[Knowing Your Right from Your Left 分清左右手]
Where It's Offensive: India, Morocco, Africa, the Middle East.
禁忌地:印度、非洲、中東
What's Offensive 禁忌:
Many cultures still prefer to eat using traditional methods--their hands. In these cases, food is often offered communally, which is why it's important to wash your hands before eating and observe the right-hand-is-for-eating and the left-hand-is-for-other-duties rule. If you eat with your left hand, expect your fellow diners to be mortified. And when partaking from a communal bowl, stick to a portion that's closest to you. Do not get greedy and plunge your hand into the center。
許多文化依然推崇傳統(tǒng)的進(jìn)食方式——用手吃。在這種情況下,食物往往是眾人一起分享的,因此飯前洗手很重要,而且要遵守用右手吃東西的習(xí)俗(左手往往有其他用途)。如果你用左手吃,同伴會(huì)感覺(jué)蒙受羞辱。當(dāng)大家一起從公共的碗里取食時(shí),就吃離你最近的那部分吧,不要貪婪地把手伸向飯碗中央。
What You Should Do Instead 對(duì)策:
Left-handed? Attempt to be ambidextrous--even children who are left-handed in these cultures are taught to eat with their right hand--or at least explain yourself to your fellow diners before plunging in。
你是左撇子嗎?還是努力讓自己的雙手都靈巧吧——在這些文化里,即使是左撇子的孩子也被教會(huì)用右手吃飯——或者至少吃飯前向同伴解釋一下。
Once you are on the ground of a different country, remain highly sensitive to native behavior. Never be completely surprised by anything; try to take it in stride, and don't feel offended if something seems offensive--like queue jumping. After all, this is a global village, and we are all very different。
一旦你踏上異國(guó)的土地,就要對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)厝说囊慌e一動(dòng)高度敏感。千萬(wàn)不要大驚小怪,盡量使自己泰然自若,對(duì)一些看似無(wú)禮的行為也不要惱火——比如插隊(duì)。畢竟,我們生活在一個(gè)地球村,不同的文化構(gòu)成了我們共同的家園。