kiss kiss

as a 13-year old, my presence constituted 50% of the asian population in my 8th grade class. that was a bad thing, because middle school isn't one of the places in the world that values diversity.

fortunately, my asian counterpart had the misfortune of being named duong. and if you didn't know, pretty much every mocking chinese sound that kids make rhymes with that, jing jong wong bong gong, etc. it kept a little heat off me, but when your name rhymes with a popular video game featuring an orange ball with legs that hops around, you're not exactly exempt.

this all changed when i moved towns for high school, as i entered a virtual beijing, with 10%(!) asian folks. but more importantly, i was first introduced to a filipino family and their particularly, for asian, odd customs, most notably kissing on the cheek as a greeting. it was affection that would be totally misplaced in the culture that i grew up with. plus i had a serious crush on one of the three filipino sisters and that was as close as i ever came to consolidating that crush.

nowadays though, i see the cheek kiss employed everywhere and my feelings toward it have taken the proverbial full turn. people lean in, their cheeks come maybe an inch from each other, and they make a smooch sound with their lips. what used to be a sign of closeness now is the epitome of affected acquaintance.

to me that's a bad trade.