I'm frequently offered a drink when I make a home visit with work and I always politely decline - apart from anything else I don't like to ask if I can then use their loo. Today I wasn't even asked, someone came to the room specially, opened a new bottle of something very pink and very fizzy (pop, not alcohol), poured a glass and thrust it towards me. When I said no thanks, there was much confusion, and I could see it definitely wasn't the done thing to refuse. I tried to see if mum would have it instead, but was firmly told it was for me. (The entire visit was conducted through google translate).
On arriving home, my daughter greeted me with a homemade coctail based around crushed melon but again, fizzy. I am not doing so well with my healthy eating plan. And yet it seemed better to be polite. I'll just try and stick to the water when we're out tonight and hope that doesn't look rude at the party.
I was explaining to a Turkish friend yesterday that British people always expect everyone to make their own choice about what to drink. I think most of the people in the world would find that strange. You could write a paper on all the cultural attitudes that underpin those different expectations. I like the idea of the host choosing, but I'm not so keen on the practice! Tim's better at it, he even once drank a huge glass of sour milk (in Rwanda) on my behalf, as well as his own.
ReplyDeleteIt would be an interesting paper to read, Jo! It's probably the (individualistic) culture in which I have been raised, but I'm definitely of the view that we each know what is best for us/what we want to put in our own bodies. It must be hard for people with allergies to try and get things right for themselves without offending their hosts. I can imagine Tim downing both glasses!!
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