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40 Comics That I Made To Show The Differences And Similarities Between Chinese And Western Cultures
My name is Siyu and I'm the creator of Tiny Eyes Comics, a webcomic series that explores and shares Chinese culture through the details of everyday life.
A year ago, I published a collection of my comics on the differences between Chinese and Western culture (check it out). During the past year, besides cultural differences, I also realized the cultural connections and universal values we all share as people across cultures.
For this post, I put together a selection of my latest comics I thought you might enjoy. You can find more content on my social media pages listed below.
More info: Instagram | Facebook
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I went to a nice restaurant with my parents in Lyon. They were really curious to try something local but they didn’t understand a thing on the menu. “Why don’t they have pictures?” They asked. In China, lots of menus have photos that illustrate the dishes, so even if you don’t understand Chinese, you can still order by pointing at the picture that makes you hungry.
Final score:
210points
Daria B 6 years ago
Here in Korea, a friend brought me to a restaurant that was hard core Chinese and I looked at the menu → all in Chinese, no translations, no pictures, not even Korean transcriptions of the dish names... So when asked "what will you order?" I said "I'll trust your suggestions". Btw, that was the only time it happened. Usually restaurants in Korea that sell international dishes provide at least the dish description.
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
I agree that in this sense pictures in the menu are useful, like if you're travelling to a country that doesn't use the same letters as the language(s) you speak, it's useful to be able to see what's on the menu even if you don't understand what it actually says
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Kenny Kulbiski 6 years ago
What you get never looks remotely like the pictures. See also; restaurant ads on television.
Daria B 6 years ago
But at least you have an idea of what you might be eating.
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Amreen Godhrawala 6 years ago
A turn off is 'Photos are for aesthetic appeal only. Actual dish may vary' :(
ravina nimje 6 years ago
French are too proud about their food, so they just assume everyone knows about it.
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
Bah! That's if I'm lucky. I go in some places alone and just have an over earnest waiter standing over me while I try to translate the menu ( no pictures) extra fast!
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
When I lived in Turkey the menus were mostly of the "text only" variety, but they always had a couple on hand that were illustrated that they'd hand out to foreigners.
Tania Woods 6 years ago
Quite often the writing is just the hyped up name of a dish and not a description.
RELATED:
#2
What are you talking about when you say something is big or small? “A big house” in the U.K.may not mean the same thing as in the U.S.; “Not many people” in China may not mean the same thing as in Norway; “Too cold” in France may not mean the same thing as in Russia.
It’s the reference point you are talking about.
Final score:
190points
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
I'm in Foshan right now, which has a population of around 6 million. The population of my home country of Ireland is around 4 million, maybe less.
Alyssa 6 years ago
There's plenty of small towns like that here in Western Australia. I know one place with less than 10 people.
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DE Ray 6 years ago
We get that internally in the States: I had a co-worker who was moving from Helena, which is the state capitol and one of the largest cities in Montana, to Texarkana - which though about the same size is one of the smaller cities in either Texas or Arkansas (they get all their news broadcast from Shreveport, Louisiana which is three times the population and forty minutes drive away).
Anna Thouvenin 6 years ago
I live in Luxembourg (590k people) and when I say that I lived in a "small city of 8 million people" (Nanjing) it's always that reaction.
Amanda Ford 6 years ago
We had a priest in our church up from Columbia (we have a relatively large Hispanic community here) where he was used to a city of millions. He was then in the "big city" around here with a population of several thousand. Then he moved to our little city of maybe 10K. Now he's in a tiny flyspeck village that if you blink, you'll miss it.
The Dutches 6 years ago
On january 1th 2019 (so a week ago) Amsterdam had 854.047 inhabitants.
Suzanne Haigh 4 years ago
Ow come off it. Britain has some big houses, a lot bigger and older than the US.
#3
I recently realized that I tend to change the portion size of different meals as I travel from one country to another. This is all personal habits, and I still don’t know which way is the best for my health. In France, breakfast is usually small and sweet. A croissant with a coffee will do. I know many people who skip breakfast. For lunch, grab a sandwich or a salad, it’s richer but still quite light. I eat the most at dinner because dinner time is late in France and I often feel that I haven’t had enough from the previous meals.
In China, there’s a belief that one should “eat well for breakfast, eat plenty for lunch, and eat light for dinner.” (早吃好，午吃饱，晚吃少）There’s a lot of choices for breakfast and it’s believed to be the most important meal of the day. Lunch is the time when I can eat as much as I wish, and my family like to have a light dinner, which is supposed to be good for digestion.
In the U.S, when I cook for myself, I can still follow my normal routines as in China, but if I go out to eat or order stuff, I end up eating too much for every meal. I guess it’s mainly to do with the huge serving size, and I don’t like wasting food.
Final score:
185points
Maci Wilcox 6 years ago
I love dinner and I eat lunch, but I hate breakfast ;)
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tuzdayschild 6 years ago
Breakfast is the meal you eat in the morning when you wake up. You are breaking your over night fast.
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Jaded Queen 6 years ago
For health, follow this quote, "eat the breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a begger
desert29rat 6 years ago (edited)
If I go out for dinner, I eat half and bring the rest home for the next dinner. I'm in the US.
r3dd3v1lL 6 years ago
Technically breakfast should be the largest meal, with lunch being smaller and dinner smallest. But I rarely bother with breakfast because I get lazy and sleepy after eating and all my productivity vanishes.
Dmitri Tsvetkoff 6 years ago
If you feel lazy and sleepy after the meal, this indicate one and one thing only: you're not physically fit. Also breakfast is important but not the largest.
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Aria Whitaker 6 years ago
Hmmm...most people that I know (American) eat like the French example, including me. I dont really know of many who eat huge breakfasts every morning that is same size as their dinner, and my lunch is never three courses like my dinner usually is. Interesting.
Mike Chin 6 years ago
most chinese people i know don't eat like that either, must be big difference between north and south. Southern restaurants are based around 10 people tables, theres no eating light with big group of people
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Amanda Ford 6 years ago
I have a cup of coffee in the morning, anything else and I usually feel sick. I eat lunch around noon-1:00pm or even later, depending on when I get hungry and it's usually a bowl of cereal. Dinner is always the largest meal in our house and we try to eat as a family between 5&6pm. I will often have a dish of ice cream as a late dessert around 9ish unless I'm too tired and go straight to bed, like I should have done tonight!
#4
Eating Chinese noodles while watching Netflix after work has become one of my routines in Paris. I feel lucky that I’m living in this world where cultures are no longer restrained to their physical land. If you are living in a big city, chances are that you can also choose live pieces of different cultures: eating sushi, watching a French movie, listening to an African band, using a product made in Germany, or hang out with someone from the opposite side of the world. More and more of us no longer live a singular culture, instead, our lives begin to weave into each other, creating a richer texture.
Final score:
168points
Tài Trần 6 years ago
Very true indeed. But travel too much can impact heavily on the environment. So, the next thing we need is to have transportation that is good for the environment, things like solar-power plane, train, ship, car, etc
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Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
Having lived in So Korea while serving in the US Army - I learned a LOT about their culture, and would SO love to live that way here in the US. People who haven't been there just don't "get it" at all. I also miss the warm floors :-)
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
Actually, I prefer eating American noodles in my Chinese apartment while watching French TV
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
I like this perspective far more than this "appropriation" term that has been thrown around a lot in the last few years.
#5
When I studied in the US, I discovered the notion of “constructive criticism “, which means staying positive by saying what you like about something first, and then how it’s possible to be improved. In this way everyone’s happy and things can be changed.
French generally have a more direct and “harsher” approach. They are comfortable with confrontation, and debate is expected. I often heard people (between friends, family, colleagues etc.) disagree loudly with each other. Unlike the American’s “Yes, and...”, French tend to say “No, because...”. It can be scary in the beginning for someone who’s not from the culture, but once you understand it’s based on trust and respect you’ll be comfortable to participate.
Chinese usually avoid confrontation, because relationships (guanxi) is so important that we are afraid that disagreement will make the other person unhappy and harm the relationship. Instead, we use silence or doubt to show disagreement. Sometimes, even people say that they agree, they don’t necessarily mean it. It could just be a way to keep harmony.
Final score:
150points
Perry Swift 6 years ago
Funny really, because I think in most western cultures, using silence to show that you don't agree would be considered very rude.
Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
Depends on your face expression. And age difference. A teenager disagreeing with parents and teachers is seen as "talking back to authorities" and therefore rude.
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Mimi 6 years ago
As a german girl spending senior year in California I had to learn quickly... Week 1 Do you like this sweater? Me: No. Week 8, same question. Me: I love that sweater sweetie, but that other one just looks totally STUNNING on you!!
C V 6 years ago
I'm American but grew up in a German household. Sorrrrrry that I speak my mind ! Sheesh
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Giulia B. 6 years ago
Interesting! In Italy we say "Chi tace acconsente", which means that who doesn't say anything agrees with you. But often it is just a passive aggressive silence... :)
Charlotte Nordset 6 years ago
we have the same saying in Norway, in the meaning: if you disagree, you have to say something, or else you cannot complain about the result later.
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rhyan lumilay 6 years ago
maybe same here in the Philippines, we value respect and relation that almost all of us will just say "siguro"(maybe), "pwede"(possible), "ewan"(don't know) and "bahala na"(come what may) just to be neutral so that we can avoid heavy and arguable discussions.
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
In the Netherlands we call constructive criticism positive feedback. Our goverment loves polderen (The Polder model, I didn't know there was an official English word for it). It means: consensus decision-making, is a group decision-making process, where all parties have to be heard, in which group members develop, and agree to support a decision in the best interest of the whole... and it can be a very (very) slow process. In the 2018 Dutch energy agreement 40 different parties took part. But it's also said that the Dutch are very direct in giving their opinion, and I think that's also true. If someone askes me if I like their haircut (for example) and I don't like it, I just say that, adding that this is my opinion and if you love your haircut, just wear it the way you like.
#6
Grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She is gradually losing her memory, submerging herself in her own world. Yesterday I went to see her. She didn’t recognize me, so I said my name repeatedly in desperation. Then suddenly, she understood something. "I like you," she said. She has never said anything like that to me before. Grandma has always been very reserved with expressing her emotions even though she loves deeply all her children and grandchildren. The disease has changed her personality. It was as if she could finally express herself freely like a child. Maybe she didn’t actually recognize me, but at least she likes me, and that’s enough. I’d love to be her friend, and I hope our friendship lasts forever.
Final score:
143points
ADHORTATOR 6 years ago
My grandmother in Italy also had Alzheimers Disease... when I met her the last time, she asked me who I was... I answered I am Giovannis oldest son. She yelled at me "Liar! He is far too young to have children! Get off, neapolitan liar!" Well, she never loved italians from the south...
tjminderrose 6 years ago
I have to ask is have the Northern and Southern attitudes towards one another have changed? I have never had the chance to travel to Calabria where my mother was born.
