Is it rude to ask people foreign to your country about their customs and lives?

Tonight I was having Thanksgiving at my uncle’s place. He had invited a foreigner from India who is working with my uncle to learn about an American company that he will then implement in India when he returns home (I believe that was the gist of it). I was asking him about his customs, such as if he eats turkey at home (he said in India he eats more goat and chicken; never turkey). The guy seemed pretty eager to share, and it worked out because I was pretty eager to learn. On the car ride home, my dad said he felt like showering a foreigner with questions about his customs was alienating him… I disagree. As long as you are courteous and polite, I don’t see an issue with it.

What do the jellies think?