As we make friends in Greenland and get to know people more personally, we find not only hearts open to us but also doors. Mingling with Greenlanders while shopping, especially, has been a great opportunity for conversations. In a world where social media dominates lives, Greenlanders are using it in a great way to enable genuine face-to-face connections.

A simple post on a Facebook page is a great invite for anyone who comes across it.

A couple recently invited us to a birthday party for their friend’s fourteen-year-old. Arriving at the celebrant’s home, we met her parents and grandmother. Our friends introduced us to everyone and then explained the concept of kaffemik—a gathering in Greenland for anything from birthday parties to funerals, with everyone invited. Ah, that explained how our friends could invite us to someone else’s home!

Kaffemik is unique from other gatherings in that, back in the day, the houses in Greenland were very small, too small to fit everyone at once. When there was a gathering, and almost the whole village visited, to accommodate everyone, the host would announce when the house would be open for guests, who would come at different times throughout the day. Our friends informed us that, should we notice more people coming in and find there is no more room to accommodate them, we would politely bid farewell to allow the new guests to find a place to sit.

We enjoyed meeting new people at the kaffemik and even the familiar face of Ula, a furniture shop sales attendant whom we had met the previous week and who was very helpful.

We look forward to being part of the kaffemik experience and one day, to also have a kaffemik in our house, where we hope to see our new friends walk through our doors.

• Twitter