How to be a good dinner guest in France

by Martha Edwards on

My dad lived the high life in Europe for a good chunk of his adult life, and as a Commanding Officer for the Royal Canadian Air Forces, he was treated to many fine dinners at many fine establishments. So you can imagine the lectures I got when I put my elbows on the table or, heaven forbid, asked for ketchup for my food. “If you ask for ketchup in Paris, you’d get kicked out of the restaurant,” he’d say as I rolled my eyes.

As painful as it was when I was a surly teenager, I’m kind of glad for the etiquette lessons of my youth because I it gives me the chance to escape being labelled a stereotypically rude North American when travelling. Still, it can’t hurt to brush up on table manners. Here are some tips for being a good dinner guest in France from MSNBC:

  • Don’t arrive exactly on time for a dinner party. Come about 15 minutes to half an hour late
  • Don’t bring wine — it implies that you don’t trust the host’s selection. Bring sweets or flowers — but not chrysanthemums (they signify death) and not yellow ones (they signify an unfaithful husband)
  • Men should wear nice jackets to dinner and women should wear high heels
  • Always keep your hands on the table, but not the elbows.
  • When greeting, women can kiss women and women can kiss men, but two men should never kiss so save yourself the embarrassment of leaning in (cringe!) If you’re in Alsace or Brittany, be prepared for up to three kisses but don’t initiate them yourself.
  • Never pour your own wine at a restaurant. Want water? You’ll have to ask.
  • Eat asparagus with your fingers and use your digits to get shellfish out of the shell, but otherwise use your utensils.
  • Always eat with your fork in the left hand, knife in the right. And hold your fork properly — it’s not a shovel!
  • If it’s a five-course meal, the only course you can refuse is the fourth one (aka, the Cheese course.) If you have dietary restrictions, let them know beforehand because it’s uncouth to refuse anything.
  • Don’t cut your salad — roll it with your fork.

Savvy Traveler: Never Point Your Feet at People

by Iva Skoch on

…that would be in Southeast Asia. According to Schott’s Almanac 2007, here is some elementary etiquette when traveling to that part of the world:

  • Dress modestly, especially when visiting holy sites or important buildings (My take on it: Nope, those shorts with “Juicy” across your butt are not gonna cut it)
  • Remove shoes before entering temples, mosques, pagodas, and private homes (My take on it: This is especially true if you are wearing Crocs; unless you are 3 years old, you should just remove those things at the airport and leave them there)
  • Buddhist monks are not allowed to have close contact with women, so do not stand or sit too near them
  • The head is considered sacred, therefore it is considered very rude to touch another person’s head
  • Feet are considered unclean, so avoid pointing them at any person or religious image (My take on it: I assume he means the bottoms of one’s feet. Otherwise, I am not sure how you avoid pointing your feet at other people, or at least other people’s feet)
  • Left hand is used for personal hygiene, it is impolite to shake hands or eat with it

For those puzzled over what “Southeast Asia” means, here is a list of the countries.

Mile-High Laptop Etiquette

by Catherine Bodry on

First cell phones, now laptops.

When you’re in tight quarters, is it okay to read the spreadsheet of the passenger next to you? What about watching that R-rated movie when there’s children nearby? And what to do about more shocking incidences, like the man hunched over his X-rated flick, or the child who doesn’t use headphones?

As there’s no current rules set for in-flight laptop etiquette, these questions are up for debate.

While manufacturers are making bigger screens, they’re also lengthening battery lives, which means more visibility for a longer time. Furthermore, laptops are becoming more and more affordable, which in turns means more passengers toting them aboard.

As with any flight disruption, flight attendants mediating between laptop abusers and laptop snoopers either move passengers to a different seat or help them come to a mutual agreement.

One solution for those who’d like to keep their financial spreadsheets private but can’t stand a few hours away from their accounts is a filter for their screen. These sell for about $50 to $125 and keep anyone but the person directly in front of the computer from viewing it.

Or, they could try not using their computer for any “business” they might not want anyone else to see.

[via USA Today]

Learn About Cultures’ Cultural Guides

by Willy Volk on

Learn About Cultures produces downloadable books that detail the important cultural “dos and don’ts” you should be aware of before embarking on an international trip. Designed with both the business and leisure traveler in mind, the books — covering 16 of the world’s “most popular” travel destinations — are filled with information ranging from business dress to dining etiquette, from negotiation strategies to gift-giving protocols.

If you’re interested, you can see a sample of the China guide (PDF). Each Culture Guide-To-Go is only $19.95; order three or more at a time, and get a 10% discount.

They also produces a few broader “global guides to etiquette,” which cover entire continents. Interestingly, these books, sold through Amazon, are nearly half the price of the click-n-print PDF versions available for download.

Cross-Cultural Smoking Etiquette

by Iva Skoch on

I witnessed an interesting cafe scene in Prague the other day.

Two local girls are sitting in a packed local cafe, drinking coffee and chain smoking. Two Americans at a table next to theirs start eating and politely ask the girls if they could stop smoking while they eat. The girls are visibly annoyed, but they do stop smoking. For the rest of the lunch hour, they talk about being fed up with foreigners who bring their healthy-living, assertive attitudes and impose them on the locals. Why don’t they stay at their smoke-free homes, they said. The American guys were thinking more in terms of “your freedom ends where my freedom begins.”

Mind you, it is virtually impossible to find a smoke free restaurant in Prague and about one half of the adult population smokes. Unlike the US, smoking is still kind of cool here.

Is it OK for a foreigner to ask a local to stop smoking in a place where smoking is allowed? Hmmm, what’s a health-obsessed, smoke-hating American to do?