4 ms·

Yeah, in Japan it's considered rude not to slurp noodles, because that means you're not enjoying them, which would be an insult to whoever made them.

spitx 14y ago
In some other cultures, female genital mutilation isn't prohibited. Now, whats your point?
- shadowfox 14y ago
  Ah, hyperbole. Such an elegant way to continue a conversation.
  - corporalagumbo 14y ago
    Not hyperbole: most perfectly weighted comment I've seen on HN so far. Thank you, good sir.
ekianjo 14y ago
Well, I would not go as far as saying it becomes an insult. Especially if you are foreigner, they would understand you are not used to slurping.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  Of course, anything will go when you're a foreigner (the so-called "gaijin smash"). But I can definitely see them taking offense when a fellow Japanese person makes this mistake.
jrockway 14y ago
I experienced quite a culture shock when returning to the US after living in Tokyo for a year. I was at some noodle place with a friend and ate the noodles in the way I considered normal. Eventually he told me he was going to leave because I was eating so rudely. "Welcome back to the land of the Puritans," I thought to myself.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- irahul 14y ago
  > Eventually he told me he was going to leave because I was eating so rudely. Does this happen in a jovial manner, or people really take serious offence to simple inconveniences?
  - JabavuAdams 14y ago
    I find it seriously annoying, but I realize that others don't. The problem is that if you don't like it, you really don't like it. Meanwhile, if you don't mind it, people who do seem like jerks. Imagine something more universally recognized as rude. E.g. Eating with someone who keeps making really smelly farts or picking his nose all the time. The disgust is visceral, and hard to rationalize away.
    - irahul 14y ago
      > The problem is that if you don't like it, you really don't like it. Meanwhile, if you don't mind it, people who do seem like jerks. It's more like how you say it. "Hey Buddy, if you don't stop slurping, I am going to chew and then open my mouth wide to show you my handiwork." is very different from "I am leaving. You are so rude." > The disgust is visceral, and hard to rationalize away. The keyword is "friend" - someone who you can talk to; asking him not to do that as it is making you uncomfortable should be pretty easy.

spitx 14y ago

In some other cultures, female genital mutilation isn't prohibited. Now, whats your point?

shadowfox 14y ago
Ah, hyperbole. Such an elegant way to continue a conversation.
- corporalagumbo 14y ago
  Not hyperbole: most perfectly weighted comment I've seen on HN so far. Thank you, good sir.

ekianjo 14y ago

Well, I would not go as far as saying it becomes an insult. Especially if you are foreigner, they would understand you are not used to slurping.

w1ntermute 14y ago
Of course, anything will go when you're a foreigner (the so-called "gaijin smash"). But I can definitely see them taking offense when a fellow Japanese person makes this mistake.

jrockway 14y ago

I experienced quite a culture shock when returning to the US after living in Tokyo for a year. I was at some noodle place with a friend and ate the noodles in the way I considered normal. Eventually he told me he was going to leave because I was eating so rudely. "Welcome back to the land of the Puritans," I thought to myself.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
irahul 14y ago
> Eventually he told me he was going to leave because I was eating so rudely. Does this happen in a jovial manner, or people really take serious offence to simple inconveniences?
- JabavuAdams 14y ago
  I find it seriously annoying, but I realize that others don't. The problem is that if you don't like it, you really don't like it. Meanwhile, if you don't mind it, people who do seem like jerks. Imagine something more universally recognized as rude. E.g. Eating with someone who keeps making really smelly farts or picking his nose all the time. The disgust is visceral, and hard to rationalize away.
  - irahul 14y ago
    > The problem is that if you don't like it, you really don't like it. Meanwhile, if you don't mind it, people who do seem like jerks. It's more like how you say it. "Hey Buddy, if you don't stop slurping, I am going to chew and then open my mouth wide to show you my handiwork." is very different from "I am leaving. You are so rude." > The disgust is visceral, and hard to rationalize away. The keyword is "friend" - someone who you can talk to; asking him not to do that as it is making you uncomfortable should be pretty easy.