Many things are done differently in my wife's clan -- in contrast with my own background -- and she herself belongs to her clan of course. One of these things is the whole area of gift giving. This post is about thank yous. If a gift is appropriate, there is typically soft thanks -- or should I say thankfulness -- not necessarily expressed in words. The surprise for me was that people do not hesitate to say that a gift is the wrong one, or culturally inappropriate. OBSERVATION: In fact this is very helpful. It helps one to give gifts which are appropriate, and it is refreshing to be told it is the wrong gift. The most striking example was the bride price, where as a joke a brother-in-law advised some wrong gifts. I presented my gifts, and my (future) father-in-law said, "No. No." My brother-in-law couldn't wait to hear what happened.
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