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Sergio Bicerra Descalzi 6 years ago
My mom has Alzheimer Disease, but still recognises me as we live net to each other and visit her every day. But having memory issues made her... happy. No more anguish because of problems, she isn't aware about bills, relatives deaths or anithing that can make her sad. She's always smiling as if she's having the best day of her life.
Monika Soffronow 6 years ago
Visiting my grandmother before she passed away due to very old age (97) and dementia with my teenage and somewhat longhaired son she had no trouble recognizing us at first, but after a few minutes, she asked who the pretty girl was. I explained to her that it was her great-grandson and she immediately caught on adding something about his nice brown eyes. Everything went great, until after another couple of minutes she again asked the same question. To cut it short, she must have asked some fifty times who the pretty girl was. I am still full of admiration for my son who took it in stride!
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
Grandmothers do not have to be understood to be loved. Their touch is enugh
Enna Regnoc 6 years ago
One time my mother, having suffered with Alzheimer's for many years, asked me if I was her mother. Another priceless encounter was at the hospital after having her hip replaced. When she woke up they asked if she knew why she was there, and she said "did I have a baby?"
Windkissed 6 years ago
Hahahahaha funny story... my mother was a very sweet lady from the Midwest in the US. She was raised during the end of the depression so she was very reserved. She ended up with Alzheimer’s also. It changed her personality also to the point that she finally let loose with every cuss word she’s ever heard!! VERY unlike her, but she seemed happy with herself.4
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
True, peoples personality changes when they have Alzheimers, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I'm glad to hear that your grandma is able to express more warmth now and that you are not hammering on the fact that you're her granddaughter, but just enjoy her liking you. That is such a big treasure, and I hope you will both have this for a long time to come.
#7
“Still or sparkling water?” In a French restaurant, the waiter/waitress always asks this question before the meal. In the US, the default is usually still water with ice. I always wondered how people could survive with ice water in winter since it’s already so cold outside. In China, people drink hot water a lot, which is strange for lots of non-Chinese. For one thing, tap water is undrinkable, for another, people have the habit of drinking hot water and believe that it’s good for health. (I was told that drinking ice water will cause stomachache problems.)
Final score:
141points
tinyeyescomics (Submission author) 6 years ago
That's true I live in France currently :) although I didn't know that in Germany it costs more!
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Brenda Pereira 6 years ago
And . . . God forbid you ask for ice, or extra ice in France! Ice is a cube and extra is 2 cubes! I was always so frustrated in the restaurants by this. In the US, we drink iced drinks year round. Contrary to what most believe, it doesn't chill us down. We just like the drink as cold as we can get it.
BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
I get it in Texas, USA because like it is going to snow about 1'' for the first time in like 5+ yrs
#8
If you have ever learned a foreign language, you’d have experienced the stage of not being able to fully understand others or express yourself, like a 3 years old child in frustration. I notice that when people switch between their native language and a foreign language they don’t master, it seems that their personalities change as well. When you are not fluent in the language, you appear to be less competent, and when you spake your native language, confidence shows through.
People tend to associate your personality and with the way you speak. I sound quite “blunt” when I speak French because I don’t know all the nuances and connotation of the words. As a result, I can’t choose the right word in the right context. For immigrants, language is a very important part of integration in terms of access to information, communication, and self-expression. In a way, language is social power.
Final score:
135points
Perry Swift 6 years ago
Anybody who learns another language should feel very proud to speak as much as they do. In English speaking countries, we are lazy and our educational system is not setup for us to learn other languages properly. English is an incredibly complicated language and I'm beyond impressed by anyone who has learnt it as their second language, no matter what their ability.
Sophie 6 years ago
Sorry guys, but I'm polish :D We have very difficult grammar and pronunciation. A lot of polish people use it wrong. But we start to learn English since kindergarten and third (German, Russian, French or Spanish) since high school. Then some of us can opt for going to university and learn another language. (Personally I chose Japanese) :D But remember that Polish isn't very popular and we have to learn other languages. ;)
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Klaudiia Sherbatzky 6 years ago
I know that very well. I speak perfect polish and perfect german, but everytime I speak with someone in english i become quickly frustrated because I can´t communicate with that person like I wish I could. xD Like now
r3dd3v1lL 6 years ago
I know how that feels... The memory of trying to explain to a German taxi driver in English to take you to the place with boats (I had a brain fart and forgot the word "river") is still embarrassing.
Monika Soffronow 6 years ago
Don't worry. There is only one real reason to speak any language, and that is to use it to communicate with other human beings, and you went for the best "brain fart-option": use more words to describe what you mean. Mission accomplished!
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frederic eeckman 6 years ago
I'm actually a french online teacher, and I completely understand that "blunt side" you're talking about... But I was always amazed by anyone who was able to learn another language, so it doesn't matter anyway, at the end of the day you do something impressive !
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
You are *exactly* right in your observations, because this is how the brain learns a new language. Just like little kids learning a language, they understand simple words first, then sentences... then they learn how to say simple words, then sentences. The "terrible twos" when kids throw tantrums, is typically because they understand more than they can communicate, and are frustrated at their inability to be understood. Then, as their language improves, their true personality comes out. It's the same for any human, learning any language, at any stage of life, because this is how our brains learn languages. :) (from a tri-lingual person, learning their 4th (I speak, English, French, Spanish, learned a little Mandarin, and am now learning Japanese), who also has a Bachelor Degree in Languages). CONCLUSION: be kind to yourself when learning a new language, and be kind to others speaking in their non-native language, because inside every "baby" is an adult trying to communicate) <3
Daria B 6 years ago
Here I would like to suggest the term "default language" as opposed to "native language" and "foreign language". See, I'm using Korean more than either of my two native languages on a daily basis and I can no longer call it a "foreign language", because it doesn't feel so, and because I've absorbed it to the point of replying in Korean when I'm addressed in a language I don't speak. And yet, I am fluent, sure, but not on a native speaking level. So, I'd call that a "default language".
Rafaella Bueno 6 years ago
When speaking different languages, I think it's common to change personally for many reasons. There are words and phrases we're more used to hearing in a certain language and it feels more natural in it. There are things I can easily say in English or Japanese that I have a hard time saying in my native language, because I never hear it in Portuguese, so it feels weird and embarrassing to say.
Giulia B. 6 years ago (edited)
After many years living in other countries, I understood I should be proud and confident. I mean, if you're the foreigner you are the one in disadvantage, who makes the biggest effort to communicate and integrate. Which is why nobody should ever take it for granted or you feel ashamed.
#9
Disclaimer: What you see here is fictional and it only exists in my head. Please refer to real maps for travel purposes.
Growing up in Beijing, I’m used to streets that lay out as an orthogonal grid in line with the four directions. Actually, lots of Beijingers use North, South, East and West to describe directions. In Paris, streets are not paralleled and it feels more like a radial web of triangles. I get lost from time to time, but there’s some general reference from here and there. Last time I when to Venice, I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without my google map (even Google map was confused in some areas). It was like tangled threads without a clue.
What is your city like?
Final score:
133points
Ksenia M 6 years ago
In Venice streets were planned for accessing gondolas/boats as much as (if not more) for walking. Also for confusing foreigners. They serve their purpose very well I think))
Max L. 6 years ago
come visit Rome. Generally speaking, the southern you get, the more you're in troubles, from any point of view. But Rome is a different story. Since the empire, yes, the roman empire, that very same empire, having been the headquarter city, everything was ruled differently. A rich politician wants a house in view of the coliseum ? No problem. So almost any policy in buildings and streets capacity is been in a world, ignored. I remember a famous politician when it was a show off have had something like 80 bodyguards (among the police corps paid with citizen money). Which means 240 people across three shifts. In many streets of Rome when his security was already in another street, he wasn't in the first yet. Now all this had somewhat come to an end, and the current govern tries to remedy. They will need all of our best wishes.
Load More Replies... Joanne 6 years ago
"Please refer to real maps for travel purposes" :D That made me laugh so hard.
Hisseefit 6 years ago
The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota USA) are interesting to get around. Minneapolis is based on a grid but go over the Mississippi River and you are in St. Paul. The streets are based on old cattle trails, so they go more random.
tinyeyescomics (Submission author) 6 years ago
Thanks for sharing! I'm curious.
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Mardika Guntoro 6 years ago
in indonesia esp in rural areas some place are filled with crossroad like china but some place (idk how to say it in eng, but we called it "kampung") are like maze
#10
If you ask a food critic to rate my mom’s cooking, she’s probably not going to get many stars. Actually, her cooking is probably too simple and her menu hasn’t changed over the years. Nonetheless, if you ask me, I’m going to give her all the stars that I have. It’s totally subjective. Her cooking is the taste of my childhood, warm and familiar. It’s something that stays the same against the change of time, a strong connection that I have with my past while exploring and absorbing other cultures into my identity, and a solid rock that I can always grab and rest upon in the flowing river of life.
Final score:
132points
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
Nope. I come from a long line of bad cooks. I had to learn to cook myself when I was a kid out of sheer self defence.
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Tony Moon 6 years ago
My professor and I have been invited to peoples houses in China and have gone out to restaurants in China, we both agree that when we are invited to the house to eat is when we have the best of food to eat. This is true in Italy, Spain, Israel, Afghanistan, anywhere in the world.
Random Panda 6 years ago (edited)
My mom makes great pastries, but otherwise her cooking is average. My dad is a good cook, when he follows the recipe exactly. My grandma though...she can make a limited number of dishes, but they are all excellent.
Rafaella Bueno 6 years ago
Nostalgia googles are always the thickest. I think most people pick familiarity over anything else.
Leslie Gueguen 6 years ago
I will eat at your mom’s anytime. Send her address or send her here. A month in China, on the street or Michelin star never had a meal I didn’t like. Unfortunately the Sichuan meal cannot be repeated as the hotel went down three days after we left Juizhaigou
Susann Campbell 6 years ago
Mothers cooking was always the best, even Dad would fix us yummy stuff when mom was sick. I got my cooking skills from Mother and when the cupboard was a bit bare I learned how to be truly creative for my girls and they have done the same until I find out and then send them money for food. They have even helped each other at times. Both good cooks too. There really is nothing like having a good cook in the home.
JustABobcat 6 years ago
I'm inclined to agree... in fact, I find that I tend to make some of the same dishes my mom used to make because of fond childhood memories.
#11
Mom likes eating fish tails, she’s a bit weird. It took me years to realize my mom’s trick to make me eat the best part of the fish. I wish I could be less innocent and understood her earlier, then I could play tricks to take care of her too.
If we make a list of things that are universal across cultures, a mother’s love is definitely on top of that list.
