There are lots of ways to greet: some people kiss with their lips or on the cheek or back of the hand, others bow their foreheads and touch the feet of the other person. Yet still, in other cultures there is a combination of kissing and hugging and in some places kneeling with both or one feet is the way to do it. However, one of the most unusual way (probably because we are not familiar with it) is to press your nose against the other person’s! This is the norm in New Zealand among the Maori people. So when you happen to go there, tuck your hand in your pocket and stick out your nose!

The nose is a significant part of our face and life on the whole! It may decide who falls in love with you because it apparently plays a central role in determining your ‘beauty’ or ‘handsomeness’! But this depends on where you come from. So be very encouraged, if your nose does not meet the acceptable ‘nose standards’ in your current location, you might be the beauty queen elsewhere with the same nose shape!

Among various unique attributes of the nose is its unique scent print! Your ability to identify a smell is exclusive to only you!  How special is that! That implies that you and I can take in the smell information of the same flower but we interpret it differently and give it contrasting names. Meaning that the creators of perfumes or scents must be extremely ingenious to come up with a smell that attracts millions of people to buy it.

Is there any wonder then that we appreciate various perfumes or colognes or even more basic, different body odors?  What you may consider repulsive may be the reason why another person is attracted to the other!

If you think I am making it up, ask any newborn baby. It can only tell that its mother is there by smelling her milky, warm scent! If you always wondered how babies quickly quieted down when their mothers held them, you just got your answer. Thank me later.

It is also through the nose that we are able to keep safe from harmful things such as toxic food or poisonous gases. The rule is; if you cannot smell it, don’t eat it! Simple.  It is therefore crucial to keep your sense of smell intact as you may need a bell to aid you to smell or identity hurtful things.  A bell or an app for smell!

Lois Nakibuuka is an educator and counsellor

lnakibuuka@yahoo.com