One of the fastest relationship builders is breaking bread with someone. Regional and ethnic cultures place great importance on building relationships around a meal. Understanding proper etiquette can make this opportunity to form strong bonds with others a very successful one. Not understanding can lead to irreparable damage. Here are some things to consider:

· Arrival: When you are given an hour for dinner in Denmark, make sure you are not late because the Danes will have dinner on the table awaiting your arrival. Middle Eastern cultures are strong at building relationships, therefore an invitation to dinner at seven relies on spending several hours building a relationship before they actually eat.

· gifts: A gift is often welcome. In Turkey you should have a desert.

· Before the meal: For a Middle Easterner, hospitality is an extension of oneself. A host from the Middle East will be greatly honored to offer extras to her guests. This may include tea or figs. Failure to participate in the offer disparages the offer.

· How much to eat: In Norway, Malaysia and Singapore it is rude to leave food on your plate. However, in Egypt it is an insult to devour the entire meal while telling your host that he should have given you more.

· Apparatus: Middle Eastern cultures tend to eat from a common plate in the center of the table. Pita bread is used instead of cutlery. Guests break pieces of pita to scoop or grab food from the common plate. British cultures favor the use of cutlery for all foods. It is uneducated to use the fingers to transport food of any kind to the mouth. In the Philippines it is appropriate to eat with a spoon in the right hand, using the fork in the left hand to cut larger pieces of food. The Russians disapprove of the use of a knife when eating fish. The etiquette requires that the fish be broken up with one or two forks.

· drinking: Regional, ethnic and religious cultures come into play here. In Korea it is rude to serve your own drink. In Russia it is considered unlucky to pour your own drink. You should keep an eye on your neighbors glass and fill them if they are empty and they will do the same for you. If you don’t want to drink any more, a handy trick is to leave the glass three-quarters full. When serving drinks in most cultures, you should hold the bottle in your right hand and gently place your left hand on your forearm near your elbow but away from the mouth of the bottle. Remember that many cultures view the left hand as dirty since it is used for hygienic purposes. In many cultures, when someone of a significantly higher social position serves you a drink, it’s considered okay to walk away from that person when you drink it. In Turkey, it is acceptable to bring alcohol as a gift to the hostess only if she knows that the host drinks alcohol.

· Exit: It is common in many Chinese cultures to arrive on time and leave shortly after the meal. This is because an invitation to dinner is just that: an invitation to dinner. However, in Columbia it is polite to stay a few hours after lunch. Leaving before that indicates that you are only interested in a free meal.

A good rule of thumb to follow when you’re unsure of the cultural norms at the dinner table is to follow the lead of your host or other guests (provided those guests are more experienced in the culture).