Final score:
131points
Luis Milian 6 years ago
In the US having a head on your fried fish is weird, I personally don't mind eating the head
Night Owl 6 years ago
I think it's the same across of Europe too. I personally don't like fish heads either but I love crunchy fish tails (as well as the middle, of course)
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Jana Renner 6 years ago
Oh yes! My mother always said: "It tastes better for me if ypu eat it." Took me years to understand that she did it for me (I really thought if I ate it SHE'd get the taste ..well, I was little) I miss her so much.
Monika Soffronow 6 years ago
Mmmm. I have to pick up a couple of salmon heads for a wonderful fish soup. First, you clean the heads, descale and discard the gills. Then boil garlic, parsley, dill, onion and whatever else you want to throw in to make a tasty fond with plenty of salted water and after 10-15 minutes put the fish heads in, bring to a boil and then let them barely simmer until the meat is cooked through. Take the heads out, discard the veggies, return the water to the pot and add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley and/or dill and whatever else vegetables you have handy, cut in small pieces. While the vegetables cook, clean all the meat off the fish heads, including the very tender meat in the cheeks, and add the meat to the soup only after the vegetables have cooked. Enjoy!
#12
The English word “ouch” is commonly used as an expression of one’s physical pain, (refer to the episode for usage) although, in China, I would normally say “哎哟”（ai-yoh) instead. In France, the equivalent is “Aïe”. This got me curious, and while searching for other expressions, I bumped into an article from The Guardian —“Is ouch used worldwide?”. Well, the answer is no, and people being interviewed in the article have shared some amusing examples from their cultures, illustrated here. Even though the expressions vary from one another, one thing in common is that they all begin with a vowel, and are quite short to pronounce. I guess we all go back to our primal instinct when getting hurt.
Final score:
116points
Ozacoter 6 years ago
I would expect a spanish kid to say 'au' or 'ai'. But yes most of us would go for a more seasoned word like joder (f**k), mierda (s**t) o different versions of 'me cago en...' (I s**t in ...)
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Hans 6 years ago
German is "Aua" actually. Although it sounds similar to an English "ow ah"...
Kenny Kulbiski 6 years ago
I haven't used ouch since I was about ten. About the same time I learned to swear.
#13
We refer to the same thing with different words. We describe the same event with different words. We use words to explore the world that is at the same time limited by those exact words. That limitation is also called “perspective”?
Final score:
113points
Master Markus 6 years ago
I feel like bamboo varies in colour a bit too much (I've seen it more brown as well as much more vibrantly green), but as far as I know, green olives are pretty consistent.
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
unless you're looking at kalamata olives (black), or unripe olives (anywhere from pale green, to pink, to creamy colours). Even "green" olives come in different shades, depending on what type of olive it is. Just as the chinese look at a shade of green, and say it looks like the green in bamboo, europeans look at green and say it looks like a singular type of green found in some olives. :)
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tuzdayschild 6 years ago
I find this to be true even between people from the same country. Soda or pop. Grocery store or supermarket.
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
You eat olives? We don't eat bamboo. that's for pandas. Maybe you're one?.
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
People comprehend colour differently. For me the phrases "olive green" or "navy blue" bring very clear mental images of the colour
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#14
My friend once told me that Chinese sounds like a melody to her because it has many tones. There are also sounds that don’t exist in other languages, which makes it more difficult to pronounce. Take myself as an example, lot of English speaking people pronounce my name “Siyu” as “see you”, and the common joke would be like “Seeyou, see you!”
Final score:
95points
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
It's okay to mispronounce someone's name as long as you keep trying! It's not okay to ask if they have an "English name" because you're too lazy to put effort into learning how their name is pronounced
Anggi Pangastuti 6 years ago
Here in China I think most of the Chinese people I met that works with foreigners have an English name. Personally, I don't think they need it though.
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Rabite 6 years ago
I never heard of people choosing an English name. Wtf? My name is not that easy for English speakers but I would just take a nickname taken from my real name then. Funny thing though: Spanish or italian speaking people can pronounce my name better than I can. I would always tell those people to "say my name!" and "do it again!" :D
Marti 6 years ago
This applies to Slavic names as well. Only a small group of people (nations) can actually pronounce my name, however international it may seem...
Sloth 6 years ago
Yeah. I have a Slavic surname and it's so funny seeing people try to say it. The worst (or best) thing is that people from my country (where my surname originates from) can't spell it correctly
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Danielle Rux 6 years ago
oof people always mistake my last name for french so they pronounce it rue
Daria B 6 years ago
There is a Korean punk band called Rux. ♥ (yeah, it was not K-pop for me)
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Sarah Laurent 6 years ago
I LOVE to ask people who come to my desk at the office how to say their names <3 (I meet daily people form all around the world !) and to teach me how to say hello and thanks in their own lanuage ! That's a lot of fun ! I should record it every time, it could be an amazing collection of memories and WHY I love my job, during the days I want to hate it, lol !
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
This is exactly why I always ask how to pronounce their name, ask them to help me learn new sounds... and if they automatically default to an English name, I ask what name *they* prefer, and put in an effort to learn to the new sounds. Once learned, it's very easy to repeat, and teach others. It can also be fun swapping "sound lessons", helping eachother with the new-language-sounds. :D Had many a giggle with Japanese friends, trying to explain the difference between "L" and "R" sounds, while I struggled to learn their sound that is 1/2 way in between "L" and "R". After 3 bottles of shared wine, and about 3 hours of dinner.... we *finally* learned eachothers' sounds!!! <3
Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
Lovely! In Japanese that R/L sound also depends on various dialects and personal styles. For example, the singer from Youth Anthem has a very strong R, but I heard many Japanese people say simply L too, especially when in a cartoon a caracter is supposed to be exaggeratingly cute.
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sunnyrei82 6 years ago
I had a Chinese classmate when I was studying my career. All of us (classmates) asked her if she preferred us to call her by her "Spanish name" or her real name (Yang), and she preferred her Chinese name. So, eventhough it is an "easy" name "Yang", she taught us how to pronounce it. We gladly learned to. And we always called her Yang, instead of her Spanish name. It was cool.
Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
I once had a colleague who said from the start she prefers her Chinese name rather than Korean name because her name in Korean reminded of a bad word (not really swearing, but a word addressing bad people, don't remember now exactly, though). Btw, in Korea, they don't really get to choose a "Korean name", they just go for the Korean pronunciation of their Chinese characters.
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Liz Carroll 6 years ago
I spoke to a lady on the phone who’s first language was Farsi; she spoke very good English but she spoke really fast and I had to ask her three times what her name was and in the end, I had to ask her to spell it. I still had no idea how to pronounce it, so I went online to find out myself. I also taught myself a greeting in Farsi
#15
I’ve met lots of second-generation Chinese immigrants who cannot speak Chinese or who can only speak but cannot read or write Chinese. Some of them choose to do so because they identify more with their current country, while others regret not learning enough when they were little. To them, the loss of language is also the loss of part of their identity and culture.
On the other hand, for Chinese, English is important in the process of modernization: Understanding English allows you to get more information, to understand the global picture, to be able to have your voice heard internationally. It’s usually seen as a “useful tool”. I’m curious to know that, in a country like Singapore where there are four official languages, how these different languages coexist and how people feel about using them in a different context.
Final score:
93points
Sora Lyra 6 years ago
Finally Malaysian comment. I wish I can learn Chinese.
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Nathan Nair 6 years ago
In Singapore, English is the primary language that everybody learns. We also learn our "mother tongues" (e.g. Chinese learns Mandarin, Malays learn Melayu, etc.) However, in casual, everyday situations, majority of people speak Singlish--which is a local form of English with Chinese/Malay/Indian influence. Chinese in Singapore (especially the older generation) may also speak different "dialects" (e.g. Hokkien/福建话, Cantonese, Teochew/潮州话 , etc.)
Ellie Bunker 6 years ago
Half-Chinese in the US. I can speak rather fluently, but read and write very little. I wish I'd paid more attention when I was little.
DE Ray 6 years ago
My area in Arkansas used to have a significant Southeast Asian population, and many of the children of those families have told me that their parents didn't want them to learn Vietnamese or Hmong or Cantonese - so they would be "more American", and almost all of them regret it. (The Cantonese guy did end up learning, in college, but it apparently caused a big fight with his family.)
Maggie C 6 years ago
Taiwanese born in the US. People in Taiwan ask how my English is so fluent,people in the US ask how my Chinese is so fluent. I get confused.
Night Owl 6 years ago
Maybe you can get fluent in more than one language (or it only seems fluent to them)
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Henry Halliday 6 years ago
My wife (Canadian born to Chinese immigrant parents) didn't learn English until she went to school. Her parents approach was she should speak both languages fluently, and school will take care of English. So she's Canadian born and bred, but in a sense learnt English as a second language. Always found that interesting!
#16
I met a girl the other day whose father is an ambassador. She has never stopped traveling since she was born and speaks several languages. She said every time people ask where she’s from she has to tell a story because she can’t summarize it with one word. I’ve also met people who have multiple lineages having similar situations. The encounter of cultures has created plural identities that are larger than the definition of one nation or one race, yet the questions we ask stay singular. Maybe one day we could just ask “Who are you?” instead of “Where are you from?”
Final score:
90points
Perry Swift 6 years ago
I have asked people before where they are from and it's in no way to try and reduce that person's identity, but just a genuine curiosity about their experiences and cultures. I was, for better or worse, born in the UK and have lived here my whole life. Therefore, someone who was born somewhere else or has lived in multiple countries have interesting experiences and perspectives (as your comics do).
Rafaella Bueno 6 years ago
I agree. Where we were born and raised and had the opportunity to travel to greatly shapes who we are, so it's not mutually exclusive.
Load More Replies... Anggi Pangastuti 6 years ago
This is a question people always ask my daughter. If I can answer it will be "my dad is French my mom is Indonesian, I was born in Indonesia but have been living the whole 6 years of my life in China"
Henry Halliday 6 years ago
My wife, Canadian born Chinese, will occasionally be asked where she's from. When she answers Canada, this seems to be the wrong answer for some people. "No, where are you really from?" "Canada..." She identifies both by her Chinese heritage but also equally if not more by her Canadian upbringing. I think people are far more curious about the Chinese side, but I guess this is because it's more exotic?
Joannie Goulet 6 years ago
I'm a french canadian from Quebec and I've been asked this question before by a fellow Canadian while travelling in England. Somehow he could not believe me when I answered "Canada" because of my accent. :-/
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Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
My answer is always "where do I currently live? Where was I born? Or what is my heritage? Because they're all very different answers". :) it's a great opener to often wonderful conversations about people's lives and travels.
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
I've lived in Ireland for a couple of years, the funny thing was I'm Dutch, but my first name is Italian and my last name is French and besides Dutch and English I could also speak German... that was just a bit confusing.
