Reply to Maybe it's a cultural disconnect

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]While I agree that there is nothing wrong with what the child did, I do think nonAmericans of various backgrounds find the American habit of bringing things and then taking them back disconcerting.  The whole concept of potluck dinners where you take a dish and then often take back what is uneaten is a strange one for a lot of nonAmericans.  That said, I think the visiting child was being generous and OP should take it that way even if it is not the way it would be done in her home country.[/quote]

You know, there's a lot of things in Europe that I found really strange too...like going over to my friend's house to sleep...and her mother asking me if I brought my sheets.  But why the hell would I complain in someone else's country?[/quote]

As a born and bred American I have never taken home uneaten food from someone's home.  I supposed I may have taken home the dish I brought it in, to save the hosts the trouble of washing and returning it, but it doesn't come up much because in my circle of friends and family we rarely do potlucks.  It would be ignorant to assume, though, that all other Americans have similar customs.  The same way it is ignorant to assume that when someone of a different nationality does something strange, it has to do with their nationality or ethnicity.  None of my friends in Germany and the UK have ever asked me to bring my own sheets.

There are wierd people in every culture and it's a slippery slope to start attributing all behaviors you don't like to some sort of "cultural disconnect."  Believe it or not I even know some Jews who aren't cheap and some black people who don't like watermelon.          
[/quote]

Well, since the oldie but goodie was revived, might as well chime in...

Since everyone's customs on pot-lucks varies (even around this country), I bring a dish and at the end, I just ask "would you like the leftovers or should I take them?" and let the hostess decide.  Sometimes they want to keep them, in which case we find a container or plate to transfer the food so I can take my dish home.  Sometimes they just want "a portion or two" and we repeat the above for part and I take the rest.  And sometimes they say "Oh, I've got so much food we won't eat it all...please take it home." and I do.  If you don't know your host/hostess, give them the choice.  I've also had a third party ask to take some if the host/hostess didn't want it and we gave them a portion(s) to take. [/quote]

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