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u/CycleAshamed6185 12h ago
I'm not aware of this stereotype, but I know i love this.
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u/hipsterTrashSlut 12h ago
I was viciously attacked with food when I visited my friend by her Algerian family.
“You must eat! Eat! You are teenage boy and must grow!”
I thought they’d have to roll me out of their house. Truly amazing and kind folk.
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u/tryyeezus 10h ago edited 9h ago
As a skinny person with no appetite, I can't even go into these houses. They'll literally foie gras me.
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u/NormalSea6495 8h ago
When we moved to the West, my mom didn't understand why people wouldn’t have coffee and snacks. Even my friends always asked why my mom brought so many snacks, made tea, and then gave us dessert, and it was a culture shock when I went to people’s houses and they wouldn’t even offer water 😳.
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u/malfurionpre 9m ago
My neighbour are Kuwaiti, you can visit them for any reason you want, you'll end up with tea and biscuits or pistachios and things like that.
Admittedly not middle east but same culture, I also went to Morocco recently to visit a friend and we went to his family, even his grandma who didn't speak my language was shoving food my way. Had to drink 4 or 5 cup/glasses of mint tea too, I don't hate it but it's not my favorite.
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u/Academic-Snow9642 13h ago edited 8h ago
Sure but when I enter a Middle Eastern household they're all like "how did you get in here?" and "I'm calling the police"
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u/___posh___ 12h ago
We used to do that in the UK, I almost always made a point to offer and make tea for contract workers.
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u/fischoderaal 11h ago edited 11h ago
You missed the point. Making a tea or coffee (what I, as a German, always offer) is easy. Middle Easterners go above and beyond to feed you. They will not accept a no and even take it as an insult.
Coffee used to be expensive. My parents from the 50s remember the time when you went to visit someone and as the gift you brought a package of Coffee.
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u/Humble-Page-4845 10h ago
I am American, had to have the maintenance guys from my apartment complex check out my dishwasher. Offered them some Mexican sweet breads (pan dulce), that escalated into sharing beers with the two maintenance guys, that escalated into smoking a blunt with them, which escalated into them coming back and dropping acid with me later that evening when they got off work.
This has nothing to do with hospitality customs or anything. Just funny that in my first apartment for my very first maintenance call it escalated into dropping acid and partying.
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u/bromire 10h ago
Not saying it’s on the same level because middle easterners definitely top the list - but the old timers still do this, they get a full spread out.
‘Cheese and crackers? Thank you but I’m ok. Got chutney, pate are you sure? Want some cakes as well love? Oh no thank you! Got plenty of biscuits too petal! No please I’m fine.
I’ve got a meat and potato pie as well! Please I insist! Cooked it this morning cock! Please let me leave.’
It definitely happens
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u/Hootinger 10h ago
I went to a Maronite church in my city once. I am not a member of that church nor middle eastern, I just wanted to check it out. They were having a lunch after mass. I was essentially forced to stay and eat, and even go back for seconds. It was conveyed to me that it would be an insult if I did not. Their hospitality is no joke.
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u/johnson7853 7h ago
I’m a Canadian and always offer them water, pop, Gatorade or milk. They never take the milk. When the job is done I will offer them a granola bar / chips / fruit.
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u/TheBizzleHimself 11h ago
It’s funny isn’t it. It’s not just contractors either; I remember going downstairs once after it had spontaneously hammered down with rain and the kitchen was chock full of hikers absolutely dripping wet but well into their second round of tea. My mum had seen them out the window, given a whistle and put the kettle on as they marched and packed in like sodden sardines.
I think if we all had a bit more spare time and spare change it wouldn’t be long before the tradition returned with a vengeance.
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u/SL1MECORE 12h ago
The USA is weird, people are paranoid... I will always offer a bottled water so they can open it themselves, though. And my bathroom is always open to the workers.
I'd do more but again, over here it's kinda out of the ordinary and I don't want someone to think I am trying to poison them lol.
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u/Canuck_Lives_Matter 11h ago
Very occasionally did it happen in Canada when I was a sewer and water worker and had to go into people's basements to dig in their new lines.
