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Culture Shock and the Unspoken Rules of Hospitality
Why cultural relativism is a best practice approach to achieving and sustaining positive human interactions in your life
Cultural norms shape the way we see the world, often in ways we do not realize until they are challenged. I learned this firsthand when I visited an American friend’s home for dinner.
In my Middle Eastern culture, hospitality is not just a practice. It is a sacred obligation. When guests arrive, food is not simply offered …it is insisted upon. To refuse is an invitation for further encouragement, a back-and-forth that reinforces warmth and generosity. That night, when I declined food at my friend’s house, I expected the ritual to begin. Instead, they simply nodded and continued eating.
The absence of insistence left me unsettled.
This experience illuminated cultural relativism, the sociological principle that no culture is inherently superior to another. Practices that seem natural or expected in one culture can feel foreign in another.
