When visitors come to your house, what do you? What is your visitor ritual?
Growing up, we had monthly visits from the home teachers. As I Christian/caring human being, we all need to take care of each other. My faith implements this by trying to have each home in a congregation visited once a month by "home teachers" (men visiting families) and "visiting teachers" (women visiting women). As a child, we all gathered in the living room with the less comfortable couch as my dad and my mom talked to these men who came to visit. I love home teaching visits now that I'm the parent and the visitor is more my peer. But yeah, he comes in, we talk, he leaves.
I'm coming to realize, though, that my personal culture and perhaps my area of LDS culture's visitor rituals are not standard, American visitor rituals. On my mission for the Church in Europe, we were often offered something to drink or eat when we visited homes and as a hungry and thirsty missionary, I always appreciated such kind offers. I never compared their hospitality to my own, until...
A lady I visit as a visiting teacher, who recently joined our LDS faith (and culture, by consequence), always has bottled water and treats for us when we visit her. Always. Even after I explained to her that the other girl who visits with me has dietary restrictions. I never offer water/treats to visiting teachers nor home teachers, and they don't seem to expect it. I think I need to work on my hospitality rituals.
What are your hospitality rituals?
You should come along to visit my dad and that side of the family. The have a table full of fruits, nuts, sweets, and drinks. I felt like an idiot when I wasn't prepared for visitors, but it wasn't part of my culture growing up.
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