bise x 3

This map is making its way around the blogs. And it’s simply too brilliant to not share.

My first time in Paris, I stayed with a family of five–mom, dad, three daughters. About two of them could speak some English. The father was not one of them. He didn’t speak to me for the entirety of my stay under his roof until he had safely returned me to my American French class. As I was bidding father and daughter goodbye, he drew upon his old English lessons to give me a lesson in cheek-kissing. ”Here we do three times,” he tells me holding up the corresponding number of fingers. And I smile my understanding and appreciation for this cultural lesson.

And now I pass this cultural lesson on to others: Behold, a map for anyone who has ever wondered what the appropriate number of cheek kisses might be…