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My aunt from Osaka told me not to stick chopsticks upright in rice
We were at a family dinner in Chicago last week and I did it without thinking. She got real quiet and said it's only for funerals, like an offering for the dead. I felt so dumb, I had no idea. Has anyone else had a simple meal habit turn out to be a major cultural no-go?
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robin_wright1mo ago
My friend Mark was in Seoul and handed something to his boss using only his left hand at a lunch. He didn't know it was seen as rude there. The whole table went quiet for a second before someone just smoothly passed the soy sauce. He told me he was sweating, he felt so bad about it. It's crazy how these little things we never think about can mean so much in different places.
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