Meeting & Greeting: Etiquette for expats

As a newcomer to Hong Kong, you’ll be keen to get to know people. As NATASHA LLOYD reveals, this process can include getting to grips with the (for some, perplexing) issue of the welcome kiss.

Picture the scene: it’s a few weeks after you’ve arrived in Hong Kong. The boxes are all unpacked, the children settled at school and you’re starting to embrace the shift in working hours and the mass exodus from the office at lunchtime. No longer fresh off the boat, you now feel ready to start socialising and meeting people in the hope of forming the friendships that will prove so fundamental to your new life here.

Perhaps a kind colleague or fellow school parent has invited you to dinner at their apartment, or has organised a restaurant brunch to welcome you into the fold. So, having successfully navigated the taxi journey, you arrive at the venue with some trepidation, to be met with a mixed bunch of fellow expats kissing each other in a flurry of affectionate embraces.

So, what’s your next move? How will you greet your fellow guests – strangers for now, but brimming with potential to become shiny new friends? You’re no doubt keen to make a good first impression, and you’re wondering how to go about saying hello.