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Thread: Who pays for the meals?

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[quote=MIRANDAZHAO,248561]Last night, my friend told me on the internet that he met an American exchange student who has recently come to China to study. Yesterday afternoon. She ran into her friend, and after they talked for a while her friend suggested that they dine out together. They went to a little  restaurant nearby and they each had a bowl of noodles. After they finished the meal, her American friend asked her how much her bowl of noodles cost. She said that since the American friend was new in China, she decided to treat her American friend to dinner, so she gave the waitress money for both of their dinners. The American friend seemed surprised and not very happy and said she wanted to pay for her own dinner. She said they should " go Dutch". My friend felt that the experience is a little awkward and unpleasant.

She asked why Americans always pay for their own meals.  Another friend said that Westerners pay for themselves because their " ren qing wei bi jiao dan. ( I don't know exactly how to translate this into English-- it means something like Westerners don't emphasize relationships between people as much as Chinese do.) Is this true? Who pays for the meals when dining out with your friends? Do you always " go Dutch"?[/quote]

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