Confusing? No, not confusing

Dr Tu You You from China has made the headlines this week for being one of the winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Everyone in China is celebrating the win! People around the world are celebrating the win!

When her birthday comes around, her family in China will definitely NOT be singing "Happy Birthday" to her in English. If they did, then this remark would hold true. However, more likely than not, the family would sing the song in Chinese, which would make this joke entirely irrelevant.

Some jokes just do not translate into another language.

I suppose that is part of the fun of cross-cultural communication!

Congratulations, Dr Tu You You! 恭喜你！

Photo credit: 9GAG

"Can't pay" = A toast!

Two tourists from the west were visiting China. They were having dinner at a Chinese restaurant where a wedding banquet was taking place in the same hall.

In keeping with Chinese tradition, the newlyweds were going from table to table to toast their guests. At each table, everyone would stand up, raise their glasses to the happy couple, and everyone would say, "干杯！" (pronounced "gan bei")

The western tourists were watching with curiosity as they knew no Mandarin. As the toasting continued, they began to get rather agitated.

As the couple finished toasting the last table of guests, the tourists went up to the couple and said, "If you can't pay, let us know. We will pay the bill for you!"

干杯 (gan bei) in Mandarin literally means "empty glass" or "bottoms up" in English. Since these tourists knew no Mandarin, they thought the newlyweds were telling each table of guests "can't pay!" Both phrases sound similar.

To those who know Mandarin, this story is a classic case of miscommunication. Similar sounding words and phrases in different languages can have vastly different meanings. The moral of the story is: do not assume anything. Ask for clarification.

Happy cross-cultural communication!

Play on words = great headline

The recent scandal over an American-owned meat supplier in China has once again opened up a can of worms over food safety in China.

What amused me most about this saga has nothing to do with food. The headline in the newspaper article caught my attention and sent me into peals of laughter. What a lovely play of words! Kebabs are pieces of meat on a skewer and put over a barbeque pit to cook. Barbeque restaurants in China are a common sight. So why not the pun?

Well done, The Straits Times sub-editors!

We talk food, not politics

UNESCO has recently declared Japanese food as a cultural heritage. Hooray!

I do love Japanese food, cooked and uncooked. I know a few friends who cringe at the thought of eating raw fish. I love it! Being able to eat the fish raw tells me that it is fresh. No need for cooking.

What makes me even more proud is that Chef Li Kwok Wing recently won a contest to crown the best Japanese chef in the world! Chef Li is a China-born Singaporean, better known as Santoro. So who says Chinese and Japanese hate each other? This win proves otherwise. Chef Li is proud to be a chef of Japanese cuisine.

What am I trying to say? Food surpasses all cultural differences. No amount of national pride or poor political relations can interfere with one's love for food. With love for a certain kind of cuisine comes a love for that culture and tradition. Food is a universal language. We all love to eat!

What kind of food do you like?

Bon apetit!

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Learn Chinese, not French or German

Finally, David Cameron seems to have woken up to the fact that more of the world speaks Chinese than French or German. OK, maybe I'm biased. I speak Mandarin. I don't speak French or German. But, how likely is it for you to bump into a French- or German-speaking person outside Europe? I think there is a higher probability of chancing upon a Chinese-speaking person outside of Asia!

Since China is one of the two most populous nations of the world (the other being India where most people speak English anyway), I think we should be sitting up and paying attention to them. You agree?

Since China has decided that English is not that important in their country, I think it will be worth our while to learn Chinese. I am quite sure my Chinese friends will agree.

Have fun learning any new language!

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Is learning English not as important today?

Is English not the universally important language anymore? While many in the non-English-speaking world are frantically trying to learn English, China has decided that English is not as important as other subjects for the university admission test or 高考 as it is more commonly known. Perhaps the focus on English has led to lower grades in other subjects? Highly possible, since the Singapore Education Ministry has deemed this so, only in reverse. In Singapore, the focus on Chinese language can cause so much stress to parents and children that the latter end up scoring poorly in other subjects such as mathematics and science, subjects deemed easier than Chinese.

