According to Pakistani culture, if you are with say a very older Auntie or Uncle, elder enough to be your grandparents’ generation, then who should pay ? The younger person or the much older person ? i was in that situation, and all there was to do was to order something small. But i don’t really know them that well, recently mulaqaat hui hai, so i felt awkward expecting them to pay; and besides, i am young enough to be their grand-daughter - so shouldn’t i be the one paying. But to judge by the look on their face, i think i was wrong - it should be the older one paying ? i think Uncle took it personally, he treats me like his daughter even though we just met, but i don’t really know him THAT well, but dunno why he literally treats me like his daughter. Itni choTi si baat but by the look on his face i knew instantly i had offended him. i don’t want to hurt his feelings next time. i feel awful about it now… According to Pakistani norms, it should be the elder person who pays - i guess ? Reasons i thought otherwise: we don’t know each other that well yet, and the older person is very elderly… tau wouldn’t it have been badtameez of me to expect him to pay ? You do that with friends of your own age, whom you joke around with and tease on a day-to-day basis, not with an elderly Uncle jab nai nai mulaqaat hui hai. Right ? Or wrong? GhaR a kar ab soch mai par gai…now i’m worried.
Please let me know, folks; this Uncle is like your stereotyped grandfatherly figure, so sweet and so kind, so i especially am averse to hurting his feelings again… according to Pakistani etiquette, did i commit a social faux pas ?
ps- would the situation have been different if i had been a male ?
