In some countries people eat things which tourists
sometimes find disgusting. Eating raw herring by the
tail, for instance. Have a look at
the video clip.
Intercultural incidents
Invitation
A Swedish colleague told me of her first visit to
a private home in France. The invitation was for
8 p.m. She thought that the invitation included dinner
because she had got the impression that French people
normally had dinner at 8-10 p.m. At that time she
was a student and did not have very much money so
she decided not to eat anything before going out.
As she got into her friend’s house she was
given a drink and thought that this was a nice aperitif.
However, the drinks were not followed by food but
by more drinks so that at the end she was feeling
quite dizzy with hunger.
(Reported by a Swedish woman in France)
Now listen to the spoken text about people in a restaurant
waiting for everyone to finish.
In the video clip below, a Bulgarian
man, Ivan Shotlekov, talks about hospitality in Bulgaria.
Have a look...
Transcription:
Bulgarians are well-known for their hospitality.
They would always be more than happy to share with
you their time and homes. Inviting people in Bulgaria
usually takes place in the form of family gatherings;
the occasions are usually birthdays, name days, and
when we invite in-laws for example. In the recent
years there is a combination of inviting people to
your home and celebrating out of the home. Some other
occasions are festive occasions of various sorts:
this is when the host has an occasion to celebrate
such as matriculation* for example or a PhD thesis,
etc. Preparation usually involves preparing the food
and drinks and arranging everything on the part of the host. Usually
the guests bring a nice bunch of flowers for the wife, a bottle of
good wine for the husband and a theme-related present for the person
who is celebrating. The initiative of invitation usually belongs to
the host - most often this is the case. However, sometimes the guests
could also take the initiative and suggest that they pay a visit. The
trends are that children today celebrate their birthdays in special
centers – in
special amusement centers, or there is a combination:
they celebrate with their friends in the .... usually
they celebrate with their friends, let’s say at noon, and with
relatives in the evening. Inviting people is very
important for Bulgarian traditions. Of course traditions
are changing little by little because today’s
kids would send out nicely prepared invitations for
their birthdays, etc.
* Matriculation is the entrance exam
for university
