Who is Emily Post:
Emily Post wrote a book on Etiquette in 1922 to try to bring common sense and flexibility to
good manners. She published ten editions of her book and for many years also
wrote a syndicated newspaper column and for a time also hosted a radio program.
Emily Post’s name has become synonymous, at least in North America, with proper
etiquette and manners. Nearly half a century after her death, her name is still
used in titles of etiquette books.
Do not attract attention to yourself in public. This is one of
the fundamental rules of good breeding. Shun conspicuous manners, conspicuous
clothes, a loud voice, staring at people, knocking into them, talking across
anyone-in a word do not attract attention to yourself. Do not expose your
private affairs, feelings or innermost thoughts in public. You are knocking
down the walls of your house when you do.
World Race Does:
In Africa it is completely acceptable (and necessary) to squat on the side of the road to use the bathroom.
-During our ridiculous amount of travel to and from Malawi, the use of an actual bathroom facility was pretty much non-existent, and so, we were left to having to go in the bushes on the side of the road. On the ride up I was extremely uncomfortable with this but quickly learned that when you have no other option, your body doesn’t care. It was on the ride back though that I realized I didn’t know proper roadside etiquette. We were on a bus traveling with other Africans and at our first roadside stop, Tara, Ashley, and I apparently went to the “mens area”, and when we were about to venture out from behind the trees to the van dan yelled out the warning “dont come out, there are wieners”. Once the coast was clear and we headed back to the bus we realized that all the other women had gone to a different area…woops. Another instance in which I felt unprepared in manners was later that night when all the women went to squat behind the bus. As I was already really uncomfortable enough, this African woman from our bus decides to squat a foot away from me, facing me, and strike up a conversation. I had NO idea how to react and quickly finished my business and got up. These moments provided a lot of laughs and definitely new experiences, but I will be excited if I never have to do the roadside pit stop ever again.
Emily Says:
The “dishing” is quite as important as the cooking; a
smear or thumb-mark on the edge of a dish is like a spot on the front of a
dress!
World Race Does:
Allows utensils and dishes to be used multiple times and by multiple people before a ‘wash’.
– During travel days a staple food item we have is peanut butter. When we have 3 days of travel on one bus, we make the sandwiches as we go. Because our spoon for peanut butter needs to be used many times by many people while on a bus, the only proper way to wash it is for the last person to lick it clean and put it back in the bag for the next user. I know this sounds disgusting, but this is the way of a world racer. As for other dishes. During our meals in Malawi we would sometimes not have enough plates, but mostly it was our lack of cups for tea. So, once one person was finished, they would pass off the plate or cup without washing.
Emily
Says:
CLOTHES are to us what fur and feathers are to beasts and birds;
they not only add to our appearance, but they are our
appearance. How we look to others entirely depends upon what we wear and how we
wear it; manners and speech are noted afterward, and character last of all.
World Race Does:
Wears the same outfit for a minimum of 3 days in a row.
– With limited space for packing and having to do laundry by hand, we want to get the most out of our clothes. In my pack for Africa I had 5 t-shirts, 3 skirts, 2 pairs of shorts. I did laundry last month 1 and a half times…please dont do that math.
Emily Says:
Bread should always be broken into small pieces with the fingers
before being eaten. If it is to be buttered (at lunch, breakfast or supper, but
not at dinner) a piece is held on the edge of the bread and butter plate, or
the place plate, and enough butter spread on it for a mouthful or two at a
time, with a small silver “butter knife.” Bread must never be held
flat on the palm of the hand and buttered in the air. If the regular steel
knife is used, care must be taken not to smear food from the knife’s side on
the butter. Any food that is smeared about is loathsome. People who have
beautiful table manners always keep their places at table neat. People with
disgusting manners get everything in a horrible mess.
World Race Does:
Eats a ridiculous amount of bread in humongous portions because there is apparently no other food in Malawi.
– For breakfast and lunch almost every day we would eat copious amounts of bread. There was a bakery close to our house that fueled our supply. When buttering (usually with peanut butter) our bread I’m pretty sure we always steered clear of plates (who wants to wash those) and thus, buttered in the air. Also, on special occasions, we would get the bread that had this vanilla cream in the middle, but more often than not it also came with a handful of ants. The ants got mixed reviews: “I dont care, I’m just gonna eat you” (Dre) or “Hey, its protein” (Ashley); and notice that not-eating the bread was not an option.
Emily Says and World Race Does:
One might say the perfect traveler is one whose digestion
is perfect, whose disposition is cheerful, who can be enthusiastic under the
most discouraging circumstances, to whom discomfort is of no moment, and who
possesses at least a sense of the ridiculous, if not a real sense of humor! The
perfect traveler furthermore, is one who possesses the virtue of punctuality;
one who has not forgotten something at the last minute, and whose bags are all
packed and down at the hour for the start. Those who fuss and flurry about
being ready, or those whose disposition is easily upset or who are inclined to
be gloomy, should not travel-unless they go alone.
I am sure some of you reading this are a little (if not a lot) disgusted by our actions. I dont mean to be gross, but sometimes in the world race life etiquette is just not an option. Mom and G-ma…I am sorry. I promise when I return I will be back to Emily’s standard.