Granted, not everyone has a knack, talent or flair for languages (whichever word you may prefer). For some, grammar and spelling are enough to drive one crazy. For others, being able to communicate in another language sends them on a high. Whichever type of person you may or may not be, language is essential to life. Even the deaf and hearing-impaired have their own language.

Chinese in China are going everywhere around the world. Although they study English in school, most of them cannot speak a word of English. Understanding spoken English is also close to zero. China expects the world to learn Chinese instead. Much of the world agrees. After all, China is a huge market.

Whatever your view may be, the fact is that both English and Chinese are gaining popularity around the world. If you speak either language, you can easily communicate with someone somewhere in the world. If you speak both languages, even better! You can probably travel anywhere in the world and find someone who can communicate with you.

Learning English and/or Chinese may be tough, but communicating with someone and seeing his face light up just because you speak a language he understands, is most rewarding. Learn a language today!

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Learn Chinese for better job prospects

Mr Wang is a Chinese Muslim from Yunnan, China. He went to Kelantan, northern Malaysia, to study Arabic. At the end of his course of studies, he landed himself a job in a local Muslim school in Kelantan, teaching Chinese and Arabic to school children.

Kelantan's population is mostly Malay, yet they have the highest number of Malay students learning Chinese, compared with any other state in Malaysia. Why the interest in Chinese and not English? Better job prospects. English is already taught in the school, even though the government is trying to raise the standard of English education across the country. Lao parents in the the countryside are sending their children to Chinese lessons. China is an economic power to be contended with. Everyone's attention is drawn to China today.

Approximately one-sixth of the world's population lives in China, not counting all the Chinese diaspora spread across the globe. Granted, many overseas Chinese no longer speak Chinese or adhere to Chinese traditions. Yet, we cannot deny that China is a huge market that must be taken seriously. What better way than to begin by learning the language at a young age? Kelantan Malay parents have foresight. Kelantan Malay children have Chinese friends. They chatter in Chinese, without thinking about what race they belong to. What better way to promote race relations than by learning the language?

Do you speak Chinese? Get started today! Learning a language is a lot of fun!

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Knowing English is still important

After so many years of pushing aside English as the main medium of instruction in schools, Malaysia is trying to reverse the tide of poor English. The first step is to re-train the teachers who are not proficient in English.

This is an uphill task. English is not an easy language to master. My friend is trying for a certificate to teach English as a second language. She is despairing now because she has completely forgotten all the grammar rules. Yes, her English is good. Yes, she uses English daily. But to explain what the rules are and how they work is another story altogether.

While much of world today speaks Chinese, English is still widely used anywhere in the world. In fact, most Chinese from China want to learn English. Many of them speak very well, with little trace of a Chinese accent. Much of the information over the internet today is in English. Being able to speak, read and write English is a very useful skill to have. We cannot run away from this fact.

I wish the Malaysian Education Ministry all the best in their endeavours to bring the standard of English in the schools back to where it used to be and maybe even better.

If you can read and understand this blog post, then you do have a good grasp of English. Why not add Chinese to your stable of working languages?

Happy learning!

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Speak Mandarin drive in China? Yes!

Many Chinese in China cannot speak Mandarin, or at least speak well enough to be understood. Surprising? Maybe to those who do not know much about China.

The fact is that there are 56 official tribal groups in China who are not of the majority Han race. Out of those 56 tribes, each has many sub-divisions, which adds to many more tribes, each one having their own language. Add to that the number of ethnic Han dialects or languages like Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hockchew, Hing Hwa, Shanghainese, Sichuan language, etc. That's a lot of different languages for one huge country!

It should not be surprising, then, that many Chinese citizens do not speak the national language Mandarin well enough to function in everyday life. While Singapore has been running the Speak Mandarin Campaign for years to get Singaporeans to brush up on Mandarin (which is a second or third language to most), here is China, the exporter of Mandarin, having to conduct a Speak Mandarin drive for their own citizens! Ironic? Maybe. Real? Yes.

You don't have to be Chinese to speak Mandarin. Start learning today!

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Is Chinese taking over as the universal language?

Is Mandarin becoming the universal language over English? Maybe not yet, but much of the world does speak Mandarin, especially considering that China's population is already one-sixth of the world. That does not include all the Chinese diaspora all over the world!

