-Upon-Thames (very posh ara) as I was studying at Hampton Court Palace and there, people are very stiff upper lip and all that. When I moved to Windsor a few months later people were more open mainly due to all the tourists for the Castle.

I moved to Henley-on-Thames in Oxford (to get away from tourists) and got the stiff upper lip again, until the locals got know me. Scotland and East London and East Anglia people are more like Octopus's, lol!