3. FACTORS INFLUENSING VALUES

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: A GUIDE TO MEN OF        ACTION

Anyone who has traveled abroad or dealt at all exten­sively with non-Americans learns that punctuality is variously interpreted. It is one thing to recognize this with the mind; to adjust to a different kind of appointment time is quite another.

In Latin America, you should expect to spend hours waiting in outer offices. If you bring your American interpretation of what constitutes punctuality to a Latin-American office, you will fray your temper and elevate your blood pressure. For a forty-five-minute wait is not unusual -no more unusual than a five minute wait would be in the United States. No insult is intended, no arbitrary pecking order is being estab­lished. If, in the United States, you would not be outraged by a five-­minute wait, you should not be outraged by the Latin-American's forty-­five-minute delay in seeing you. The time pie is differently cut, that's all.

Further, the Latin American doesn't usually schedule individual appointments to the exclusion of other appointments. The informal Clock of his upbringing ticks more slowly and he rather enjoys seeing several people on different matters at the same time. The three-ring circus at­mosphere which results, if interpreted in the American's scale of time and propriety, seems to signal him to go away, to tell him that h~ is not being properly treated, to indicate that his dignity is under attack. Not so. The clock on the wall may look the same but it tells a different sort of time.

The cultural error may be compounded by' a further miscalculation. In the United States, a consistently tardy man is likely to be considered undependable, and by our cultural clock this is a reasonable conclusion. For you to judge a Latin American by your scale of time values is to risk a major error.

Suppose you have waited forty-five minutes and there is a man in his office, by some miracle alone in the room with you. Do you now get down to business and stop "wasting time"?

If you are not forewarned by experience or a friendly advisor, you may try to do this. And it would usually be a mistake. For, in the Ameri­can culture, discussion is a means to an end: the deal. You try to make your point quickly, efficiently, neatly. If your purpose is to arrange some major affairs, your instinct is probably to settle the major issues first, leave the details for later, possibly for the technical people to work out.

For the Latin American, the discussion is a part of the spice of life. Just as he tends not to be overly concerned about reserving you your specific segment of time, he tends not as rigidly to separate business from non-business. He runs it all together and wants to make something of a social event out of what you, in your .culture, regard as strictly business.

The Latin American is not alone in this. The Greek businessman, partly for the same and partly for different reasons, does not lean toward the "hit-and-run" school of business behavior, either. The Greek businessman adds to the social element, however, a feeling about what length of dis­cussion time constitutes go09 faith. In America, we show good faith by ignoring the details. "Let's agree on the main points. The details will take care of themselves."

Not so the Greek. He signifies good will and good faith by what may seem to you an interminable discussion which includes every conceivable detail. Otherwise, you see, he cannot help but feel that the other man might be trying to pull the wool over his eyes. Our habit, in what we feel to be our relaxed and friendly way, of postponing details until later smacks the Greek between the eyes as a maneuver to flank him. Even if you can somehow convince him that this is not the case, the meeting must still go on a certain indefinite-but, by our standards, long-time or he will feel disquieted.

The American desire to get down to business and on with other things works to our disadvantage in other parts of the world, too; and not only in business. The head of a large, successful Japanese firm commented: "You Americans have a terrible weakness. We Japanese know about it and exploit it every chance we get. You are impatient. We have learned that if we just make you wait long enough, you'll agree to anything."

  Whether this is literally true or not, the Japanese executive singled out a trait of American culture which most of us share and which, one may assume from the newspapers, the Russians have not overlooked, either.        

  By acquaintance time we mean how long you must know a man be­ fore you are willing to do business with him.

  In the United States, if we know that a salesman represents a well­ known, reputable company, and if we need his product, he may walk away from the first meeting with an order in his pocket. A few minutes conversation to decide matters of price, delivery, payment, model of product-nothing more is involved. In Central America, local custom does not permit a salesman to land in town, call on the customer and walk away with an order, no matter how badly your prospect wants and needs your product. It is traditional there that you must see your man at least three times before you can discuss the nature of your business.

Does this mean that the South American businessman does not rec­ognize the merits of one product over another? Of course it doesn't. It is just that the weight of tradition presses him to do business within a circle of friends. If a product he needs is not available within his circle, he does not go outside it so much as he enlarges the circle itself to in­clude a new friend who can supply the want. Apart from his cultural need to "feel right" about a new relationship, there is the logic of his business system. One of the realities of his life is that it is dangerous to enter into business with someone over whom you have no more than formal, legal "control." In the past decades, his legal system has not always been as firm as ours and he has learned through experience that he needs the sanctions implicit in the informal system of friendship.

