When you are invited to someone's house

Neighbors in your new country will want to make friends with you! Here are some things to know if you are invited to someone's house for a meal. 

1)  If you are invited to share a meal with friends, it is good to bring a very small gift with you. You can bring homemade cookies, a small box of candies, or maybe a loaf of bread. It should not be a big gift or an expensive gift.

2)  Usually, when you go inside someone's house, you do not need to take off your shoes. You only need to wipe your feet on the "welcome mat" before going inside. The way to know if you should take off your shoes is to look and see if there are other shoes by the door. If there are shoes by the door, then take your shoes off.  If there are not shoes by the door, then leave your shoes on.


3)  Before Covid, most cultures expressed "welcome" by shaking hands. However, Americans often hugged their guests hello. Because of Covid, this probably will not happen now. People now "bump" their fist gently against another person's fist. But you should be aware of the American tradition to hug friends. It is just a way of showing sincere friendship. When people from different cultures make friends, everyone must learn patience and not judge too quickly what they do not understand.

4)  Many people in America have cats and dogs. They live in the house as loved members of the family! For many cultures, dogs are seen as bad and dirty. In other cultures, dogs are aggresive and kept outside to guard a house. But you will find most house dogs to be very friendly. If your friends' dog frightens you, you can say to your friends, "Forgive us, but in our culture we are not used to dogs in the house. We are a little afraid of them. Could you please put your dog in another room? Thank you for your understanding."

5)  If your friends serve food or drink that your religion forbids you to have, you do not have to eat or drink anything that conflicts with your religion!  You can gently say, "Thank you so much for your kindness, but I am very sorry, our religion forbids us to eat this, or drink this. Thank you for your understanding."

 

6) People in the West use forks, spoons and knives to eat. The only things eaten with your fingers are dry things like bread, crackers and cheese, or cookies. Each person is given a napkin to wipe your mouth while you are eating.

Each person is given their own plate of food. Or a big bowl of food will be passed to you with a spoon in it for you to take food from the bowl and put it on your plate. Most all foods are eaten with a fork. A knife is used only to cut large pieces of food into smaller pieces.  Rice, meat, chicken, fish are not eaten with your fingers.


 

  







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