3 Bedroom Bungalow to Let in Crazytown: Tea Time

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tea Time

When you live abroad you can't help but notice the difference between your host culture and your home culture. The comparisons can be made everywhere, even when you are not trying. Granted, as far as expats go, I have adjusted to living abroad fairly well. I think because I made the decision that I was going to love living in England before I moved here, so I think it may have been a bit easier for me. That being said, there are things that make me still shake my head and say (usually in my head) "What the hell?"

Lately, the biggest difference I have noticed is that my English friends eat dinner a LOT later than I do. To me, dinner time is five o'clock pm, six a the latest. From twitter conversations, I have noticed that most of my friends on this side of the pond eat anywhere from seven to ten in the evening (of course feeding the children earlier and getting them off to bed)(of course there are always exceptions to the rule and a few who eat at "normal" times). I just don't know how they do it. At four I am generally hungry enough to start thinking about what is for dinner, or looking through cookbooks (yes, I will just randomly look through cookbooks), by four thirty I am usually cooking. Dinner is on the table by five.

Is it really a cultural difference though? Am I imagining this perceived difference? Is it really more of a circumstantial event? Well, last night I took an impromptu twitter poll, and the results were inconclusive. Best answers however were, "When the beer stops" and "Whenever my husband cooks it".

So I ask you this: What side of the Atlantic are you on and what time do you eat dinner/tea?

Comments (23)

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yummymummyno1 60p · 776 weeks ago

We like to all sit down and eat together as a family every night so we always eat between say 5 and 6 as the children just wouldn't make it until any later! But saying that, I don't think I would either.. ; )
Oh, and I'm in the UK by the way x

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strawberriesandwhine 1p · 776 weeks ago

Am in Germany, but from the UK. We tend to eat at about 7pm, as by this time, my hubby is usually home from work, and T goes to bed about 8:30pm. We think it's really important to eat together as a family, and any earlier or later wouldn't work for us.

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vodka logic · 776 weeks ago

I'm on the US side and have lived in the UK. We always ate earlier but that could be our American culture showng. My husband doesn't get home from work until 6pm and since he is the primary cook we do eat later.

What I get a kick out of [on twitter esp] is how you have adapted to so many English expressions. Do you children have the accent? I know I did as a youngster liveing in the UK
xx

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muummmeeeee! · 776 weeks ago

My husband doesn't usually get in from work until at least 8pm so I feed the kids earlier and then the two us eat together. Not ideal and I'd much rather we all ate together during the week but the kids would have worked their way through the entire fridge if they had to wait until 8ish for their meal!

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sezi13 · 776 weeks ago

We try and all eat together one week night (usually Friday) and both weekend nights so this tends to be 5:30/6ish. On the other days though, by the time I've finished work/studying & hubby is home we generally feed littl'un & wait to have our meal together later, usually 8ish. I worry that if I ate earlier I'd want snacks later in the evening!!!

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joy · 776 weeks ago

I am in the U.S. but spent time in the UK and I agree with you..they eat way to late!! By the time we would sit down (with the friends hosting us) my belly was begging in a really whiney way "feed me." My stomach is a well trained machine...on a schedule babydoll! Here at home we eat at no later than 5:30ish...oh and I eat a little as I cook!HA!

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TheLadyWhoLunches 68p · 776 weeks ago

Since I lived in France, I was used to the whole eating later thing. Then, when I lived in NYC, it was even later than that. Then, after having lived in LA for a good 5 years, it was in between - like 6 or 7ish. I was all ready for that to happen here in England - to eat later, that is - Jock's mum has dinner on the table at 6PM every night for her husband. Jock and I tend to eat around 7ish...but it's whenever we are hungry...it varies... Doesn't help at all, huh?

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domineehuisvrouw 2p · 776 weeks ago

I'm in Canada, & we at at 5:30, but when we lived in England I worked until 7 & so we tended to eat around 8. Most of my friends did the same & if they had kids, the children would eat before they got home. That was in London, & a lot of the city jobs went late, so I figured that was a large part of why everyone ate so late.

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Jess · 776 weeks ago

Well, being with out chirrens and all, we eat when we eat. Or not at all. Like last night. Beer is a PERFECTLY fine dinner.

However, when Mom had to cook for us three kids, dinner was on the table around 6:00pm.

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dutchgrrrl · 776 weeks ago

I'm in California and our family eats at 7pm - when I was growing up (and that was a loooonnnngggg time ago) we ate at 6-7pm depending on my age.

