Please help me to read this English sentence:

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

No sense of entitlement, no unreasonable demands would be made of them to cater to other things only I would appreciate.

Koir, hi.
I’m afraid, I don’t understand this sentence.
Does it mean like this? : “Your host doesn’t need to prepare honorable feast or something only for your pleasure.”

Indeed I would, because seeing how they live and what they prefer to place in their surroundings can be and is a glimpse into their true selves when they are alone. Such openness must be received properly, and a closer friendship would result from it.

I see.
Japanese wouldn’t always become friends because they visit their houses each other.
I think this is similar to that a President of some country visits a house of a Prime Minister of another country, when they don’t always make friends personally.
Would you call it “a courtesy visit”?

It's a good idea to limit how they are used. Too much of them and the flow of reading is interrupted with concepts better used in further sentences in a composition.

Yes, I do use that clause when talking to others. You can talk faster than you can write generally, so having longer sentences is not usually a problem. When writing, the focus is on grammatical correctness and a smoother reading experience. In such situations using shorter words is preferable unless the concepts absolutely need longer words or phrases to be fully understood.

I see.
More reader-friendly is better, and shorter is also better. OK!
Koir, thanks!

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Klint

Well, it wouldn't be unusual every once in a while, just as long as it's small enough that it doesn't make them feel obligated to get you something in return. In situations where you havn't seen a friend in a while, and your close to them, I'd say it's okay to get them something a little more expensive.

The gifs we get the hosts are not that small.
I see. Japanese people would say American people don’t bring anything to their hosts.

Sure! Though if it's planned ahead of time, it will usually involve other things like cooking, ordering take-out, playing video games, watching tv/movies, etc.

I see.
I asked that question because, in certain places in Japan, they don’t visit their friends’ houses. They don’t invite their friends to their houses. Instead, they go to cafes.

Well, as a female-female friendship I would assume it's about the same as when two guys hang out at each other's houses. It's just that some things, like video game playing, aren't as popular for women here.

I didn’t know that. Do women prefer going out?

With couples who are dating, I wouldn't say stopping by each other's houses to chat is as common as the guy taking the girl out somewhere to do something.

Stopping by each other’s houses is very common in couples here.
Men in your country seem to need enormous effort to entertain their girl friends.

I wouldn't call myself an expert on the subject though.
In fact I think I've been trapped in my room for too long, and typing this makes me realize I need to get out a little more.

You don’t seem to be that way.
Is this my bias that people who trapped in their room tend to be large?

Of course.

Thank you very much, Klint!

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Columbine

For me, it depends on the circumstances. If I had never been to their house before, I might take something, especially if I was invited for a sit-down dinner. A bottle of wine or flowers, or some chocolates. It's not compulsory though.

Hi, Columbine.
It’s not compulsory. I see.
When I invited for a sit-down dinner, I bring a bottle of wine or Sake.

If it were just a casual visit with a friend, I might take some DVD's with me we could watch or if i'd done some baking, some of that in a tupperware box. Often I don't bring anything, but then it's more normal to return an invitation with an invitation. So I might not bring anything, but then they would visit my house another day instead.

So you can visit without bring anything. I can’t! This must be Japanese nature.

If it's a party, I would offer to bring something when I accepted the invitation. Obviously if it were a birthday party, i'd bring a card and a gift relative to how well I knew them.

When it’s a birthday party, I bring a gift, too.
On the other hand, we don’t have as many parties as you do.

If I have a guest visiting, it's generally polite to offer them a drink, and if they stay longer, something to eat. Like if a friend of relative pops around, i'll always offer tea and a biscuit. If it's later in the evening, I'll offer other things.

When a guest is male, I would offer tea and manjyuu(Japanese sweets).
When a guest is female, tea and a cake.
Come to think of it, I’ve never eaten biscuits for many years!

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Koir, hi.
I’m afraid, I don’t understand this sentence.
Does it mean like this? : “Your host doesn’t need to prepare honorable feast or something only for your pleasure.”

I meant that in my experience, the meals that are made as usual for the members of the family are what I eat also. Except, of course, for food I'm allergic to, such as seafood. However, in other times when I and the friend with which I'm staying want to have something to eat, we prepared it ourselves.

I see.
Japanese wouldn’t always become friends because they visit each others' houses.
I think this is similar to a country's President visiting the house of another country's Prime Minister, when they aren’t necessarily personal friends.
Would you call it “a courtesy visit”?

Yes I would. The visit is for business or political purposes, so the tone is very formal and professional.

I see.
More reader-friendly is better, and shorter is also better. OK!
Koir, thanks!

That is the goal of enjoyable writing. Though as I had explained that's not an unbreakable rule that must be followed in writing every composition. If concepts are not fully explainable using shorter words or sentences, it's just as bad as uneven writing. Every situation is different.

Glad to be of some use, Yuri!

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi, Columbine.
It’s not compulsory. I see.
When I invited for a sit-down dinner, I bring a bottle of wine or Sake.

So you can visit without bring anything. I can’t! This must be Japanese nature.

When it’s a birthday party, I bring a gift, too.
On the other hand, we don’t have as many parties as you do.

When a guest is male, I would offer tea and manjyuu(Japanese sweets).
When a guest is female, tea and a cake.
Come to think of it, I’ve never eaten biscuits for many years!