One time I will never forget was working a Saturday and a lady came out at 11:30 with beer, sandwiches and a garden veggie tray lol. Nice older Ukrainian-Canadian lady got us an unheard-of hour long lunch sitting in the sun in our ditch having some cold ones lol.
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u/SL1MECORE 11h ago
That's sweet!
I do remember one time I was cleaning houses and the homeowner offered us some snacks and whatnot. But again, prepackaged.
Which is not to say she was being lazy, as I pointed out earlier.. americans are very suspicious and sometimes we have to err on the side of caution when we want to make a kind gesture that involves food.
That sounds so dope, just a sweet little lunch provided by a lovely lady with some beer?? Hell yes, sign me up to be her personal maintenance worker lol.
Funny how those small acts of hospitality stick in our heads, yknow?
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u/Grib_Suka 12h ago
For the fact I drove an Armenian woman home a couple of times I had to endure a lot of food that I felt was both rude to refuse, and uncomfortable to accept.
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u/LogikWizard 6h ago
Im an HVAC service man. This is true. You get to meet some awsome people. And old ladies making me a lunch to take with me (they wont let me say no) after following me around as I check their radiators (think old mansions with 100 year old boiler systems) telling me all about their kids and grandkids and such. Some cool stories. One would not let me check her system untill I sat and had coffee with her and chatted about her garden and that horrible woman that moved in across the street. I guess they get lonely. I dont mind. Its a nice break in a full day of house calls.
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u/TexacoRodeoClown 4h ago
I feel bad cus my job pays me per unit…so as much as I’d love to sit and bullshit, it literally costs me money…it sucks..I have to say over and over that I really gotta get to work. Makes me feel bad
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u/Forgotten-Caliburn 13h ago
Is peach tea like a really big deal in some other countries?
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u/GussBing 12h ago
Did IT stuff for a neighbour (litterally just setting up their kids gaming computer and tablet to play fortnite) and got better service than you'd get at a Michelin star restaurant. I said i liked chocolate, so they dug out ferrero Rochays and a carton of choccomel. Im now sick of the stuff, but they still get me a carton every so often and i dont wanna be rude by rejecting it.
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u/philip48h 12h ago
That’s a great family right there, you can pass on the chocolate love to someone else
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u/GussBing 12h ago
Call it chocolate love again and ill lace your next drink with laxatives and laughing gas so you shit yourself silly. /j
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u/MerelyMortalModeling 12h ago edited 6h ago
Use to help out this old Persian couple with their lawn and everytime they would feed me a multi course meal. Real nice people, unfortunately they both passed while I was away in the military
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u/Lopsided-Brother9007 6h ago
Its okay, you paid their niceness with bombing children schools in their country.
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u/Nelsonic_terror_2026 5h ago
Hello IRGC bot beep boop
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u/Lopsided-Brother9007 4h ago
Yes mate, everyone that says something you dont like hearing is a bot.
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u/PenaltyNext8736 12h ago
I remember doing work in a middle eastern family’s home and the guy asked if I would like some tea, I said yes expecting to just have a cup of tea while I worked. He came downstairs 10 minutes later and said “tea is ready upstairs”. I went upstairs and they sat me down at the table and proceeded to feed me course after course of the best food I’d eaten in years.
I asked him why they were so generous while I was leaving and I’ll never forget his answer: “we believe a guest in your home is god”
I still think about that family and hope every day I see that address pop up in my work orders again
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u/Alienhaslanded 8h ago
As a middle easterner, that's pretty accurate. It actually gets pretty annoying when they're your relatives or doing a stranger a favor.
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u/artist_sloth246 8h ago
I guess this is the only category that we can not be considered as middle-easterns (I'm talking about Turkey). it could be like this back then but definitely not today. maybe because of economic hardships, or distrust in the repairmen (and their astronomical fees) and most of the time their shoddy work, we don't host them like this anymore. mayyyyybe a tea, and if only it takes them a bit longer to do their work.
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u/god_is_hee 7h ago
Middle Eastern hospitality is no joke. You show up as a guest and somehow leave with enough food for the next three days
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u/DeaDBangeR 11h ago
This true lol. I used to do social work for helping lower income homes with their paper work and integration.
These clients were always incredibly nice and always made sure I always had stuff to eat and drink. My plate or drink was NEVER empty.