This article tells us that Lao villagers may not have much money, but education is a priority. What is more important is that, to the average Lao parent, learning Mandarin is more important than learning English. Considering what a great influence China has on Lao economy, what Lao parents are doing is probably wise. After all, China is a huge market both domestically and internationally.

A Malaysian businessman in Vietnam told me that he sent his children to a Taiwanese international school and gave them extra lessons in English. He felt that English and Mandarin (or Chinese) were essential to their ability to succeed in life. Today, his son is studying in America and his daughter has just completed her time in Europe. She is also learning French.

Every parent wants the best education for his children. In today's fast-changing and fast-moving global economy, it looks likely that Chinese is catching up with English as the universal language of the business world. Thousands in China attend classes to learn English. Chinese students are all over the world in the quest to get ahead.

In South Korea alone, there are 80,000 students from China studying there. A Chinese pastor living in Seoul commented that sometimes he thought he was in China, rather than in South Korea. All around him he would hear Chinese being spoken.

While knowing one language is good, being bilingual or even multilingual is even better. Effective communication is a fact of life. We all want to avoid misunderstandings. Being able to communicate in another language helps cut down the risk of miscommunication. Knowing Chinese will help you communicate with much of the world! Why not start learning Chinese today?

You can find many different packages to learn Mandarin here.

Have fun learning Chinese!

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Break that stereotype!

Western social etiquette school in China

Stereotypes. We all hate them especially when talking about our own culture. We don't like to be labelled something we are not, whether negative or positive. Can we do something about it? Yes!

A well-groomed Chinese woman travels aborad and, with her genteel ways, gets mistaken - for a Japanese.

Huh? Why can't Chinese women be known for genteel ways? Isn't that what the western person thinks when he thinks of a Chinese woman? Well, maybe a Chinese woman who lived a century or two ago. Sadly, today's Chinese woman is labelled as brusque, loud and demanding. Is that true? Not always. Is that fair? Certainly not.

Enter Ms Sara Jane Ho from Hong Kong. She has been schooled in the finest finishing school in the world. She sniffed out a great business opportunity. "Chinese women are hungry and humble," she says. Ms Ho has opened the first western etiquette school for women only in China. There is a long waiting list to enter the school. She is doing very well.

Chinese men and women are global travellers today. In 2013, an estimated 90 million Chinese will travel out of China. That's more than the population of some countries! They bring with them lots of money to spend. They are eager to make a good impression on their hosts. More importantly, they want to break the stereotype of the "typical Chinese". I believe we will see the emergence of a new breed of Chinese woman - genteel.

The new economic superpowers today are not coming out of Europe or America. They are coming out of the east. China is investing heavily in many parts of the world. Many countries and companies want to break into the vast Chinese market. Whichever side of the world you come from, manners will open the door to a long-term relationship. After all, 关系 (relationship) is the way to do business anywhere in the world, not just in China. So, while Chinese women are taking steps to break the poor image of their ungracious manners, what is the rest of the world doing to learn how to do business in China? You can get a book here.

Here's to a new Chinese woman - genteel!

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Rosetta Stone - good only if you are a child

Rosetta Stone Language Learning Software

Rosetta Stone is one of the top selling language learning software packages in America. 30 languages from across the continents are available. They even have packages tailored for personal, business, government officers, schools or home schooling purposes. While the price is not cheap, the marketing is effective. Ask about language learning packages and the first name you will get is Rosetta Stone.

So, how does Rosetta Stone teach a language? As if you were a child. I tried out the free Mandarin lesson online. Level 1 is about 30 minutes long, according to the instruction page. You have to test your audio and microphone settings before you begin because you need to repeat after the "teacher" to check your pronunciation. No Chinese characters are introduced at this stage, as it is a beginner level lesson. However, all the pronunciation guides use Hanyu Pinyin 汉语拼音, the official romanisation and pronunciation of Mandarin. Hanyu Pinyin uses the English alphabet and symbols to indicate which of the four tones is used to pronounce the word. No explanation on how to read the symbols is given. Your guess is as good as mine.

