饲养s15.How to behave at Parties

How to Behave at Parties

It is interesting to

observe

how

people of different cultural backgrounds

conduct

themselves

at

parties.

In

some countries men and women

drift

to

opposite ends of the

room

and

talk to one another

;

in

the others they

sit

in

large chairs

around

the edge of

the room

and

talk

only

to the people

on

either side of them

, or silently eat and observe

the

scene.

It

is

normal

in

some

lands

for

a

person

to

remain

patiently

silent

until

introductions

have

been

made

,

then

to

talk

only

to

those

s/he

has

been

properly

introduced to.

As

you would imagine

, Americans

move

about

a great deal

at

parties.

At small

gatherings

they

may sit down

, but

as soon as

there are more people

than

chairs

in

a

room you will

see

first one and then another

make

some excuse

to

get to his feet

until

soon

everyone is standing,

moving around

,

chatting with

one group

and then

another.

Sitting becomes

static

beyond a certain point

. We

expect

people to

move about

and be

“

self- starter.

”

It

is

quite

normal

for

Americans

to

introduce

themselves

.

They

drift

around

a room

stopping

to talk

wherever

they like

,

introducing

themselves and their

companions

.

If

this

happens

,

you

are

expected

to

reply

by

giving

your

name

and

introducing

the

person

with

you;

then

at

least

the

men

generally

shake

hands.

Sometimes women

do so as well

. A man usually

shakes

a woman

’

s hand

only if

she

extends it.

Otherwise

, he

just

nods

and

greets

her.

After

such

an

informal

introduction,

you

talk

together

for

a

little

while

.

Here

come

those questions

:

“

Are you new here?

”

“

How long

have you been

in

America?

”

“

Did

you

bring

your

children

with

you?

”

Within

a

moment

or

two,

you

will

have

found

some

common

ground

,

conversation

will

move

along

for

a

while

,

and

then

either couple

can

feel free

to say

something

informal like

,

“

Well, it

’

s been nice to

meet

you

”

or

“I

hope

we

see

you

again

soon

.

”

This

is

the

signal

for

them

to

drift

off

to

another group

.

The

basic

rule

at

big

parties

is:

don

’

t

stay

in

one

place

for

too

long.

Pick

out

people

who

look interesting, then

go and talk

to them. Women

should not cluster

in

a

group

with

each other

. They

too

move around

the room,

either

with

their husbands or

escort

or

alone

,

whichever

they prefer

. The point of a party

in

this country is

to meet

and talk

with people

.

When you

first

arrive

at

a large party, host or hostess

may introduce

you to two

or three people

nearby

, but if others

are still arriving,

he or she

may

then

leave

to

greet

newcomers,

expecting you to

go on

by

yourself

,

moving from

group to group. If this

feels

too uncomfortable or

frightening

, it is

quite

all right to

say to

someone:

“I

am a

stranger here and know no one.

Could

you

introduce

me to some of the people?

”

Most

people

will

feel

flattered

that

you

turned

to

them

for

help

and

will

gladly

take

you

under

their

wing

,

introducing

you and

easing

your

discomfort

.

Our easy-come-and-go

pattern

is

unfamiliar

to people

from

many other countries.

Like

much else about the nation

, it

comes

in large measure

from

our size, our numbers,

and our

constantly

shifting population.