Who knew a high five could mean so much?

I talked to Ryan (the intern that just left a few weeks ago) for a few minutes today, and when I asked him how life back in the States was, he said, “I never know when I’m being funny or not”. That really made me laugh, ‘cause I can totally picture the same thing happening when I get back—one of the things I think I’ll most sincerely miss when I leave here, in terms of just day-to-day personal interaction bits o’ culture, is the way people respond to jokes here. When you make a funny joke, people not only laugh, but they put out their hand for you to slap, high-five-style (though usually down low, so it’d be more of a low-five). I gotta say, funny jokes are a lot more satisfying when followed by some real from-the-gut-laughing and a high-five than they are when followed by the polite smiling and eyebrow-raising we Americans seem to be more fond of. After getting used to big reactions like that, I could easily see myself wondering if people got it if all my jokes brought was the American eyebrow raise. Don't worry Mr. Ryan, I’m gonna try to bring the hand-slap over. We'll start the biggest fad since tight-rolled pants.