Rubbing Noses

Rubbing Noses

Henan Province, China

November 2015

I was walking down the street when this man stopped me.  He wanted to speak to me because I am a foreigner.  In China, this happens to me all of the time.  So he gabbed my hand. I stopped and greeted him.  He held on to my hand and drew me closer to him.  Then he rubbed his left cheek against my right cheek and then repeated with his right check.  No Chinese person has ever done this to me but that's ok, It was all friendly.  Then he stepped closer and rubber noses with me.  This was a little different but still OK.  When he repeated this long, exaggerated greeting again, I thought, "Hey didn't we just do this routine."  But when he stepped back for just a second and then stepped forward for a third time and rubbed my nose.  That's when I told him, "OK, that's enough, now you are just plain creepy."