>>>But why should we expect people to invite us in their home? We have
different social behaviors. And it's a mistake often done to see some
discrimination where there is none. British don't invite people home the
way you do in the states. That's all. They don't see their house the way
you do, they don't "live" the way you do, the way I do.
>From my personal experiences I have tried to make people from foreign
countries feel welcome here in the states. I do this in a number of ways.
If the person is family oriented and informal I often invite them to my
house for dinner which does wonders for cementing a relationship and
building a rapport. For others that may be more formal I tend to invite
them out to eat. The time spent together helps to find some common ground
off the "work" turf in a more relaxed atmosphere.
As for being in a foreign country, I've found that at least attempting to
speak their language and continually asking questions about their culture
gives them a feeling that we are not there just to rape, pillage and
plunder. Occasionally I am invited to someone's house, but not often. I
guess we Americans tend to be more casual...
-- Joel DiGirolamo Lexmark International digirol@lexmark.com