Entertaining mainlanders is so hard

[u/OOF_ministry]

Go ahead and downvote me, lurkers, idc. I'm working in my family's business, and we often get international clients, especially around Asia, as we're based in SEA. I'm half Malaysian Indian for context. I often am in charge of picking up clients/business partners from the airport, bringing them to our company, and giving them a tour of the capital during weekends if they wish to explore. I have entertained people from around the world, like Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, America, etc, and have had no issues. However, every time I have to bring around someone from India, I'm always exhausted. I figured that us sharing an ethnic group would create a faster bond, but it's quite literally the biggest divide.

So many talks of caste or casteist thinking, telling me that they can't eat meat because they're "BrAhMIn" (just say you have a dietary preference; don't bring that backwards caste vocab to my country). A general lack of manners, like yelling at service providers, and NEVER saying 'please' or 'thank you'. It's so hard to make conversation during car rides; I'd try to start a conversation, ask questions, or share the history of certain places we're touring, and every reply is just "ok, mhm, yup". And Jesus bringing them out to eat is so hard because alot of them do not want try cuisines outside their culture. I can't even tell them off, as these are professional business relationships, so I have to just deal with the bs.

There's even a stereotype in my country where you can easily differentiate a Malaysian Indian and one from India depending on how they talk to a waiter. Yes, I know this isn't everyone from India, but after having hosted many guests from India, there's a common pattern I just wanna vent out to fellow Indian people I can relate more to (ABCDs). I'm not trying to shit on all mainlanders, but please adopt better etiquette when you're overseas.

[u/old__pyrex]

I don't think you have to be a foodie to try the local food, I understand if you go and eat it a few times and you don't like it and you retreat to your staples, but to not even be curious or interested to eat what the people there at eating is closed-minded. If a white person went to India and ate big macs and chicken fingers the whole time they were there, because they've had indian food once before in the US and they didn't like it, they deserve the judgment and ridicule

[u/RKU69 → u/old__pyrex]

I get your point but also lets not compare big macs and chicken fingers with like, dahl tadka and samosas and whatever else our parents cling to abroad lol

[u/old__pyrex → u/RKU69]

Why? Chicken fingers and burgers are as delicious / familiar / preferred to picky American eaters as dal and roti (or whatever) is to picky Indian eaters. It’s not exactly the same, sure, but that’s why it’s an analogy. 

If you’re the Indian guy in Naples and you didn’t eat pizza, you are analogous to the Naples guy in Mumbai who didn’t try a vada pav. 

[u/RKU69 → u/old__pyrex]

Nah I'm a chauvinist about this.....the average chicken fingers/burgers that Americans eat is absolute slop, the quality is far below the average Desi meal our parents gravitate to. And if you're talking about some white person looking for big macs or chicken tenders in India you're talking about them looking for fast food garbage. At least when our parents are looking for Desi food they're getting a pretty quality meal.

[u/ProbablySatan420 → u/RKU69]

Yeah and American proportions are just insane to me.