It’s not considered a bad habit in Taiwan. It’s normal.[/quote]
Nonsense. It’s low class and educated and well mannered Taiwanese don’t do it either.[/quote]
Muzha Man’s right.[/quote]
yea, that’s another tactful way to deal with Chinese lol. Joke around “are you from the countryside or something?” next time she chews with her mouth open. Urban Chinese, in particular, detest it when labeled a peasant.
Completely different. That’s a wide social custom that everyone considers to be good manners.
I’m telling my in-laws that a Man in Muzha said they’re low class and uneducated and poorly mannered. I’ll emphasize that I don’t agree at all, of course. Lord no. But I’ll tell them so they can see how wrong that Man in Muzha is.[/quote]
So you really think chewing with your mouth open is good manners in Taiwan? Ask your inlaws how they would behave if they were having dinner with the president? Or a boss they were trying to impress?
Ask them when was the last time anyone was seen in the media exhorting people to behave better and mentioned chewing with your mouth open as a way to improve society. 
I dont think its considered good manners to chew with your mouth open in Taiwan either. Your GF is likely a hick 
But hicks need love too.
(and hicks can get edumacated )
but gee, isnt there something nice bout her, rather then you gettin all stressed cuz she cant keep her mouth shut while eating?
id be concentrating on all the Good bout her and if the good dont outweigh this simple bad, then?
p.s. chewing with mouth open much smaller problem then GF having bad breath.
If you haven’t seen Tampopo, you should go out and rent it. Great flick. :bravo:
As for the OP, good luck. I think you may be able to make some progress with her if you broach the subject gently and she actually cares about trying to appear cultured/civilized, but it’ll clearly be difficult at her age (teaching old dog new tricks).
This advert in the Uk caused a record number of complaints
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/may/12/advertising.uknews
Oh lordy.
Many moons ago, before we were married, I think, I took the (now) Mrs. the chief to Vancouver for a wee vacation over CNY.
Since my wife had never (and still hasn’t) done anything bad enugh to deserve exposure to the living hell that is February in Central Alberta, I flew my Ma and little sister out to meet her and spend a few days together.
We went to a busy quasi-Canto Chinese restaurant in Richmond, full of Chinese folks, we were the only non-Asiatics in attendance.
One of two fond memories I have of that meal is my wife picking up a fortune cookie and asking me what it was.
The other was when Ma asked if all the folks were from Taiwan, and me telling her they seemed to be about half from Wansters and half Honkers.
Ma says, well how can you tell the difference?
And I says, before I can think about it and do the smart thing and keep me mouth shut, I says
“The ones from Hong Kong are eating with their mouths closed.”
Holy crap.
Needless to say, I was severely, I mean severely penalized…
Just tell her you don’t like it and ask her to try to stop. It’s a habit, so it may take a while for her to quit, and you’ll have to remind her. If she is really offended, and won’t try to change, maybe she’s not right for you. We all have habits that drive other people up the wall, but if it is your SO, it’s better to know something is annoying and try to change, rather than silently put up with it until one day you just can’t stand it anymore and start screaming at him/her.
It’s probably a clue that your girlfriend is a hick, but if she’s otherwise a great person, who cares? If she has a lot of irritating habits, I’d dump her, but if it’s just this one, I’d try to change it.
People don’t easily change habits. I am betting she wont change and she will be offended if you bring it up.
If you let this slide and it really bothers you…down the road you will regret not doing something about it.
It doesn’t matter where you are from, there are those that chew open and those that chew closed in every country. Pick you company according to what you can tolerate.
I always think of that TV ad for canned peanut soup, with the old lady sucking down that processed glop in front of her adoring family, touting the greatness that is boiled peanuts in sugar water, and not only is her mouth wide open, you can actually see bits flying out her mouth. I don’t think its considered unacceptable here at all.
That’s a lowest common denominator product if ever I saw one. I don’t think that is marketed at the classier consumer somehow.
Says who? God Almighty? Jesus, eating with your mouth open is probably the most natural thing one can do. Whoever introduced the rule of shutting your mouth while chewing was probably a perverted French king or something. I am sure there are scientists who can prove that keeping your mouth open while eating is more healthy than doing so with your mouth kept shut.
People, enjoy life! Enjoy eating! Eat, talk, laugh, be merry!
How bad are we talkin’? 
Worse than like this?
If you let me have her for a few days, I think I could break her.
Says who? God Almighty? Jesus, eating with your mouth open is probably the most natural thing one can do. Whoever introduced the rule of shutting your mouth while chewing was probably a perverted French king or something. I am sure there are scientists who can prove that keeping your mouth open while eating is more healthy than doing so with your mouth kept shut.
People, enjoy life! Enjoy eating! Eat, talk, laugh, be merry![/quote]
Well because chewing with one’s mouth closed keeps the food in. Can you imagine chewing the portions of a chunky soup with one’s mouth open? How about that bubble tea?
Was it this one?
espanol.video.yahoo.com/watch/1116890/4074246
Like sandman, I think it’s generally not thought of as unacceptable here. I could be wrong–I’m not very observant and not very sociable, so maybe I don’t have a very large sample size–but my opinion is based on what I’ve seen.
If you have strong feelings of affection for this person, who knows but that it might not hurt to wait a while before taking any action? If communicating about it to her is a good idea, it should still be a good idea, say, a month from now. And if it’s a good idea a month from now, it should still be a good idea two months from now. And three months from now. And so on.
Just my 
, and whatever you decide, I hope things work out well for you both.
In my situation, open mouth chewing occurred only at home, so I knew there was some recognition that it was not ok to do it everywhere. The excuse was “I want to relax at home.” My answer: “So do I.”
This is what I did:
I agree, it’s gross. It actually makes my stomach turn and I have a hard time eating. Eating sounds are even worse, and god forbid people here use a spoon or fork without scraping it across their f**king teeth…I gave up on that one long ago.
can we just let her eat any way she damn well pleases?
Huh? How does one do that?
It’s not considered a bad habit in Taiwan. It’s normal.[/quote]
Nonsense. It’s low class and educated and well mannered Taiwanese don’t do it either.[/quote]
Not sure about the low class demon. Many lower class people, as in the so called working class, eat with minimal intrusion on the sensitivities of those around them. I’ve seen people of many a class eat with their mouth open in many countries, even in Scandinavia where one would think they’d scarcely have the chance, what with all the open faced sandwiches.
I think it’s actually more a matter of poor parenting, or grandparenting, coupled with a severe lack of self-awareness with regards to the ripple effect one’s being has on one’s immediate surroundings.
Now, on to the next tangent: talking with food in one’s mouth is indeed an art form, and should not be attempted by rank amateurs.