#17
My grandma met my grandpa on the day of their marriage, which is impossible for my generation to imagine because we are so used to the idea of romantic love. She spent the whole life with my grandpa until the end when he was really sick and need to be taken care of constantly. She knew all the details of his habits, likes, and flaws. Of course, there are all sorts of problems you could point out in this type of blind marriage, yet the strength and courage to accept and get to know another person, and to embrace all the changes with time are admirable.
Nowadays we are lucky to have all the freedom to choose. Many people are eager to look for “the person” that will understand their souls from the beginning till the end without having to “work on it”. There’s less tolerance about flaws and problems that might evolve with time, and less patience to deal with it — you can always just find another person.
Final score:
87points
Master Markus 6 years ago
It REALLY doesn't help when it's underage girls being married to adult men, as the case seems to be far too often.
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Random Panda 6 years ago
It's sad how many people don't understand that you can't have a good relationship if you don't work on it. Your partner, even if you chose them yourself, is a separate person and you will not be 100% aligned on everything.
Night Owl 6 years ago
Yup, if you want a copy of yourself you may as well stay single
Load More Replies... Aunt Messy 6 years ago
My great grandparents had an arranged marriage. She was 16, he was 30. They hated each other with a fiery passion for over 60 years. He was an autocratic jerk who thought he was superior to everyone, she was the sweetest, kindest human being anyone will ever meet. Within a couple of years they were living in the same house but doing everything separately.
Sarah 6 years ago
Wow! It's hard to imagine a life of living with someone you loathe and having to be intimate with them. I'd be afraid of the man my parents would pick. Especially my dad. He sometimes sees good where there is too little to notice and often is oblivious to serious delusions if they are interesting.
Load More Replies... Issss 6 years ago
My grandmother tells us about her arranged marriage. They were four daughters of marriageable age, also three sons and one a baby girl. They were married off to whoever asked their hands, provided the boy had a home and a job. All of them married at around the age of 16, but didn't go with their husbands. They stayed at their parents' home completed their school and college and then left. My great grandfather was traditional in getting them married at a young age, but modern in getting them educated no matter what. I often wonder ( never had the guts to ask), that if my grandmother left home after college, how was it that their youngest son was born on the day of her final exam???
Kioh81 6 years ago
Probably bc for it to be official they have to consummate the marriage. And probably have overnight "visits" but still live at home for the most part. It wouldn't be looked down upon after the wedding bc they are married.
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TL Dragon 6 years ago
All depends on what you're committed to. Two people who believe strongly in arranged marriages and what they have the potential to be have a good shot at a long successful partnership. Just like self chosen partners who and how the choice is made matters most. I think it's perfectly acceptable for willing ADULTS.
Sveta Smirnova 6 years ago
In the future, back to the old days. Even no meeting, getting married on Sim Life for real.
Windkissed 6 years ago
Your every right! Relationships these days are disposable. A completely different perspective !!
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
Having a relationship means work, always. People are not perfect and without flaws, but you have to be willing to work on it. As others a just deal breakers, like violance or cheating.
#18
A demand that’s so simple requires a process that’s so complicated. My Chinese passport doesn’t leave me much flexibility with travel, and every time, applying for a visa brings out all my negative energies. The letter of intent, the proof of my identity, the proof of financial and marital status, the proof of returning in time. Everything needs to be proved—there’s no trust. It’s a process that reinforces separation than connection. The officers are cold and indifferent, but I know it’s just their job, and it’s the system that put us in these situations. In the age of globalization, have we become the “citizens of the world” or have we set up even more barriers?
Final score:
81points
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
As an Irish person that just went through 7months of hell to get my visa sorted to come back to China, I feel your pain.
Shiritoru 6 years ago
I'm not Irish but I live in Ireland couple of years. I'm also non-EU, so to visit any EU country and\or UK I need one of this countries visa, AND re-entry visa to be able to return to Ireland. But I don't need a Chinese visa to visit China. :))
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Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
Chinese people usually face more bureaucracy in comparison to people of other nationalities in some countries (depending on the diplomatic relations with the particular country, of course). I remember, when studying visa guides for Korea, every here and there you have in brackets something like "for Chinese applicants, you will also need to submit this, this, this and that."
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago (edited)
The Netherlands; please submit all the documents on this list in five-fold.
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
If the State of Missouri USA doesn't change it's Driver's Licenses to "enhanced" before next Dec, I won't be able to fly to Arizona, USA without a passport! Not leaving the borders of the USA! This is bizarre to me!
L Jennings 6 years ago
If the UK continues along this stupid Brexit plan, this will be our experience every time we want to go into Europe. As someone who has constantly travelled around Europe, this will be my worst nightmare.
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
not as bas as a Central American trying to get into the US. There's no documents, just walls
Marie Hervieu 6 years ago
China is not a democracy and does not respect basic human rights, so as a Chinese citizen, what do you expect? A red carpet?
#19
A special episode for those of you who celebrate Christmas.
Final score:
80points
#20
I’m not changing citizenship, but I know there are lots of people who have done it or are preparing to do that. As more and more immigrants move away from their birthplace looking for a new home to settle down, the governments have also raised the bar of citizenship by including citizenship tests as one of the basic requirements. It normally contains questions about facts and historical events that sometimes even people born in the country would struggle to know. How many amendments does the Constitution have? When was the 5th Republic established? Was Catherine Howard the sixth wife of Henry VIII?
While it’s understandable that the test should emphasize on language, history, and politics of a country, knowing these facts and figures alone does not create emotional connections to the history or a sense of belonging between the aspiring citizen and his/her future country.
What if we put more imagination, emotion, and stories into the test? What if we include food, art, and social customs? Is it wiser to give people a textbook of facts to memorize, or give them something to enjoy, be proud of and to be prepared for in case of cultural shocks in their everyday life?
Final score:
79points
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
Citizenship tests ask ridiculous questions that not even the majority of the native population would know the answer to
L Jennings 6 years ago
That's exactly the whole point of her illustration.
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Jonathon Smith 6 years ago
Tried taking the British citizenship test. I failed most of the history questions. I'm a native brit and have a masters in archaeology. I write about British history almost every day.
Rafaella Bueno 6 years ago
Tests in general are just about memorizing random bits of knowledge you won't really be using later... Unfortunately
Scott Mund 6 years ago
Perhaps citizenship tests should be viewed more as a capacity to learn as one will be adapting to her new country; as a token of willingness to work for a valuable goal; and as an ability to manage working in what may be a foreign language. It's not necessarily that the questions themselves guarantee working (or necessarily even "useful") knowledge of a culture.
Aunt Messy 6 years ago
Most Americans would fail the citizenship exam that we had to take before becoming citizens here and that's a shame. They don't even know what their own Constitution says!
#21
Style is personal, of course, but it’s funny to see how certain fashion trends change with time. Beijing is usually much colder in winter compared to Paris. Down coats started gaining popularity in the 80s, and people usually wear a layer of long johns inside their trousers to protect them from the cold. Nowadays many young Chinese women perceive down coats as “old fashioned”, and prefer instead of dressing in “European style”. Yet here in Paris I started to see more people wearing down coats in winter, c’est la mode.
Final score:
76points
Giovanni 6 years ago
Ah the typical scarf-women, there are many of them even here in Italy, fascinating creatures, some of them kinda look like my female friends and colleagues.
r3dd3v1lL 6 years ago
It's even funnier when I see girls in boots in summer.
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Monika Soffronow 6 years ago
In Scandinavian countries, people will cycle to work in the summer wearing a t-shirt and shorts - never mind that it may be only 7-8 degrees centigrade in the morning. In Greece, people will wear winter boots, a shawl, and a winter coat come September - never mind that the temperature may well be above 25.
borklaser 6 years ago
This is me in Texas, if the temps drop below the mid 20s celsius
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Tyler Hirsch 6 years ago
Dont be surprised when you see a midwestern from the United States wear next to nothing compared to everyone else during winter. We do feel the cold, we just don't care.
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
I'm in Guangdong province and I was quickly reminded of the cold in winter. It's actually the same as Ireland right now, but central heating is less of a priority in the buildings here. I'm wearing extra layers to sit at my desk.
Eliyahu Rooff 6 years ago
When we were in Rome last week, we noticed that the younger Asian women were mostly wearing boots, miniskirts and flesh-colored tights.
#22
If century eggs and chicken feet are the nightmares for lots of westerners, then for me, raw stuff is the absolute horror. In my personal dictionary of cuisine, the word “raw” is associated with bacteria, bad digestion, and barbarians (human invented fire to cook great food right?). I still remember the horror I had the first time eating a steak in the U.S. My American friend had to convince me that it’s both safe and delicious to eat not fully cooked beef.
With globalization, steak and sushi restaurants are no longer exotic in China. Yet traditionally, apart from a few marinated specialties, Chinese dishes are usually well cooked, whether it’s red meat, fish or vegetables. The word “salad” 沙拉 in Chinese is a direct translation of the sound of the English word, because it was a new concept. Having lived abroad for many years, I still find pure green salad a bit “tasteless”. (although I love Salade Niçoise where there are lots of mixed ingredients) “Why do Chinese people like eating ‘hot salad’?” It made me laugh when a Romanian friend asked me this question. I had never thought about it from the other side!
Final score:
76points
Vlad Horobet 6 years ago
well, as a romanian I will ask you the same: WHY WOULD YOU EAT A HOT SALAD?!
Cassie 6 years ago
I speculate that in an overcrowded country, it is difficult to access fresh vegetables suitable for a fresh salad. Increased population density tends to come with higher levels of infectious disease. If heat can kill germs, it makes sense that people living with a higher risk of infection would want to take measures to reduce that risk and those measures could easily evolve into a cultural phenomenon.
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Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
I’m an American, and the thought of a steak that isn’t fully cooked scares the living c**p out of me in all honesty. I feel like I’d get ill from it.
Rosie Hamilton 6 years ago
That can happen if the meat has certain bacteria and needs to reach a sufficient temperature to kill them.
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Random Panda 6 years ago
This European also doesn't understand how one can eat food that is not fully cooked. I once tried medium rare steak and it was horrible. I prefer my meat well-done, but it can be a bit tricky to cook properly while keeping it juicy.
Shana 6 years ago
I hate how some people will always judge you when you ask for steak to be cooked longer. And no, I don't want it cooked as tough as a shoe sole (like they always say), I just don't want it to be red and raw in the middle. A little pink is okay. I'm the one eating it, so why do people care how I want it to be cooked?
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Andrew Keane 6 years ago
I was asked if I cook the lettuce before I put it in the salad. I had to assure my Chinese friends that I was at least washing everything.
