Turn the other cheek ...

Everyone - from doctors greeting their patients to kids saying hello in class - cheek kisses.

The French ritual of greeting by kissing is a beautiful and intimate gesture, writes Juliet Rowan

'Hey Kiwis, so you know what to do when in France, before you get to the proper French kiss ... "

This message, posted by a French New Zealand friend on Facebook this week, made me smile.

Kissing is tres French of course, and she had shared a map showing how many kisses on the cheek her countrymen give based on region.

It turns out those in the north are more effusive in their greetings, appearing to average four kisses, while in the south, they go for two or three, and on the island of Corsica, it's a lavish five.

Seeing the map took me back to the sweetness of living in a country where an exchange of kisses is an intrinsic part of every meeting.

In my 18 months in France, I quickly learned cheek kisses are expected not only by friends, but neighbours, colleagues, landlords, teachers, and even doctors greeting patients in the waiting room.

Failure to comply can make you persona non grata - case in point being the mother at my children's school who would hold out her cheek and haughtily demand "bisous" (kisses, note, in plural) if we forgot.

The kids also kissed each other as they entered the classroom, and really, there is no sweeter sight than a bunch of otherwise rough-and-tumble boys giving each other gentle pecks to say hello.

The same can be said of the men, who in our region were rough, silent farming types.

The cheek kiss - though very different from a proper French kiss - is a beautiful, intimate ritual. It is a soft, humanising gesture, and one of many things I miss about France.