Appropriate Cultural Norms

Today when I was dining with my family in a formal restaurant, I broke two of the similar cultural norms. One being that, I drank my soup using a fork, where the norm is to drink soup with spoon. The second being that I use my knife to eat my cake, where it should’ve been eaten using a fork. It might seem that these two actions that violate the cultural norms is small, but the reaction that I got from other people is extensive. As I was committing the act, I noticed that the surrounding people were looking at me. Some of them were even laughing and talking about my action. Also, as the waitress saw me drinking my soup with a fork, she came to me and ask if I need an additional spoon. I know that these people thought I am crazy and abnormal. Even my mom got mad and told me to eat with the normal utensil. Some continue to stare at me throughout my whole dinner experience, it seems like they are getting cultural shock. …show more content…
Looking at their reaction, I feel as if I am doing something terrible. It feels awkward and it even surprise me that they would have such extreme reaction. I feel embarrassed being the spotlight for something that is inappropriate. However, on the other hand it’s actually an amazing experience since it help me understand that society don’t accept people that break the cultural norms. People tend to favor those that follow social norms because it makes behavior predictable. People often will respond negatively toward any form of deviance because they think that it’s opposing the right way of doing