Social Interactions 87WARM, FRIENDLY, SMILING, HAPPY EGYPTIANS abound throughout the
country. In keeping with the tradition of hospitality, a call of
‘Welcome! Welcome my friend!’ penetrates every exchange
from well-known friend to total stranger. So why do I include
sections on smiles, eye contact and touching? Mainly it is
because a smile, a touch or eye contact at the wrong time
and with the wrong person can get you into a situation you
probably want to avoid. First, let’s take a quick glimpse at
common social interactions among Egyptians including their
smiling, touching and eye contact behaviour.
In the course of normal conversation, Egyptians make
intense eye contact, smile a lot and touch each other. Look
carefully—most times you will notice these interactions
involve same sex interplay, especially in public. Please
note—this has nothing to do with homosexuality. I repeat,
nothing to do with being homosexual. Normally accepted
social rules for appropriate behaviour between same sex and
male/female interactions differ substantially depending very
slightly on the circumstances. The rules roughly fall out as
follows. Don’t forget these are only broad generalisations, but
it should get you by until you get a feel for the territory.
It is always appropriate to smile, make intense eye contact
and even touch frequently and warmly when in same sex
groups. This applies for men and women. In Egypt, the
standard greeting upon seeing someone you know, whether
in business or social situations, usually includes kissing first