Not meant to be

Dinner party 101

The Australian culture (and I suspect most western cultures) seems prone to have people conversing over a meal. The eastern cultures however, is the opposite. Do you remember being told the following since young?

Do not speak with your mouth full!
Eat before your food turns cold!
Stop yammering to your cousin and eat your food! (Granted, most parents wouldn't use the word yammering. But you get my drift.)
Don't sit in front of the TV to eat your food. Later need to waste electricity to reheat the food!
If you eat cold food, you get a lot of 'wind'.

A few times we had dinner together here, whether hosting a dinner party at home or fine dining outside, I noticed how we seldom talk during the meal. My friend said that is to show appreciation for the food; you are savouring the food. Another suggested that we prefer to speak over coffee or alcohol.

For my dinner party yesterday, it was pretty quiet. But I insist it was just because everyone was enjoying the food too much to make conversation. :P

Or am I just a bad host? :x

*Strangely, this post sounded a lot more eloquent while I was showering. Must be the water in my ears that affected my hearing. 'Sounded', geddit?!?!