This story is a funny reminder that what seems ordinary in one country can feel extraordinary in another. An unidentified Japanese man was in the U.S. to enjoy the FIFA World Cup. He and his friends went to a Mexican restaurant, where they were served chips and salsa prior when they were seated. The man stopped the server, “We have not earned these.” The server responded, “They just come with the table, man.” The Japanese man was stunned. In his country, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned at the proper time. In America, the gift arrived before he had even proven he could pay for dinner. To the foreigner, this was not an appetizer…….it was a declaration: “We trust you, eat.” The man obliged and enjoyed the free chips and salsa, but before long the basket was empty. Suddenly, the server brought a fresh basket, assuring the man that the chips and salsa were “bottomless.” The Japanese man had accepted three baskets, even though he had been warned by his friend, “Don’t fill up on chips, dude.” Too late. Honor demanded that the man finish each one; after all, an unfinished gift in Japan is an insult. On social media, the Japanese man explained his dilemma:
"By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man. I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy. Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived. I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most. Who am I kidding? There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.”
