Saludos and greetings in Ecuador

There are lots of things that are different about Ecaudorian/Latin American culture that I'm getting used to and really like. For instance, I used to be fairly uncomfortable with the beso greeting- women kiss men and women on the cheek as part of introductions, when they meet up with old and new friends, and when they leave. (BTW, men shake hands or do a hearty back slap with other men and kiss women on the cheek.) I used to be perpetually confused about this- if the other person doesn't initiate the beso, should I go for it anyway? If it's a party and there are 30 people there, do I have to go around beso-ing everyone? (My learned answer to both of these questions is, YES.) Now I really like the beso because it's a nice way of acknowledging people when you see them, and it really is fairly socially "institutionalized", so if people don't lean in for the beso right away I assume they think I might not know what to do/feel awkward, so I usually just go for it myself. At parties, it's a great way to briefly learn everyone's names (the introductory beso is accompanied with both parties stating their names) and then later, you've already briefly met so it's easier to go up to new people and start talking. It's also a good way of letting people know you're leaving (although the farewell beso seems less mandatory- with big groups, it's common to do a wave and/or blow a kiss). Basically, the beso is a nice way of meeting and acknowledging people instead of awkward American traditions- young people don't usually shake hands, and a hug right away seems a bit weird. It should be mentioned that the beso rules apply in most social situations, but not in all academic situations. I usually plant a beso on the person that I sit next to in class (usually someone I know already), and then if I'm talking to people during breaks or after class there's some besos involved as well, but it's not common for people to go around kissing everyone as they arrive to class.

What IS common when students arrive to class (and this is a different cultural thing that I'm less fond of), is a greeting. In the morning, it's a buenos días, in the afternoon/evening it's a buenas tardes (buenas tardes translates to good afternoon, which is used much later than it is in English- for ex. it's not uncommon for people to be buenas tardes-ing until 7 or 8pm, something that I don't think happens much in English- another interesting cultural difference!), and when leaving class or entering a late class, it's a buenas noches. This is nice when people enter in a timely manner to class. But it's also not uncommon for students to arrive significantly late to class (and to answer their phones during class- what?! but that's another post), and to enter with a nice, loud buenas tardes, interrupting everything! The professor can be presenting, students can be presenting, the class can be having a discussion, no matter- the door opens, and the student- instead of slinking in quietly to a back seat- greets everyone in a nice, loud voice.

Now, don't get me wrong- the point is that this isn't rude here. In fact, it's common for people to interrupt conversations and classes, etc. to present themselves and greet everyone. I guess in social terms, it's ruder for people to not say hello and to skip the greetings than it is for them to interrupt something because they came late. Interesting, yes? Yes.