Jentobeharrison:
We live less than an hour from your fiance so it might be that the regionalisms you've pointed out apply to both our situations.

I can't say that I'm OC when it comes to cleaning. I don't mind dust, and I don't freak out when the house is a little untidy. However, I will panic, visibly or not, when I see cross-contamination between wet/raw food and sticky floors. In my family, we've always followed the clean-as-you-go rule (CAYG), and as long as that's followed, I'm pretty easy to get along with.

For the most part, I don't have any complaints about my husband's hygiene. He showers every day, always wears deodorant, and brushes his teeth twice a day. He's learned to wash his hands after handling garbage too. Also, after that one incident in 2009 when he tried to scrub a smudge off my face with his spit and I slapped his hand away, he's never done it again.

I've never had a problem with eating with one's hands. As far as I'm concerned, as long as a person washes his hands before and after the meal, he can eat with his hands or whichever utensil he prefers. Of course, this may stem from the fact that I grew up in the province, and we ate with our hands on the farm or on the beach. My city-bred cousins don't know how to properly eat with their hands and they inevitably get their food on everything. When the technique is right, the food is only ever touched with the fingers of the right hand, and it doesn't get anywhere else. It's actually quite a tidy way to eat if you know how.

When we're not with company, I do the same thing you do when it comes to food that my husband leaves on his plate. As long as it's not ABC (i.e., already been chewed), of course.

My husband's accused me of being a pedant several times through the years, but we usually get along when it comes to the English language. His grammar is impeccable, and I trust his usage and pronunciation of any local terms he teaches me.

It may well take me ten years to adjust to the local culture. Hopefully, with the steps we've taken since I posted my questions here, my husband and I can make the transition easier on everyone.

Thanks for the well wishes! I'm actually in early labour now. If I disappear from the forum for a few days, it means I have my hands full.

Quote Originally Posted by les_taxi View Post
Yes, interesting post but I feel it's hard work following it all... The posts are good don't get me wrong but it would do my head in having to think every action through.
I wouldn't deny that it might be daunting to an outsider looking in, but we gradually learn these rules starting from even before we can walk. If you pay attention to what Filipino mothers coo to their babies during bath time or nappy changes or feeding time, you'll notice the mothers inject bits of our hygiene rules in the things they say. It doesn't feel like too much to us because it's all we've ever known, really.