Bartek Matkowski 6 years ago
Funny, in Poland we call it Tatar. I felt in to google rabbit hole and looked where the name of the dish is from. It appears that it comes from Crimean Tatars who are ancestor of Mongolian tribes invading Europe in XIII century. Wikipedia says that the dish came to Poland in during the Polish-Swedish War (1655–1660) when Tatars under command of Subchan Gazi aga helped us fighting with Swedes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_(history)
r3dd3v1lL 6 years ago
I know it's not a Chinese dish, but I have the same feelings for sushi with raw fish.
Random Panda 6 years ago
Sushi is one of the few things, besides vegetables, that I don't mind eating raw.
Load More Replies... Edison Michael 6 years ago
The average Brazilian is reaaaaaally not into rare meat, except, in some cases, for our churrascos (barbecues). This makes for a lot of problems when we go for "fine cousine", since our most refined restaurants all adopt European menus to the T. That makes some people try to adopt that to be cool or to look more cosmopolitan. But the average Brazilian citizen? Heck, no! We love our steaks as cooked as possible. Our homemade rare is waaaay beyond your overcooked!
#23
Chinese cuisine is often associated with words such as “rich” and “diverse”. Despite all its glamor and greatness, we all know that in many people’s mind, there’s also a dark corner of slimy, creepy stuff related to brains, insects, and eyeballs. In 2011, CNN selected the world’s 10 most disgusting food. On top of this winning list is Chinese “century egg”(皮蛋), which many Chinese find delicious, including myself (I mean, who wouldn’t want some congee with minced pork and century eggs?!). The comments of the CNN reporters triggered some serious rage from its Chinese audience, with a major Chinese food company demanding CNN to apologize.
I still remember the first time I saw century eggs on a dinner table. I noticed the smell and the unusual black color immediately, but as a child, I was more adventurous and open to tastes, especially when my parents let me try, I knew that it must be something “safe” and “normal” to eat. I’m sure if my parents had made me insects instead of rice every meal, today I’d happily gobble down a bowl of steamed caterpillars with some fried scorpions. After all, culture is this arbitrary thing that we adopt from others. Do we really need to agree on what’s delicious or disgusting?
Final score:
74points
Cassie 6 years ago
I find irony here. In some western cultures, fermented foods are associated with bacteria and bacteria is generally considered bad, whereas our meat cooked but still pink is associated with germs to the Chinese. Many Americans would think a century egg is rotten in much the same way many Chinese would find our cooked steaks too raw to consume.
DE Ray 6 years ago
Chittlins are disgusting (or have a strong opportunity to be disgusting) no matter the cuisine. I'm most familiar with either Soul Food or Cajun preparations, boiled or fried chittlins or andouillette, which can go horribly wrong very easily - but even English style "potted meat" with tripe or pig intestine can go from zero to disgusting in a hurry if not prepared by an expert. So don't blame the Chinese for chittlins.
Master Markus 6 years ago
I mean more like local butchers and Canada-originated companies. Schneiders for example apparently uses meat and trimmings, but not offal - I don't like hot dogs, but the ones they make are pretty good quality as far as the things go. However, I DO remember having some butcher-made sausages a few years ago that had a dry texture and odd colours that I suspect was made with a notable amount of offal. I'm pretty sure we get Oscar Meyer here through Kraft (I remember seeing it but not in a long time now) and APPARENTLY Jimmy Dean's exists in some form in Canada but I don't think I've ever seen it and I live in Ontario fairly close to the U.S. border.
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Master Markus 6 years ago
Apparently century eggs taste mostly like boiled eggs, so I know I wouldn't like them, but otherwise it's just that they LOOK off, they LOOK rotted. When it comes to something like a fish head or chicken feet, I'm not so much "grossed out" as I am confused as to how that could be a whole meal because there's so little meat on them. Though apparently chicken feet are gelatinous which is just a texture I DON'T go for no matter what the thing is made of.
Nathan Nair 6 years ago
For century eggs, besides the appearance, the greatest difference is texture--the egg "white" (which is now black) is like a jelly. Taste-wise, I'd say it's pretty mild and bland.
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Henry Halliday 6 years ago
Lived in HK for two years. Couldn't do chicken feet or "stinky tofu" especially. You could smell it from across the road, had to mouth breathe until safe distance away.
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
Ah, you Americans. All this is better that your oversize me stuff. big is bad, scorpions are crunchy
#24
Do you remember the time when you saw people kissing (or have intimate body contact) on TV when you were little? How did your parents react? For a good part of Chinese parents, “changing the channel”, or “distracting their children” is the immediate reaction, because they think it’s improper for them to watch. In fact, what’s behind this reaction the inability to communicate. Expressing love directly is already hard for adults, talking about it, to a child, sounds even more awkward. So the best way might just be to avoid it completely. My parents are both very liberal, but we never had any open conversation on this subject. (And sex is a subject of taboo). Nowadays, lots of younger parents have adopted new ways communicate openly with their children on this subject.m, so that kissing becomes something natural instead of mysterious for their children.
Final score:
70points
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
I don't think my parents reacted in any way to seeing people kissing/making out on screen, but if it was a full on sex scene, they would change the channel
Random Panda 6 years ago
That sounds very sad to be honest. My parents have been very open about these things and they have always been very physically affectionate. When we were little and a sex scene would come up in a movie, they would say the people were kissing and that's how adults make babies. They had the talk with me when I was about 11 (it was very awkward, but it was for my protection).
Master Markus 6 years ago
I think that repressed sexuality is a real shame. I wonder if China always had a sort of sexual repression in the culture or if it's more modern, and maybe Western-influenced like it was with Japan...
Bobbi Newell 6 years ago
I'm American. If there was kissing on tv, mom was blase, but my dad would look over at us kids, pucker his lips, and make a big kissy sound. When we were old enough, we'd roll our eyes. I always had the sense that he felt awkward about any obviously romantic scene, but he wasn't going to make it a big deal unless they started removing clothes.
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
The flip-side of this is the American fascination with violence. It's difficult to find a film or TV show in the US that doesn't feature someone getting beaten, stabbed, or shot -- in some shows/movies that's literally the entire plot. Yet the idea of even brief semi-nudity almost horrifies half the American audience. Talk about twisted priorities...
Solomeo Paredes 6 years ago
Just kissing wasn't an issue, but if the gay put the girl against the wall, trow her on the bed or start to touch or undress her, my mom changed the channel at warp speed (and we didn't even have a remote)
#25
In 1982, the “One Child Policy” was officially implemented as one of the basic national policies of China. No one has expected that only after 30 years, this policy has become history facing the rapidly aging population. Couples are now encouraged to have a second child, not only for the sake of family planning but also for the future of the nation. Ironically, the end of the “One Child Policy” didn’t lead to immediate population growth. Many friends of mine who live in big cities are worried about not being able to afford a second child, or not having enough time and energy to take care of their children due to the high social pressure. What’s more, women’s idea about having children has also evolved as they received higher education. Many choose to have children later in their life, and some, not having children at all. Maybe we could get some inspiration by looking at similar cases in the past such as Sweden in the 1930s and 1940s when the birth rate was at its low point. Following the proposal of Swedish economists Alva and Gunnar Myrdal, social reform and policies were implemented to support families, including better maternal and child healthcare, free delivery, maternity and housing benefits, and general child allowances. It focused on improving the quality of life, and the birthrate started to rise as a result.
Final score:
69points
Anggi Pangastuti 6 years ago
Honestly the cost of raising children here in China is amazingly expensive..
DE Ray 6 years ago
The cost of raising children many places is expensive. Roughly a quarter million dollars in the United States.
Load More Replies... #26
The evolution of a word can reflect the evolution of society. The word “leftover woman”（剩女）is used in China to describe women who are single but who have already passed the “best age” of getting married. There isn’t an accurate definition of the word but these women often share common characteristics such as “over 27 years old”, “well educated” and “living in big cities”. The word was mainly seen as negative when created, but the connotation has been evolving since then.
In recent years people start to associate “leftover women” with positive images, such as “independent”, “smart” and “happy”. Women begin to joke about being “leftover” and some are even proud of it. While the pressure of getting married for women still exist at large in Chinese society, more and more women (especially in large cities) start to choose their lifestyle at their own will.
Final score:
65points
Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
I sat with a group of friends who were all 25. The Russian was devastated because she wasn't married yet, and now "too old". The Japanese still had another 5 years til marriage even became a consideration. The French was looking at what she wanted to do to "make her life" (ie to grow up & become an adult - where to live, what direction to take her career). The Aussie was finishing their 2nd University Degree, and deciding if they even wanted a boyfriend. The American was all about getting drunk and partying, because they'd only been able to legally drink for 4 years back home. Meanwhile, my grandmother (westerner) already had 6 kids by the age of 25, and had watched her husband go to, and return from 2 wars. The meaning of "age" and is ONLY something we assign to it. <3
Sarah Laurent 6 years ago
So THIS ! <3 Live a happy life ! And your firends too ! Switzerland here, and yes, I experienced that a loooong time ago, but I relate
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DE Ray 6 years ago
Centuries past in England, these women were referred to as "spinsters" - which I think is a not-so-different mindset: a woman who spun wool into thread earned her own money, often more than a married woman possibly could, and had a small degree of independence (not that the England of several centuries ago was progressive, but...).
Trina Ronan 6 years ago
In Poland they were literally called "old maids", and the word's always been a negative one.It never meant'independent',on the contrary:a woman who did not marry and was past her age to marry, was entirely dependent on her family or, if there wasn't any, on her distant relatives.If there weren't any of them either (or were unable or unwilling to support her),she would either face poverty or tried to find a ladylike occupation (if she was a lady herself), as a governess or a lady-companion, or was reduced to the crudest farm-, factory- or service work.If you wonder what if she was rich or at least well-to-to?Good for her, she was all well, however socially scorned at and pitied as a 'failure'.But she most probably wasn't rich, for she would marry then, even for the dowry itself. A widower with children would be happy enough to marry her.Nowadays this word is practically out of use.Now you are just 'single' or 'a maid'.But if somebody out of spite called you an old maid, you'd feel hurt.
Issss 6 years ago
In many parts of India, a woman who is well educated, well earning, and outspoken, are rejected for arranged marriage. The family usually is searching for a daughter-in-law, rather than a son's wife. Many of my Gujarati friends have told me that at 23 they are way past the age of marriage. While in Bengalies, girl has no limit for education and salaries. The limitations is on boy; whatever the girl earns, the boy has to earn more; whatever the girl's age, the boy has to be 2 to 5 years older; whatever the girl's education, the boy has to be more educated than her.
athornedrose 6 years ago
i almost like this concept of a "leftover woman" because at least there's some kind of thought surrounding it. my family just calls me a freak
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
Thank goodness for evolving social mores -- it's nice to see women, in so many cultures, starting to be seen as something other than just brood mares who's sole purpose in life is to get marries and start popping out children (and all too often, specifically male children) to perpetuate some man's family lineage.