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u/DivineCultLeader 10h ago
That's what so sad about Iraq and Afghanistan. People would do this to soldiers who broke down their door.
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u/Novel_Bass6032 53m ago
I will never forget the video of the American soldier harassing an Iraqi kid bringing him tea. Little guy had no idea what the soldier was saying. “I would’ve probably killed you if you didn’t bring it.”
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u/New-Detective-3163 11h ago
In Canada, I sold a TV to a Middle Eastern family and came by to pick up the mount I forgot on the back, ended up having the best tea of my life. I had been a lifelong tea hater until that day. My Canadian politeness couldn’t refuse their Middle Eastern kindness
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u/snapwthrowaway 8h ago
I had this happen to me with an Iranian family whole fixing their basement. I had at least six or seven cups of tea a day with all sorts of treats. It's was lovely but it was very hard to get the actual work done lol
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u/Specific_Simple_8865 11h ago
In Finland, especially in apartment buildings, they'll just walk in with a key, do their thing and leave 😂 one time I hadn't even noticed they came in until they had already left
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u/MidgetGordonRamsey 10h ago
This happened to me like 20 years ago in Texas. Went to build a flat pack desk for a middle eastern family. They showed me where the item was and before I could open the box they had brought me coffee, toast, and some seasoned eggs. The granddad stood in the doorway quietly staring at me the whole time. It was a nice change from the usual in-home job.
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u/Active_Letterhead275 9h ago
Every time I visit my Persian friend’s family, his mother makes me drink tea and eat fresh watermelon. I don’t know why she always has fresh watermelon.
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u/Ok_Coconut_8499 8h ago
Now do Norway...
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u/Minute-Judgment-321 2h ago
Mfs start eating lunch in your face without offering a bite 💀
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u/SavingsIncome2 3m ago
If your old enough to have a professional job then your old enough to pay for your own food
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u/Somebrerbro67 9h ago
Now do American households.
Probably way different
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u/Stopkilling0 6h ago
I just leave them alone unless they need something. Figure they probably just want to get the job done without any fuss and move on with their day.
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u/Draftior 3h ago
Same here, pretty much. I usually just ask if they’d like some tea or coffee, and then I let them get on with their job
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u/maxdps_ 8h ago
Most normal people from any country act this way, tbh.
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u/AverageMako3Enjoyer 8h ago
Hey there bud this is Reddit you’re supposed to say “America bad” and everyone claps, pls edit your comment
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u/CatgirlFucker8008 9h ago
Did this, left with diabetes and several bullet wounds
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u/towerinthestreet 2h ago
I wanted to be mad at you, but then I remembered my ex-mil (lovely woman) had to finally cut back on the 4lb bag/workweek of sugar just for her work tea bc she actually started gaining weight (just had that metabolism. My ex called it "crunchy tea.") and had also nearly riddled my ex with bullet holes on two different occasions. (They lived in an area where no one locked their doors, so my ex just didn't have a key, but for no apparent reason once in a blue moon they would lock the door and my ex would need to come in through a window, and well, it's shotgun country.) She also sips tequila out of teacups and can clean chicken wings with a fork and a knife (consumed with a literal 20oz cup of ranch). I wouldn't be all that surprised if she secretly votes blue.
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u/Exists_out_of_spite 9h ago
trady here, did alot of in-home service work. Most americans are pretty great in person. its only on the internet we turn into toxic shitheads.
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u/Grubenskorpion 7h ago
I bake cookies/muffins, offer tea or a cold soda. The pest control dude loves our wall of Tarantulas. Used to trade baked goods for my neighbors chicken eggs, still upset that I don't hear the chickens in the morning but the new neighbors are nice. Treat the people we share a duplex with like they're blood family because their kid was nice to my dog when we moved in.
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u/Effective-Big8158 6h ago
we follow you around and say yep a lot. make mention that you must be getting paid a ton because you're a trade worker. comment about the weather, ask about your work about how many hour they got you doing, ask what specifically your doing, comment how you make it look so easy and then, when we get the invoice, offer you a tip.
