thegurgi, really? ...
I'm thinking; I remember in my high school it was in fashion to give each other massages
Girls, boys, whoever. So sometimes, yeah, I'd say you're right. But I know a lot of people I just never get very close to, physically; we're always sitting across a table, or walking next to each other, or talking across a distance of a foot or so, or something ... not touching at all. I dunno, it's not everyone I know, just some of them, all Americans
Isn't there a theory about 'personal space' somewhere - Americans need a lot of room to feel comfortable, Eastern Europeans need less, and Israelis want to be standing so close they can smell your breath? I guess a lot of these friends are people much older than me, and that might have something to do with it, but I think it's for people my age as well ...
I remember walking arm-and-arm with one Russian friend and a girl I knew looking at us in shock and a sort of revulsion. Although I see some girls, American girls, doing the same thing and it being no big deal at all. Maybe it's a question of individuals; this girl is very conservative, and proper, and not very adventurous or exciting; we were good acquaintances for a while but I don't think I've ever touched her, or she me, either. It's kind of funny to think about it that way
For Americans I think physical intimacy between friends is not necessarily a given; there are a lot of people not comfortable with it - like that girl I mentioned, for one - and I think a lot of people I know would hesitate before touching someone even on the shoulder unless they knew them pretty well. Or if there's a big age difference: you might shake their hand, but other than that, nothing ... unless it was something out of the ordinary, like they were hurt. And I think in America it's possible to have a good friend and never physically touch at all; I mean, a lot of times it happens, but sometimes it doesn't.
Then again most of the people I know are either much older than me or foreigners or both, so maybe I don't really know for sure what's normal for Americans and what's not
But I've seen girls - friends - dance with each other at clubs and I doubt that any one of them would kiss a hurt elbow to make it feel better
I'm thinking ... even the best friends I know ... well, they might; it's possible - it'd be somewhat out of the ordinary though.
Anyway the only reason I posted is cause I remembered thinking once that I was such good friends with this one guy, it was crazy we were always so far apart
I think Europeans have a better system