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
My Grandmother was born in 1909 - My Mom, her second eldest was born in 1929 - Grandma became Grandma in 1948 - she was 37! She had 5 daughters - I was her eldest grand. I didn't have my son until I was 32 and became Gramma when I was 61.
L Jennings 6 years ago
I'd like to know who comes up with these titles for women who haven't got married or had children??? So what? I've never been married or had children but I've had a full and happy life. I have had lots of fantastic relationships, and am in one now (6years+). I've never been unemployed, own my own home and had travelled the world. People need to worry about their own lives and leave others to live theirs without all this worry and pigeon-holing.
#27
“Spring Festival Travel Rush” is a period of travel in China with an extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year, also known as “the biggest migration of humankind”.（this year between Feb.1 – Mar.12）It’s not rare to see online ticket system crashed due to large amount of people snapping up train tickets at the same time, because if you are slow you might not be able to get a ticket, or you might have to stand all the way on the train, but you know that your whole family is waiting for you to have dinner, and you have all the motivation to win this ticket fight.
Final score:
64points
Cassie 6 years ago
On the American east coast, we have the migration of "snow birds". Snow birds refers to retirees who generally live somewhere along the east coast, but vacation in Florida for all or part of the winter. Amtrak has a train with sleeper cars and car carriers and many of these snow birds travel by train from Virginia to Florida. My family and I once went to Disney World from Virginia in October this way. We were the only people under the age of 60 on the train and it was a really neat experience.
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
I know that "Chinese New Year" is a real and important holiday in China, but to many in the West (and more specifically, in the United States) it can seem as if it's a totally artificial event invoked to excuse delays or lack of progress on a project. Probably half the time I'm working on something with a counterpart in China there will be a sudden month-long period of total silence/non-communication -- deadlines will be missed, questions go unanswered, phone calls aren't picked up... Everyone just seems to suddenly fall off the face of the earth, totally unannounced, and then magically reappear 30-40 days later with no apology or explanation beyond "Chinese New Year." Seriously, all any firm in China that wants to capture the bulk of the American business market has to do is at least keep a skeleton staff working during that period, just to say "Everyone's on vacation right now, we'll get back to you shortly." That simple courtesy would placate thousands of irritated US entrepreneurs.
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
My son waited until Christmas Eve to fly me to AZ last year, and had me coming home New Year's Eve. Never ever again! It was horrible! I've never seen so many people at an airport in my entire life. THIS year I went 18 Dec and came back 3 Jan- soooo much different!
Andrew Keane 6 years ago
The roads are full but the cities become blissfully empty. I love it!
#28
My mom suffered from postpartum depression after I was born, but nobody knew at the time, she didn’t either. “It’s probably just a strange bad mood,” she thought.
The word “depression” remains vague to lots of people, even though there are roughly 30 million patients in China, according to a recent report of the WHO. The lack of knowledge leads to two types of attitudes of the public: one treats depression as a scary mental illness, while the other thinks it’s simply an over-exaggeration of a bad mood.
Recent years, with more people sharing their personal stories of fighting against depression, especially celebrities, people start to understand depression better, and more patients would go to doctors for proper treatment, but that’s not the majority yet, and most of them are not comfortable talking about it openly.
Final score:
60points
litalaney 6 years ago
Unfortunately mental illness is a taboo in many countries and I feel bad for the mentally ill people who don't get the support and treatment they need
Anna Thouvenin 6 years ago
Even in countries where this has been discussed for decades, it's still treated as something that is shameful, rare and dangerous :(
Load More Replies... Pseudo Puppy 6 years ago
This is *exactly* how it was in Western cultures not too long ago. Psychiatrists were seen as "foolish" all the way up to the 1970's and into the 1980's. It took a LOT of effort, by many people, to start acknowledging the value of talking to someone about our problems, let alone recognising the validity of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Point is: it can, and does get better, with education, accessibility, and time.
Amanda Ford 6 years ago
Sadly it still is like this in far too much of USA. I've lived with depression my whole life and my husband suffers from severe anxiety and depression. His family thinks we just need the right pills and a better attitude and then we'll be all better. :/ Even after 8 years, they haven't completely accepted his illnesses nor how very severe and debilitating they are.
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IheartMinecraft 6 years ago
I also might have depression, and I can definitely relate to this. A lot of people say you just need to "snap out of it". These are also the people who go off meds after 4 weeks because of no results when it could take 6 weeks to figure out if a prescription was doing anything. (If they have depression)
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
Also Seasonal Affective Disorder - which arrives in the winter. Some think it's because of a lack of sunshine, others think it's because of the Christmas Season stress. I know it's rough.
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
But that's how I got here. Positive depression, better than the negative kind
#29
There’s a Chinese expression “因祸得福“，(a blessing in disguise) which refers to situations initially recognised as “negative” later turn out to be “positive”. (In this comic, falling down has led to a romantic encounter.) There’s a lot of Chinese expressions like this that shows the possibility of the transformation from the current status into its opposite. For example, 乐极生悲, ”extreme joy begets sorrow“, and 居安思危，“to be prepared for danger in times of peace”. They recognize the connections between the opposites and the eternal force of change. Most Chinese people are familiar with these expressions, which constantly remind them of a context that’s larger than the point of time they are living in.
Taking my personal experience as an example, I failed college entrance exam, which initially was a disappointing event, but it also urged me to look for other solutions, so I went studying abroad, which turned out to be an amazing experience, but then, living abroad kept me far from my family and moving from place to place created long-distance relationships that didn’t work, which comes back to the negative side, yet again, this distance also allows me to appreciate more about my family and my culture afterwards… The loop goes on and on, and the game of the two sides shifting between each other will never end. Maybe that’s why the traditional Chinese way of being appears to be“mild”—not because people don’t have strong emotions, but because they are constantly seeking the balance between the opposites, being on one side while thinking about the other.
Final score:
57points
Master Markus 6 years ago
Well, I hope it's not Chinese Tom Cruise or he's going to make you part of a cult.
Tony Moon 6 years ago
I was taught by three Chinese cooks many years ago when I first went into the Restaurant business that opposites are the best flavors, many Americans will recognize "Sweet and Sour" anything, but often don't realize that its a culinary expectation and understanding that the opposites are the best flavors, textures, and sensations. Its a balance of life in a meal.
Master Markus 6 years ago
Yeah, even when Tom Cruise was big, I never got the idea that he was "handsome". He's not really ugly (though his smile is kind of creepy), but he's not like Tom Hardy or Gregory Peck in his prime or anything like that.
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Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
My Birth-father always said "hope for the best, expect the worst, and you'll never be disappointed", I've learned that's a good way to look at things.
#30
Inspired by a true story of a non-Chinese friend, who asked me why Chinese people say his Chinese is good even though obviously it’s not. “Is it because they think I’m a foreigner so I can’t speak Chinese at all? Isn’t that condescending?” My first thought, even though I can’t represent others, would be that because those people want to encourage him. The word “good” in this context does not necessarily mean the level of language as in exams, but the effort to speak another language. When I first arrived in the USA my English was not even half as good as it is now, but people would still say that my English is “really good”. I took it as a kind gesture.
Final score:
56points
Rafaella Bueno 6 years ago
I understand that the intention is kind but I agree that it has the opposite effect... It feels like they have very low expectations for you.
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
It’s probably better to simply be honest: “needs a bit of work, but you’re working hard. Keep at it!” Unless you’re talking to a young child. Then you tell them it’s Good, but keep encouraging!
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BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
American here so I feel that most people's goals are to encourage you here. Honestly I think being able to string a sentence together is tough for me and I have lived in the USA for my whole life. I suffer from no speech disorder it is simply a confusing language. So if you are able to do that you are better than me. (this took me a while to type so i asked someone to do it for me)
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
Most Americans don't speak a foreign language at all, let alone speak one well (and honestly, many don't even speak English well either). The typical American's approach to encountering someone who doesn't speak English is to try and converse with them slowly and (very) loudly, often with the result that the person thinks the American is angry with them (which they're not). Because of this, many Americans who do speak a little of a foreign language won't want to try to communicate in that tongue because they're afraid that they'll either get laughed at or anger the native speaker because they're not proficient.
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
I know what you mean. When I hear a foreigner speak Dutch, I also say that his Dutch is good. Not to be condescending, but because I know that Dutch is not an easy language to learn and I think it's brave to learn it in the first place. So you deserve praise for that. It also shows you're interested, because there is a large group of foreigners who don't learn Dutch because the Dutch are such good English speakers. Well we are taught foreign languages because Dutch is such a difficult language to learn.
Anna Thouvenin 6 years ago
I experienced this also. But when you speak a bit more, people start talking to you like you've been in China your entire life and you're fluent and ask you very complicated things so I don't know what to prefer :D
Kristy LeAnn 6 years ago
I'm trying to learn Chinese right now and it's really hard (mostly getting the tones right).
Tony Moon 6 years ago
In some countries when they say your speaking skills are good, they are indicating that they can still tell you are a foreigner. When they ask you what part of their country that you are from they are indicating that you speak like a native born. For some, recognition that you are a foreigner is simply stating that you are accepted as an outsider, that you will never be truly accepted. This is not true for all people, and not true of all countries, but there are a select few that are very phobic of anyone not native.
#31
Sidekicks and underwritten rivals, Asian actors are still stuck in supporting roles in western films and TV series (especially in Hollywood films). Although recent years have witnessed an increasing appearance of Asian faces, the reasons behind it are probably more about appeasing critics and making profits than telling diverse stories. If you put a famous Chinese actor/actress in a film, the box-office is probably going to expand. The characters themselves, though, have stayed largely stereotypical, unimportant, or irrelevant to the storylines. (Or, they can play important Asian villains!) Casting Asian actors doesn’t solve the problem of representation. Weaving them into the stories in a meaningful way is probably a better beginning.
Final score:
54points
Kjorn 6 years ago
i Always tought when i was Younger they wanna give a big part of other culture (black or asian) but since their main audience are white they make their hero white. but since they want to give a part at other race they give the rôle of the sidekick at another color person. and since he's the best friend (usually) to the hero and want to make drama they kill it at some point of the movie. i Always though that was the point of Killing the support rôle. i never saw it at racism
Samuel Zhao 4 years ago
When you really think of it, there isn’t really too many Asian superheroes. You could count the number with one hand and not using your thumb
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
I love watching foreign films which have actors in the roles of Americans in another country with my American friends to see how they react when the see Americans portrayed in the same sorts of ridiculous stereotype characterizations that US films/shows inevitably use for foreign characters... "How can they show us Americans like that?" "Why, we show them in exactly the same manner!" "Oh. Never thought of it that way..."
danielw 6 years ago
yes. yes. yes. Jackie Chan is a brilliant actor. I would put him in the Tuxedo over any of the Bonds.