Visiting time involves the question of who sets the time for a visit. George Coelho, a social psychologist from India, gives an illustrative case. A U.S. businessman received this invitation from an Indian businessman: "Won't you and your family come and see us? Come any time." Several weeks later, the Indian repeated the invitation in the same words. Each time the American replied that he would certainly like to drop in-but he never did. The reason is obvious in terms of our culture. Here "come any time" is just an expression of friendliness. You are not really ex­pected to show up unless your host proposes a specific time. In India, on the contrary, the words are meant literally-that the host is putting him­self at the disposal of his guest and really expects him to come. It is the essence of politeness to leave it to the guest to set a time at his conveni­ence. If the guest never comes, the Indian naturally assumes that he does not want to come. Such a misunderstanding can lead to a serious rift be­tween men who are trying to do business with each other.

Time schedules present Americans with another problem in many parts of the world. Without schedules, deadlines, priorities, and timetables, we tend to feel that our country could not run at all. Not only are they es­sential to getting work done, but they also play an important role in the informal communication process. Deadlines indicate priorities and prior­ities signal the relative importance of people and the processes they con­trol. These are all so much a part of our lives that a day hardly passes without some reference to them. "I have to be there by 6: 30." "If I don't have these plans out by 5:00 they'll be useless." "I told J. B. I'd be finished by noon tomorrow and now he tells me to drop everything and get hot on the McDermott account. What do I do now?"

In our system, there are severe penalties for not completing work on time and important rewards for holding to schedules. One's integrity and reputation are at stake.

You can imagine the fundamental conflicts that arise when we attempt to do business with people who are just as strongly oriented away from time schedules as we are toward them.

The Middle Eastern peoples are a case in point. Not only is our idea of time schedules no part of Arab life but the mere mention of a dead­ line to an' Arab is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. In his culture, your emphasis on a deadline has the emotional effect on him that his backing you into a corner and threatening you with a club would have on you.

One effect of this conflict of unconscious habit patterns is that hun­dreds of American-owned radio sets are lying on the shelves of Arab radio repair shops, untouched. The Americans made the serious cross-cultural error of asking to have the repair completed by a certain time.

How do you cope with this? How does the Arab get another Arab to do anything? Every culture has its own ways of bringing pressure to get results. The usual Arab way is one which Americans avoid as "bad manners." It is needling.

An Arab businessman whose car broke down explained it this way:

First, I go to the garage and tell the mechanic what is wrong with my car. I wouldn't want to give him the idea that I didn't know. After that, I leave the car and walk around the block. When I come back to the garage, I ask him if he has started to work yet. On my way home from lunch I stop in and ask him how things are going. When I go back to the office I stop by again. In the evening, I return and peer over his shoulder for a while. If I didn't keep this up, he'd be off working on someone else's car.

If you haven't been needled by an Arab, you just haven't been needled.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

We say that there is a time and place for everything, but compared to other countries and cultures we give very little emphasis to place dis­tinctions. Business is almost a universal value with us; it can be discussed almost anywhere, except perhaps in church. One can even talk business on the church steps going to and from the service. Politics is only slightly more restricted in the places appropriate for its discussion.

In other parts of the world, there are decided place restrictions on the discussion of business and politics. The American who is not conscious of the unwritten laws will offend if he abides by his own rather than by the local rules.

In India, you should not talk business when visiting a man's home. If you do, you prejudice your chances of ever working out a satisfactory business relationship.

In Latin America, although university students take an active interest in politics, tradition decrees that a politician should avoid political sub­jects when speaking on university grounds. A Latin American politician commented to. anthropologist Allan Holmberg that neither he nor his fellow politicians would have dared attempt a political speech on the grounds of the University of San Marcos in Peru-as did Vice-President Nixon.

To complicate matters further, the student body of San Marcos, an­ticipating the visit, had voted that Mr. Nixon would not be welcome. The University Rector had issued no invitation, presumably because he expected what did, in fact, happen.

As a final touch, Mr. Nixon's interpreter was a man in full military uniform. In Latin American countries, some of which had recently over­thrown military dictators, the symbolism of the military uniform could hardly contribute to a cordial atmosphere. Latin Americans need no reminder that the United States is a great military power.

