MeAndroo
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- Ethnic group
- Chinese/Japanese American
While I've seen numerous threads detailing Japanese table manners, I haven't seen one regarding the rest of the world and how those who travel or immigrate have had to adjust their style.
This thread was inspired by a rather disheartening story regarding the treatment of a Filipino boy in a Canadian school (link). Basically, the kid was singled out repeatedly for using a fork to push food onto a spoon, which apparently goes against the Canadian style of using a single utensil at a time. Pretty ridiculous, but even moreso was the principal's statement: ""If your son eats like a pig he has to go to another table because this is the way we do it and how we’re going to do it every time."
Casual American table manners are pretty easy to follow. Eat quietly, chew with your mouth closed, cut large portions into bite-sized ones, etc. Some of the more specific rules, like breaking off small portions of rolls to butter individually instead of buttering the whole thing and just biting into it, are easily overlooked by all but the most astute.
How does your cultural upbringing affect table manners? Accounting for personal differences, what major aspects of eating behavior are generally agreed upon? I know in some parts of the world, a certain hand is not used because that hand typically performs other specific duties (pun not intended). Finally, do you believe people have a responsibility to adjust their eating style to the country where they reside, to "do as the Romans do" so to speak?
This thread was inspired by a rather disheartening story regarding the treatment of a Filipino boy in a Canadian school (link). Basically, the kid was singled out repeatedly for using a fork to push food onto a spoon, which apparently goes against the Canadian style of using a single utensil at a time. Pretty ridiculous, but even moreso was the principal's statement: ""If your son eats like a pig he has to go to another table because this is the way we do it and how we’re going to do it every time."
Casual American table manners are pretty easy to follow. Eat quietly, chew with your mouth closed, cut large portions into bite-sized ones, etc. Some of the more specific rules, like breaking off small portions of rolls to butter individually instead of buttering the whole thing and just biting into it, are easily overlooked by all but the most astute.
How does your cultural upbringing affect table manners? Accounting for personal differences, what major aspects of eating behavior are generally agreed upon? I know in some parts of the world, a certain hand is not used because that hand typically performs other specific duties (pun not intended). Finally, do you believe people have a responsibility to adjust their eating style to the country where they reside, to "do as the Romans do" so to speak?