Blog Entries on Cross-Cultural
Scarves, Powdered Milk, and a Thesis
Gift giving is tricky in any culture—even our own.
5 Resources on Honor and Shame
In many ways our worldview can be thought of as our operating system—the way in which we process and organize information and make sense of the world. For westerners, our worldview is built on legal frameworks such as guilt and innocence; however, most non-western cultures process the world based on honor and shame.
Twinkling With Inheriting and Development Achievement
A Translation Tale
On Thursday night my landlady called and asked if she could come over to see me because she had some translation questions for me. Anyone who's been in China for a while knows the fear and dread that well up inside at the sound of someone asking for help with translation work. "Just read it over. It won't take long." Those words always precede hours of painful and laborious mental gymnastics trying to translate phrases, like the one in the title of this post, from what we call "Chinglish" to English.
Navigating the Complexities of Giving and Receiving Gifts
“Fresh off the boat,” an old phrase referring to new arrivals, described me well in 1983 as I began my new life as an overseas worker in Hong Kong. Being quite naïve about Chinese culture, I was excited to hear from my colleagues that I would receive a beautiful silk jacket from our Chinese co-workers as they had in years past. And during Chinese festivals I would receive other special gifts and be invited to delicious banquets—it all sounded wonderful to me!
A Non-Cook Reviews 3 Chinese Cookbooks
Three cookbooks everyone who is interested in China—cooks and non-cooks alike—should know about.
Our First 13 Days
If you ever move to a major city in Southwest China to study an obscure language at a Chinese university, perhaps the following insights from our first thirteen days will aid your transition.
Comparing Peaches and Coconuts
More on Indirect Communications
When we encounter cross-cultural differences like the indirect communication style featured in my recent post on the rule of three we have a choice. You either complain about the difference and become frustrated or seek to understand it better and adapt.
One Tip for Effective Communication in China
The Rule of Three
Effective communication requires engagement from both ends of the communication cycle—both the ability to send a message and receive feedback from your audience. Using this cycle to reach a common understanding is more of an art than a science—even when we communicate with others from our home culture. However, it is even more challenging when communicating cross-culturally in China.