1 Read two passages about the traditions of receiving guests in different countries. Fill in the chart.

	Sumie	Rosa	Me
Country
Place of reception
Dishes
Peculiarities

Sumie

In my country, Japan, usually we invite guests home at weekend, in the early evening, about seven o’clock. Before they come, we must tidy the front garden and clean the entrance hall. Then we must spray it all with the water to show that we welcome guests with cleanliness. The guests usually bring presents and when they give you the present they say, ’I’m sorry this is such a small present’, but in fact they have chosen the present very carefully. When the meal is ready the hostess says, ‘We have nothing special for you today but you are welcome to come this way’. You can see that in Japan you should try to be modest and you should not show off too much. If you don’t understand our culture you will think this is very strange.

When we have foreign guests we try to serve traditional Japanese meals like sushi, tempura, or sukiyaki but when we have Japanese guests, we serve all kinds of food such as spaghetti, Chinese food, or steaks. When guests leave, the host and hostess see them out of the house and wait until their car turns the corner of the street; they wait until they can't see them any more.

Rosa

I come from Spain. At home what we love most is going out to eat in bars and restaurants. There is a big choice and we can go from one bar to another trying different things and having a few drinks, usually wine or beer. But sometimes we also like to invite people to our home.

I usually invite my friends for an informal meal. I cook Spanish omelette, which is made with potatoes, onions and eggs, fried in olive oil. Then we have things like cheese, ham – Spanish ham is very different from English ham, and if you buy the best one, called Jabugo, is something delicious, worth trying. And then things like olives, anchovies, mussels. We drink wine or beer. Some people may bring a bottle of wine or something for pudding. We usually meet late in the evening, about eight thirty or nine. Of course we dress casually; we just want to be relaxed and comfortable, and talk and laugh together.