Comments on: Chew With Your Mouth Closed!!!

By: Dominoe

Dominoe — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:09:02 +0000

Whenever I go out with my friends who are Korean or Chinese we always eat with our mouths open, make smacking noises and talk with our mouths full. At first I used to keep my mouth closed but after two days with them it became a habit to eat like them. They think it’s weird that people chew with their mouths closed. Also I brought home on of my cousins to meet them and she was freaked out by the fact that we all share utensils or eat off eachothers plates!

By: EuropeanTheater

EuropeanTheater — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:02:27 +0000

Just as bad as this is people who chew gum with their mouth open. In my high school people do this during the silence of exams. Unacceptable and pretty insightful on how our future will be.

By: wormgear

wormgear — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:49:00 +0000

RIGHT NOW as I write this response, my co-worker is slurping tea VERY loudly and sloshing and smacking a piece of cake around in his mouth. I feel like I’m going to vomit any second. -* I’m going to pause here and put on my headphones…Ah. That’s much better. *- What’s interesting about this is how many of us all feel the same way, and there is a clear cultural boundary here! One thing that is a bit unusual in my case is that I don’t mind the noise at all if I also choose to participate in it. My wife is from Japan and as others have pointed out – it’s customary to slurp loudly when eating noodles (ONLY noodles – not soup, tea, coffee or any other food; that would be rude). Since I embrace Japanese culture, I also slurp loudly while eating noodles. While doing so, the sound of everyone else doing it does not bother me at all! It’s fun, in fact! If, however, I am NOT eating noodles, and other people around me ARE eating them, I must leave for I cannot stand it. Weird huh? Kind of neurotic. :-/
Oh well…

By: james

james — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:47:12 +0000

it’s not funny at all. My mother-in-law just got her green card & is staying with us. she not only make noise when she eats, but afterwards as well. then she started to teach my son to chew with mouth opened. I told my son to do so with mouth closed. the mother-in-law explains to my son to chew with mouth shut, but she still does it. my wife started chewing the same way. when I ask my wife about it. she said that’s how they eat at home. it’s the most disgusting thing on the world. now I try to slip away from the table whenever she’s eating

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:10:14 +0000

Too funny – like some of the posters above, I was just searching for information on how to bring up the subject with someone who chews loudly. In my case, it’s my girlfriend’s daughter. She’s 7, and I swear it’s as if she intentionally chews as loudly as she possibly can. Every time she chews, she smacks her mouth open as loudly as she can. When she’s eating a popsicle, she slurps it .. again, as loudly as she possibly can. I am to the point where I can barely stand to eat with my girlfriend’s family. I am petrified to bring her kids to meet my parents this summer – we were taught excellent table manners as kids, and I have done the same with my own son. He’s 5 and his table manners (including the way he chews) are impeccable.

I can’t think of a single way to bring this subject up and not destroy the relationship … HELP?!?!

By: Re:kitty

Re:kitty — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:21:41 +0000

kitty, I have this exact same problem.Girl in cube next to me eats all the same foods. The only difference here is that my coworker is manipulative and has a way of playing dumb when she’s out to get her own way.I suspect that she has been aware that her habits annoy others but because of her nature, it only goads her into doing more of it and louder. Say anything to her and it’ll worsen yet again because she got permission to eat at her desk. When she’s not crunching on whatever makes noise she’s sucking her teeth clean or chomping and snapping away on several daily pieces of gum. It’s disguisting and every single day I leave work sick to my stomach and uncaring about what might have appealed to me for dinner. She’s the office favorite and I am not in that clique…for me to say anything will only make me look petty. All I can do at this point is pity her, that all she has to look forward too every day is how well she’s learned how to be an ignorant jackass.

By: leticia

leticia — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:44:57 +0000

this is a treat! it’s been quite a while that i have not been laughing like i laugh tonight. it is almost 11pm here in milan, italy, and i am still laughing. i understand how you felt at that moment, MM.. the readers here are all fun too..masaya!

By: Beringil

Beringil — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:01:01 +0000

All my kids were born here in the US with excellent table manners and ethics.

First time I brought them home with me to our hometown was a test of their flexibilty(whish Filipinos are known for). As a tradition, all our relatives came over to welcomed us; and as a token of welcome – they gave us a party by the river. There were no utensils at all. Everybody ate the foods served in banana leaves with their hands;slurpped the soup from a coconut bowl; worst everybody talkedand laughed while eating.

To my surprised, our kids enjoyed it so much albeit it was their first time to use their hands in eating. As to an explanation to why everybody talked too much while eating – I told my kids, its the only time when people are in the same level of comfort and probably the only chance they can talk.

In short, “when in Rome do as what the Romans do”.

By: tabchie

tabchie — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 06:23:56 +0000

hi MM,

this was so funny to read, have to give my little comment….i can feel what you’re going through at that moment…yuckkkkk!!! I love your blogs…the best…highly recommend iyong manok inasal mo…love it!!!

By: kitty

kitty — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:03:03 +0000

I was searching the web in a hope to find an advise on how to tell somebody to close mouth while chewing without offending the person.

It was fun to read this blog! And I am glad that I am not the only one who thinks that mouth should be closed while eating, at least in American culture… Although, I wish I was more tolerant to this…

My coworker eats the whole day while at work… And she does it with open mouth… She chews apples, nuts, chips, crackers, and other foods that make nice crunchy sound… She is also in the cube next to mine, so I hear every crunch that comes from her open mouth. She also likes to smack her lips while chewing…

She is a very nice person, and I can’t force myself to tell her anything–I don’t want to offend her… But at the same time why do I have to listen to this every day and get to the point that I simply have to take a break and leave my cube for a few minutes in order not to explode…

Is there a good way to let her know that she should be keeping her mouth closed? Any advice?