were they hispanic? many hispanic women i've meet preferr you put both arms on their shoulder, and give a kiss to each cheek.
I think that's the point. You aren't really supposed to actually kiss a woman's hand at all. Your mouth is not supposed to make contact with her hand. The polite way to do it is bow to her hand and "act" like you are kissing it. And if you feel the need to kiss something, kiss your own hand when it is covering hers.
Yeah, I've been left hanging a lot. Then I decided maybe that means they want the full, embrace hug. It's weird how since I started exploring that theory, they very same woman are extended their hands to shake now. It's like they are completely random and change their minds all the time. I can't figure them out.
We all know women are wishy-washy (yes, even me sometimes). But I think regardless of what they want, if someone has ALREADY stuck their hand out, it's INCREDIBLY rude to leave them hanging, regardless of age, gender, whatever. And if you have an exception to this, you need to clearly state your case, like "I'm Muslim...." or "my hand is dirty..."
ever shake the hand of woman you just met and as you go to pull your hand away she is still holding onto your index finger as your hands slides away? What the heck does that mean?
If they were Muslim women then that may be a reason why, although it's not always true, just depends on the person.
Hand-shaking is the least of my worries. When I'm in New York meeting my girlfriend's old, uh, girl-friends, most of them go in for the hug and give me the cheek to kiss. Being a Texas boy, I ain't used to such familiarity upon MEETING these ladies. I don't want to seem prude or unfriendly, but I don't like the automatic cheek kiss. Kissin' cheeks is for Grandma, who's with me? I'm not a fan of the pleased-to-meet-you hug to begin with, but the stranger's-cheek kiss is reeeeally a bit much, I think. It actually took me a while to figure out why these people were shoving their faces into mine.
Were these one of the girls? If so, watch out indeed! They will throw you in the streets if you're not paying attention...
I'm in new home sales, and this is my exact experience no woman has had a problem shaking hands, except for one Muslim lady...she was with her husband though and he explained that she doesn't shake hands with guys, but they were both very polite about it