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Does your family talk when you are eating a meal? It may sound like a strange question, but I know a few here in Japan that don't. It's like a silent feeding time. Not just a Japan thing of course.

 

I just feel uncomfortable with all that. I'd rather relax, take it slow and talk.

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Yep definitely. Our family dinners involve lots of talking and usually an argument thrown in for good measure. \:\)

 

At home though, my boyfriend and I usually talk while we cook and then watch the news while we eat.

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I think it is a Japan thing - when I sit down to eat with my wife and kids, I expect (from my upbringing) that it is the time of day to get caught up with each other and talk.

 

In Japanese families I have been with, meal time is all about the eating unless its a special occasion. My wife often tells the kids (and me) to shut up and eat and I have to remind her that it is the only time we have to talk to each other. This comes up often.

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My dad used to seem to forget how to speak when it's dinner time. And he always claimed to "win" when he finishes first. Hilarious it was*.

 

confused.gif

 

Got better recently.

 

* well actually it wasn't, believe it or not.

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TV on whilst eating is... IYHNNTSTSNAA (that applies to TV in general).

 

I don't remember much of eating as a family, it was a long time ago. I reckon we would have spoken a lot and I am also pretty sure my dad would have busted out his half serious line "children should be seen but not heard" when we got noisy. lol.gif . I do remember that we had to ask if we may be excused from the table. In fact, table manners were taken extremely seriously in my upbringing. It must have worked as even now on a daily basis I notice and dislike on poor table deportment (eating with mouth open, mushing noises, cant hold knife and fork correctly, wearing hats at the table).

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have you ever noticed that a lot of japanese people eat quickly? maybe it's a generation thing, but a lot of the 60+-year olds tend to eat fast, especially (temperature) hot food...

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Yes dizzy. My father in law says it's from the Edo period. People from the older generation do tend to eat quickly. In his and all of his friends case (they are all presidents of their co's) I think they feel like eating too long looks (feels) lazy.

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I have heard a few stories like that as well.

 

Here's another. People much fatter now because there was not much choice back in the war. Not that there is a lot of choice people eat much more and get much fatter.

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Our family when we were all together took forever to get through a meal. It was more about talking, relaxing and enjoying the experience than stuffing food into our stomachs. A good meal should be enjoyed not rushed.

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When I was a grom dinner time usually around news time which meant we had to STFU. We could talk in the ads!

 

Now, we don't usually watch TV when eating but sometimes I watch the news and see shades of my old man sneaking in!

 

J family, TV is on but everyone chats away. Annoys me sometimes when I want to hear something, they can all read the subtitles but I have to listen.

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Dad would lose the rag if we spoke during "The Weather!" I have a bad habit of wolfing my food down and generally don't have much time for pleasentries as I do so; must come from boarding school where it was a case of chow down or go without.

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I don't know but it seems as though I wasn't the only one!

It's much worse these days, My old man watches the 6:00 news, A Current Affair, probably some crap on ABC then watches the same stuff again on the late night news and sports tonight!

Good news is that we are allowed to chat during the late night news!

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