Mr. Nixon's efforts were planned in the best traditions of our own culture; he hoped to improve relations through a direct, frank, and face­-to-face discussion with students-the future leaders of their country. Un­fortunately, this approach did not fit in at all with the culture of the host country. Of course, elements hostile to the United States did their best to capitalize upon this cross-cultural misunderstanding. However, even Latin Americans friendly to us, while admiring the Vice President's courage, found themselfes acutely embarrassed by the behavior of their people and ours in the ensuing difficulties.

BEING COMFORTABLE IN SPACE

Like time and place, differing ideas of space hide traps for the un­informed. Without realizing it, almost any person raised in the United States is likely to give an unintended snub to a Latin American simply in the way we handle space relationships, particularly during conversa­tions.

In North America, the "proper" distance to stand when talking to an­other adult male you do not know well is about two feet, at least in a formal business conversation. (Naturally at a cocktail party, the distance shrinks, but anything under eight to ten inches is likely to provoke an apology or an attempt to back up.)

To a Latin American, with his cultural traditions and habits, a distance of two feet seems to him approximately what five feet would to us. To him, we seem distant and cold. To us, he gives an impression of pushiness.

As soon as a Latin American moves close enough for him to feel com­fortable, we feel uncomfortable and edge back. We once observed a Con­versation between a Latin and a North American which began at one end of a forty-foot hall. At intervals we noticed them again, finally at the other end of the hall. This rather amusing displacement had been accomplished by an almost continual series of small backward steps on the part of the American, trying unconsciously to reach a comfortable talking distance, and an equal closing of the gap by the Latin American as he attempted to reach his accustomed conversation space.

Americans in their offices in Latin America tend to keep their native acquaintances at our distance-not the Latin American's distance-by taking up a position behind a desk or typewriter. The barricade approach to communication is practiced even by old hands in Latin America who are completely unaware of its cultural significance. They know only that they are comfortable without realizing that the distance and equipment unconsciously make the Latin American uncomfortable.

HOW CLASS CHANNELS COMMUNICATION

We would be mistaken to regard the communication patterns which we observe around the world as no more than a miscellaneous collection of customs. The communication pattern of a given society is part of its total culture pattern and can only be understood in that context.

We cannot undertake here to relate many examples of communication behavior to the underlying culture of the country. For the businessman, it might be useful to mention the difficulties in the relationship between social levels and the problem of information feedback from lower to higher levels in industrial organizations abroad.

There is in Latin America a pattern of human relations and unionmanagement relations quite different from that with which we are familiar in the United States. Everett Hagen of MIT has noted the heavier emphasis upon line authority and the lesser development of staff organizations in Latin-American plants when compared with North American counterparts. To a much greater extent than in the United States, the government becomes involved in the handling of all kinds of labor problems.

     These differences seem to be clearly related to the culture and social organization of Latin America. We find there that society has been much more rigidly stratified than it has with us. As a corollary, we find a greater emphasis upon authority in family and the community.

This emphasis upon status and class distinction makes it very difficult for people of different status levels to express themselves freely and frankly in discussion and argument. In the past, the pattern has been for the man of lower status to express deference to his superior in any face­-to-face contact. This is so even when everyone knows that the subordi­nate dislikes the superior. The culture of Latin America places a great premium upon keeping personal relations harmonious on the surface.

In the United States, we feel that it is not only desirable but natural to speak up to your superior, to tell the boss exactly what you think, even when you disagree with him. Of course, we do not always do this, but we think that we should, and we feel guilty if we fail to speak our minds frankly. When workers in our factories first get elected to local union office, they may find themselves quite self-conscious about speaking up to the boss and arguing grievances. Many of them, however, quickly learn to do it and enjoy the experience. American culture emphasizes the thrashing-out of differences in face-to-face contacts. It de-emphasizes the importance of status. As a result, we have built institutions for han­dling industrial disputes on the basis of the local situation, and we rely on direct discussion by the parties immediately involved.

In Latin America, where it is exceedingly difficult for people to express their differences face-to-face and where status differences and authority are much more strongly emphasized than here, the workers tend to look to a third party-the government-to take care of their problems. Though the workers have great difficulty in thrashing out their problems with management, they find no difficulty in telling government representatives their problems. And it is to their government that they look for an authority to settle their grievances with management.

Status and class also decide whether business will be done on an in­dividual or a group basis.

