Eye Contact

Thanks to small town manners and good 4-H training, I am highly skilled at eye contact. I greet people with eye contact, negotiate with eye contact and acknowledge with eye contact. However, I have been warned about my eye contact here.

It has been explained that eye contact means something quite different here. If a man were to yell at me or hit on me and I were to turn and make eye contact and ask him to stop or yell back at him or even simply dismiss him, my eyes would speak much louder than my words and they would say “I looked at you. You have succeeded at getting my attention. I am yours forever. Do what you will.”

This is a struggle for me. I have discovered that I love making eye contact. It humanizes everyone. It makes me feel that I have shown I value others around me by looking them in the eye. But that is my culture. I must learn this new culture. I must learn to bow my head and look away.

Yikes! My parents did not raise that girl. I have some learning to do.