Kissing, Krispies, Kool-aid,

(If you are related to me, maybe you don't want to read this.)

I think some people come from kissy families, some do not. I come from a kissy family; I'm sure this was largely due to my mom's Chilean-ness. (Some of my clearest memories of visiting Chile are of being kissed by every old woman I saw.) I love that in Chilean culture, you kiss strangers upon being introduced. So friendly! (Maybe also other Spanish cultures, not sure.)

In San Antonio, it is quite common for friends to greet each other with a kiss. I got used to this. In China, I had kissing friends and non-kissing friends. When the kissing friends met up in public, I wonder if we shocked the Chinese around us, who don't hug or touch upon greeting, let alone kiss. I noticed my kissing friends in China were mostly Italian or of Italian heritage, or from the East Coast. Are you a kisser? My non-kissing friends are REALLY non-kissing. Funny how that happens.

When I was younger, I thought kissing was either for relatives or romance: two very different types of kissing! And nothing inbetween. Now I choose to believe in a full range of kissing: platonic, affectionate, romantic, shrug-why-not?, friendly, exploratory, nervous, curiosity, etc. In China, I kissed someone because his lips were bigger than mine and I wanted to know what that was like. (My own lips are kinda big; I'm used to them now, I hardly ever suction cup myself to anything anymore, haha.)

I kissed another volunteer the first and last hours I met him and nothing in-between. (Book-end kissing?) I kissed someone because he kept kissing me. Bars are kissing black holes for me; I seem to lose all sense of who I should and should not be kissing in a bar. I don't beat myself up about this.

I'm glad I was born the type of mammal that kisses. It seems life would be pretty empty without kissing, or the promise of kissing. (Sometimes the promise is the fun part, no?)

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I've been thinking a lot lately about my grandparents.  I realized the other day: I'd never been in my grandparents house when there weren't Rice Krispies in the cereal drawer. Other cereals come and go, but Rice Krispies are forever. My little sister fought childhood leukemia for five years and during that time we all ate pretty healthy food, because she did. Cold cereal was a real treat! I remember going to grandma's and eating Rice Krispies covered in sugar and I was in heaven. This is still a favorite, albeit very infrequent, treat for me.

Rice Krispies are one of the few cereals you could get reliably in my part of China (imported from Taiwan). R. made us Rice Krispie treats a few times. I had to remind myself to chew. R. made our life delightful! She is extremely resourceful and talented. Rice Krispie treats in China was a real feat.

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One of my college roommates used to say, "I like my Kool-Aid like I like my men, strong and sweet." It still makes me smile when I drink Kool-Aid. I like my drinks very watered down, though; what does this say about me? But I had a dream the other night I went out with Wolverine (embarrassing but true). So I guess: I like my cheese like I like my men: sharp but capable of melting under the right circumstances.

Thanks, I'll be here all week!