our greeting ritual is kinda weird / cute.

his office is in a renovated house. the front door opens up into a reception area along on the left and feeds into a hallway along the right where the offices are. he times things so when i open the front door he is standing right by the hallway about a meter and a half in front of me. i wondered how on earth he timed that for a while. wondered if he just stood there waiting... but he looked expectant... then i realised that he must watch out for me out of his office window. makes it kinda hard to approach the house now. i kind of imagine him watching me approaching. feel very self conscious.

i guess that instead of looking him in the eyes and smiling (which is kinda the culturally accepted greeting) i kind of smile and lower my head and avert my eyes / gaze. not sure where i picked that up from... maybe from my indian housemates back home... actually, i think that i did pick it up from people from other cultures and that style of greeting just seemed more comfortable / appropriate to me for doctor / patient kind of settings. maybe because i had a lot of eastern doctors over the years... anyway... instead of contronting me about the lack of eye contact... he has started bowing his head with a smile in greeting and he gestures me down to the office at the same time with his hand.

it is kinda cute. he is a bit of an aussie bloke, i guess. i bit geeky, to be sure, but a bit of an aussie bloke. i just really love it that he does that for me.

:-)