No English or any other language other than Mandarin is used. Just throw yourself headlong into Mandarin with pictures and sounds, and hope to catch something. I have to admit that at least Rosetta Stone uses a variety of pictures of people from around the world as illustrations, rather than only westerners. But, variety of pictures add little to the actual learning process. A phrase is read with an accompanying picture that is the visual of the phrase. I have to repeat the pronunciation into the microphone and get it right (according to the software programme) before I can move on to the next phrase. New vocabulary is introduced at each step, so I am left guessing what in the world the phrase means, just by looking at the picture. I have to match the phrase with the correct picture, but sometimes, I don't have to guess too far because the last phrase read out will belong to the remaining picture.

Screen shot of pronunciation lesson

The "teacher" in the software is a native Mandarin speaker from China. The pronunciation is accurate, according to official China standards. When I repeat the phrase into the microphone, I have to repeat it in the correct China standard pronunciation in order to get it right and move on to the next phrase. If I use the southern Chinese accent prevalent in Singapore and Malaysia, the software will fail me. I have to repeat the pronunciation using the China accent. Even then, sometimes, the software doesn't recognise my pronunciation. After a few tries, I got frustrated. I do speak Mandarin with fairly accurate pronunciation. Why won't it accept my pronunciation?

While many may find Rosetta Stone useful, personally, I do not. I found Fluenz far more interesting and engaging. Fluenz treats me as a thinking adult. The programme explains every bit of the sentence and leaves nothing unturned. If you want to teach your child a new language by immersion, go ahead and get Rosetta Stone. Hopefully, your child will pick something up and be able to communicate with people who speak that language. As an adult learner, I end up none the wiser.

Have fun learning a language!

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Cross the road? At your own risk!

Cross the road China-style

Roads in the big cities in China are filled to the brim with vehicles of every shape and size. Each main road is at least six lanes wide. If not for traffic lights, how do you cross the road? Chinese citizens have created an informal system that is labelled 中国式过马路, which is loosely translated as "crossing the road China-style".

How it works: gather at a traffic junction where you want to cross to the other side. When a large enough crowd gathers, cross the road as a big group, regardless of the traffic signal. The idea is that there is safety in numbers, so vehicles will slow down when they see so many people crossing the road as a group.

While it may have worked for sometime, police are now cracking down on this illegal and dangerous practice. If caught, you get fined RMB10, equivalent to five times the train fare. So far, it still hasn't deterred people from continuing this practice.

Cross the road in Hanoi if you can

Let's cross over to Hanoi, Vietnam, now. Traffic here is notoriously crazy. Even locals complain that people drive crazy in that city. So how do you cross the road here? Just step off the curb and inch your way across the road, keeping an eye out for motorcycles. Keep moving and vehicles will go around you. Nothing to fear. Before you know it, you'll be on the other side.

Well, tourists from countries that practice strict adherence to traffic rules are petrified when in Hanoi. It is so bad that guest house and hotel staff have maps complete with the easiest places to cross the road to get to a tourist destination.

Is it really that bad? Personally, I don't think so. I've been to Hanoi twice. Crossing the road there is no different from crossing the road down south in Ho Chi Minh City. Just step off the curb and go! The same goes for crossing the road in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to observing common sense when crossing the road in any city or country. Don't import what you do at home to the new place. You will be frustrated. Embrace the new culture, warts and all. You'll enjoy yourself so much more that way!

Let's celebrate culture!

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Please don't pinch the fruit

My friend from Perth, Australia, took this photo in Singapore. She thought it was so funny to read "Please Don't Pinch the Fruit". A comment from her friend was even funnier: "Oh, and all the fruit juices you get there too." To which the photographer replied: "I'm pretty confident they mean don't squeeze the fruit." That set me thinking about the difference between "pinch" and "squeeze".

Pinch: to squeeze between the thumb and a finger.

Squeeze: 1. to exert pressure on, as by way of extracting liquid; 2. to extract by or as if by applying pressure.

Minor difference between the two. But, the sentence could also be taken to mean: "please don't steal the fruit" since another meaning of "pinch" is to "pilfer or steal". Either way, it makes complete sense. It will then be up to the reader to interpret the meaning for himself.

