Culture change - one person at a time

Wasting food vs. being a good host. A good Chinese host always provides an abundance of food, regardless of the number of guests. There must be leftovers to show that I can afford to feed you till you can't eat any more. Official banquets must be lavish. Tables must overflow with expensive and exotic food. Even if I'm eating alone or with 1 other person, I must order 2-3 dishes. We eat less than half of each dish, finish all our rice, and leave. The leftovers get thrown away. Normal practice in China.

Enter Operation Empty Plate. Here's what it is (taken from www.businessinsider.com):
"Beijing has launched a campaign (People's Daily) against waste and official gluttony. It began with "four dishes and a soup" and has progressed to "operation empty plate". "Operation empty plate" apparently was started by netizens earlier this month, Sina Weibo has promoted it and today it is on page one of People's Daily--人民日报-吃光盘中餐　今日不剩饭 “光盘行动”得到热烈响应. The People's Daily says that "operation empty plate" has been forwarded "50 million" times around the Internet (记者追踪“今天，你吃光盘中食物了吗” “光盘行动”被转发5000万次).

Whether it is really a grassroots movement or something coordinated by the Ministry of Propaganda with assistance from Sina, it is desperately needed here as the amount of food waste is quite shocking (South China Morning Post): Agricultural scientist Yuan Longping has called on Beijing to stop people wasting tens of thousands of tonnes of food each year by issuing fines.

Yuan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who is known as "the father of hybrid rice", said he had seen too many sumptuous banquets that ended up with many leftovers. The People's Daily cartoonists are quite talented and today they have a good one (Screenshot) depicting officials pigging out under a table in response to the campaign to stop waste and gluttony. Today's paper also has a commentary about special privileges and waste--人民日报-吃空饷背后的身份特权."

What good is a campaign if it's just on paper? Enter Mr Cheng Guangbiao, Chinese billionaire and philanthropist. He led by example (as shown in the picture above). "Better to take action than to say it 1000 times!" He may be a controversial figure in Chinese society, but, hey, at least he's doing something about not wasting food, rather than just paying lip-service! I label him a trend-setter.

Doing business in China is sometimes a mystery. You can read all the books (which is a really good thing to do), yet it never really prepares you for reality. Just make sure you are ready to eat good food and drink lots of hard liquor.

Have fun doing business in the world's #5 Fastest Growing Country - China!

Fun Language Tools

Do Asians hug each other?

It is very common for Asian women to hug in public, especially among the younger crowd. Men? No way! Hugging is sissy! Worse, people will think they're gay. Homosexuality in most parts of Asia is still frowned upon, not celebrated. Hugging between men and women? They will be viewed in the same way as if they were having sex in public. Unacceptable behaviour.

"Hugging is a good medicine. It transfers energy and gives the person hugged an emotional lift. You need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 for maintenance and 12 for growth. Scientists say that hugging is a form of communication because it can say things you don't have the words for. And the nicest thing about a hug is that you usually can't give one without getting one." - quoted

My Cambodian friend who is rather western in her ways posted the above quote. I love it! I love hugs too!
A Junior High School class in America were doing a lesson on the Seven Wonders of the World. Each listed what they thought were the official list, then the class voted and narrowed the list down. One quiet girl was asked what her list was because she didn't say anything during the lesson.

"I think the Seven Wonders of the World are:

1. to touch...
2. to taste...
3. to see...
4. to hear... (She hesitated a little, and then added...)
5. to feel...
6. to laugh...
7. and to love.

Human beings regardless of culture are the same. We are all made to love and be loved. Anybody young or old will enjoy being hugged. I do!

I've been pleasantly surprised in the last year or so that my Asian male friends do ask me for a hug. They're not perverts, neither are they "the special someone". They're my good friends! I enjoy their company, just as much as they do mine. We hug because we want to express our joy at meeting each other again. Maybe Asian culture is changing to be more expressive and less repressive.

Let's spread the love around with a friendship hug!

Fun Language Tools

Culture change begins with me

More stories on Asian nosiness. Or at least what the non-Asian perceives as nosiness.

