Table Manners (1) 4/6

How to act when invited to dinner in a foreign country

As a child growing up in America, I was instructed to avoid making noise while eating. I learned that burping, slurping and chewing loudly are all rude. But a trip to Mongolia taught me that American customs are far from universal.

There, slurping expresses appreciation. It felt strange to do the opposite of what I’d been taught. But my friends and I reminded each other to follow the custom of slurping to be polite.

Many travelers have problems with local table manners and may violate customs by accident. Here are some areas to be aware of.

Finger food?
People in Chile and Brazil eat everything with utensils; whereas, Mexicans eat certain foods with their hands. In India, the Middle East and parts of Africa, eating with your right hand is acceptable. But the left hand is considered dirty and not used. In other countries, such as the United States, many foods are eaten with utensils while some are designated as “finger food.” These include fried chicken, French fries and sandwiches to name a few.

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Are French Fries Really French? 薯條的起源
Despite its name the French fry, is not French. But Belgium, as early as the 17th century, people in Belgium were frying small strips of potatoes.

When American soldiers were stationing in Belgium during the world war I, they were introduced to the delicious fried potatoes. Since the official language of the Belgium army was French, American soldiers nicknamed the tasty food French fries.

And the name stuck to this day, Americans are still giving credit to the wrong country.

Not the British though, in the UK they are called chips and adding to the confusion, chips is used in American English to refer to what the British call crisps, which are thin slices of the salty fried potato eaten cold.

Right, I love bowl of potato chips and French fries. Ok, one last point about the French fry, English learners are often confused when they hear American say a small fries, when making a order at a fast food restaurant.

Right, the word fries is plural, shouldn't one order at least twenty French fries instead of just one?

You would think. Actually this is an abbreviated way of saying a small sized fries, just as one can order a large coke or a medium milk shake. One can also order a small fries.


Language Lab
instruct v. [in-字首:進入; struct-字根:建造]
to teach (someone) a subject, skill, etc. — usually + in or on
- His friend instructed him in English.
to give (someone) an order or command
- She instructed us that we were to remain in our seats.

slurp v.
to eat or drink (something) noisily or with a sucking sound
- He always slurps his soup/tea.

utensil n.
a simple and useful device that is used for doing tasks in a person's home and especially in the kitchen
- cooking/kitchen utensils

whereas conjunction
used to make a statement that describes how two people, groups, etc., are different
- Some of these species have flourished, whereas others have struggled.
- He has brown eyes whereas his children have green eyes.

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