hi, Betty. what's up?
nothing special. how about you? Are you used to the life here in the States?
everything has been fine for the past several months.
great!
well, I wish someone could talk to me about Western table manners
sounds interesting. Where did you get the idea?
as you know, table manners in China are quite different from those of Westerners.
absolutely. that's because both of us have distinctive cultural features.
for example, in China, it's okay to talk while eating. However, you may regard it as rude.
yes. this must be a huge difference.
can you think of anything else?
sure. We tend to think that the slower on eats, the more polite one seems.
I didn't know that before.
and we never sip or slurp the soup loudly. we quietly like little mouthfuls.
i got it. i'll bear it in mind.
don't worry. i'm sure our etiquette will become a natural part of your behavior as time goes by.