I first visited Cambodia in 1994, then stayed a year to work there, beginning 1995. This was how we introduced ourselves to each other:

Khmer: (Hands clasped in front of you as though in prayer) Hello.
Foreigner: (Respond with same hand gesture) Hello.
Khmer: Where are you from?
Foreigner: I'm from America (or whatever country you come from).
Khmer: How old are you?
Foreigner: Old enough (said with a big smile)
Khmer: Are you married?
Foreigner: Yes (or No)
Khmer: How much is your salary?
Foreigner: Not much, but compared to your country, a lot. Remember, things are very expensive in my country.

Notice that the Khmer person never asked for a name. You see, in Khmer culture, names are not important. Age, marital status and salary are public information. To the western person, age and salary are classified or restricted or private information! But, the Khmer has no ill-intent. They want to know how old you are, so that they can address you by the correct term: older sibling, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, teacher, etc. It is not polite to call someone by name. The correct title must be used.

Thankfully, times have changed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. By the time we entered the year 2000 and beyond, anyone under age 25 years would introduce themselves the western way, by saying his name first. Age is still somewhat public information, but not salary. Young people said they hate it when their older relatives tell everyone how much they earn. If you earn a lot, telling everyone is to show off. If you earn a little, it's too embarrassing to tell others. The young don't like it.

So, does culture change over time? Yes. It begins with a group of people who refuse to follow the trend, but set a new trend instead. What good trend do I want to set for my culture?

Fun Language Tools

Why are Asians so nosey?

Asians can be so intrusive. And this applies to Asians anywhere in the world, including those who reside outside Asia.

My Singaporean Chinese friend moved back to Singapore, after many years in the US. While her new home was undergoing renovations, the lady living next door barged right into the messy living room, took a quick look at the on-going work, and barked at my friend, "How much are you paying for the renovation?"

My alarmed friend managed to mutter something like, "Around $40,000." Not satisfied, the lady demanded, "40-what thousand?" She refused to leave until she had extracted the exact amount from my friend.

A family friend who is also Singaporean Chinese, lives in Australia and attends a church with a large Asian congregation. Shortly after the university exam results were announced, Asian members of the church marched up to ask my friend how her son had done. Knowing that her son hates such intrusion, she diplomatically replied, "Oh, he did well." Not satisfied, the nosey people shot back, "How WELL did he do?" Being a corporate high flier, she was used to such nonsense and revealed nothing. These nosey folks then went to the son to ask for his detailed scores!

I can cite so many more similar stories. Westerners would be mortified at such perceived rudeness. Thankfully, many young Asians have grown to detest such behaviour, preferring the politeness of the Western ways.

Perhaps the communal nature of Asian culture breeds a "no secrets" way of life. Privacy is unheard of. Whatever you own or have achieved is common knowledge and sometimes the subject of much jealousy. Is this a good thing?

Personally, I think not. I am a product of both east and west, but more west than east. I respect people's privacy. I do not intrude, and hope that others do the same to me. But sometimes, going cross-cultural forces me to exercise diplomacy without treading on people's toes. Will Asians change? I think so. Once the older folks who perpetuate this nosey-parker behaviour die off, this habit should die with them. The young generation of Asians do not poke their noses into other people's affairs.

Respect another's privacy. It breeds good relationships. Respect another's culture. You will both be happier for it.

You can read all about different cultures at Fun Language Tools.

Happy learning!

Singaporeans' Heart Language - Uniquely Singaporean

My Singaporean Chinese friend has lived in China for 10 years. She was educated in English, spoke Cantonese at home, and studied Mandarin in school as a second language. We converse with each other in English, with some Mandarin and Cantonese thrown in, when we can't find a good-enough word in English to describe what we want to say.

After 10 years in a foreign land, her heart language has changed. She said she's more comfortable talking to God in Chinese, which is closer to her heart language, than in English, which was her heart language before!

Strangely enough, the first time we met, we spoke to each other in Mandarin. We were complete strangers thrown together to share a room at a conference because the organiser had mixed up my room assignment. I assumed she was from Mainland China. She didn't know what to make of me. When I said I was from Singapore, she replied, "Oh, I'm from Singapore too!" Then, we immediately switched to speaking English!

Why would we suddenly switch to speaking English when we were perfectly fine conversing in Mandarin? I don't think either of us has an answer. Having grown up in Singapore, I guess we are just used to using English or "Singlish" daily. Maybe our real heart language is not English, but "Singlish"!

