The Kate Polsky guide to receiving complements:

Hello, and welcome to the PinkPop edition of the patented Kate Polsky guide to receiving complements.
Receiving complements in a manner that is both gracious and sincere is a skill that has always seemed to escape me, especially in a flirting context. This is not to say I don't appreciate complements, I just tend to... Fail.
Some examples from previous editions of the guide include:
The return- "I like your shoes" "I like YOUR shoes/shirt/pants/face" Even if it's true, it comes off sounding forced. If the other party is also a returner, this could also lead to an endless loop.
The confusion- "you have very pretty eyes" "haha...wait, seriously? They're brown..." This one kind of speaks for itself... :-/
The silent attempt at gratitude- "wow! That thing you did was awesome" "...:-)" **crickets** A picture may be worth 1000 words, but when words escape you, sometimes a visual cue can be worth 1000 dubloons, redeemable at thatwasawkward.com/yeahyou
Which brings me to tonight's installment :
The "did I just say that?"-
Your campsite at the weekend music festival you're attending, in a country in which you don't speak the language, has a dj'd dancehall. You decide to go. It is hot as satan's balls in there, but the dj is great, so you begin dancing up a storm. You're a literal hot mess, but at this point you're pulling a Billy Idol and dancing with yourself so you are certain it doesn't matter. At this moment, an attractive Dutchman approaches you and puts his arm around you. He introduces himself in Dutch, which you don't speak, and you introduce yourself in english, which he *does* speak. He turns you toward him and says "You are beautiful. You shine like the sun." and you respond, very matter-of-factly, "Shine? That's probably just from the sweat..." The man is amused, but you are so dumbfounded by what just came out of your mouth that you just dance away, blog about it, and hope you don't cross paths tomorrow...Whatever, you can't pronounce his name anyway...