La Bise

This happened earlier this week at McDonald's.  I'll translate.

Gaius (to me):  "He took my hat (actually a happy meal box) and held it in the air and ran away from me.  I took it back and hit him in the face with it."

Boy and his mother approach.  I can see him gesticulating to his mother that Gaius hit him in the face.  "C'est lui!"  ("It's him!")

Boy:  (in French) "He hit me in the face with that box!"

Boy's mother:  "What?!"  (judgmental look)

Me:  (in French) "Your son took my son's box and ran away with it.  My son grabbed the box back and hit him with it.  Gaius, say you're sorry."

Boy's mother (to her son):  "Dis pardon." (Say you're sorry.)

Boy: "Pardon."

Gaius:  "Sorry.  Pardon."

Boy's mother:  "Bise lui!" (KISS HIM!)

Gaius: Recoils, thinking, "WTH?"

Me:  "Gaius, he's going to kiss you...let him kiss you.  Now, kiss him...on the cheek!"

Who knew?  In France, after kids battle it out on the playground, they say they are sorry and then kiss each other on the cheek!  That's going a bit overboard if you ask me.


La Bise.  The kiss.  I can now say that I have some friends who kiss me on both cheeks when they greet me.


FRIENDS WHO BISE
John Hayes (he's American so he goes with the flow.)
Gilles Fortin
Jens Rekling (he's Danish, but goes along with it anyway.)
Jean Quintard (my landlord)
Mylene Quintard (my landlady)
Francoise Nguyen (my next door neighbor)
Janine Desalles (my across the street neighbor)
Simone Bianco (my Italian friend in Williamsburg)
Nanza Bianco (my other Italian friend in Williamsburg)


I'm working hard to add Christopher to that list.  He is willing, but it takes some getting used to.  Gaius is really good at it.

la bise

The way I do it is I put my cheek next to yours and make a quiet kissing sound to the air, and then repeat on the other side.  Some people do three kisses, one side, other side, and back again.  I actually read about this style of bise on the Internet.  Not that I needed to look it up.  Just out of general curiosity, you know.   I had to make sure that the triple whammy style was authorized.  As it turns out, my new friend Magda tells me that the triple whammy kiss is the norm in Poland.  :)

BTW, some of you might have learned in school that "baiser" means "to kiss".  Technically, yes, but in modern slang, it means something entirely different.  Something that begins with an F***.  So, be careful how you express yourself in France!

Anyway, if you want to get added to the list of FRIENDS WHO BISE, let me know!  This is one custom I would like to bring back home with me!

Gaius didn't get the memo to pucker up.

à bientôt!