For me, I talk to God in whatever language that first comes to my mind. Sometimes, I start in English and end up in Mandarin, or Indonesian. Some days I wonder if I can ever talk solely in 1 language for an extended period of time. I have too many languages in my head. I use whatever word comes to mind, especially when I know the listener understands that language too. Perhaps it makes my life more colourful, but it could drive other people crazy. I have too many friends who communicate in sentences made up of words from different languages. We don't even realise what we're doing. It's just natural for us. Thankfully, we all understand each other perfectly well.

So, what is my heart language? I don't know anymore. I'm happy to communicate in any language that you and I understand. Most importantly, my God understands what I'm trying to say.

Enrich your life today! Learn a new language!

Fun Language Tools

What's your "heart language"?

Language is a funny thing. We use it to communicate, whether orally or in written form. We learn language from the day we are born, by hearing the sounds made by those around us - parents, siblings, grandparents, caregivers, etc. As we grow older, we learn to use the language properly, or even learn a new language in school. Even the hearing impaired have their own language, called Sign Language.

As much as we use language to communicate head to head, what speaks to the inner depths of our beings is the "heart language", the language we spoke at home, not the language we use with the outside world for business.

Speak to the heart is an excellent explanation of how excited one can get over a language. This is where the key to touching a life lies. "Heart language" is not "language of the heart". By the latter, we mean "love" and "affection". The former is a complete language that makes us alive when we hear it spoken, even by perfect strangers.

What's my heart language? I don't know anymore. It used to be English, my first language. But now that I can speak 4 other languages, any one of those makes my heart come alive too! English is just the language I'm most fluent in, I guess.

Whether you speak only 1 language or multiple languages, you will always find satisfaction in learning a new language. Let's go multi-lingual today!

Fun Language Tools

Get an edge, learn a language

Poor job market. I can't find a job. I need a job.

Same story around the world. So what do enterprising young Americans do? Go overseas! Can't find work at home? No problem. Let's see what I can find in another country. I'll earn money. I'll learn to live and adapt to a new culture. I'll learn a new language. I may like it so much that I'll never move back to America again. After all, it's A Whole New World out there!

Several years ago, there was an article in the news saying that fresh American graduates were heading to China to teach English. No jobs available for them in America. Young, fresh, energetic, no commitments. Why not?

Lots of Chinese people are learning English because they want to have a better life. Learning English is the key to getting out of the cycle of poverty. The same is true in so many Asian countries. English is the universal language today. Even surfing the Worldwide Web requires some knowledge of English.

But what gives you the edge over someone else with the same qualifications is your knowledge of another language. Today, being bilingual is not enough. It's competitive out there. You want to get ahead? Go learn more than one language. Get good at it. You will never regret the decision.

Don't know where to begin? Start here at Fun Language Tools. Jump right into 2013 with resolve. Learn a new language today! Get an edge over your friends.

Happy learning and communicating!

Fun Language Tools

Update tradition to fit in with the times

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Young people are not interested in traditional music or instruments any more. Polytechnic Chinese orchestra will have to close due to falling membership. Solution? Change the repertoire. Play pop songs. What are the latest hits? K Pop, of course! Winning formula! From a membership of 30, this student Chinese orchestra is now 150 strong and playing to sold out audiences at the main concert hall in town.

Who said traditional Chinese musical instruments can't play any other kind of music? Sure, the sound may be slightly different from the original, but what this teacher has done has breathed new life into a dying tradition. K Pop music played with traditional Chinese instruments is new and refreshing. More importantly, it's drawing the crowds and bringing in the money.

So what is culture anyway? One of the definitions is "the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group". (Source: dictionary.reference.com) As with anything on earth, culture evolves and changes with the times. You could call it a trend, I suppose. What's important is this: this teacher is a trend setter, not a trend follower.

While a part of us reminisces the old, we do appreciate the new. Sometimes the new could simply be following the trend of the day, but giving it a little twist. Ride the wave while it's up! The wave will die down soon enough. Then it's time to look out for the next new wave.

What's the new save in your part of the world now? Does it involve learning a new language? K Pop is all about Korean culture and language. You want to sing K Pop or be the next K Pop star? Go learn Korean today!

Ride the new wave! Learn a new language today!

Fun Language Tools

Eating some kinds of food bring wealth

Braised pork trotters Braised pork trotters. My favourite food. Actually, I like pork trotters cooked in different ways: boiled in soup, Filipino style crispy pata, German pork knuckles, etc.

