Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a restaurant, you can be critical of the food; at home, of
course, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything
at all.
Try to finish most of the food on your plate. It is a
compliment to the hosts. The meals in Paris will be much
lighter than those in the country, where your request for
'seconds' will be more appreciated.
It is very tempting to soak up the delicious sauces in France
with your bread. That is all right to do with company you
know well, or if you see the host do it, but use your fork,
not your i ngers, to swirl the bread.
When you have i nished a course, put your silverware
together across the plate, fork up. Leaving silverware
opposing each other on the plate implies you are not
i nished.
Courses will correspond to those in a restaurant. A starter
(soup, a i sh course, or a special salad), the main dish, a
green salad, cheeses, dessert or fruit.
As the cheese board goes around at the end of the meal,
cut yourself a share of the cheeses you want, maintaining
the wedge shape. Take your share of the rind; don't take off
the point. Watch how others cut the cheese, if you aren't
sure.
Peel and slice your fruit with your knife before eating it. (I
eat the peel, usually, with apologies, as my Momma taught
me the skin is the healthiest part.)
An after dinner drink (
digestif
), either a sweet liqueur or a
dry distilled product like Cognac,
eau-de-vie
or
marc
, will
be offered. Now is the time to smoke, if you wish. Ask
your host's permission, if no one else is smoking. Don't
smoke between courses, unless others do.
Write a thank-you note or call the next day to coni rm the
pleasure of the event.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT
As we already know from reading so far, coping with someone
else's culture is stressful, but most essential for a successful
multicultural life, especially if you are doing business. We cannot
make the adjustments painless, but the more you understand
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