The Hug

In Sweden we often talk about personal space and that we have this comfort zone made up of a private bubble. Still, there exists a lot of physical contact between people when communicating, that not exist in for example Laos. When introducing ourself we shake hands. The Laotians however put their palms together and bow/nod. No touching. This is the normal ritual for saying hello as well, or Sabaidee as they say. In Sweden we have different degree of physical contact when greeting each other, all depending on the people’s relationship. Now of course, I am only talking of my own generation.

When you run into someone in the city by accident or meet someone at a party, someone who’s only an acquaintance and not in the category of “Friend” you do the awkward “lets not touch each other too much”-hug. The hug when you only use your arms. Then there is the “real friend hug”, an actual hug that is not only using limbs as communication, but also expresses some emotion and warmth. We then have the baby hug. Example being me hugging my smaller siblings, mostly my soon 4 year old brother but also my 8-year old sister and my kinda new-born baby brother. I hug and kiss and snuggle them like teddybears even if they want to or not. And I do it a lot. Lastly we have the love-hug. Not only the hug between two lovers, but between two people who deeply cares about each other, being a parent and a child or two very close friends. The hug that lasts a little longer than normal, and is much more charged with emotion than any of the other hugs.

Well, let me tell you. Since I arrived more than two weeks ago the only hug I had was the “family-I haven’t seen you in a while-hug” which is somewhere in the middle-to-top of the hug-emotion-scale I just made up. Of the things I miss since I left home, I truly miss the physical contact Swedes have when communicating (and I’m not talking about sex now you dirty-minded bastards). Just shaking hands. Some personal contact that tells me we’re human beings and not robots or plague-infected corpses. This means I am saying hello to every other kid I see, often stopping to talk to them. I am also on the verge to adopting one of the adorable kittens that are running around town, being so skinny my heart breaks every time I see one.

Do not be lead to believe that I’m not having a good time in Luang Prabang. I really love it here and the Laotian people are just so kind and are genuinely interested in talking to you. I will tomorrow go and borrow the boy who lives on our street so I can hug him. I’ll bribe him with strawberry yogurt.