Crispy Pata I had dinner with a Lao young man and two teenagers (one male and one female) from China. The teen from China observed the Lao man as he was eating braised pork trotters. Then he said, "In Guangzhou, every family must eat this dish for Chinese New Year. You know why? What does a pig do with his trotters? Dig around in the ground, right? So Cantonese (people from Guangzhou) believe that if you eat pork trotters, you will find wealth, like the pig digging in the mud." The Lao man stopped eating to shake the hand of the China teen. He was so pleased to know that someone had just wished him prosperity!

I learned something new that night. I am a Cantonese. My father's family is pure Cantonese. We never ate pork trotters during Chinese New Year. The most auspicious food served was the pancreas of the pig because in the Cantonese play of words, the word for pancreas sounds like 旺财顺利 or great wealth smoothly flowing in. Even then, only my dad, being the eldest son, got to eat it because it's a very small piece. So much for sharing of wealth.

Well, if you don't eat pork, then this dish is definitely not for you. It doesn't mean you won't be wealthy. The only definite thing about eating pork trotters is raising your bad cholesterol level and possibly getting a heart attack from all that fat consumed! Of course, that depends on which culture you come from.

Ultimately, just enjoy the cross-cultural experience. Learn a new language and be able to share the best of your culture with a new friend!

Here's to enjoying food of different cultures!

Fun Language Tools

Learn to write Chinese beautifully

Chinese writing is not easy. Chinese words or characters are based on pictures of the actual item, rather than made up of parts of a phoenetically-based alphabet. (For example, the character for "moon" 月 looks like a crescent moon.) However, there is a system to writing each character. After that, comes the art of Chinese writing.

"To Write Chinese Words" is a DVD that teaches you how to write beautiful Chinese characters using a pen. You could call it calligraphy with a pen, instead of using a brush. In traditional Chinese calligraphy, you have to learn how to hold a Chinese writing brush correctly, then dip it in ink before you can begin to write, "To Write Chinese Words" uses an ordinary pen, which you are already familiar with. No added stress.

You will often hear a Chinese person say, "My handwriting is so messy," (我的字很潦草。）or "My Chinese handwriting does not look good." （我的书法不好看。）One of my friend's received this unkind remark from her primary school Chinese teacher, "Your characters look like devils dancing." (你的字好像鬼在跳舞。） Needless to say, she never mastered the Chinese language, nor the writing!

The beauty of the DVD is that there is a dual track for language of instruction: English or Mandarin, with subtitles in that language. You may not be conversant in Mandarin, but that will not stop you from learning to write beautifully. If you are a student of the Japanese or Korean languages, you can also use this DVD, with instructions in English. Chinese characters are also part of Japanese and Korean writing systems.

Learn Mandarin, Japanese or Korean (or all 3 languages!) and pick up a new skill today! Impress your friends and family!

Fun Language Tools

Does eating fat kill you?

Here's some fun facts that a friend sent me:

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

I did say food unites us across the globe! Here's to eating what we enjoy!

Enjoy learning a new language today!

Fun Language Tools

New Year, New Language

What's the best way for my daughter to learn Chinese?
What's the best method to learn English?
There must be some method or technique to learning languages!

I have been asked this question too many times. Yes, I market language learning tools! Yes, there are lots of different books and packages out there for you to choose from. What's the best?

My advice is to get as many different books or packages that you can afford to buy and use them altogether. Get learning any way you can, that's what my English Literature teacher told us 17-year-old students a long time ago. Something will stick one way or another.

So, here's my recommendations of top selling software packages:
Fluenz - top of the line interactive software. Not cheap, but excellent for the English-speaking learner of a foreign language. Instructors have all learned the language themselves and are therefore qualified to teach it. Provides a good basic foundation in the language. Available languages: Mandarin, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), German, French and Italian.

Pimsleur - rated as one of the top 10 language learning methods. Reasonably priced. Uses both book and audio. Has interactive software as well. Instructors are native speakers of the language. Pace is fast, but challenges the learner to "get moving". Available in 50 languages.

There are so many good packages out there. Come visit Fun Language Tools today! Pick up a new language for the new year!

Happy learning!

Fun Language Tools

Universal culture of eating

Singaporeans are foodies. We love to eat. We will drive miles and hours just to eat a good meal, then drive home after that. We will search out the best stall or restaurant for a particular dish. We may be eating breakfast, but we're already talking about what to eat for dinner, or tomorrow's meal. What's Singaporean culture? Food, if you ask me.

