MetaChat - They are Glad to Receive Us

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26 March 2013

They are Glad to Receive Us We are planning a trip to Europe→[More:] in September. We are delighted and lucky beyond measure to have a place to stay with a friend outside London.

In France, my wife has an old school friend in a small town in Brittany. Apprised of our trip, this friend said that she and her husband would be happy to "receive" us in their house. The correspondence was in German, which is the 2nd language for both my wife and her friend.

Now, we were not planning on asking to be put up there, but did we get invited to stay with them? It is no huge deal either way, but still it would be nice.

post by: danf at: 16:18 | 8 comments

The same thing here . . . we are about to visit friends in Yorkshire, and it has become very clear to us that they expect us to stay with them.

Of course, we love them, so this will likely be fine.

I wonder if this is a European thing?

posted by bearwife 26 March | 17:03

My interpretation would be: They would be happy to see you. To visit with you, in their home, probably have you over for lunch or dinner.

To find out for sure, reply with something to this effect:
"We will be in Small Brittany Town from 11 September through 14 September. We look forward to our visit with you very much. Is there a hotel nearby that you recommend?"

Could I please come with you?

posted by Kangaroo 26 March | 17:51

I think it may be a European thing, as I've let many a foreign band crash on my floor and they seem strangely surprised by an American or oddly entitled. But this may be a touring thing.

posted by ethylene 26 March | 22:42

It may be a "if you are use to letting people just crash" thing. I dunno if etiquette has changed dramatically but if I have the space, I have no issue with it, especially if they are tourists.

posted by ethylene 26 March | 22:45

Not sure if there is such a thing as a "European thing" (I'm European) - more of a language barrier thing. I think Kangaroo has a very elegant solution - if they are inviting you to stay it'll become apparent in their reply.

FWIW if it were me in such circumstances I'd invite an old school-friend to stay in my house, though I'd probably be a bit clearer about it.

posted by altolinguistic 27 March | 06:04

I would actually leave out the hotel reference and see if they then propose a single date for dinner.

posted by occhiblu 27 March | 08:22

Silly me, I breezed through and didn't realize it was unclear if they did, not if you should accept.
Yeah, ask about the area alluding to accommodations, I guess.
To me, I'd have more to do with if you knew they would be accommodating to such a thing in the first place, have the room, are that close, wouldn't be an inconvenience, etc. etc. as to whether or not it was acceptable to just ask.

posted by ethylene 27 March | 20:38

Is the friend French? I've been told that one has to be very special to a French person before s/he is invited to his/her home for a meal/cocktails.

My hunch is that the invitation was something to this effect.

posted by brujita 27 March | 23:01

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