“Who would you like to change your life with if possible?” Last week, we asked many middle school students this question. The following are some of their_____.

Zhang Yike, 12

I want to change my life with my friend, Wang Xiaohui. She is studying in England now. She has_____to many countries, such as the US and France. They are the places I wish to visit. What's more, she_____much better English than me. If I change my life with her, I can visit many beautiful countries, eat delicious_____and meet different kinds of people there.

Qiu Haoran, 14

I'd like to change my life with my Chinese teacher Miss Zhao. Miss Zhao is a very kind lady, She_____a lot, so she always has so many_____stories to tell us, We all like her classes. I also want to be such an excellent teacher and be_____ with my students.

Tan Bo, 13

I will change my life with my elder brother. My brother is a college student now. He does have to go to class all the time. He can study_____he is interested in. And he even has a part-time job to make money. To_____, all of these sound very interesting. I really want a life______this.

Chinese value (价值观) and American value

As a Chinese-American student, I have much to' say about the value differences between the two countries.

American kids love to make money by themselves. Chinese kids always ask money from their parents. So American kids spend more money than they have, but Chinese kids spend less money and they have money left in the bank.

American parents think going to an expensive and famous college is not useful. Chinese parents would do anything to send their children to good colleges even if it means that they have to sell everything they have.

American parents allow their daughters or sons to go out with their friends if they come back home at the right time. Chinese students aren't allowed to do so in middle or high school.

American parents support and encourage their children all the time while Chinese parents think that criticism (批评) is the best love in the world. So American parents only look at their children's good side. Chinese parents seem to only see their children's bad side.

I don’t want to say which culture is better because both cultures have their pros and cons.

Why hug?

In the West, people hug for many different reasons. Family and friends sometimes hug just to show the other person they care. They may hug a loved one that they haven't seen for a while. Or hug someone who will be leaving for a long period of time.

Hugs are also given to comfort someone who is sad or to congratulate someone who has good news.

Some of my Chinese friends think all Westerners love to hug. But some Western cultures encourage hugging more than others. The French, for example, are some of the most affectionate people in the world. Researchers have observed that the French touch each other more than 100times during a 30-minute conversation. Americans, however, typically only touch each other twice during the same time period.

Italians and Greeks are known for giving lots of hugs. But British people, like Americans, tend to be a little more reserved about hugging.

Hope for non-huggers

If you live in a culture that doesn't hug, don't despair. Hugging is a behavior that can be learned over time. Take Americans, for example. In the past, many American families refrained from hugging. But over the last 20 years, American society has become more open to the idea. Now, nine out of 10 Americans say they use hugs to show love.

Similarly, Chinese people have started to accept the idea of hugging. Mary, one of my Chinese friends from Taipei, recently told me her story about hugging.

Mary learned about hugging when she' studied abroad 20 years ago. Before that, her traditional Chinese family never hugged. But when she returned from overseas, her parents enjoyed it when she started giving them hugs.

During her last visit home, she was in a hurry to leave. As she was leaving, her 80-year-old mother called out to her. “Don’t go yet; you forgot something,” her mother said. Mary turned around and saw her mother with her arms opened wide. Mary went over and gave her an enormous hug.