Knowing Your Right from Your Left 分清左右手

Where It's Offensive: India, Morocco, Africa, the Middle East.

禁忌地：印度、非洲、中東

What's Offensive 禁忌:

Many cultures still prefer to eat using traditional methods--their hands. In these cases, food is often offered communally, which is why it's important to wash your hands before eating and observe the right-hand-is-for-eating and the left-hand-is-for-other-duties rule. If you eat with your left hand, expect your fellow diners to be mortified. And when partaking from a communal bowl, stick to a portion that's closest to you. Do not get greedy and plunge your hand into the center.

許多文化依然推崇傳統的進食方式——用手吃。在這種情況下，食物往往是眾人一起分享的，因此飯前洗手很重要，而且要遵守用右手吃東西的習俗（左手往往有其他用途）。如果你用左手吃，同伴會感覺蒙受羞辱。當大家一起從公共的碗里取食時，就吃離你最近的那部分吧，不要貪婪地把手伸向飯碗中央。

What You Should Do Instead 對策:

Left-handed? Attempt to be ambidextrous--even children who are left-handed in these cultures are taught to eat with their right hand--or at least explain yourself to your fellow diners before plunging in.

你是左撇子嗎？還是努力讓自己的雙手都靈巧吧——在這些文化里，即使是左撇子的孩子也被教會用右手吃飯——或者至少吃飯前向同伴解釋一下。

Once you are on the ground of a different country, remain highly sensitive to native behavior. Never be completely surprised by anything; try to take it in stride, and don't feel offended if something seems offensive--like queue jumping. After all, this is a global village, and we are all very different.

一旦你踏上異國的土地，就要對當地人的一舉一動高度敏感。千萬不要大驚小怪，盡量使自己泰然自若，對一些看似無禮的行為也不要惱火——比如插隊。畢竟，我們生活在一個地球村，不同的文化構成了我們共同的家園。