Im a Chinese&I'll live with a French family for1month.Wot table manner&other daily things to pay attention to?

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tianjingabi

You are right. Burping would be considered very rude, as would spitting and clearing your throat very loudly. (I live in China and this is the thing I find the hardest to tolerate - the noise the people here make just before they spit. The spitting is very, very disgusting too, and very unhealthy, but it's the noise that bothers me the most.) This means at the table or anywhere else. Spitting is always rude, no matter where you are.

Making any sort of noise with your mouth when you eat is considered distasteful. This means you should not make a sucking sound when you eat soup. It also means you should chew food with your mouth closed and not open it again until you have swallowed.

Removing food from your mouth is very rude. If you really have to do it, try to do it as discretely as possible.

I can't think of any more specifics. The family should not mind if you eat with chopsticks, but they may not have any to give you. Also, they probably won't care if you don't know which fork to use, etc. I'm sure they are used to having visitors from other countries and are open to different ways of doing things.

Good luck. Have fun. Good for you for taking this excellent opportunity.

P.S. You might want to bring a little gift. Those placemat and chopstick sets that are sold in every tourist shop in China might be a good idea. Or a bottle of Baijiu. They probably won't like it, but they might like to try it. And while you are there, you might offer to fix the family an authentic Chinese meal. But choose something pretty simple. The truly authentic Chinese meals I find here are not to the taste of most Westerners. Something like Gung Bao chicken would probably go over well, but don't use too much oil and no monosodium glutemate.

jonnygaijin

Do NOT eat their cat

jmintecu

Using utensils (I don't know if chopsticks/fork/knives are prevalent considering they might accomodate this) sit down & eat. If they give you a napkin, make sure you put it in your lap or leave it on the side. For your first meal make sure to tell them all the cultural things on how you might eat. Then they can explain to you (without being disgusted) what the diff's are in France. No belching, just eating with no loud slurps or sudden body noises, just eat & talk.

worldglobetrottergirl

Meals in France can be hours-long events. The French savor their food and don't gulp it down. In restaurants in France, they're not trying to hurry you up to make room for more people as they sometimes do in the States. There are usually several courses...appetizer, main course, cheese, dessert, coffee.

That being said, no belching or any other forms of passing gas at the table. I've noticed that the French don't put their utensils down unless getting a drink. They hold their knife and fork the entire time, using the knife to push food on the fork if need be. It sounds kind of silly now that I'm trying to explain it...but do you know what I mean?

If all else fails, follow what your host is doing. Mimic their dining behaviors.

blue_princess90

1. Don't eat with your mouth open.
2.Never burp after a meal or whenever don't do it . It's gross.
3.Always put your napking on your lap.
4.Don't put your elbows on the table.
5.Pick up after your done and try to help around the kitchen.
6.Eat the food even if i looks weird.
7.Don't lick your fingers
8.Don't talk with your mouth open.
I hope this helps alot...those are the things my parents always make me do even if im at my own house.

nolike_gohome

never burp fart or eat with an open mouth
never talk when u have food in your mouth
avoid eating or touching the food with your hands.
do not put food from your plate in other ppls plates.
never dig you nose at the table.
chew silently .
and thank the host ater the meal. you will be ok.

love2travel

If you study this page, you should be able to survive without making a fool of yourself. ;-)

Have a great time!

Erika M

Practice eating with a fork in the left hand and a knife in the right. Watch your hosts carefully for the technique. You'll find that Europeans in general hold their forks upside down and push food onto the back of them with their knives. This is a hard technique to learn to do neatly, but Europeans seem to find it essential at the table.

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