Lying awake 30 floors up in a building that had swayed 12 feet during an earthquake didn’t really help my mind relax so I could sleep.
I am just back from Japan where I was a guest of Tourism Ireland on a mission to spread the word about the treasure that is Ireland. Here in this land of saints and scholars we all acknowledge the green, cultural, earthly and aquatic riches we share. Because of these testing times it is imperative that we educate the rest of the world and get them over here to check out this magical part of the Universe.
One of the rituals I learned while in Japan, and indeed really enjoyed, was the exchanging of business cards. I stand facing my new contact, each with our cards deftly held by the tips of thumbs and forefingers.
Our eyes hold the stare. We bow as one.
A moment of silence follows, then ‘Hello, I am Jim Kennedy from Atlantic Sea Kayaking in Ireland. Thank you for your time and I apologise for my lack of Japanese.’
My card leaves my grasp and is taken by my bowing partner. They read it, nay, study it, then acknowledge me and politely thank me for my time.
I then take theirs and follow their welcoming and flattering ways. We then sit down across the table knowing a familiarity has been established in those duelling moments.
In Ireland we exchange business cards with a hump of the shoulders and a meaningless ‘Nice to meet you’ while we file it away in a back pocket..
Never again. I am now doing it the Japanese way. So if you meet me and are in a hurry don’t let me see your business card.
