On 4/17/2013 10:06 AM, sf wrote:

> The last time I checked, the USA wasn't considered an Asian country.
> You can/should slurp your soup in China (to show appreciation) too,
> but it's not considered polite here. In some countries, it's also
> considered polite to produce a belch at the end of a meal... but that
> isn't acceptable behavior here either.
>

The first time Becca took me to a Vietnamese restaurant and ordered me a
huge bowl of Pho, I kind of scratched my head. I had never used
chopsticks (and WTF... how do you eat SOUP with chopsticks, anyway) and
that little soup spoon/ladle was cute, but man, that is a big bowl of stuff.

But I was game so I took my time and learned to enjoy myself. A little
humor goes a long way in a situation like this. I don't know who had
more fun... me, or Becca and the waitress who was watching me.

George L