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u/Ok-Worth-3278 5h ago
Idk what you’re talking about 90% of the jobs I do in suburban America I’m treated with drinks and snacks and offered things regularly. Midwest rural and suburban kindness is top notch.
Idk why you all just want to hate Americans all day.
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u/Human_Discipline3003 39m ago
Stop lumping us all in one big pile. There are so many cultures here your comment is ignorant.
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u/Top-Examination3151 8h ago
I have 10ft high barbed wire fencing and "No gummit welcome" signs hand painted placed at sensible intervals.
I do welcome guests with a firearm, but it is holstered. I check for IDs against my confidential watchlist, and if you are welcome you are going to have a great time.
The red dot you see on your chest? Thats just insurance in case you get some funny ideas. There are lot of crazy people in this country with guns.
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u/DrMarduk 10h ago
Ain't no hospitality like Arab hospitality. You WILL BE fed, watered, entertained and sent home with goodies, no buts.
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u/SinglePringleMingle 11h ago
I did that for a guy who came over to fix something at my dorm. Too bad the only cup I owned had a huge „have a nice drink you old cunt” front and center
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u/RugerBooger69 9h ago
I love it when people make videos like this commenting on lovely things about different cultures in a comedic way.
It must be great being known for your hospitality.
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u/BigIreland 6h ago
Happened to me when I was a young computer tech. Used to visit several homes a day and replace parts. I went to this one house and they were African. Ridiculously nice and polite people. I sat with the father after I finished and he offered me a coffee. I didn’t drink coffee but I heard that it was impolite to refuse hospitality, so I accepted. The man served me an upside down thimble with the tiniest handle ever and we sat there and talked while drinking our tiny, tiny coffees. When I left, I was sweating oil. I couldn’t shut tf up and I didn’t sleep for two days. That coffee was wild.
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u/themanonthemooon 1h ago
dude they do this in Morocco too. God forbid you try doing your job and go home; installed cameras for a woman a while back she made me eat three days' worth of food
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u/Hobbitred5 12h ago
Italian homes too. My Nonna would get mad with how "skinny" we were and there would always be food whether we wanted it or not.
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u/CommandJam 12h ago
This is actually how my grandpa met my grandma. He was going to them to repair the tv
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u/Dear_Reach4149 10h ago
But the discount they expect after that hospitality is awkward. Feels like back in the 90s when dudes used to wash your windows with newspaper and smear that shit and you feel bad so you give them a dollar…
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u/CapybaraIRL 10h ago
God damnit, I basically did that yesterday with the internet guy.
Although I gave him water cause all i had was beer.
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u/Beginning-Knee7258 10h ago
You ever play the old Tomb Raider game? When you are at the mansion the dang butler is always following you around with a glass of ice water on a tray at the speed of a snail. Right when you think you lost him, bam. There he is
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u/Remarkable-Cow1062 9h ago
My favorite people I met in Iraq were the Bedouins. Always friendly and feeding us when we were on patrol. Endless amounts of tea loaded with sugar.
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u/CanExplainThings 9h ago
I've dated across cultures because I grew up Muslim but in an incredibly multicultural city.
If you happen to date Latinas, Italians, Spanish, or from the Middle Eastern diaspora, you're gonna get three things:
Deaf from all the shouting.
Scared for your life because you might confuse passion with death threats.
A heavy dependence on Pepto Bismol.
I'm a gentle, quiet, polite fellow, and this sometimes comes off as obvious flattery ("Hey, you said your mom was older than you. Why are you introducing me to your sister?"/ "You never said you grew up in such a beautiful place", etc. etc.) This for some reason is taken as a sign from their mothers that I am to sit down and they are obliged to feed me the most delicious things that they have at their disposal.
Holy. Shit. Now I crave things like arroz y frijoles, pupusas, olives, lavash... My appetite has been internationalized lol.
Also, I dated Jewish women and there is a very special place in my heart for my ex-girlfriend's matzoh ball soup. I remember having it for the first time and needing to sit on the floor for a minute because it was so good.
Honestly, I got to taste a lot of love. And I think we can all agree that no matter what's served to us when it comes with that kind of feeling behind it, it just tastes better.
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u/GrungeHamster23 9h ago
I always felt super welcome at an Assyrian buddy's place. Mom and Dad work really hard and always have great food in the house.
