Bad Manners and Proper Dining Etiquette: It's All Relative

           I can't remember the last time I used a knife outside of a restaurant in Guatemala. Actually that is not quite true it just seems like it – occasionally halfway through a meal with my first host family my host brother would tell my host mom to get me a knife since I guess I looked like I was struggling to eat a big piece of tough meat in sauce with my hands. This of course was embarrassing, but I did prefer to use a knife. He would tell her to get it for me instead of himself because the men (generally) do not do any of the serving – they get served and if they need something like seconds they ask their wife, sisters, or daughters to get it for them. Since living with my first host family two years ago I have gotten quite used to this knife-less eating. Pick up the meat and eat it with your hands. It doesn't feel so weird when everyone else is doing it. I caved to the peer pressure. I'll just call it integration. 

With my new host family they often don’t even use forks they just use tortillas to scoop some of the food and use their fingers for the rest. They just don’t see the need to use them even when eating a piece of tough meat. Just pick it up and tear it apart with your hands.

One time when I was eating a refacción (snack) of a scrambled egg and boiled plantains with a group of eight teachers from one of my schools I was the only one using a fork. Also in most situations I am the only one that uses a napkin (if there are any). I guess they are much cleaner eaters than a lot of people I know.   

This one volunteer who just finished his service told the story of how after a year and a half of being a PCV in Guatemala he went home to visit his family and at a dinner with his Grandmother, turned around from the table and spat out the chicken wing that he had been chewing on. Needless to say she was shocked.

I would like to mention that at this point I still usually always use a fork or a spoon. However, I apologize in advance for any bad dinner table manners that I picked up. I still stand by the fact that bad manners and proper dining etiquette is all relative. For example, here in Guatemala it is important to always say thank you when you are done with your meal and are getting up from the table. The custom is that then whoever else you were eating with will say "buen provecho" which is the equivalent to "bon apetit" and means in this case roughly good digestion. I like this custom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVy24vvJlD8 

Above is the link to a video made by a PCV in Paraguay of "10 Bad Habits Picked Up By Peace Corps Volunteers." While they don't all apply to me or PCVs I know, a surprising number do. It is pretty amusing.