In the United States, we are growing more and more accustomed to working as members of large organizations. Despite this, we still assume that there is no need to send a delegation to do a job that one capable man might well handle.

In some other parts of the world, the individual cannot expect to gain the respect necessary to accomplish this purpose, no matter how capable he is, unless he brings along an appropriate number of associates.

In the United States, we would rarely think it necessary or proper to call on a customer in a group. He might well be antagonized by the hard sell.

In Japan-as an example-the importance of the occasion and of the man is measured by whom he takes along.

    This practice goes far down in the business and government hierarchies.

Even a university professor is likely to bring one or two retainers along on academic business. Otherwise people might think that he was a nobody and that his affairs were of little moment.

     Even when a group is involved in the U.S., the head man is the spokes­ man and sets the tone. This is not always the case in Japan. Two young Japanese once requested an older American widely respected in Tokyo to accompany them so that they could "stand on his face." He was not ex­pected to enter into the negotiation; his function was simply to be present as an indication that their intentions were serious.

ADJUSTMENT GOES BOTH WAYS

One need not have devoted his life to a study of various cultures to see that none of them is static. All are constantly changing and one element of change is the very fact that U.S. enterprise enters a foreign field. This is inevitable and may be constructive if we know how to utilize our knowledge. The problem is for us to be aware of our impact and to learn how to induce changes skillfully.

Rather than try to answer the general question of how two cultures interact, we will consider the key problem of personnel selection and development in two particular intercultural situations, both in Latin cultures.

One U.S. company had totally different experiences with "Smith" and "Jones" in the handling of its labor relations. The local union leaders were bitterly hostile to Smith, whereas they could not praise Jones enough. These were puzzling reactions to higher management. Smith seemed a fair­ minded and understanding man; it was difficult to fathom how anyone could be bitter against him. At the same time, Jones did not appear to be currying favor by his generosity in giving away the firm's assets. To man­agement, he seemed to be just as firm a negotiator as Smith.

The explanation was found in the two men's communication character­istics. When the union leaders came in to negotiate with Smith, he would let them state their case fully and freely-without interruption, but also without comment. When they had finished, he would say, "I'm sorry, We can't do it." He would follow this blunt statement with a brief and entirely cogent explanation of his reasons for refusal. If the union leaders persisted in their arguments, Smith would paraphrase his first statement, calmly and succinctly. In either case, the discussion was over in a few minutes. The union leaders would storm out of Smith's office complaining bitterly about the cold and heartless man with whom they had to deal.

Jones handled the situation differently. His final conclusion was the same as Smith's-but he would state it only after two or three hours of discussion. Furthermore, Jones participated actively in these discussions, questioning the union leaders for more information, relating the case in question to previous cases, philosophizing about labor relations and human rights and exchanging stories about work experience. When the discussion came to an end, the union leaders would leave the office, commenting on how warmhearted and understanding he was, and how confident they were that he would help them when it was possible for him to do so, They actually seemed more satisfied with a negative decision from Jones than they did with a hard-won concession from Smith.

This was clearly a case where the personality of Jones happened to match certain discernible requirements of the Latin American culture. It was happenstance in this case that Jones worked out and Smith did not, for by American standards both were top-flight men. Since a talent for the kind of negotiation that the Latin American considers graceful and acceptable can hardly be developed in a grown man (or perhaps even in a young one), the basic problem is one of personnel selection in terms of the culture where the candidate is to work.

The second case is more complicated because it involves much deeper intercultural adjustments. The management of the parent V.S. company concerned had learned-as have the directors of most large firms with good-sized installations overseas-that one cannot afford to have all of the top and middle-management positions manned by North Americans. It is necessary to advance nationals up the overseas-management ladder as rapidly as their abilities permit. So the nationals have to learn not only the technical aspects of their jobs but also how to function at higher levels in the organization.

Latin culture emphasizes authority in the home, church, and com­munity. Within the organization this produces a built-in hesitancy about speaking up to one's superiors. The initiative, the acceptance of responsi­bility which we value in our organizations had to be stimulated. How could it be done?

We observed one management man who had done a remarkable job of building up these very qualities in his general foremen and foremen. To begin with, he stimulated informal contacts between himself and these men through social events to which the men and their wives came. He saw to it that his senior North American assistants and their wives were' also present. Knowing the language, he mixed freely with all. At the plant, he circulated about, dropped in not to inspect or check up, but to joke and to break down the great barrier that existed in the local traditions be­tween authority and the subordinates.