Where you going? You're not leaving until you have something to eat!
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u/vahyineyah 8h ago
This is literally my mum. She’ll be cooking and I asked if we’re having guests. Nope, just a handyman doing work in our bathroom
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u/enadiz_reccos 8h ago
The first time I visited the Egyptian part of my family [father is from Cairo] they stuffed me full of so much damn spaghetti and freshly squeezed orange juice
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u/Chickenmangoboom 8h ago
I was working in a Vietnamese community, I was supposed to meet someone from the community center that was going to translate for me but they were a no-show. I start my meeting with this woman and the whole time she is trying to give me gifts getting progressively more upset when I refused. I was new at this job and they said no gifts so I was trying to behave. After the meeting I am walking to my car and this woman runs out of her house with a can of Coca Cola and puts it in my hand, she instantly relaxes.
I was later taught that you should always accept a small gift when you visit someone's house. I was working with farmers and fishermen so I routinely came back to the office with eggs or catfish fillets.
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u/Mission_Macaroon 7h ago
I used to work in community health care for children with disabilities. Our agency had a policy for clinicians not to accept food during session visits. The tetas / bibis (grandmas) were having none of that and you better eat what they give you.
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u/Affectionate_Code 7h ago
One of my best mates is Greek. I went around with him to his folks place to fix their patio. We fixed it, mainly my mate who's a qualified chippy, I just carried and held stuff.
The feast I was served after was monumental, I could barely waddle back to my car.
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u/half-breed 7h ago
Ya gotta lead her into the walk-in freezer and then quickly run out closing the door behind you.
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u/Nelsonic_terror_2026 5h ago
It's also pretty common in SEA countries to offer a snack and drinks (coffee or a cold drink) but only if u did a good job lol
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u/BlackSchuck 5h ago
Ill offer a light beer or Bourbon after the job is complete. All but two have said no.
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u/mercuriokazooie 5h ago
The drink refill reminds me of every time I've been to an Indian restaurant the waiter watches you like a hawk for the millisecond you take a drink of water so they can refill it
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u/DickHopschteckler 4h ago
Every single middle eastern person I have met one on one was very nice to me for the short periods of time I was in their presence.
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u/vvaderman24 4h ago
Not exactly the same but I was doing some work for an old Indian couple and they always insisted I sit down and have some tea. One day I was in a rush and ended up getting up to work before I finished the tea and I think I upset the lady.
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u/Robert_The_Redditor1 4h ago
I have middle eastern guy at work. He loves giving out his food. And he doesn’t take no for an answer.
To make it worse he gives me more of his food leaving nothing for him. But I always make sure to get a Soda or some of the chicken he likes.
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u/willybum84 3h ago
Lipton ice tea peach is my favourite cold soft drink, it's like liquid heaven on a hot day.
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u/Wise_Luck1476 3h ago
My parents will ask if they eat breakfast and prepare one regardless of the answer. If it's a job that takes a whole day there is an obligatory lunch.
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u/Bikelad2 1h ago
That is fkin funny 🤣 it’s actually true too. The Middle East/ Mediterranean/Irish people really are like this - it’s basically impossible to refuse their hospitality when you’re a workman in their home
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u/Witty_Rhubarb_4217 53m ago
Slavs are also like that. In our mythology we had evil spirits that would haunt the house that was cheap to the traveler. Food and drink must be shared with those who are in need, else Domovoy (the spirit) is gonna get pissed.
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u/Pretend_Shape_6986 22m ago
we were once like that until someone gets greedy and stole some items from the house. Now, we observe them work until it is done, only giving water if they ask
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u/blah_2520 2h ago
May be they do it with themselves.. I was hired by the wife for a job that was already cheap, we finished the job and the guy said he wasn’t going to pay full agreed payment.. it was too much for him.. it was a shet show.. Arabs and Indians and some Asians are the three kind of people I usually refuse to do work
Their classist societies don’t value your work
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u/ChocoBabiChan 12h ago
This actually happened to me. I did some contract work for Dell, and was sent to home with a Palestinian family to fix a laptop. They actually would not let me leave until I had lunch with them. Food was great, the family was so warm and welcoming. That day seriously made my week.