The other day in class, my teacher was talking about the differences between Chinese restaurants and western restaurants. The topic started focusing on how people view ordering. Alvin and I talked about how in most western restaurants, each person usually orders their own dish and everyone just sticks with eating their own dish. The teacher then preceded to explain the differences of community vs. individualism based on the model of western restaurants and Chinese restaurants.
She believes that most westerners, when they order a dish, they think this is his/her dish, and he/she has the option of sharing it with his/her companions. Chinese people, on the other hand, when they order a dish, believe that each dish ordered is the community's, but the companions have a choice whether or not they choose to eat all the dishes presented. The teacher then went on to talk more about how this is reflective on the culture's view of community and individualism.
I found this statement, just based on ordering, to be insightful on my culture I grew up in as well as the culture I where I am now living.
Another little insight from the teacher came during her discussion of taking home leftover food. Usually at a restaurant, if I have leftover food, I take it home. I do this because I don't want to waste food, and then I can also save time by eating leftovers on the following day. The teacher challenged us to think about the cultural implications that taking home food can have on local friends. For example, if someone is hosting your meal, and you take home food, it can look like you are stealing from the host because he/she paid for it. If you are the host, and then you take home food, you look cheap because you are trying to save on money by taking home extra food. Looking cheap is one of the worst offenses that can be made in this culture.
I don't have any conclusions to this cultural insight, except that I still have a lot to learn about this culture. The only thing I know it that there are probably so many things I do that may be rude in this culture, just because I am unaware of the cultural implications. I really enjoy learning about culture, but I am scared for the mistakes I will have to make to learn.
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3 comments:
you are showing others nothing should be wasted and that's a good virtue, don't you think?
There are two different approaches we have to leftover food in restaurants in China when we are traveling and don't have a kitchen to go home to. Lisy was in the habit of mangling the food, so the restaurant would be prevented from re-serving it to a later guest. Then we hit on another idea. We ask for a box to take it away, and give it to the first begger we see on the street.
I learned long ago not to finish off the last bit of a dish if you are a guest at someone's house in China, or if you are being hosted to a meal in a restaurant in CHina. The implication is the host was not generous enough. This varies from culture to culture. When my mom and dad got married, my dad [whose parentcame from Ukraine] studiously left food on the serving plate. My mom [with parents from Sweden] believed this meant she had cooked too much. She pared down the servings to try to reach the right amount, but dad always left a little. Finally, one night, she cooked only one pork chop. Dad was exasperated and asked why she was cooking so little food. Mom started to cry and said, "Because you never finish what I cook." Both being sociologists, they compared cultural notes and realized what was going on and learned how to cope.
Would you please look into the cultural implications of cutting in line as if no one else was waiting. I really would like to understand that...seriously!
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