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#32
There seem to be many “fake football fans” who don’t watch football usually but who suddenly become enthusiastic during the World Cup. “I don’t care about the clubs, but when it’s between countries I enjoy it," one of them told me. These people watch the World Cup not because they love football particularly, but rather the atmosphere, the spirit of a team/player, and the feeling of being engaged in a world event with other countries. What’s more, hanging out with friends in a bar and cheering together with strangers is simply fun.
Final score:
51points
Aldhissla VargTimmen 6 years ago
I'm one of those who only like world cup football but I do understand offside!!!
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Rabite 6 years ago
For me it's actually the other way around. I like to watch football in our national competition but the world cup is so overrated and all the flags and media is suffocating. But of course this is only for the men's world cup. Therefore I am already looking forward to the women's football world cup this year. Sadly those "I only watch the world cup"-people just do it for the men's world cup though.
Sassy Gay Bean Who Loves Dogs 4 years ago (edited)
That's me. I'm like "Ugh, football's so boring" but then I'm like "MEXICO IS GOING AGAINST [insert name of country]!
BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
I read this and at first I thought it was AMERICAN football not what we call "soccer" OOF me
danielw 6 years ago
I'm pretty apathetic when it comes to watching pro sports. American football is a bunch of guys in tights grabbing other guys in tights. now, if they came out woth a professional FIRST league competition, you can bet your a*s I'll be all over it. (it's a robotics competition. they start with LEGO robots in k-whatever and get more complicated as you reach highschool. Yes. I wish we had that in school.)
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
I've never EVER cared about football - UNLESS Kansas City is playing LOL - Or Oregon (my home state) - and all I care about is the score.
Huib van Wees (hvwees) 6 years ago
I don't give a **** about football/soccer.... Also during the worldcup....
#33
I heard in Scandinavian culture the contrast of “before” and “after” drinks is even more dramatic because emotions are reserved and maintaining distance is important. Is it true?
Final score:
49points
Kaisu Rei 6 years ago
Yes it is true, in Scandinavian/Nordic countries people become less reserved and distant when they're drunk
ADHORTATOR 6 years ago
With my mother in law. I still use the formal term of address "Vous".... I only know her daughter since 1987, don' t hurry :-)
Sylvia 6 years ago
Yes its true. In Sweden distance is showing respect. Its unpolite to take for granted that a stranger will sitt by you on the busseat for example or be greated by. Strange? Indeed! And we also have a long tradition of heavy drinking so we can feel relaxed and talk to strangers.
Carol Anne Benoit 6 years ago
I've lived in New Zealand for 15 year and I've lived in Norway for 15 years. Guess where I have no close friends?
Olivia 6 years ago
This picture is so true! In fact, those who leave drinking nights early are become a bit of an outsider in the workplace, not through bad feelings though people understand if you don't want to stay late, but you will not speak to these people much in the work environment, your relationship wont be as close, your boss might not recognise you for promotions. Most British people are good with alcohol, so it's likely you will have a very fun night with your colleagues when you drink and everyone will talk about it the next day! And for the rest of the year in fact! I knew one colleague who likes to drink but cant drink very well, so we encouraged them always to go home early, we don't want anyone to suffer!! Interesting about the nordic countries though, I had no idea!
#34
In Chinese cooking, it’s very common to use the wok to fry different ingredients, which creates lots of smoke. In China, most apartments have powerful range hoods installed to extract smoke. However, most of the western kitchens are equipped with a sensitive smoke alarm which is set off by Chinese wok easily. It’s not rare to hear landlords complaining about oil stains or to see Chinese students covering up the smoke detector with tapes during cooking(could be dangerous, not recommend). It’s a little inconvenient, that’s true, but the food is delicious that’s also true!
Final score:
49points
Cassie 6 years ago
I think this is more a problem of poor alarm placement. I've cooked in a wok from time to time and never set off a fire alarm doing so, but many people put the smoke detector in the kitchen. Smoke detectors should be in rooms adjacent the kitchen, but not directly in the kitchen or it can be set off by regular kitchen activities. They also shouldn't be in or directly adjacent to bathrooms where shower steam can set them off needlessly. I once stayed in a hotel room that had the smoke alarm right outside the bathroom door and taking a shower set it off every daggum time.
BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
My smoke alarm beeps when i make toast and it isn't even golden brown
Master Markus 6 years ago
I've had this issue living in an apartment without a fan above the stove - that's really what you need. Then open a window or something. I do think you should clean up your oil stains though. Don't want TOO much build up.
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
My mom has taken down the alarm closest to the kitchen because of our tendency to set it off. It’s incredibly sensitive and scares the life out of our cat!
boredkoala 6 years ago
I thought regularly setting off the fire alarm while cooking was just a fact of life! When my building's alarms go off I just assume it was cooking, or dust. :-D /american
#35
During Chinese New Year, traditionally children receive red envelopes (红包) that contain money, which keep them away from evil spirits and bring them good luck. Nowadays it’s also very popular to send money (often in digital forms through Wechat) between friends and colleagues.
Compared to giving gifts, giving money is rather direct and less imaginative. But when I see people going to the same store and struggling to buy something original for Christmas every year, I start to wonder if there exists a better way. What do you think?
Final score:
45points
SupriyaG 6 years ago
Sometimes it is good to get money as a gift, but it feels better when someone buys you something because at least the thoughts are attached with that gift..
Marie-Louise Chenois 6 years ago
This year my best friend gifted me a necklace she made on her own. I looove it. She spent time doing it (ordering the materials then doing it). It's not worth much money, but it's worth much more to me.
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Jane Alexander 6 years ago
Money is welcome, useful and often needed, But that coffee cup with the horses on it that I love from my sweet brother is something I probably would not have bought for myself even if I had found it.
Tony Moon 6 years ago
I make personalized gifts for friends (dragon pen made of rock, or a leather bound book with carvings on it). I buy gifts for people close but don't know their exact likes, and I give gift cards (money) to teen aged family members. Every culture has its own way of gift giving. I think mine is rather personalized, but others may see it as very impersonal.
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
Gifts are nice, but gift cards or cash is just about the same, or better! I could choose what I want, and I don’t feel like it’s any less than a present.
Random Panda 6 years ago
I think it depends on the age of the person and their tastes. Personally I love giving and receiving gifts, even if it's something small. If the person put some thought into it, it means a lot. You do tend to accumulate a lot of random stuff this way though.
Lance McMillan 6 years ago
It's a cultural thing. In the US giving someone money as a gift is seen as impersonal and perfunctory, that you weren't willing to take the time to find something nice. Personally, I find it immensely frustrating when friends/family buy me gifts (often fairly expensive gifts) that I have no interest in and end up throwing away or donating to charity, but I have to put on this falsely sincere show of how much I appreciate getting this thing I couldn't care less about. I think the Chinese approach is much more practical because it allows the recipient of the gift to use the money to get something they really want and/or can actually use.
danielw 6 years ago
For the record, I like to make the holiday gifts. I have a 3d printer, and I tend to build/design gadgetry or desk-top figures, or things people will like. Much more fun. the meanest I've ever done was i gave a kid a printed puzzle box, with candy inside. My dad's favorites were chess sets. (The top two were replica of the lewis chessmen, and another designed to roll up with the soft 'park board'. That one, the pieces fit inside the king/queen of their side, and all of them are half circles, so they fit nicely.)
Jeannie Carle 6 years ago
I prefer, as a hand-knitter, to make something for my loved ones - that is something they will still have after I'm gone that was created by me with love.
#36
I’ve never heard or said “sorry” so many times in my life as in the years I spent in the U.K. From commenting on the weather to sitting beside someone in the tube, it seems to be an indispensable part of everyday life.
According to a survey in 2016, the average Brits says "sorry" around eight times per day – and that one in eight people apologize up to 20 times a day. Yet the word doesn’t always mean being remorseful as in the sense I’m familiar with. It might have several meanings depending on the context. For example, it could be a way to show empathy and build trust, or in other situations, to keep distance and protect privacy. “Our excessive, often inappropriate and sometimes downright misleading use of this word devalues it, and it makes things very confusing and difficult for foreigners unaccustomed to our ways,” says Kate Fox, a social anthropologist who has written several books that reveal the unwritten rules and behaviors that define English national identity and character. Check them out if you are curious
Final score:
39points
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
I say Sorry ALL THE TIME, but it’s usually my way of saying “that was my fault”. Not always remorse, because it’s usually something I shouldn’t feel remorse for, but taking the blame.
Jess Moseley 6 years ago
YES! It's an acknowledgement of blame, it's kinda my way of 'taking responsibility" for something
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Bored Office Girl 6 years ago
I'm American and I say sorry way more often than I should! I'd fit in great in the UK. Like if I was the woman on the right in the comic, I'd be saying sorry because I would feel bad that maybe my foot was in the way. And that's why it got stepped on. I said sorry once when I was finding my seat at a basketball game. The guy dropped his beer as he stood up to let me pass through (I didn't bump him). I was sorry because I figured if not for me, he wouldn't have dropped it. Lol. Oddly though he did kind of act like he thought it was my fault. I've learned though that saying it a lot lets people know that you mean well. Strangers are usually very nice to me if I say sorry.
Rosie Hamilton 6 years ago
This is the British sorry exactly! You would definitely fit in. 😁
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Tiny Dynamine 6 years ago
This is true and I find it quite ridiculous as a Brit, myself. Yesterday, I passed a woman walking down the street on her phone and another woman came out of her gate into her path. They both said sorry, even though the one on the phone had absolutely no reason to be sorry!
Master Markus 6 years ago
I guess it's "Sorry I wasn't also paying attention?"
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Katri Pfuhl 6 years ago
So I'm Finnish (I like my personal space and not a big small talker - I don't like to talk about "nothing") and I was visiting The States, Montana to be exact. One day I was grocery shopping and looking at products on a shelf - a woman walks past be (I can't see her cause I'm facing towards the shelf and she is passing me on the isle behind my back). As she passes by she says "oh I'm sorry, excuse me" and I turn around and just stare at her in awe. She was SO far away from me we could have fit two carts between us and also my back was towards her so I would have never even seen her walk behind be, hadn't she said "I'm sorry, excuse me". I was so confused to why she would say anything to me and to this day I still don't understand what happened understand what happened.
SlightlyBurntWaffle 6 years ago (edited)
I say sorry to people but I'm not sorry. I'm never sorry
Bianca Ypey 6 years ago
In the Netherlands it's also normal to say sorry for almost everything. Even when it's not your fault, as in your story above), it gets ridiculus sometimes.
Cees Timmerman 6 years ago
"Sorry for stepping on your foot." vs "Sorry for being in the way."
#37
Mixing English and Chinese when speaking triggers mixed reactions in Chinese society. Some people think this is pure show-off by people who have been abroad, others think this is unavoidable in an international company culture where there are concepts hard to translate. There are also experts who are worried about the future of the Chinese language.
