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Quote:Nice to meet you，I don’t know what do
“Weird Cultural Spam” mean? Thank you for help!
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http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2012-03/05/content_14757802.htm
lens-less glasses as a fashion statement
Quote:lens-less glasses as a fashion statementI just want to poke everyone wearing these in the eye.
Weird Cultural Difference # 784: Breeze = Bad. Breeze will make you sick. Must close all windows on sweat-box bus. Breeze is a killer. Damn that goddamned breeze.
Quote:Breeze = BadUnless the temperature is below zero and you’re in a place of business, then for gods sake, don’t shut the window!! I need fresh air!!
RE: “I need fresh air!!” You sure did come to the wrong country 😀
The correct phrase should be “I need fresher air!” – which I completely agree with. Taking any sort of public transportation (including elevators) that crams people together reminds you how precious common ‘western’ mom’s “BRUSH YOUR TEETH” advice is. I think when many people here are insulted/ordered by their superiors to go EAT SHIT, they take it literally – or at least they eat something that makes their breath smell the same.
Quote:Unless the temperature is below zero and you’re in a place of business, then for gods sake, don’t shut the window!! I need fresh air!!To take this point further – wearing coats everywhere in the winter because, as stated, the windows are wide open and the heater will never be turned on. I hate sitting in an office at my computer with my coat on and my fingers frozen to the keyboard.
Talking about cold, I tried this trick at my office. I was so cold that I thought death was arriving sooner than I anticpated so with a huge gasp by my Chinese employees I turned on the heater and warmed up. I then went to the bosses office and told her that I would pay the bill for everytime I used the heating, she was so embarrassed that the foreigner is offering this, I think the phrase ‘lose face’came to mind. So I have been using the heating with about 15 happy people crammed in a tiny office thanking me for being brave ( I have never been called brave many other names come to mind but at work I am brave got to love the Chinese).
But I am trying to be efficient because I know that heating costs a lot of money (my very high apartment bill is proof of that) so whatever power we don’t need I switch off such as unnecessary lights, cables etc.
Quote:I hate sitting in an office at my computer with my coat on and my fingers frozen to the keyboard.Quote:I was so cold that I thought death was arriving sooner than I anticipatedHa Ha! This has been a constant battle in my office. First it took a month to get the heater fixed, which confused me given that everyone’s breath had been turning to ice whilst looking longingly to the broken heater. It actually took two attempts to fix the heater, whilst in the meantime the battle to have anyone actually shut the outside door to the office each time they passed through it raged on. I put large chinese signs on each side of the door, but these were apparently invisible. Add to this my attempt to make the office smoke free, which almost each day requires my having to race towards someone as they light up, then politely let them know they need to head out the door. Of course as they pass through the door, they neglect to close it. Meanwhile people in coats stare blankly into computer screens, or fiddle around with phones, not once thinking to close the door and keep themselves warm. The final twist in this sad tale is the guy who as far as I can work out, comes to the office each morning several minutes ahead of me solely for the purpose of smoking a cigarette in the office (quiet defiance perhaps), then leaving not just the door wide open, but also a window, ensuring that everyone arriving for work will have to endure being stuck in their coats until the tiny wall heater struggles toward warming the office space. This of course never happens, because the door has a closure rate of maybe 4/10. I did catch the guy smoking once, so immediately headed to the wipe board and drew a giant cigarette with a huge red X right through it for all to see. This red X was apparently invisible.
To illustrate my point about Chinese fear of breeze, a few years ago i was working for a school that provided the teachers with a bus. In the summer, as you know, it’s hellish humid, but if i opned the window even 1/8 of an inch, there would be (polite) howls of protest from my Chinese colleagues. I was banished to the back of the bus. Then in class students would flee to the back of the room when i used the overhead fans. This is in summer, mind you. Of course they were hot, but they told me that the breeze would give them a cold, so they preferred to suffer. Now when i take a public bus (which is rarely), if i get the window seat, the window is MINE. Any fool wants to reach over and close it is gonna get some strong words….
I am actually used to seeing couples seated beside each other, though for fancy restaurants that I assume will constitute to their dinner date, it would not be surprising to see them facing one another and there should be nothing wrong with either things.
People are not really used to drinking coffee in the morning which has rooted from the times that they go with their full meal in the morning. So drinking your caffeine fix during lunch with be no surprise, actually.
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