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fadkog · 776 weeks ago

I'm over here in the United States. Ideally, we try to sit down and eat no later than 6:30 p.m., because, honestly, I can't stand the idea of having to clean up dinner messes the later the night gets. However, with the nicer weather back for the time being, it's hard to think about going inside and tackling this task. Last night, we ate around 7:30 p.m.

And right now? Now I'm going to go try to scrounge up some breakfast!

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unmitigated me · 776 weeks ago

Meds kill my appetite, so I don't generally have dinner. Hubs gets home from work, usually around 6:30. If he has choir practice, he doesn't eat until 9 or 10! I don't know how he does it, but then he's usually up until about 1 a.m.

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Aunt Juicebox · 776 weeks ago

Yeah, we eat about 5 or 6 here (Ohio) as well. However, my daughter's dad will eat much later, and has even dropped her off here at 8 pm having not fed her because they didn't eat dinner yet, and she'll be starving. That's typically because they don't get out of bed til noon (with an infant no less, I don't know how they do it) so meals are adjusted later.

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bumbling 51p · 776 weeks ago

On twitter last night I said between 8 and 9 I think, but that's been since we've had Moo. I'm in the UK. My sister in the US however eats around the same time if not later!

On work nights, Moo has "tea" at nursery at around 4, so just has a snack when I get her home around 6. We then want to spend time with her until she goes to bed at 8, and then I go cook, so we eat once that's done.

On my non-working days, whilst hubbie is at work, the earliest we could eat all together would be around 6.30, and that's just too long for moo to wait, and too late for her to still go to bed at 8. So I still tend to give her her tea at 5ish and we eat when she's gone to bed.

Once she's a little bit older and can hang on a little longer, I'd like to plan dinners so we can eat all together at 6.30 ish. That was when we ate as a family when I was young, although hubbie's family still had the kid/adult division of eating times. And then I'd have my evening back!! Please!!!!!

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Damon · 776 weeks ago

We're here in the Western U.S.. I shoot for 5:45 to 6:15P, but often times Little League, dance or my wife staying late at work dictate a tad later. I know down in Mexico where my sister-in-law lives, dinner is much much later, like 8 to 9P.

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crunchiemummy 61p · 776 weeks ago

Ooh, what a good discussion you've got going here!

Unless we're dining out or if the kids have after their school activities to get to, I usually have dinner on table for 6 - 6:30. The earliest the hubby gets home is 7:30 and I'm way too hungry, tired and cranky to wait for him. I lived in the UK most of my childhood, but am now in the USA so not sure if it's a cultural thing to dine later or not. I just do as my mum did and she likely did as her mum did and so on. I have friends and family on both sides of the pond who eat both earlier and later depending on kids' homework, schedules etc.

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Jenni · 776 weeks ago

I'm in the U.S. and we have dinner between 6 and 6:30

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Gretchen · 776 weeks ago

US here, and we eat around 6:30 and 7. But before we had the kid, it was totally random. I hate to admit that one of the big reasons that I eat on the early side is that if I eat after 7:30 or so, it all heads straight to my belly fat!

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BrightonMumTeenAngst · 776 weeks ago

I'm in the UK, but I think the 'time' is more to do with how old the children are. When my were the same age as yours & a little older it was between 5 & 6pm, to allow for all the bedtime/bath routines/story reading etc. But as they've got older and are now out and about on their own more, working/college, its later. Normally about 7-7.30 and occasionally 8pm.

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SueAnn · 776 weeks ago

I am in the US of A! We eat around 7PM. Hubby doesn't get home from work until 6:30PM so we eat a little late. We are both hungry around 4PM but I just keep working until he get home.
So there you have it...it is by necessity that we eat later.
Hugs
SueAnn

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Nicole · 776 weeks ago

I'm on the west coast of the US and I like to eat around 6pm. A lot of times though it just depends on our schedules that day. With my guy working swings and not being home at night during the week I may end up not eating till 8 or 9pm with the munchkin being fed earlier of course lol.

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MuddlingAlong 19p · 776 weeks ago

We eat later than I'd like, usually 8.30 / 9pm because that's when we're both home from work

Children eat at 5.30 so I tend to have a snack them to see me through (can't seem to do the big bedtime breastfeed without extra food!)

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Maryann · 776 weeks ago

Im in the UK, We are tied to a 5pm every day routine wether we like it or not! What baby wants, Baby gets!

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