Personally, I don't’ really mind the form of language I use as long as it facilitates communication in that context: I’d speak English to a Chinese person if there’re other English-speaking people in conversation, but I wouldn’t use English words when speaking to my parents because it will confuse them. When I met my Hong Kong friend last time we spoke a mixture of Mandarin and English because she was still practicing Mandarin, and I didn’t speak Cantonese.
Final score:
36points
Aileen 6 years ago
I can speak a decent amount of Franglais (Frenglish I guess) and I know a bit of Ingléspañol (Spanglish) but it’s been a while.
Load More Replies... Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
As I moved to Korea before my 21st birthday, all the new things you learn about adult life, I know them in Korean better than in any other language I speak. I end up mixing languages like that too, for this reason, just like my fellow internationals who've been living here for a long time. Additionally for me, though, I grew up in an environment that's so bilingual, mixing two languages (Croatian and Italian) is the most natural thing.
Mike 6 years ago
My Dad told me about when he ordered food at a Chinese restaurant he asked for no capsicum. The guy at the register called out the order in Chinese but said capsicum in English. My Dad asked if there was no word for Capsicum in Chinese. The guy said there is but it's just easier to say it in English.
Kioh81 6 years ago
Haha growing up with other hapas (half Koreans) we just always called it "Konglish". It's a combination of not always knowing the right word in either language or just creating a slang from the mixing of the two. Or just a natural mixing. We never thought much of it and it was completely natural for us to do it at home too.
Lyndsey 6 years ago
SAME! I went to a bilingual elementary and middle school. We spoke Chinglish, with a sprinkling of whatever other language we know. Frankly, I would say Chinglish makes more sense to me than either English or Chinese.
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Tanya Chou 6 years ago
Just "bad habit" started in Hong Kong colonial era, English was the "upper language" and many of the hk Cantonese still in its English form (such as spanner as "士巴拿") then there are the "abc" , "bbc"... who use English words to "fill in the blank" of their poor Chinese vocabulary. Now got to the point I have some sentence English with Chinese words , or Chinese with simple English words filled in as " decorations". Depends on my mood, and depends on the other party if they're doing it for pretentious reason. I like to play with the phonies, by slowly switching the sentence into the other language (slotting in more difficult English vocabulary, or difficult Chinese words) I am "cativo" this way 😂
Tanya Chou 6 years ago
This "bad habit" started in Hong Kong from the colonials era, many words in hk Cantonese is still in it's English name, such as the spanner (士巴拿）then there were the "abc" and "bbc" who simply use English to "fill in" the gap of their poor volcabary. Now it has gone to another level, it's an English sentence with two Chinese words or a Chinese sentence with easy words like "book" slot in to "show off". Depends on my mood, if I find the other party too "full of it" I will either switch the whole conversation one way or another... (adding in more English or Chinese or other forgien words) so that they can no longer follow the conversation... I am "cativo" this way 😂
Annie Nelson 6 years ago
I speak Vietglish because I spend more years in the US and don’t know all the Vietnamese words. If I live in Vietnam, I could pick up the needed words.
L Jennings 6 years ago
I worked in a local Spanish bar one year, where Mallorquí (the native language of Mallorca) was spoken along with Castilian Spanish. I'd look to my french co-worker to translate the words I didn't know (in French) and he'd do the same for English words he didn't know. As long as we all understood each other, who cares what language you use :)
arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
The ultimate battle ground. more vital than trade. An unlikely mix will one day be ours
Muhammad Rasyad 6 years ago
waiting for someone translate it, i know it's nothing, but i'm curious
#38
Naming a child is an important event for most Chinese parents, even though trying to squeeze tons of meaning into one or two characters is not an easy job, especially when you have a reservoir of thousands of characters to choose from. Normally you want to choose something that’s beautiful, promising, and unique, while at the same time avoiding careless homophones that will turn the name of your child into a joke. In addition, depending on the family, sometimes you also have super engaged grandparents who enjoy offering their opinions and suggestions, which can bring lots of fruits, or other times, wars. You can also choose to make your life easier and go for something simple and low-profile. In the end, every name has a story to tell.
What’s the story of your name?
Final score:
34points
Random Panda 6 years ago
In my country the tradition is to name the kids after the grandparents. This sucks when you don't like their names. Some of my relatives will be very upset with me, because I'm not going to follow this tradition.
Reilly Beryll 6 years ago
Over time, names become outdated. It doesn’t sound like something I’d be happy with. Not very fond of the name Nora (not that it’s a bad name, just not what I’d want for myself!)
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Cassie 6 years ago
Meanwhile, in America, a mother is naming her child ABCD and expecting everybody to call her Absidy without question.
Issss 6 years ago
In my culture, we usually give something rare that hasn't already been given to someone in family.
BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
I was named after a Catholic saint Saint Catherine of Siena, My middle name is my fathers great-grandma's Mary, and my last name comes from the french word Montagne meaning mountain (My family is originally from a small french mountainside village)
Anthony 6 years ago
I was given the name Shun-on (Cantonese pronunciation), which can have two meanings. My mother wanted me to be safe, so ‘belief in peace’ means that I wouldn’t get into fights; but she also wanted me to do well in life, so ‘belief in comfort’ means I would always have enough money to be comfortable. Clever person, my mother! She also named her cat ‘MoLi’, which on the one hand sounds like the girl’s name ‘Molly’ in English, but in Chinese it means ‘to touch profit’, meaning she’s a lucky cat :)
littlefury 6 years ago
My name is Emmanuel, because I was born just before christmas. "Emmanuel" is the Hebrews' messiah. For us Christians it means Jesus. Hence the 25th of December is also known as Saint Emmanuel in France.
IheartMinecraft 6 years ago
When my Mom named me, my name was not exactly popular, but also not super common. Soon after, coincidentally, it shot to #1 in the US
#39
During these days in Berlin, I often found myself mistakenly walking on the bike lane, which is often combined with the path for pedestrians. The separation is clearly marked out with paint but I was so used to the physically separated lanes in Beijing where I could close my eyes and walk safely (that’s not true because there are bicycles and motorcycles violating the rules). In New York, it’s common to see the bike lane lie between a parking lane and a traffic lane, or shared with vehicles. In Paris, there’s a mixture of all types of lanes (even contra-flow bike lanes where you have to go against the traffic!) and the rules are not obvious for first comers. I’m still not courageous enough to explore the city on my bike.
Final score:
30points
DE Ray 6 years ago
In many of the States, bicycles are required to be in the same lane as cars. It is vastly dangerous, but I don't see the law changing very soon.
BlackLabOwner 4 years ago
Well they are supposed to ride facing the cars so they can see them coming #liveintexas#borniniowa
Huib van Wees (hvwees) 6 years ago
I find that quite confusing in Berlin as well.. In The Netherlands (where I'm from) the bike lanes are separate most of the time.
Bored Office Girl 6 years ago
Yeah that's usually why I just ride my bike on the local bike trails and not in town. It's just too complicated. And dangerous! Not worth it.
#40
Every time a friend gets married, he/she will show me their album of pre-wedding photos, where the couple poses romantically in different settings wearing wedding costumes in either western style or Chinese style. Wedding photos were first introduced from the West to China during the period of The Republic of China, but the pre-wedding photo industry is fairly recent, gaining popularity from the 1990s. The photos can be done in a studio with a changing background. Or, if willing to pay more, the couple can travel with a professional photographer to other parts of the world for the shooting( Europe is the most popular destination). After the shooting, there’s retouching in photoshop, which renders everything “perfect”, to the point that it often looks a bit fake. The process could take a day or even weeks, requiring lots of energy, especially that you have to smile non-stop!!
Final score:
29points
April Simnel 6 years ago
A few years ago, I lived in Brooklyn Heights. Every time I went for a walk on the Promenade or to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, I'd see dozens of just-married couples having professional photos taken (you can get good background angles of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan). Now that there is a park next to the bridge, it's almost overrun with couple looking for that perfect shot!
Mike Chin 6 years ago
the park in dumbo between the two bridges is the most popular wedding photo spot. The cobblestone street with manhattan bridge in between the buildings also nearby. You'll see that photo a billion times on instagram
Load More Replies... arthur lindsay coker 6 years ago
today they use selfies. Cheaper and reminders of ego trips of old
Anna Thouvenin 6 years ago
If you want to see all the wedding photos you can imagine, just go to Suzhou.
In exploring cultural nuances through webcomics, one can find insights into how different societies navigate life's details. An interesting parallel appears in how various cultures apply ingenious solutions to improve daily life within the home.
For example, the thoughtful details in Korean households demonstrate a keen awareness of space and utility, reflecting a universal desire to create comfort and efficiency in our living environments.
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What do you think ?
Kannada Duniya 6 years ago
Hi I'm from India, after reading your posting I realised that Chinese and Indian culture have many things in common like the opposite thing, hot water thing.. Etc, I would like to learn more about Chinese culture because it's similar to Indian culture.
tinyeyescomics (Post author) 6 years ago
Hi Kannada I'm glad to know that and you are not the first person from India who told me that! I post regularly on Instagram and Facebook, feel free to share your stories too so that we could learn about Indian culture as well :)
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Maggie C 6 years ago
I'm from Taiwan,and even though it's not the same as Chinese,but I can still relate! People where I live also mix Chinese and English.
tinyeyescomics (Post author) 6 years ago
Glad you can relate! apparently mixing language is especially in Singapore because they are a multi-cultural society
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John Louis 6 years ago
In College I lived with a group of students from Main land China. These bring back warm and found memories.
Fathimath Dhahuma 6 years ago
Hi,I'm from Maldives, after reading you're post i realized that chinese and Maldivian culture have many things in common like the opposite thing ,hot water thing ...etc,
Kannada Duniya 6 years ago
Hi I'm from India, after reading your posting I realised that Chinese and Indian culture have many things in common like the opposite thing, hot water thing.. Etc, I would like to learn more about Chinese culture because it's similar to Indian culture.
tinyeyescomics (Post author) 6 years ago
Hi Kannada I'm glad to know that and you are not the first person from India who told me that! I post regularly on Instagram and Facebook, feel free to share your stories too so that we could learn about Indian culture as well :)
Load More Replies... Maggie C 6 years ago
I'm from Taiwan,and even though it's not the same as Chinese,but I can still relate! People where I live also mix Chinese and English.
tinyeyescomics (Post author) 6 years ago
Glad you can relate! apparently mixing language is especially in Singapore because they are a multi-cultural society
Load More Replies... John Louis 6 years ago
In College I lived with a group of students from Main land China. These bring back warm and found memories.
Fathimath Dhahuma 6 years ago
Hi,I'm from Maldives, after reading you're post i realized that chinese and Maldivian culture have many things in common like the opposite thing ,hot water thing ...etc,
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