It may seem odd to tell people not to squeeze the fruit, but, unfortunately, this is a bad Asian habit. We like our fruit fresh, ripe and sweet. One way is to pick it up and smell it (durians, nectarines, peaches). Another way is to gently squeeze the middle of the fruit to see if it is soft and ready to eat. If it is hard, then you can either choose a riper fruit, or keep it for a few days to ripen naturally before eating. But, squeezing the fruit gently will leave dents and bumps on the inside of the fruit, making it unsaleable. More often than not, we tend to squeeze the fruit rather than smell it.

I don't know if westerners do the same when shopping for fruit. Or is it a universal bad habit? I've never seen an American squeeze fruit in the supermarket. Neither do they spend a long time digging to the bottom of the pile just to choose the "best" one. What's wrong with those on top? I've found equally good fruit on top of the pile.

I once stood in front of a pile of oranges in the supermarket. Next to me was a family from China. The little girl about 8 years old was digging around the pile choosing oranges. I don't think she really knew what she was looking for. Perfectly good oranges were being thrown aside in search of the perfect ones. Her father was very patient, but I was not. She was blocking the way and just being a pain. I gently told her off, but the whole family ignored me. I love my Chinese friends, but their habits have been the subject of many criticisms around the world.

Change does not happen overnight. While trying to effect change, let us learn about each other's cultures and habits. Encourage the good and discourage the bad habits. Let's make this world a friendlier place!

Learn about a new culture today!

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Love is in every culture

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, is Valentine's Day a western tradition? The name Valentine certainly is. It started as a Christian celebration in Europe, named after Saint Valentine. In Chinese tradition, the story of the Cowherd 牛郎 and the Princess 织女 talks of romantic love. Chinese Valentine's Day is on the 7th Day of the 7th Lunar Month 七夕. In China, they celebrate on both 14 February and the 7th Day of the 7th Lunar Month. More love to go around!

Singapore blogger Mr Brown posted a funny Valentine's Day picture taken of Weibo, China's version of Google, Facebook, Twitter, all rolled into one. Here's the story:
Man: Actually, there's nothing special or unique about Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is similar to 清明节 (Tomb Sweeping Day, Chinese version of All Saints Day). You either give food or flowers.

The last shot in that picture is that of a horrified woman. And rightly so! Chinese offer food and flowers to their dead ancestors as a mark of respect, much like laying flowers at someone's tomb. Now which woman would appreciate a man with this kind of attitude?!

In India, hard-line Hindus protested against celebrating Valentine's Day in India. On the news, there were school girls holding posters saying, "Marriage is an institution". Well, rightly so. But, aren't married couples supposed to be in love with each other? Why stop them from expressing their love for each other? The problem lies with the unmarried, not the married, couples.

My Pakistani friend made a realistic comment about Valentine's Day: "Most happy hearts at Valentine are the shop keepers." Well said indeed!

Whether you celebrate or not, everyone around the world always appreciates some expression of love. So, spread a little love today! It's goes across cultures.

Happy Valentine's Day from Fun Language Tools!

New Year - time for family togetherness

It's the second day of Chinese New Year! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Why is this festival called Chinese New Year, when it's not limited to the Chinese community around the world? Vietnamese celebrate this festival too! They call it Tet. It is based on the Lunar calendar, so technically, it should be called Lunar New Year, not Chinese New Year.

Then the Chinese in China call it Spring Festival or 春节 because this is the time they welcome Spring, even though most times it is still winter and sometimes snowing in some parts of the country.

Regardless of what you call it, it's a time for the family to get together. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the whole family gathers together from wherever they are living in the world. Special food is served, each dish symbolising a good wish for the new year. It is probably the one time of the year when the whole family gets to see each other and catch up with what has happened over the past year. For some, it is the first time meeting a new member of the family, whether by marriage or birth. In short, it is a heart-warming time for everyone.

In every culture, there seems to be at least one festival that brings the whole family together. In western countries, it is Christmas. For the Chinese and Vietnamese, it is the Lunar New Year. For those from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, it is the Buddhist New Year. We may all be culturally different, but one thing remains the same for the entire human race: family togetherness.

Whether you are celebrating the Lunar New Year or just starting another week, here's wishing you and your family a time of love and togetherness!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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