I'm a client paying for my take-out at a small authentic restaurant and quite pregnant. The female asian clerk is laying it on thick with:
"Are you sure there is just one in there?
= Yup! Just one!
Really?!?! That can't be!
= I tend to get big, it was the same for my first, I got a lot of comments."
"When are you due? It must be soon?"
= Sometime in mid-November...still quite a way to go!"
staring at my belly with wide surprised eyes ...and more.
The place is pretty small, it sits maybe 20 people at most. It's mostly a counter with a little grocery. The lady was about my age and quite loud.
I'm assuming she may not be native to the culture because she had a pretty thick accent, possibly Japanese.
I could tell she wasn't ill-intentioned but a bit clueless of local etiquette. I've had a lot of similar comments from other local workers but they're not typically as loud or expressive and a bit more careful.
I wasn't angry and played along to an extent as to not make her uncomfortable (and I'm getting used to this). It got me wondering however, that if it were me, I would want to know if I was doing something rude in a culture that isn't my own.
I don't go there very often but often enough to recognize workers' faces. She seemed to be a new employee.
How could you let someone from a different culture know that they are doing something rude without putting them on the spot in the workplace?