February 11, 2008
Ze Handshake!
Hilu!
I greet you, people of the great earth, with utmost anger and seething fury I write this post..WHY DO PEOPLE RIDE LIKE THIS IN KUWAIT?!!?! Call me a road rage maniac BUT DUDE THERE ARE LIMITS!! my handsome Mr.Darcy (for those who don’t know, I mean my car) was scared out of its wits today! lif 3alai..okay..speed your way through the speed bump and cut in front of me for no reason whatsoever cuz you already have to go back to your lane you illiterate ***..okay..cast your freakin flasher on me and when I move to the next lane thinking you’re in a hurry but you freaking go on your merry way slowly..okay..BUT CUTTING IN FRONT OF ME AND DRIVING 30 KM/H..NO! Without exaggeration I kept honking the horn for about 30 seconds but that didn’t bring him back from that Zen Zone he was lounging in…stupid truck!
Hmph..*shakes it off* Anyway..
Awhile ago I watched Chronicles of Narnia (lovely movie BTW) there was this scene when the heroine meets a strange creature, she extended her hand to shake his, but being foreign to our world he asked her what she was doing, she told him that we shake hands when we meet someone, he asked her why and she was like “..I don’t know 00;”, That’s when my curiosity kicked in!
After searching for quite some time I found that It’s difficult to know the beginning of the handshake since most of these events happened before written history and of course since it doesn’t have a confirmed source, many accounts try to explain it, But the most convincing one was this:
It dates back to Medieval Europe, Kings and knights extend their hands and grasp the other’s, not to greet the other party, but to show that they are not carrying weapons thus meaning them no harm and showing openness and trust. The right-hand is extended since its the primary hand in handling most things and it is unlikely to strike a weapon using your left-hand.
And that is why we shake hands when we meet, to show friendliness and openness!
Winds of Peace 
N. said,
February 12, 2008 at 9:54 am
lol @ the truck incident! I know I hate them too :p
Hmm interesting info about the handshake. Makes sense.
*leaves the window open to listen to the music….*
Amethyst said,
February 12, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Okay, a truck is somehow a little less to handle than a small car on the left lane;@
The point about the weapons is really interesting!
Linus said,
February 13, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Lets do it the old fashion way! Spit in the hand then shake lol!
And thanks for the information! I don’t know what would I do without you posting things I didn’t notice 🙂
Nicole said,
February 13, 2008 at 6:26 pm
The stuff you find out :D!
Thanks for the lesson ;)!!
(And hey, you guys here in the ME don’t really do it 😉 )
F. said,
February 13, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Don’t get me started on the lack of driving ethics in Kuwait…ugh!
I’ve always wanted to watch Narnia…it’s somewhere in my stack of unwatched DVD’s
Interesting stuff about hand-shaking…a very charming gesture indeed.
kaileena said,
February 13, 2008 at 9:06 pm
N.:
Yup we all hate them!
LOL you really like the music don’t you!
Amethyst:
Yea it is loool Glad you enjoyed the info!
Linus:
YEAAA..a good ol’ spit never hurt nobody! LOL awww me ish touched! ^_^
Nicole:
You’re most welcome! Actually it is a part of our greeting where we grasp the hand then kiss the cheeks while still grasping, or when it’s someone we’re familiar with and hadnt seen in awhile, we would put grasp the arm with one hand and kiss the cheeks or hug!
F.:
Tell me about it! Narnia was a fantastic movie!
It truly is! ^__^
Skinny Bumblebee said,
February 15, 2008 at 1:34 am
Very interesting…
Kuwait is number one road crazy za7ma the road is mine kinda of drivers
so that wont chage ;p
suspic said,
February 15, 2008 at 6:18 am
I stopped watching halfway through the movie, someone called, don’t you hate that?
Kids were getting in and out of the closet way too often anyway. They were sibilings too which was too joke provoking.
Anyway, try to have a bus cut in front of you and make a complete full stop. About the handshake, it makes sense I guess. When did kissing get into it?
kaileena said,
February 15, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Skinny Bumblebee:
Shiftay shloun..quite alarming walla!
Suspic:
Hate that too..”akeeeeeed taboony ayee? I’m quite useless right now..fine 2 mns..yella I heard you 5 mns..IM COMING!!!!”
You and your perverted mind..
Yup happend twice,mate..a compleeeeete full stop,..he was nice enough to cast the flasher though! Taught me to avoid the far-right lane at all costs! Well kissing is more like an instinct, might have a psychological expalnation, me interested, me looks it up later!
Outkasty said,
February 16, 2008 at 2:46 am
lol! lazim te6le3en wintay 7a6a eb balich enna ma7ad ye3arif yesog =/
and thanks for sharing the info
Chirp said,
February 17, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I hate the awkwardness of not knowing whether to extend your hand or not and your in that limbo stage LOOL. Or when you shake hands with someone and its extremly sweaty .. hehe
Amu said,
February 17, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I usually look at the situation and if I feel I wont be insulted then I extend my hand for a shake 🙂 but sometimes I end up in embarrassment!!
Mrm said,
February 17, 2008 at 3:03 pm
i applause u again for educating us on the most random of things… more!
kaileena said,
February 17, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Outkasty:
True, that is the correct outlook on the Kuwait streets!
You’re most welcome, dearies!
Chirp:
LOL! I always raise my hand to my shoulder level and do a little “nice to meet you” wave Better than shaking sweaty hands! and because if we extend hands we might have to kiss ba3ad! which can also be awkward if that person wasn’t intending to!
Amu:
LOL!! Dude just wave or nod!
Mrm:
lol! Thanks, sweet one! and more you shall get inshalla!
intlxpatr said,
March 3, 2008 at 7:15 pm
In the Pacific Northwest, people don’t do all the kiss-kissing that we do here when women greet one another, and I have to be very careful. People there would back away!
Olórin said,
March 4, 2008 at 9:06 am
intlxpatr:
Ouch that would be utterly embarrassing! You have to be extremely careful!