Last Updated:
Sharing her views on cultural differences, Kristen Fischer said meals mark the end of the evening in India, while in the US, it marks the beginning of the evening.
Kristen Fischer has been staying with her family in India since 2011. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
American influencer Kristen Fischer, who has been staying in New Delhi with her family for the past few years, has shared “one of the biggest cultural challenges” she faced in India. It was to adapt to the country’s approach to the dinner parties.
In the US, Fischer said she was used to the culture of food getting served as soon as the guests arrived and hanging out later. “Now in India, it’s the opposite. In India, people are expected to hang out first and at the end of the evening when it’s time to go home, that’s when you have your meal together,” she said in the video shared on Instagram.
Fischer shared that “in India, the meal marks the end of the evening, whereas in America, the meal marks the beginning of the evening.”
Sharing the video on the social media platform, Fischer said: “This was, and still is, the hardest cultural difference for me coming to India.”
Since she was used to food being served right after arrival at someone’s home for dinner, Fischer said that in India she had to sit “hungry and wonder when the food would be served.”
“Imagine my surprise when people don’t show up on time, like I expect, and don’t want to eat right away, like I am used to. In India, the conversation is before the meal and in America, the conversation is after the meal,” Fischer wrote.
She “honestly” still doesn’t understand how “you can serve food to guests hours after they arrive”.
“Wouldn’t the food be cold? Or I would have to be in the kitchen making the food the whole time and not enjoying being with my guests. I try my best to be as Indian as possible, but this is one way I just cannot adjust,” she shared.
Further, she said that there have been multiple occasions when he visited a friend’s house but was not served dinner even when she left after 11 PM.
“I have been at friend’s homes multiple times and left after 11 pm and they still have not served dinner. They are asking why I am leaving so early, dinner hasn’t even been served yet. And I am thinking to myself, it is late and I need to go to bed,” she wrote.
She concluded, “I can’t be the only one who struggles with this cultural difference. It is so hard for me!”
In the comments section, several people expressed their views on her observation, with one stating that she was “spot on”.
Another user shared that he faced a “reverse problem when travelling to US” as he was not used to eating food so early.