Next, he developed a pattern of three-level meetings. At the top, he himself, the superintendents, and the general foremen. At the middle level, the superintendents, general foremen, and foremen. Then the gen­eral foremen, foremen, and workers.

At the top level meeting, the American management chief set the pattern of encouraging his subordinates to challenge his own ideas, to come up with original thoughts. When his superintendents (also North Americans) disagreed with him, he made it clear that they were to state their objections fully. At first, the general foreman looked surprised and uneasy. They noted, however, that the senior men who argued with the boss were encouraged and praised. Timorously, with great hesitation, they began to add their own suggestions. As time went on, they more and more accepted the new convention and pitched in without inhibition.

The idea of challenging the boss with constructive new ideas gradually filtered down to the second and third level meetings. It took a lot of time and gentle handling, but .out of this approach grew an extraordinary morale. The native general foremen and foremen developed new pride in themselves, accepted new responsibilities, even reached out for more. They began to work to improve their capacities and to look forward to moving up in the hierarchy.

CUISINE, ETIQUETTE & CULTURAL VALUES

Also, it is necessary to note that food is one of the most enjoyable ways to experience another culture.

WHAT'S A "STAPLE" FOOD?

Every culture has staple foods. A staple food is a food that is rich in carbohydrates, that is eaten daily, and that is a primary source of calories and life energy. Rice is the staple food of much of Asia: from China & Japan to Sri Lanka & India. For example, many Japanese eat rice three times a day — with breakfast, lunch and dinner. If there is no rice, diners feel dissatisfied: the meal simply is not complete.

Cuisine and Etiquette in Zambia

In traditional families, mothers eat together with the girls and the small boys. Boys age seven and older eat with the father. This is because all of the children below the age of seven live under the guidance of their mother and much learning takes place through daily activities in the home. Ibis is changing, however, especially in towns and cities. The new trend¹ is that all members of the family eat together.

Before eating, everybody washes hands in order of the status of the members of the family: father first, then mother, and the children follow according to their ages. If a visitor happens to have a meal with the family, he or she is given the honor of washing first.

It is rude to talk very much or loudly while eating. After eating, the family members wash their hands again in the same order. The wife and the young ones clear the table. Burping after a meal is a traditional compliment, but it is not quite so common nowadays.

Zambia's staple food is maize (corn), and the inhabitants eat maize in several ways. When the corn is new, it can be roasted or boiled. When it is dry, it can be fried or boiled, either by itself or mixed with beans or peanuts. Sometimes maize is ground to a size a little bigger than rice and is cooked like rice. Finally, we have the fine cornmeal which is called mealie-meal in Zambia. This is used for making nsima, the most popular way of cooking maize. Nsima is steamed cornmeal.

Meat from cows, goats, sheep, and fish are used in sauces over nsima. There are also a lot of vegetables put in sauces, such as leaves from bean plants, okra, peas and pumpkins. Other vegetables eaten almost daily include onions and tomatoe. Nsima is usually prepared for lunch and dinner and not for breakfast. All the cooking is done by the wife.

Cuisine & Etiquette in Uganda

In Uganda, the staple food is matoke (a variety of semi-sweet bananas with green peels used in cooking). Other food crops include sweet potatoes or yams, white potatoes, beans, peas, peanuts, cabbage, onions, pumpkins, and tomatoes. Some fruits, such as oranges, papayas, lemons, and pineapples, are also grown.

Most people, except for a few who live in the city centers, produce their own food. The responsibility of preparing the family's meals belongs solely to the women and the girls in the family. Men and boys of age 12 and above are not even expected to sit in the kitchen, which is separate from the main house.

Most families eat two meals a day. The two meals are lunch and supper. Breakfast is just a cup of tea or a bowl of porridge.

When a meal is ready, all members of the household wash their hands and sit down on floor mats. Hands have to be washed before and after the meal. At mealtime everybody is welcome; visitors and neighbors who drop in are expected to join the family at a meal.

Food is served by the women. "Sauce" — a stew with vegetables, beans, butter, salt, and curry powder — is served to each person on a plate. Sometimes fish or beef stew is served.

