lessons on dealing with foreigners

[aurillia]

This entry on the Peaceful Rise blog is really interesting. I can't say that I would have even thought of it myself, but the Chinese government has put up posters on etiquette and how to interact with foreigners during the Olympic Games - including eight "don't ask" questions:

Don't ask about income or expenses, don’t ask about age, don't ask

Comments

[nobutterflies]

Yup, makes sense. Chinese people always ask and talk about things that Western society normally thinks as taboo. Almost nothing is off-limits.

If you don't stop her, my mom would rummage in people's shopping bags for receipts to see how much they spent on something. If she sees that you have something new, she'll ask how much it cost. If she hasn't seen someone in a while, she'll talk about how they've aged or gained or lost weight or whatever. She likes to know how much money people make. When I was a kid, she would read my letters (to/from me) because it was her "right" as my mother. Yes, it's VERY annoying. I like to think that she's not an average Chinese woman--she's an extreme case.

[aurillia]

I heard that about the Chinese, like that asking about your income or how old you are are typical questions even between strangers, but, come to think of it, I've never known any Chinese people in person, and the Japanese are quite different.

I'd say many kids are embarrassed by their parents when they're little but I can think you might have had justification :)

[kat_nic]

I saw something similar, only it was about hand gestures. Apparently in some cultures the "thumbs up" and "okay" gestures are the equivalent of The Finger.

[aurillia]

That's nothing - in Japanese sign language, the sign for brother is both middle fingers raised and you move both hands like that up and down in a really expressive "fuck you" gesture. It's actually really hilarious when you think about it.

I do remember Bush getting confused with the "up yours" sign, the two fingers raised - he made a peace sign at some media conference and said that in some countries that was an offensive gesture - uh no, mate - turn your hand around, now it's offensive!

[impeccablesimon]

But those are my eight staple questions for getting to know someone!

Guess we could always talk about the uses of tofu.

[aurillia]

Ew. What else do you do with tofu except eat it? (Do I really want to know?)

(Yes, yes I do :)

Sorry this response is not all dirty and/or shocking...

[impeccablesimon]

Well I always though it would be fun to fill a swimming pool with tofu. I could just imagine doing a cannonball into the spongy, tofu and sending it spraying all over the hapless tofu pool patrons.

My whole thing with tofu is that it has no flavor. If it just soaks up the flavor of whatever you cook/soak it in, why don't we just soak the tofu in wine or make it pizza flavored? Then more people might be willing to give tofu a shot.

(I ate tofu this past week, actually. It was a staple ingredient of my hot and sour soup...but it still did not really absorb the flavor of the soup...it just hung out in huge limp strips like wet balsa wood.

Re: Sorry this response is not all dirty and/or shocking...

[aurillia]

That's pretty disgusting - you'd suffocate in it too, I think.

I liked tofu in Japan, they have good tofu and yeah, it does soak up the flavour. It's especially good in sukiyaki - but then, everything tastes good cooked in sukiyaki sauce! I don't eat it here. There's so much bad stuff about soya beans these days that any health benefits are nullified. Shame really.

[hani]

Asking about grades is pretty normal, too!

I love those... What do you call the things in the pictures??

Well, I love them!

[aurillia]

Topiary, I think - hedges clipped into shapes. Wonder how they got them into those shapes. Would take quite a bit of planning and work I would think.