Shaking Hands

So, this year my first cold came two weeks earlier than last year.

A bit of background - I spend my days in schools. First to teach and then to learn. Schools are notorious for being sickness inducing places. So many people! So little hand washing! Such confined quarters! Such horrid air circulation!

I have a suspicion.

In my school, students and teachers shake hands. We shake hands quite often - when I get to a classroom. When the students leave the classroom. I have always found this habit a bit strange - I am not used to shaking hands so much. But if the students want to shake my hand, of course I let them. This is part of our relationship, and in its own way is nice.

However, I am pretty sure that there are many many Germs living on those little student hands. And one of those Germs made its way into my body and is causing a nasty cold.

When I start thinking about where those hands have been, the frequency of supposed hand washing, etc, well, I should not think about this.

P.S.

Thinking about this hand shaking stuff...it is actually quite interesting. Every handshake has a personality. Some are limp wrist-ed, I don´t really mean it hand shakes, some are nice firm confident handshakes, but, shockingly, 1 or 2 having been bone crushing, I am asserting my dominance hand shakes! From my students! My male students! This is not a good sign! Are they doing it on purpose? Is it just an overdone confident handshake? Once I actually had to tug my hand away and yelp because it hurt! Oh, the confusion of what is going on in the brains of adolescent boys. It is a strange and mysterious zone that baffles me every time.