Normally a short prayer is said before the family starts eating. During the meal, children talk only when asked a question. It is bad manners to reach for salt or a spoon. It is better to ask someone sitting close to it to pass it. It is also bad manners to leave the room while others are still eating. Everyone respects the meal by staying seated until the meal is over. Leaning on the left hand or stretching ones legs while at a meal is a sign of disrespect and is not tolerated.

People usually drink water at the end of the meal. It is considered odd to drink water while eating.

When the meal is finished, everyone in turn gives a compliment to the mother by saying, "Thank you for preparing the meal, madam." No dessert is served after the meal. Fruits like papaya, pineapple, or sweet bananas are normally eaten as a snack between meals.

Cuisine & Etiquette in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, the staple food is rice. "If I haven't had my rice, I haven't really eaten today," is a popular saying of this people. They eat rice at least twice a day. Only women and girls prepare the food.

If you visit a there friend, he or she will almost always invite you to stay and eat. Sharing is an important part of life in Sierra Leone! Everyone washes their hands before they eat, and then they gather in a circle with a huge dish of food placed in the middle.

The oldest males get the choicest food, the best pieces of meat or fish. Then the young males take the next best pieces, and then finally the women and girls get any meat or fish that is left. Sometimes the women and girls wait until the men and boys have had all they want before they eat.

Rice is eaten with the hands by squeezing or rolling it into a ball, dipping it into the sauce, and then popping it into the mouth. When everyone finishes eating, they wash their hands and thank the cook.

When you are eating, you usually don't talk. Talking shows a lack of respect for the food. It is rude to lean on your left hand while you are eating. People usually drink water only after a meal is over.

Many ingredients go into sauces or stews to go with rice. The most popular sauces are made of greens. Other common ingredients include palm oil, onions, tomatoes, yams, and red peppers. Sometimes peanut oil or coconut oil are used. Sources of protein that go into the sauces include peanuts and beans, as well as fish, chicken, goat meat, or pork. Seafood, such as oysters, lobster, and crab, may also be used. Most of the calories, however, come from rice, which is eaten in large quantities.

Fruits include oranges, bananas, papayas, lemons, avocados, watermelon, mangoes, and pineapples. Fruit is usually eaten as a snack. Plantains (cooking bananas) are sometimes sliced and fried as chips for a snack. Tea and coffee are drunk in some parts of the country for breakfast. Coke and beer are popular with people who can afford them.

PATTERNS OF SPEECH

A language is more than the sum of its words, its grammar, and the expressive quality of its melody.

Language =Words+ Grammar + Melody +   "?"

Every cultural group has unique patterns of speech — patterns for doing things like giving and responding to compliments, saying no, and forming business relationships. And even the most elementary of speech acts — the greeting — is more complex than you might think!

THE U.S.A

Many visitors to the United States are perplexed every time an American flashes one of those famous smiles, looks you straight in the eye, exclaims "How are you?" —and then disappears without waiting to hear a word. These visitors must feel like Alice in Wonderland, trying to communicate with the White Rabbit. That's because they are taking the question "How are you?" literally, as a request for informa­tion about ones health and well-being. "How are you?" (when said in passing or as part of an everyday greeting) may be a question according to the rules of grammar, but in practice it is not a question at all! It is a friendly and polite greeting. No one expects to give or hear a long answer. A one or two word answer will do. In fact, it's considered rude to tell a long story.

When Americans are not simply greeting you and truly want to know how you are, they may put a small em­phasis on the word "are." How ARE you? Or, to make the message absolutely clear, they might say "How ARE you, REALLY?" Then you can tell a very long story indeed.

MOROCCO

 In Moroccan Arabic, people greet each other with the words "Salaam Oo-allay-kum." Ibis greeting means "Peace be with you." The response is "Oo-allay-kum salaam" — "And with you peace." But the greeting does not end there! Greetings in Morocco may continue for many minutes - sometimes as long as half an hour — as people ask about each other's health, faith in Allah, families, work, etc.

Moroccans shake hands when greeting, touching the heart immediately after the handshake to show that the greeting is sincere. Sometimes instead of touching the heart, they will kiss their own hand after the handshake as a sign of particular esteem or affection. In the case of family members or close friends, women greeting women and men greeting men will kiss each other's cheeks back and forth a few times. In the north, it's right cheek-left cheek-left cheek. In other parts of the country, it could be right-left-right, or right-left only. How many times you kiss cheeks also depends on how much you like the person, or how long it's been since you've seen them. The longer it's been, the more kisses are exchanged.