Is it normal for me to be feeling so sore two days after jogging a total of 7.5 minutes? Granted, I skipped the whole stretching part and apparently that helps, but if this is how I feel after 7.5 minutes…
Also, is it normal for a guy you’re meeting for the first time to hug you before your first date? Not at the end of the date…I’m talking right when you’re meeting for the first time. I’ve had a couple of guys do this and I’m not a fan. But maybe that’s just my “foreigness” coming through and hugging is the new handshake? Because my family is Colombian, I grew up with the air kiss which, strangely enough, seems less personal to me than a hug because there’s no eye contact and very little actual physical contact going on. But when you think about it, the air kiss is really weird. It basically consists of briefly grazing cheeks and kissing the air, sometimes with people you’ve just met. But I can handle the air kiss. I am an expert, experienced air-kisser. salutary hugs? They still feel a little weird, especially if I don’t know the person. Just a little too…overly familiar, maybe? Because I was living abroad throughout most of my early to mid-twenties, I missed out on the American dating scene and did not realize how big into hugging Americans are until I started dating about a month ago. I don’t remember Colombians and Panamanians doing much in the way of hugging so it must be an American thing. But is this a new thing or have Americans always been hardcore huggers?
So is this normal??? Or have I just been going out with a particularly and unusually huggy subset of guys? I asked a few friends their thoughts and although some thought it was a little strange most didn’t seem too weirded out by it. So ladies, is this something I’m just going to have to learn to live with if I continue going on first dates?
Categories: Colombia, Colombian culture, D.C Culture, D.C Dating Scene, Observations
My (Former) Nomad Life 
If you haven’t run for a while, it is normal. It’ll get better as you practice, you just need to get your muscles used to running. AND never forget to stretch! 🙂
Although hugging is definitely an American thing ( I grew up in France and never hugged my friends and family), I don’t think it is “normal” to hug a stranger.
He might have read your online profile way too many times and started feeling a deep virtual connection with you! Creepy?
Hopefully the pain decreases! It’s been several guys…thought maybe I was out of the loop and hugging was the new way to say hi and maybe I was just cold-hearted. But glad to see I’m not the only one who finds it strange!