So, here's Ms Audra Ang, a Singaporean journalist, who covered current affairs in China. When her stint was over, she was asked what she got out of her few years in China. Instead of an editorial, she wrote a book on, what else? Food, of course! Chinese culture through the food of different locations.

I think food is a uniting factor across cultures and languages. As much as we may not want to admit, I've found that all my blog posts about food get the highest number of views! So, we may be so different culturally. We may not even speak the same language! But, we have one uniting factor - we all eat! Haha!

I'm no expert on food, even though I do enjoy a good meal and like to cook occasionally. But, if you want to visit China or do business there, I can offer you a book or two for that. Learn some Mandarin today. Open the door to China.

Fun Language Tools

How do you fight loneliness and isolation?

"Having moved to Tokyo in 2006 with his girlfriend, he (Jacob Aue Sobol) turned to photography to quell the overwhelming sense of isolation and loneliness in a foreign culture that seemed impenetrable." (quote from exhibition of Sobol's works by Magnum Photos)

"I wanted to meet the people, to get involved in the city, to make Tokyo mine." - Jacob Aue Sobol

Tokyo was just a sea of faces passing Sobol by everyday. No one stopped to say "hi". No one smiled. No one made any acknowledgement of his existence in the city. Sobol was so lonely that he decided to explore every nook and cranny of Tokyo with his camera. All his photos gritty, showing the dark side of every city that no one wants to acknowledge exists in his backyard.

As I viewed the various photographs on display, I felt as though Sobol actually identified with the people he was capturing on film. They too were living in Tokyo, but no one seems to know their names, or even acknowledge their existence. Yet, nameless, faceless people were given an acknowledgement through photography. These are real people with feelings and opinions. We can't ignore them or hope they go away.

Going cross-cultural is not easy. Some places are "seemingly impenetrable". Does reading up about the culture before moving there help? Yes. But nothing really prepares you for the reality. Does learning the language help? Most definitely. Speak some words of my language, and my heart immediately opens up to you.

Well, what are you waiting for? It's a new year! Get started on a language today!

Happy learning!

Fun Language Tools

Singaporean K Pop stars

K Pop group Skarf has 2 Singaporean teens, Tasha and Ferlyn, as members. One of them, Ferlyn, is now the team leader and has been asked to host a Korean entertainment programme. Yes, I'm proud of their achievements. But what impresses me most is that 1 year of grueling training in Korean language (from zero knowledge), acting, singing and dancing, these 2 girls have completely embraced Korean K Pop culture and Korean language to be considered "local".

Ms Jasmine Lee has been elected a member of the Korean Parliament. She has fully embraced the culture of her late husband, yet she is not fully accepted as a "local". Contrast this with Ferlyn's quick acceptance into the world of K Pop and entertainment!

Speaking the language opens many doors. Tasha and Ferlyn were forced into that environment. When everything was new and fresh, they did not find it too tough. But somewhere in the middle of the year-long boot camp, they felt like giving up altogether. “可是，为了完成我们的梦想，我们坚持下去，” ("But, to fulfill our dream, we persevered on,") Ferlyn said on a TV interview. Today, Ferlyn has just started living out her dream to be a K Pop sensation.

What's your dream? Does it involve having to learn another language? If yes, go for it! Dreams don't become reality just by dreaming. Get started on learning a language! Get on the road to fulfilling your dream! You can do it!

Fun Language Tools

Gangnam - uniquely Korean

After "Gangnam" made it to last year's Word of the Year 2012 list, the Mayor of Gangnam district in Seoul, Korea, has decided that their district will now go global.

The overwhelming success of a previously unknown singer from Gangnam has suddenly put Gangnam in the mouths of children and adults worldwide (besides setting their feet a-dancin'). Now the Mayor of Gangnam says that her district is a "uniquely Korean brand".

While America used to be the trendsetter in fashion and entertainment, it seems like Korea has taken over with Korean dramas, K Pop and Psy. So, should we blindly follow another culture? No. The Mayor of Gangnam rightly says that they have no need to follow anyone else now. The world is now following them - Gangnam Style!

Maybe we should all learn Korean...

Fun Language Tools wishes you a year of learning!