3 Table Manners

My name is Eskinder. I was bornin Ethiopia, but now I live in the United States. My wife is American. Her name is Lucy. My best friend is Isaac. He recently moved here from Ethiopia. One day, he invited us to eat Ethiopian food in his home.

Lucy wasn't worried. She knew many Ethiopian eating customs. She knew how to eat with her fingers. She knew how to use our bread. We call it injera. We use it like a spoon to scoop up food.

That night Isaac made Ethiopian stew. At the table, Isaac took a piece of injera. He scooped up some stew with the injera. Then Isaac held out the food and put it into Lucy's mouth. Lucy was surprised. She didn't know what to do.

In Ethiopia, to start a meal, the host takes some food and holds the food up to the guest's mouth. The guest eats this food from the host's hand. Lucy did not know this Ethiopian eating custom. Isaac was making Lucy an honored guest, but she did not understand.

Americans do not eat food from someone else's hand. Isaac did not know this. He did not know that Lucy would be surprised.