It's not compulsory, but it's considered very thoughtful and cultured if you do bring something.

I'm not sure about the parties. In Japan it's very difficult to just casually invite someone to visit. If I say to a couple of my English friends "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while, why don't you pop over this evening and we'll hang out and I'll cook dinner," it's really not a big deal, but when I've offered the same thing to some of my Japanese friends, they get very concerned that they won't be able to "pay me back in kind" or that I'm going to too much trouble. So maybe those kinds of casual gatherings are what might be considered a 'party' in Japan, but it's really not thought of like that here.

Hmm, I've never thought about offering men and women different refreshments. What happens when both a man and a woman come to visit?

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Koir

I meant that in my experience, the meals that are made as usual for the members of the family are what I eat also. Except, of course, for food I'm allergic to, such as seafood. However, in other times when I and the friend with which I'm staying want to have something to eat, we prepared it ourselves.

Hi, Koir.
I see. “Usual food would be enough and the hosts don’t need to prepare anything special”
Is this right?

Having allergic for seafood must be hard. Can’t you eat all kinds of fish?

That is the goal of enjoyable writing. Though as I had explained that's not an unbreakable rule that must be followed in writing every composition. If concepts are not fully explainable using shorter words or sentences, it's just as bad as uneven writing. Every situation is different.
Glad to be of some use, Yuri!

Thanks as always, Koir!

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Columbine

I'm not sure about the parties. In Japan it's very difficult to just casually invite someone to visit. If I say to a couple of my English friends "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while, why don't you pop over this evening and we'll hang out and I'll cook dinner," it's really not a big deal, but when I've offered the same thing to some of my Japanese friends, they get very concerned that they won't be able to "pay me back in kind" or that I'm going to too much trouble. So maybe those kinds of casual gatherings are what might be considered a 'party' in Japan, but it's really not thought of like that here.

You know Japanese very well!!
Yes. That would be considered a party here. If the guests are only two or three, we may call it a party.
When we have a big party with over ten people, we go to a restaurant or a banquet room in a hotel.
I believe guests are supposed to be relaxed in the hosts’ house in the US, while in Japan, guests are commonly supposed to behave like a “guest”. It means the guests sit properly and can’t leave dinner, as you may know.

Hmm, I've never thought about offering men and women different refreshments. What happens when both a man and a woman come to visit?

I would offer Japanese sweets.
Many women love cakes (The picture below. When Japanese people say “cakes”, we commonly mean that kind of cakes with cream and sponge.) Many men dislike them, and they prefer Japanese sweets because it’s not greasy or too sweet.
Most women like Japanese sweets, too. So I would offer Japanese sweets.

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

You know Japanese very well!!
Yes. That would be considered a party here. If the guests are only two or three, we may call it a party.
When we have a big party with over ten people, we go to a restaurant or a banquet room in a hotel.
I believe guests are supposed to be relaxed in the hosts’ house in the US, while in Japan, guests are commonly supposed to behave like a “guest”. It means the guests sit properly and can’t leave dinner, as you may know.

I would offer Japanese sweets.
Many women love cakes (The picture below. When Japanese people say “cakes”, we commonly mean that kind of cakes with cream and sponge.) Many men dislike them, and they prefer Japanese sweets because it’s not greasy or too sweet.
Most women like Japanese sweets, too. So I would offer Japanese sweets.

*W* it was one of the few times I ever really felt there was a massive difference between England and Japan. The first time my friend tried it, her japanese freind's response was more or less "I can't come to your house for dinner; I don't have a kitchen," which caused a lot of confusion and we ended up doing something else instead. Eventually she came to dinner when she was in the UK, though, so it worked out in the end!

Mmmm, the mont blanc looks delicious! ;__; I want some Japanese sweets now.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by YuriTokoro

Hi, Koir.
I see. “Usual food would be enough and the hosts don’t need to prepare anything special”
Is this right?

Yes, that's right.

Being allergic to seafood must be hard. Can’t you eat all kinds of fish?

The most difficult part of having a seafood allergy is being leery of pink-coloured pasta salads at a buffet. If they aren't labeled, I think of the salad as seafood-based and don't take any.

As for being allergic to fish...there have been a couple times I've eaten things like noodle bowls or salad dressing containing fish and haven't died (obviously), so it's not an absolute thing. However, I still want to be cautious and not eat something my body doesn't seem to take well.

[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Columbine

*W* it was one of the few times I ever really felt there was a massive difference between England and Japan.

Hi, Columbine. I’m sorry! I had thought you lived in the US.

[quote]The first time my friend tried it, her japanese freind's response was more or less "I can't come to your house for dinner; I don't have a kitchen," which caused a lot of confusion and we ended up doing something else instead. Eventually she came to dinner when she was in the UK, though, so it worked out in the end![/QUOTE
It must have been great confusion of your friend.
I’m relieved to hear it worked out in the end.

Mmmm, the mont blanc looks delicious! ;__; I want some Japanese sweets now.

Actually, the mont blanc and other sweets in the picture were not Japanese confectionery. They are called “yougashi 洋菓子（ようがし）” =western confectionery. “洋” is from“西洋(せいよう)”.

Japanese confectionery is like this picture. I offer Japanese ones when the guests are male.